SolidWorks

Electrical

2013

Hands-On

Test Drive

Table of Contents

WHAT IS SOLIDWORKS ELECTRICAL? ....................................................................................................... 1

UNDERSTANDING THE WORKFLOW .......................................................................................................... 1

STARTING SOLIDWORKS ELECTRICAL .................................................................................................... 3

THE USER INTERFACE ........................................................................................................................ 3

CREATING AND OPENING PROJECTS ..................................................................................................... 4

CREATING A NEW PROJECT ................................................................................................................ 4

PROJECT OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................... 4

SINGLE LINE DIAGRAMS ......................................................................................................................... 5

ZOOMING AND SCROLLING ................................................................................................................. 5

MOUSE ZOOM ............................................................................................................................. 5

MOUSE SCROLL ............................................................................................................................ 5

WHERE TO FIND IT ....................................................................................................................... 6

INSERTING SYMBOLS ......................................................................................................................... 6

ADDING CABLES ............................................................................................................................... 8

SOLIDWORKS ELECTRICAL 3D ............................................................................................................... 10

INSERT 3D COMPONENTS ................................................................................................................ 11

ROUTE CABLES IN 3D ...................................................................................................................... 12

POWER AND CONTROL CIRCUITS ........................................................................................................... 13

DRAWING WIRES ............................................................................................................................ 13

OPTIONAL – CUSTOMIZING THE USER INTERFACE ................................................................................. 14

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS ............................................................................................................... 14

GRAPHICS OPTIONS .................................................................................................................... 15

ADDING SYMBOLS FROM THE PALETTE ............................................................................................... 15

ADDING SYMBOLS FROM EXISTING COMPONENTS ................................................................................ 19

TERMINALS AND TERMINAL STRIPS .................................................................................................... 19

CONTROL DIAGRAMS ...................................................................................................................... 21

OPTIONAL – MACROS ..................................................................................................................... 24

WIRE ORIGIN – DESTINATION ARROWS .............................................................................................. 25

WIRE NUMBERS ............................................................................................................................. 27

OPTIONAL - CREATE A MANUFACTURER PART ..................................................................................... 28

SOLIDWORKS PANEL LAYOUT ............................................................................................................... 28

ROUTE WIRES ................................................................................................................................ 31

REPORTS ........................................................................................................................................... 32

REORGANIZING THE PROJECT ............................................................................................................ 34

OPTIONAL – PUBLISH TO ENTERPRISE PDM ............................................................................................ 34

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SolidWorks Electrical

Hands-On Test Drive

What is SolidWorks Electrical?

SolidWorks Electrical provides a project-based approach to developing electrical designs. All

documentation for an electrical design is contained in the project including single line diagrams, power,

control and PLC schematics, tables and reports, terminal strip drawings and 3D SolidWorks models along

with any additional documentation you wish to attach.

Projects are controlled and stored in a SQL database to allow fast and flexible project access. Multiple

users can work on a single project. While an electrical designer is working out the schematic, another

user can be inserting components in SolidWorks assemblies and routing wires. Projects are updated

real-time with changes for every user to ensure design accuracy.

Components in an electrical design are managed by SolidWorks Electrical so that every symbol and 3D

part is interconnected. The manufacture part reference is associated with each symbol. For example, a

power contactor is represented by several symbols representing the coil and each contact along with a

3D SolidWorks part that will be placed in a cabinet. Every one of these representations of the same

physical part is connected to manufacturer’s part data. If you choose to change the manufacturer’s

part, you change it once and all symbols and representations are updated.

Wires and cables also have built-in intelligence. Wire numbering in SolidWorks Electrical is incredibly

flexible to accommodate a variety of standards and styles. Cables reference a manufacturer’s part just

as any other component with the addition of cores and diameters. When routed in SolidWorks Electrical

3D, they are represented completely and lengths are automatically calculated.

Cross-referencing is automatic in projects. The various symbols for physical components are linked by

mark, by hyperlink and by schematic location so you are sure to never have overused components or

miss-wiring.

SolidWorks Electrical also provides critical design automation for PLCs, reports and terminal strips along

with 3D wire, cable and harness routing so that your project documentation is complete without

additional manual drafting required.

Understanding the Workflow

Single line diagrams provide an excellent project overview along with a quick means to creating basic

cable connections. Symbols are first placed that represent each major electrical component. These

components can be associated to a manufacturer’s part at any time. Cables are then drawn to visually

connect components and optionally connect circuits.

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Schematics are built for power and control circuits using symbols tied to components. Single or multiple

wires can be drawn between symbols and wires are numbered and trimmed automatically. Origin and

destination arrows are created easily to ensure multi-page schematics are wired correctly. SolidWorks

Electrical also prevents origin – destination arrows from connecting to the wrong wire type to avoid

connecting ground to power. Additional schematic tools automate the placement and organization of

terminals, PLCs and black box components.

As symbols are added, a Component tree is built dynamically. Locations can be defined for the project

so that components can be identified with them. This helps with documentation as well as organization.

The component tree can be used in schematics and 3D to insert their corresponding symbols and 3D

models.

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SolidWorks Electrical 3D can be used to assemble components along with their mechanical counterparts

to create complete 3D models. Finally, wires and cables are routed automatically along guide lines to

layout route locations as well as calculate lengths.

The symbol and manufacture part libraries can be tailored to your companies needs by removing or

importing symbols and parts. Parts can be added individually as they are used and are shared with all

Electrical users through SQL database.

Starting SolidWorks Electrical

1. Start SolidWorks Electrical. Double-click SolidWorks Electrical .

The User Interface

The SolidWorks Electrical user interface is divided up into four main sections.

The Side Panel provides access to project documents as well as components, macros and symbols. It

also includes a command tab and options when a command is active.

The Ribbon, or CommandManager menu, contains input commands sorted into multiple groupings

(tabs).

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The Graphics Zone is limited to drawing access and editing.

The Status Bar shows the cursor position and allows you to toggle modes like SNAP on and off.

Creating and Opening Projects

A Project is used to store the many different types of files used to create the reports, data and other

files that together fully define the project.

A project contains one or more document books. Each document book can contain many files of

different types including multiple drawings.

Creating a New Project

Creating a new project automatically creates multiple files of several different types. Additional

drawings and other files can be added manually. The structure of a new project is based on a template.

You only need to create an initial project structure and configure its settings once. It can then be saved

as a template to keep all projects consistent and to speed up initial design.

Project Overview

Your goal for this test drive is to complete the electrical documentation and 3D assembly of a three

phase motor control panel that includes a wireless control system.

Ribbon or CommandManager

Side Panel Graphics Zone

Status Bar

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Let’s get started by opening the existing project and working on a single line diagram.

2. Open project. Click Projects Manager . From the Projects Manager, select SolidWorks

Electrical Hands-On and click Open .

3. Files. The project is opened including book and schematic files. The drawings appear under the

Documents tab in the Side Panel.

Click Drawings preview and click 03 – Line diagram to see the preview.

4. Opening a drawing. Double-click 03 – Line diagram to open the drawing in the Graphics Zone.

Single Line Diagrams

A Single Line Diagram, here named 03 - Line diagram, is a simplified representation of the cabling that

will be used in the project. It shows the original concept of the project, optionally with drawing graphics,

rather than the final result.

Note: The single line diagram is not required but it is useful in managing the

cables used in the project.

Zooming and Scrolling

Zooming or scrolling the drawing can be done in many ways but the most

direct is by rotating or dragging the middle mouse scroll wheel.

Mouse Zoom

Rotate the middle mouse scroll wheel down to zoom out (further away).

Rotate the middle mouse scroll wheel up to zoom in (closer).

Mouse Scrol l

Press and drag the middle mouse scroll wheel to pan the view left, right, up

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or down.

Where to Find It

Mouse Button: Rotate or drag with the middle mouse scroll wheel.

Inserting Symbols

We need to represent the black box and RF connectors on the line diagram and connect them with a

cable. Connectors will be used in this example since they are part of the cable assembly. If the

connectors were part of the component being connected, via screw terminals for example, they would

not need to be included.

5. Select symbol. From the Line diagram tab, click Insert Symbol. If the Symbols selector dialog is

not visible, click the Other symbol button. Select Black boxes from the Classification list, click

Black box1 and click Select.

You can now place the Black box1 symbol on the sheet. Place it to the left of the antenna as

shown.

6. Symbol properties. After placing a symbol, the Symbol properties dialog will be displayed.

Leave the default location and root mark. Select the Manufacturer part and circuits tab and

click Search. Choose XTL as the Manufacturer and click Search. Double-click XTL Black box1

and click Select to associate the manufacturer part data to the symbol. Click OK.

7. Select symbol. From the Line diagram tab, click Insert Symbol. Click the Other symbol button.

Select Connectors from the Classification list and double-click RF Connector.

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You can now place the RF Connector symbol on the sheet. Place it to the right of the black box

as shown.

8. Choose the following manufacturer part data in the Symbol properties dialog.

Manufacturer Reference Description

Samtec RFXXX-01SP1 50 OHM RF CABLE ASSEMBLY MALE

Notice the two circuits available in the manufacturer part data. These will be used to connect

an RF cable core and shielding.

9. Copy symbol. Copy and paste the RF connector symbol from the black box to the antenna as

show. All manufacturer part information will be copied and the mark will increment to the next

available number.

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Adding Cables

A cable contains one or more cable cores which will be assigned wires. It is used to connect the symbols

in the drawing.

The cables are drawn to show connections between components. There is not yet any assignment of

cores or wires to the cable when it is first created.

10. Cable. Click Draw cable and connect the symbols by clicking as shown. Click the Esc key to

stop creating cables.

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11. Detailed cabling. Double-click the newly created cable to bring up the Detailed cabling dialog.

This interface is used to associate cables with single line cables and connect the wires or cores to

the corresponding circuit terminals on the connected components.

12. Cores reservation. Select Cores reservation to associate an existing cable. Check W5 –

RF316 RG316 to select the desired cable. Notice it has one core and shielding available for

connection. Click OK.

13. Connect cores to components. Select terminal 1 from X1 and the green cell to the left of the

Shield on W5. Click Associate wires . Repeat the same process to connect all terminals to

the cable cores for both connectors. Click Close.

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The cable label is now shown on the red cable in the line diagram.

Note: if you would like to display the label in a different location on the cable, right click on the

desired location and select Show/hide cable cores texts. Delete or hide the undesired labels.

SolidWorks Electrical 3D

As soon as you have created components, wires and/or cables in SolidWorks Electrical, you can begin

placing the components and routing them in SolidWorks assemblies.

14. Start SolidWorks. Double-click on SolidWorks .

15. From the SolidWorks Electrical menu, select the Projects Manager .

16. Open project. Select the red project, SolidWorks Electrical Hands-On, and select Open. The

project is red since it is already open by another user. You will see the following message

explaining who has the project open. Click OK.

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17. Open SolidWorks assembly. From the SolidWorks

Electrical Task Pane, you can explore and view

drawings and documents from the open project. Open

the 05 Main electrical closet assembly by double-

clicking on it.

Insert 3D Components

Once an electrical assembly is opened in SolidWorks, the SolidWorks Electrical component tree displays

in the Property Manager pane on the left. Components that have 3D models to be inserted will display

those parts under the component mark .

18. Insert Black box1. Insert A1, Black box1 by right-

clicking on A1 and select Insert. Move the cursor to

the position shown in the image below and click to

place the component. A Mate Reference exists in

the black box model to automate a coincident mate

to the back of the cabinet. Click to add the

mate.

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19. Move with triad. Right-click on the black box part and select Move with triad. Click and drag

the blue ring to rotate the model 180°. Use the ruler snapping to get to an exact angle.

20. Change view. Using the View Orientation tool (space bar or ), select the view named Black

Box.

21. Insert X1. Right-click on the X1 component and select Insert. Move the cursor to the end of the

connection on the black box and click to automatically mate the X1 connector into position.

22. Insert X2. From the View Orientation tool, select the view named

Antenna. Alternatively, zoom and rotate to the end of the antenna.

Repeat the insertion process for X2 and locate it on the end of the

antenna.

23. Default view. From the View Orientation tool, select the view named

Default to prepare for cable routing.

Route cables in 3D

After inserting components into your SolidWorks assembly, the associated

cable and wire routes can be created. SolidWorks Electrical provides an

X1

X2

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Electrical Component Wizard to walk through the required setup of parts to include wire and cable

points and mate references to help you use your own parts or downloaded components.

24. Route cables. From the SolidWorks Electrical 3D Command Manager tab, select Route Cables

. Select SolidWorks Route as the route type, leaving all other default settings and click .

A new route sub assembly will be created with the newly routed cable.

25. Move components. Click and drag the black box to move its location in the assembly. Click

Rebuild to update the cable route.

**Optional** Edit the route and add a clip. Auto-route the cable through the clip.

Power and Control Circuits

The next step is to complete the power and control circuit diagram. A three-phase motor needs to be

added with its protection, power contacts and terminals. The control circuit also needs to be completed

to add contacts, terminals and an indicator light.

26. Return to SolidWorks Electrical. Switch back to SolidWorks Electrical to continue building

schematics.

27. Open 04 – Power and control. Double-click on 04 – Power and control to open the schematic.

Drawing Wires

Wires are more than just lines on the schematic. They contain wire information such as diameter, color

and type, and make connections between terminals on component symbols. Wires can be drawn

individually or in groups of the same wire or groups of different wire types such as in a three phase

power system. SolidWorks Electrical will automatically join overlapping wires, will create connections

where wire ends touch another wire, and will automatically trim them to symbols.

28. Draw three phase power wires. From the Schematic tab, select Draw multiple wires . Click

, next to the wire style Name, to open the Wire style selector. Select the multi-phase N L1 L2

L3 wire style Each phase with a color and click Select.

Set the additional settings as shown, unselecting the neutral wire.

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Start the wire group by clicking on the red wire in the Graphics Zone, second from the left. A

phase direction line displays. Move the cursor down and click to define the phase direction as

shown.

Click the endpoint of the wire group near the column divider, then right-click to end the wire

group.

Note: wire group direction can be toggled using the Space bar. Wire folds or corners can be

created by typing C.

Optional – Customizing the User Interface

SolidWorks Electrical allows the user to tailor the user interface to work the way you work. You can

create your own keyboard shortcuts for common commands, turn tools on and off, and configure the

display to meet your preferences.

Keyboard Shortcuts

29. Keyboard shortcuts. Right-click on any command button or CommandManager tab and select

Customize Quick Access Toolbar. Select the Keyboard tab and select View category.

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Type F into the Press new shortcut key box and click Assign. Typing F on the keyboard will now

zoom the sheet to fit the screen.

Note: keyboard shortcuts are specific to the document type.

Graphics Options

You can also configure the user interface including colors and cursor size by selecting Interface

configuration on the Tools tab of the CommandManager.

Adding Symbols from the Palette

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30. Symbols palette. Select the Symbols tab from the Side Panel and click Search. Type in the

word motor and click Find. All schematic symbols that contain motor in the name or description

display in the symbols palette.

31. Insert motor symbol. Double-click on the three phase motor symbol with a ground connection

and place it towards the end of the three phase wire group. Make sure the symbol is inserted

on the top red wire.

When the Symbol properties dialog is displayed, expand L3 – Conveyor location and select F1-

M1 – Motor. This will associate this new motor symbol with an already existing motor

component. The existing motor component has already been assigned manufacturer part

information that will display on attributes around the symbol.

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Click OK.

Note: you can also associate a symbol to an existing component by typing in the same root mark

and number and clicking .

32. Hide attributes. Any unnecessary attributes can be hidden on the symbol in the Graphics Zone.

Right-click the newly added motor symbol. Select Attributes and uncheck Degree of protection

IP: “IP 55 Dust_Hosed water resistant”. Symbols can also be edited and attributes can be

added or removed.

33. Stretch. If needed, use Stretch to shift the motor and its wires to make room for attribute

text.

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34. Add protection. From the Symbols palette in the Side Pane, select the Protections group.

Double-click the 3 phase motor protection symbol and place it on the top red wire as shown.

In the Symbol properties dialog, select F1-RT1 – RELAY to associate the symbol with an existing

component. This component contains several circuits. Click the Manufacturer part and circuits

tab to review the used and available circuits.

The three thermal magnetic protection circuits are now used by the symbol that was just

inserted. The (green) state indicates the circuit is used. A normally open and a normally

closed contact are still available for use in the project indicated by the (blue) state.

Click OK.

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Note: the cross reference contact symbols added with the relay can be moved or hidden. Click

and drag the cross references to move them. To hide them, go to the Symbol properties of the

newly inserted symbol and set the Cross reference type to Without.

Adding Symbols from Existing Components

You are not limited to dropping in a symbol and then associating it with a manufacturer part or existing

component. You can create components directly in the Components tree or line diagram and then

insert their corresponding symbols from the component itself.

35. Insert symbol from an existing component. Activate the Components tab in the Side Pane

and expand the locations to the Main electrical closet and find F1-CR1 – CONTACTOR. Right-

click on the component and select Insert symbol. The manufacturer part has a multi-line

schematic symbol assigned so that SolidWorks Electrical presents you with the correct symbol.

Place the 3 pole contact symbol as shown below.

Note: This component is now associated with three different symbols: a single-line diagram

symbol showing the physical part, the coil displayed in

the control circuit, and the three pole power contacts in

the newly inserted symbol. The cross reference table

shown to the right of the coil displays the available

contact in blue and those that have been used in green.

The cross reference includes the location of the used power contacts.

**Optional** - Change the contactor to a higher amp rating – LC1D25106E7 (25 A). Show how it

updates each symbol where it is used.

Terminals and Terminal Strips

SolidWorks Electrical automates the documentation of terminal strips using the Terminal strips

manager. As terminals are added to the schematic, they are considered a special type of component. A

terminal strip contains many terminal blocks and each terminal block can utilize its own manufacturer

part. Each terminal block can be single or multi-level. The terminal strip editor provides simple

bridge/jumper creation and automatic drawings.

36. Insert terminals. From the Schematic tab of the CommandManager, select Insert ‘n’ terminals

. Choose a Passing terminal symbol. Draw a vertical line through all four wires supplying

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motor M1 as shown. Move the cursor to the right of the line to direct the red arrow towards

the motor symbol and click to display the Terminal properties dialog.

Select F-TB1 – Terminals from the component tree to associate the terminal symbols with the

existing terminal strip.

Click OK (all terminals).

The new terminal symbols are displayed. Cable W10 was previously drawn between motor M1

and terminal strip TB1 in 03 – Line diagram so that the individual core labels are displayed

between the components.

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Control Diagrams

The motor starter control currently only shows the momentary push button S1 and the contactor coil

CR1. We need to complete the control diagram by adding a normally open contact in parallel with S1,

an indicator light in parallel with CR1 that will be on while the motor is running, and an emergency push

button that will be located outside of the cabinet, near the motor.

SolidWorks Electrical makes drawing control ladder diagrams easy using the ability to draw multiple

wires of the same wire type with the spacing you need.

37. Draw single wire type. Select Draw single wire type and select the 24V DC wire using the

Wire style selector. Set the Number of lines to 4. Change the Space between lines to 1. Draw

the horizontal wires as shown below. Watch for the dashed inference lines to the end of the

existing control wires to help line up wire lengths.

Right-click to end the first set of wires and continue drawing.

Change the Space between lines to 5 and Number of lines to 2. Draw the vertical wires as

shown.

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Right-click to end the wires.

Change the Number of lines to 1 and draw two additional vertical wires as shown.

Right-click or Esc to end the Draw single wire type command.

38. Delete wires. We don’t need all of the wires drawn in the last few steps. Select the wires

shown and Delete using the right-click menu or Delete key.

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Selections can be made by an enclosing box (click and drag left-to-right), a crossing box (click

and drag right-to-left), or by holding Ctrl and selecting multiple items. Ctrl selections can also be

used to unselect items in the selection such as the cross reference symbol.

Delete an additional horizontal wire to end up with the wires shown below.

39. Emergency push button. Select the Symbols tab in the Side Pane and select the Command

group. Double click on the Emergency NC Push Button and place it as shown.

Select the Manufacturer part and circuits tab in the Symbol properties dialog. Select ABB as

the manufacturer and double-click 00608 part. Click Select and click OK.

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40. Contact. From the Command group on the Symbols tab, double-click the NO Contact symbol

and place it on the parallel wire below S1. In the Symbol properties dialog, select the existing

F1-CR1 - CONTACTOR component and click OK. This will use the last normally open contact

from CR1.

41. Indicator light. From the Command group, double-click the

Indicator symbol and place it below the coil CR1. Click OK.

42. Propagate wire styles. The right side of our control circuit is

currently showing a combination of ground (green) and 24V

control wires (pink). Propagate the ground wire style through the

equipotential wires. Right-click on the green ground wire and

select Wire Style, Propagate. Select To equipotential and click

.

All wires of the same equipotential are changed to match the

green ground wire style. Click to close the tool.

Optional – Macros

SolidWorks Electrical allows you to save common schematic diagrams as macros for later use. These

macros can contain wires, symbols, components and manufacturer part information. In this example,

we just created a very common push button motor start circuit. We would like it available for future

projects.

43. Create a new macro. Select the Macros tab from the Side Pane. Open the Motor command

group.

Pg. 25

Window select the entire motor command circuit with its symbols and wires. Click and drag the

selected contents into the Motor command group. The Macro dialog will appear.

Name the macro Common Motor Command Macro. Click OK.

The new macro can now be dragged and dropped into any project. Manufacturer part

information is already populated and mark numbers will automatically increment if the mark is

already present.

44. Insert macro. Drag and drop the newly created macro just below the existing motor command

diagram. Notice the incrementing of marks the inclusion of manufacturer part information.

There is a new cross reference table added for the new contactor coil. Since its power contacts

are not yet used, they are displayed blue in the table.

Wire Origin – Destination Arrows

SolidWorks Electrical makes it easy to manage wires between schematic diagrams and even from sheet

to sheet. Origin - destination arrows can be created between wires of the same type and provide

hyperlinking between locations.

45. Manage origin – destination arrows. Select Manage origin – destination arrows from the

Schematic tab on the CommandManager.

You can arrange multiple sheets vertically or horizontally as needed. Click Vertical tiles .

Click Single insertion and move your cursor near the end of the pink control wire leaving the

power supply. The green circle indicates a valid starting point for the origin arrow. Click to

place the origin symbol.

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You can now place the destination arrow. Move your cursor over to the control circuit near the

end of one of the pink control wires. SolidWorks Electrical will not allow you to place the

destination arrow on a different wire type.

Click on the end of the pink control wire as shown above to add the origin – destination arrows.

46. Additional origin – destination arrows. Repeat the process for the green ground wire from the

negative side of the power supply to the corresponding side of the control circuit.

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Click Close.

The origin arrows display with the sheet and row number for the corresponding destination

arrow. Double-click on any origin or destination arrow to Go to its other end.

Wire Numbers

SolidWorks Electrical can be configured to a variety of wire numbering styles and standards. Wire

numbers can include sheet, row and column numbers, static text, origin and destination component

information and others. Wire numbering is configured in the Wire style manager.

47. Number wires. Select the Process tab on the CommandManager and select Number new wires

. Click Yes. All existing wires will be numbered according to the project’s numbering rules.

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You can hide and show wire numbers on any wire line by right-clicking and toggling Show/hide wire

marks.

Optional - Create a Manufacturer Part

The SolidWorks Electrical library comes with nearly 500,000 manufacturer parts. That may seem like a

lot, but it is only a small fraction of what can actually be purchased. You may need to add to the library

for parts you use. They can be added individually or in bulk from a spreadsheet.

48. New light. Double-click the newly added LT1 symbol and select the Manufacturer part and

circuits tab. Select Add manually.

Enter the following.

Part Manufacturer 3D part Color (Values)

LT 1234 XYZ Light Green.sldprt G

Click OK.

This new part can be used once just for this design or can be added to the manufacturer parts

library for later use. Choose Add to catalog to use in future designs. Click OK.

SolidWorks Panel Layout

We now need to return to SolidWorks to complete the panel layout and route the wires in the panel.

49. Return to SolidWorks.

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50. Filter already inserted components. From the Component tree in SolidWorks, turn on Hide

already inserted components. This will help us know what we have left to add to the

SolidWorks assembly.

51. Insert Fuse disconnector. Go to a Front view and zoom in around the top rail. Right-click on F1

and select Insert. Place the component on the top rail as shown. It will automatically locate on

the rail with SolidWorks SmartMates.

52. Insert multiple components. Shift-select components from F1 to RT1. Right-click on the

selected components and select Insert. From the Insertion order dialog, delete LT1.

You can also re-order components if needed from this dialog. Notice F1 was not added to the

insertion list since it has already been inserted.

Click OK.

Place the first component to the right of the fuse disconnector. In the Multiple Insertion

PropertyManager, enter Spacing of 0.50in. Click OK to insert the components.

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You can click and drag any of the newly inserted components and they will move as a group.

Spacing can be modified and additional components can be added to the group using the Align

Components tool .

53. Insert contactor. Right-click on CR1 and select Insert. Place the contactor on the left side of the

lower rail.

54. Insert terminals. Right-click on TB1 and select Insert terminals. Place the first terminal block in

the middle of the bottom rail and click . The remaining terminals will be inserted next to the

first.

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55. View orientation. Click View Orientation and select the Door view. This will change the view in

SolidWorks to look at the front of the door.

56. Insert push button. Right-click on S1 and select Insert. Move the part preview to the middle of

the door and hit Tab to flip the button around if needed. Click to place the button. Click .

57. View orientation. Click View Orientation and select the Default view.

Route Wires

After inserting components in the assembly, wires can be routed to display wire runs and calculate wire

lengths. You can quickly create 3DSketch routes or create full 3D models of wires using a SolidWorks

Route.

58. Route Wires. From the SolidWorks Electrical 3D Command Manager tab, select Route Wires

. Select SolidWorks Route under route type and click .

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59. Save and close. Save the SolidWorks assembly and close the assembly. Completely exit

SolidWorks.

Note: wires are routed through ducts and the cabinet according to EW_PATH sketches. You can create

these sketches in standard parts like ducts, on cabinet doors, or anywhere else they are needed using the

Create Routing Path tool.

Reports

SolidWorks Electrical maintains a database of information about the components and wires in the

project. A variety of reports are available to organize wire, cable and part lists. Drawings of these

reports along with terminal strip drawings can be created easily to complete your design

documentation.

60. Return to SolidWorks Electrical. Return to the SolidWorks Electrical application and select the

Project tab.

61. Create reports. Open the Report manager by clicking on Reports .

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This project was defined with several reports including List of cable cores, Bill Of Materials

grouped by manufacturer, List of wires by line style, List of cables grouped by reference and

Drawing list. Click through the various reports to review the content.

Additional reports can be added to the project by clicking Add .

The List of wires by line style and List of cables grouped by reference both have length

information on some wires and cables. These have been routed in the SolidWorks assembly.

Wire and cable lengths can also be modified manually by using Wire cabling order.

62. Generate drawings. Reports can be exported to Excel, text files or created as drawing sheets in

the current project. Click Generate drawings . Check each report listed and click OK. Click

Close.

Several new sheets have been added to the current project under

the Document book. Open and review a few of the new drawing

sheets.

63. Terminal strip drawing. Click Terminal strips to open the Terminal strips manager. Select

Draw pages to create the terminal strip drawing. Click Close. Open 13 – TB1 – (1/1) and

review the newly created terminal strip drawing.

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Reorganizing the Project

Reorganizing sheets and cross references is easy using SolidWorks Electrical. Sheets can be re-ordered

by drag and drop. Sheets can be renumbered. All cross references indicating sheet information will be

updated with any reorganization.

64. Move a drawing sheet. From the Documents tab in the Side Pane, drag 13 – TB1 – (1/1) to a

position above 04 – Power and control.

65. Renumber drawing sheets. Right-click on 1 – Document book and select Renumber drawings.

Click OK.

All drawing sheets are renumbered to their new position.

Open and review 05 – Power and control. All cross references, rungs and origin – destination

arrows now indicate sheet 05 instead of 04.

Optional – Publish to Enterprise PDM

SolidWorks Electrical is built to publish schematics, reports, models and even full project archives

directly to SolidWorks Enterprise PDM. You can configure any root level folder in EPDM to receive the

published files. Consider this the check-in tool in SolidWorks Electrical. Multiple versions of schematics,

models and full project archives will be tracked every time you choose Update files for PDM.

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66. Link to PDM Configuration. From the Import/Export tab in the SolidWorks Electrical

CommandManager, click Link to PDM Configuration . Review the existing configuration

settings. Click Cancel to close the configuration settings. Make sure that a vault is selected and

a root folder is chosen. Turn on Archive project from the Archive tab, Export 3D files from the

3D tab, Export PDF files and Export component tree from the Pdf tab, and Export reports,

Export all project reports and Excel format from the Report tab.

67. Publish to EPDM. Click Update files for PDM . Your project will be archived and published

to SolidWorks Enterprise PDM. All files will be checked into the vault under the current logged

in user’s name.

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