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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Transcript
00:00
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:08
Now that we've created a custom schematic symbol
00:10
as well as adding it to the icon menu,
00:13
let's talk about how to create a custom footprint.
00:16
We're going to go back to the symbol builder.
00:20
And this time, I'm not going to use any objects ahead of time.
00:23
So I'm just going to go right to my symbol
00:25
and choose panel footprint.
00:28
Then I'm going to click OK, and I'm back inside
00:31
of my block editor.
00:32
Now I'm just going to draw a standard rectangle
00:37
from my origin point and I am going
00:42
to make it 2.555, all right?
00:50
So pretty simple footprint.
00:52
Remember, your footprints can be as detailed or as generic
00:55
as you want.
00:56
The most important thing about a footprint
00:58
is that it takes up the space that you are trying to allocate
01:02
for that particular device.
01:03
So you can see how it fits with all of your other devices.
01:07
So it could be as simple as a rectangle.
01:10
Many people go out to the manufacturer's website
01:13
to find CAD libraries of their existing symbols
01:17
if they don't come with electrical.
01:19
Remember, many of them are a part of this software package,
01:22
though.
01:23
So you shouldn't have to create a ton.
01:25
Any time you add a new catalog value to your catalog, though,
01:29
you are more than likely going to be adding a new footprint
01:32
symbol.
01:33
So in here, the key to footprints
01:36
is just the attributes that you want to see on screen.
01:41
So if all you really care about seeing is the tag value for it,
01:45
you really don't need to add anything else in here.
01:48
All of the other attributes would only
01:50
be there if you want to be able to see them
01:52
on screen in the panel.
01:54
Remember, we see all of them out in the schematic.
01:58
And they all get transferred into our panel footprint
02:01
as x data.
02:03
So there's no need to put it on there.
02:04
You can still right click on the Panel footprint
02:06
and see all of that information.
02:08
The crucial part is if you want to see it
02:11
on screen in the drawing when it prints,
02:14
that's an attribute that needs to be inserted.
02:16
Everything else is not required.
02:20
If you were creating wiring diagrams,
02:22
where you wanted to be able to see this in its true form
02:25
and size but also be able to add wires to it,
02:27
then you would be adding wire connections to your panel
02:30
footprint as well.
02:32
If not, you're actually done.
02:34
It's this fast and easy.
02:35
Get that shape in there and add that attribute
02:38
for the tag and any other attributes
02:40
you may want to see on screen, or just leave the rest of them
02:44
off if you don't need that.
02:45
Once I click Close, I can then choose
02:48
what I want this to be called.
02:50
Typically, we name these based off of the manufacturer.
02:54
So in my case, I might just call it Autodesk one.
02:59
You really don't need a png image
03:01
or to add this to the icon menu, because the icon menu is really
03:05
for inserting those from scratch.
03:07
More than likely, this will be inserted
03:09
based off of the catalog number that's
03:11
associated with it from that schematic list,
03:14
and you won't need to see that in the menu.
03:16
So I don't typically create an icon image.
03:18
And you can then, obviously you still
03:20
want to be able to tie this to the right catalog value.
03:24
I'm just going to leave it with disconnect switches
03:27
because this is a generic block, anyway.
03:29
Now, there are many errors in this particular one.
03:32
Those errors are much more crucial to the schematic symbol
03:37
than they are to the panel symbol.
03:39
It's going to say that I'm missing attributes and values.
03:41
The most important thing here is the template and the layers.
03:47
Everything else is only if you need to see those on screen.
03:52
Heading back in here, I'm then going
03:54
to move this back to my desktop again and click OK.
04:01
I'm not going to test this one, in this case.
04:03
But I do want to focus on is actually
04:06
being able to edit the footprint database.
04:09
So that footprint database is what
04:12
does all of the heavy lifting when
04:13
we go from adding a schematic symbol to the then panel
04:19
drawings.
04:20
So in that schematic list when it searches for that catalog
04:24
value that's associated with that symbol,
04:26
it is searching the footprint database.
04:30
Now, in the footprint database, you look either
04:33
at an existing table, which this is all of the existing
04:36
manufacturers and you edit one of those tables,
04:40
or you create a brand new one.
04:42
I am actually going to edit an existing one
04:44
so you can see what the other pieces look
04:46
like instead of a blank table.
04:48
But obviously, I called my symbol something
04:50
for a brand new manufacturer i.e.
04:53
My Autodesk.
04:54
But in here, I'm just going to put this
04:55
into my Alan Bradley table.
04:58
When it opens, it will show me all of the Alan Bradley
05:02
footprints that we currently have.
05:04
If I want to add new, I click Add,
05:07
I give it a catalog number.
05:09
So in this case, I just had it as my 001.
05:14
And then you give it the block that associates with that.
05:19
So let me go back to my desktop and grab that new block.
05:25
Now the really crucial part here is
05:28
the thinking about wild cards.
05:30
So if perhaps this part number could be 0012345 or 5678, 89,
05:40
and so on, then we could just put a wild card in there that
05:43
every time the software finds this part number with just 001
05:47
at the beginning, it is always this footprint.
05:50
This is a really important thing to do
05:52
if you have a lot of partners that ultimately create
05:56
the same shape of symbol but are just different part
05:60
numbers for the different accessories
06:02
and other things that perhaps come
06:03
with that particular device.
06:06
Don't make it harder on yourselves
06:08
where you have to create multiple blocks
06:09
for every one of those symbols if they're exactly
06:13
the same shape and size.
06:15
Create the wild card and that will allow you
06:18
to have that insert every single time,
06:20
no matter what the rest of that part number is.
06:23
There are many different wild card types,
06:25
where you can have it replace numbers or characters
06:28
in the middle of the device string
06:30
so that you can have it looking at all different ways
06:32
that a wild card can happen.
06:33
The most basic is this one, where
06:36
it needs up to those first letters
06:38
our numbers that it's seeing, and then
06:39
anything after that aspect can be a wild card.
06:44
If you want to add any comments to the database,
06:46
you can do that.
06:47
If not, you click OK, and that comes in as its next line item.
06:52
Now if you notice, these are actually
06:54
saved with relative paths instead of hard coded paths.
06:57
I put mine in just because I'm doing this for demonstration
07:00
purposes right from my C drive.
07:02
The rest of these go back out to out Q or default
07:05
libraries for wherever we have our panel footprints.
07:08
And they're based off of the manufacturer,
07:11
the type of symbol, and then that actual device
07:14
so that you don't have to have a hard coded path in there.
07:17
Makes it much more flexible, if you were to end up
07:19
moving around that library.
07:21
Once I'm done, I click OK, save, and exit.
07:24
And now, that is ready to go.
07:26
So the next time I go to insert a symbol
07:27
with that particular part number,
07:29
that black will automatically insert.
07:32
Please take a moment to do the exercise on panel footprint's.
Video transcript
00:00
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:08
Now that we've created a custom schematic symbol
00:10
as well as adding it to the icon menu,
00:13
let's talk about how to create a custom footprint.
00:16
We're going to go back to the symbol builder.
00:20
And this time, I'm not going to use any objects ahead of time.
00:23
So I'm just going to go right to my symbol
00:25
and choose panel footprint.
00:28
Then I'm going to click OK, and I'm back inside
00:31
of my block editor.
00:32
Now I'm just going to draw a standard rectangle
00:37
from my origin point and I am going
00:42
to make it 2.555, all right?
00:50
So pretty simple footprint.
00:52
Remember, your footprints can be as detailed or as generic
00:55
as you want.
00:56
The most important thing about a footprint
00:58
is that it takes up the space that you are trying to allocate
01:02
for that particular device.
01:03
So you can see how it fits with all of your other devices.
01:07
So it could be as simple as a rectangle.
01:10
Many people go out to the manufacturer's website
01:13
to find CAD libraries of their existing symbols
01:17
if they don't come with electrical.
01:19
Remember, many of them are a part of this software package,
01:22
though.
01:23
So you shouldn't have to create a ton.
01:25
Any time you add a new catalog value to your catalog, though,
01:29
you are more than likely going to be adding a new footprint
01:32
symbol.
01:33
So in here, the key to footprints
01:36
is just the attributes that you want to see on screen.
01:41
So if all you really care about seeing is the tag value for it,
01:45
you really don't need to add anything else in here.
01:48
All of the other attributes would only
01:50
be there if you want to be able to see them
01:52
on screen in the panel.
01:54
Remember, we see all of them out in the schematic.
01:58
And they all get transferred into our panel footprint
02:01
as x data.
02:03
So there's no need to put it on there.
02:04
You can still right click on the Panel footprint
02:06
and see all of that information.
02:08
The crucial part is if you want to see it
02:11
on screen in the drawing when it prints,
02:14
that's an attribute that needs to be inserted.
02:16
Everything else is not required.
02:20
If you were creating wiring diagrams,
02:22
where you wanted to be able to see this in its true form
02:25
and size but also be able to add wires to it,
02:27
then you would be adding wire connections to your panel
02:30
footprint as well.
02:32
If not, you're actually done.
02:34
It's this fast and easy.
02:35
Get that shape in there and add that attribute
02:38
for the tag and any other attributes
02:40
you may want to see on screen, or just leave the rest of them
02:44
off if you don't need that.
02:45
Once I click Close, I can then choose
02:48
what I want this to be called.
02:50
Typically, we name these based off of the manufacturer.
02:54
So in my case, I might just call it Autodesk one.
02:59
You really don't need a png image
03:01
or to add this to the icon menu, because the icon menu is really
03:05
for inserting those from scratch.
03:07
More than likely, this will be inserted
03:09
based off of the catalog number that's
03:11
associated with it from that schematic list,
03:14
and you won't need to see that in the menu.
03:16
So I don't typically create an icon image.
03:18
And you can then, obviously you still
03:20
want to be able to tie this to the right catalog value.
03:24
I'm just going to leave it with disconnect switches
03:27
because this is a generic block, anyway.
03:29
Now, there are many errors in this particular one.
03:32
Those errors are much more crucial to the schematic symbol
03:37
than they are to the panel symbol.
03:39
It's going to say that I'm missing attributes and values.
03:41
The most important thing here is the template and the layers.
03:47
Everything else is only if you need to see those on screen.
03:52
Heading back in here, I'm then going
03:54
to move this back to my desktop again and click OK.
04:01
I'm not going to test this one, in this case.
04:03
But I do want to focus on is actually
04:06
being able to edit the footprint database.
04:09
So that footprint database is what
04:12
does all of the heavy lifting when
04:13
we go from adding a schematic symbol to the then panel
04:19
drawings.
04:20
So in that schematic list when it searches for that catalog
04:24
value that's associated with that symbol,
04:26
it is searching the footprint database.
04:30
Now, in the footprint database, you look either
04:33
at an existing table, which this is all of the existing
04:36
manufacturers and you edit one of those tables,
04:40
or you create a brand new one.
04:42
I am actually going to edit an existing one
04:44
so you can see what the other pieces look
04:46
like instead of a blank table.
04:48
But obviously, I called my symbol something
04:50
for a brand new manufacturer i.e.
04:53
My Autodesk.
04:54
But in here, I'm just going to put this
04:55
into my Alan Bradley table.
04:58
When it opens, it will show me all of the Alan Bradley
05:02
footprints that we currently have.
05:04
If I want to add new, I click Add,
05:07
I give it a catalog number.
05:09
So in this case, I just had it as my 001.
05:14
And then you give it the block that associates with that.
05:19
So let me go back to my desktop and grab that new block.
05:25
Now the really crucial part here is
05:28
the thinking about wild cards.
05:30
So if perhaps this part number could be 0012345 or 5678, 89,
05:40
and so on, then we could just put a wild card in there that
05:43
every time the software finds this part number with just 001
05:47
at the beginning, it is always this footprint.
05:50
This is a really important thing to do
05:52
if you have a lot of partners that ultimately create
05:56
the same shape of symbol but are just different part
05:60
numbers for the different accessories
06:02
and other things that perhaps come
06:03
with that particular device.
06:06
Don't make it harder on yourselves
06:08
where you have to create multiple blocks
06:09
for every one of those symbols if they're exactly
06:13
the same shape and size.
06:15
Create the wild card and that will allow you
06:18
to have that insert every single time,
06:20
no matter what the rest of that part number is.
06:23
There are many different wild card types,
06:25
where you can have it replace numbers or characters
06:28
in the middle of the device string
06:30
so that you can have it looking at all different ways
06:32
that a wild card can happen.
06:33
The most basic is this one, where
06:36
it needs up to those first letters
06:38
our numbers that it's seeing, and then
06:39
anything after that aspect can be a wild card.
06:44
If you want to add any comments to the database,
06:46
you can do that.
06:47
If not, you click OK, and that comes in as its next line item.
06:52
Now if you notice, these are actually
06:54
saved with relative paths instead of hard coded paths.
06:57
I put mine in just because I'm doing this for demonstration
07:00
purposes right from my C drive.
07:02
The rest of these go back out to out Q or default
07:05
libraries for wherever we have our panel footprints.
07:08
And they're based off of the manufacturer,
07:11
the type of symbol, and then that actual device
07:14
so that you don't have to have a hard coded path in there.
07:17
Makes it much more flexible, if you were to end up
07:19
moving around that library.
07:21
Once I'm done, I click OK, save, and exit.
07:24
And now, that is ready to go.
07:26
So the next time I go to insert a symbol
07:27
with that particular part number,
07:29
that black will automatically insert.
07:32
Please take a moment to do the exercise on panel footprint's.
Prerequisites: Completion of the Panel Footprints Lesson
Objective: In this exercise, you create a new custom footprint for a relay base, adding a reference in the footprint database. You complete the following tasks:
Process: Draw the Footprint Geometry
Instructions
2. If Custom_Components_NFPA is the active project, skip to step 6. If it is open but not active in the Project Manager, do the following:
3. In the Project Manager, click Open Project.
4. Browse to where you installed the exercise files. Select Custom_Components_NFPA.wdp. Click Open.
5. From the Projects list, click the expansion node next to Custom_Components_NFPA to expand the drawing list.
6. Right-click Custom_Components_NFPA_09.dwg. Click Open.
7. On the Schematic tab, Other Tools panel, click Symbol Builder.
8. In the Select Symbol/Objects dialog box, under Attribute Template, for Symbol, select Panel Footprint. Click OK.
9. In the Block Editor environment, close the Block Authoring palette.
10. On the Home tab, Draw panel, click Rectangle.
11. Draw a rectangle to represent a relay base, as follows:
12. Add the Wipeout that will "hide" any objects behind the block wherever it is placed, as follows:
Note: If the Annotate tab is not visible, right-click on the Ribbon, hover over the Show Tabs flyout and select Annotate.
Press ENTER to accept the default option of Polyline.
Select the rectangle.
13. Create Footprint Symbol:
In the Symbol Builder Attribute Editor, under Required, select P_TAG1, DESC1, DESC2, and DESC3. Click Insert Attributes.
14. In the drawing, use Object Snap Tracking to set the insertion point of the attributes 1 inch down from the Midpoint of the top line of the rectangle.
15. Click Close Block Editor.
16. In the Close Block Editor: Save Symbol dialog box, under Symbol, do the following:
For Unique Identifier, clear the edit box.
For File Path, click Browse (...).
In the Browse for Folder dialog box, select the active project directory, Custom_Components. Click OK.
17. In Close Block Editor: Save Symbol dialog box, under Base Point, do the following:
In the drawing, select the midpoint of the right side of the rectangle.
Tip: Press SHIFT+right-click to display the Object Snap Override menu if Midpoint is not on already.
18. In Close Block Editor: Save Symbol dialog box, click OK.
19. In the Close Block Editor task dialog box, click No.
20. Add a Database Reference:
On the Panel tab, Other Tools panel, click Footprint Database File Editor.
21. In the Panel Footprint Lookup Database File Editor dialog box, click Edit Existing Table.
22. In the Table Edit dialog box, select SIEMENS. Click OK.
23. Add a new footprint record, as follows:
The new record is added at the end of the table.
24. In the Footprint Lookup dialog box, click OK/ Save/Exit.
25. Insert a Footprint Using a Schematic Component List:
Zoom in to the bank of relays in the upper-left area of the panel layout.
26. On the Panel tab, Insert Component Footprints panels, Icon Menu flyout, click Schematic List.
27. In the Schematic Components List --> Panel Layout Insert dialog box, do the following:
28. In the Select Drawings to Process dialog box, click Do All. Click OK.
29. In the Schematic Components (active project) dialog box, do the following:
30. Select the insertion point as the midpoint of the left side of CR408.
Be sure to use the Midpoint object snap, which you access by pressing SHIFT + right-click, and then selecting Midpoint.
31. In the Panel Layout - Component Insert/Edit dialog box, click OK.
32. In the Schematic Components (Active Project) dialog box, click Close.
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