Managing Part Catalog Databases (9:42 min)

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Now that we have learned how to put together

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our schematics and our panel drawings,

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and even how to create custom symbols,

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let's talk about how to create custom data.

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In this case, we're going to specifically talk

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about how to add catalog information to our catalog

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database.

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Let's say, hypothetically, I went

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to place this control relay and I could not find the part

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number that I need it.

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I've searched through the catalog, I've done my lookups,

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and that part number is just not in the database.

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At that point, I would actually want

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to enter a brand new catalog number.

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Now you can do that in a few ways.

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If you have many catalog numbers to add,

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you might want to just go directly

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to Microsoft Access database, or to your SQL server instance,

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if that's what you're using.

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In this case, I'm just going to do a single edit.

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There is a little pencil icon whenever you open up

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the catalog browser.

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That pencil icon is located here.

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When you click on the pencil, it will then

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add a new line to the very bottom

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of wherever you are in the browser,

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and open up in edit mode.

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Notice that the color changed on the dialog box.

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That's also how I know I'm in edit mode.

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Now in here I would scroll all the way to the bottom

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and start adding in information.

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Now if something is very similar to something else

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already in the database, all you have to do

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is select that row and you can right

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click and copy and paste it.

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Very, very easy then to make your edits.

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If not you can manually type into this dialog box.

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There are many fields in here, and we are going

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to talk about many of them.

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So first, let's just create a brand new part number.

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I'm going to create a dummy part number.

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So I'm going to call this 70012345.

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I am going to make it an Alan Bradley.

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And then at this point, I can even copy and paste

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just individual row information.

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So you could copy and paste the entire row

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or you can just copy and paste individual cells of the rows.

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I'll copy most of these.

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Really in this one I probably could

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have copied the entire row, but you

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can see how you can functionally do this with each one.

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Now you can add as much information as you want.

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These miscellaneous columns can have additional information

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about that component that you want.

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You can add in information for the user fields.

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Remember, the user fields are often

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used to put your own custom part number in.

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You can even put a web link to a cut sheet

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or to a PDF of a cut sheet if you

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want to be able to reference that information

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right from your catalog.

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The final steps as we keep scrolling

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have to do with both the 2D symbol and the 3D symbol.

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We are typically not super worried about that symbol 2D

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although that is what the software is asking you

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every time you go to add a particular part

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number to a new block.

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It will ask you if you want to map that to the catalog.

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That mapping is what puts that particular block name

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right in this symbol 2D column.

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And what that will mean is that every single time

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that particular block is used, the software

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then knows that the most common part

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number that you like to see from it

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is the one that it's associated with,

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which also means you can insert directly from the catalog.

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The symbol 3D has to do with Inventor.

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So when we actually use the electromechanical workflow

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between AutoCAD Electrical and Inventor

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is when we get to be able to access that symbol 3D field.

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This can hold parts and assembly files from Inventor

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so that when this maps into Inventor and it

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sees the part numbers used in the schematics,

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it will automatically know what part or what subassembly

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to insert into your Inventor model.

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The next part of this list specifically for control relays

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and other devices that would carry pin list information

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is something that we put in around our parent coil

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pins and then the child contacts to be able to put that pin

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list together.

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These coil pins are what we first

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put in for the assignment to the parent device that's

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getting that part number.

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So in this case, I'm just going to type K1, K2.

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In the next area, this is the pin list

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we can start defining for all of the child contacts associated

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with this part number.

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You can either hand type them or you can click the little dot,

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dot, dot button.

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Once you do this, you can define what type of pin it is,

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so what kind of child contact this will be associated with,

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normally open, normally closed, form

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C, convertible, undefined or a stacked terminal.

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If we choose convertible, convertible

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is going to allow us to get it to be either normally

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open or normally closed.

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What was once just something we had

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to know to type in those different characters

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into a hard coded path to this in the old pinless database.

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It's now fully integrated from release 2015

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on into our catalog database.

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So if I type what I want the pin to be,

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mimicking the line above me.

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And I click OK, you'll see that it brings that coding right in.

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It is very important based off of the part number

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that you choose that you put all of the information

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in required for that because it will then

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know how many contacts it's allowed to have

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or what will overpopulate that part number and flag and error

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to you if you try to assign an additional contacts.

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Once you're done editing, you click the little Accept Changes

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button here, and you will be taken back

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in to the catalog browser.

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And then you're able to use that part number to assign it

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to the device that you were on.

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When I click OK, it then comes in with the information

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and my new coil pins.

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And it even knows what my normally open, normally closed

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setup is.

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Again, I only typed in 1 so now it

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only thinks that there is one convertible contact in there.

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Once I click OK, when I click OK,

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it will then want to go out and check the footprint symbol

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to see if the catalog entries are matching.

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They obviously aren't because I just updated it

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so now it's going to ask if I want

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to update that same catalog information on the footprint

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as well.

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As it goes out to go to scan and update the panel footprint,

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it will also be scanning to see if that footprint still

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fits the right sizing and shape for it.

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This is, again, where if you have wild cards,

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the wild cards will allow that same footprint symbol to work.

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In this case, both of them were Alan Bradley

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And therefore, it didn't need to swap the block.

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It would have asked me though if it found a different footprint

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symbol or the wild cards did not exist if it needed

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to swap out that block as well.

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It's all intelligently leaked.

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I want to take a minute to show you

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the difference between certain symbol types

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and what the catalog database will offer you in columns.

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If I right click on this terminal

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and click Edit component and then go into the catalog

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lookup, I'm going to clear all of my search fields

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here just so I can see every terminal type that I have.

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And if I go into Edit mode, pretending that I actually

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need to create a new catalog value for a terminal,

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as it's pulling all of these devices in, which you can see,

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there are many that come with the software.

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When it launches edit mode, all of the main columns

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look the same, but as you scroll all the way to the end

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this is the unique section four terminals.

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In here, you can define whether or not

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a terminal is a single terminal or a multi-level terminal.

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And you'll see as we get to multi-levels, that there

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are different description types and different layers listed

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per connection and different details

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about whether or not there are internal jumpers.

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So there's a lot of information and properties

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that you can put into your terminals based off of the part

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number that you assign to it.

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This is very important for how that terminal will

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react once it's actually inserted into the software.

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That will show it how many wires it's

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allowed to accept at its different connection points,

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how internal jumpers are associated,

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and even how it's labeled inside your terminal properties

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of whether or not you're seeing things like upper

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or lower or top, middle, bottom, so on.

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So look for the differences in the additional columns

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in the catalog database based off

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of the type of component it is that you're editing.

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Please take a moment to do the exercise

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and editing the catalog database.