Software for circuit drawings/design

[CarlosEstinos]

Hello All,

What software is generally considered to be the best for drawing electrical circuits?

I have been tasked with replicating a load of circuit drawings as the Digital copies have been lost/corrupt(I've attached a file for reference). I currently use Solid works for design work, and I have a copy of Auto cad. My experience is primarily mechanical design as opposed to electrical!

I obviously know that those packages are not suitable for electrical circuit drawings but id like to know what is considered to be the best software for drawing circuits. I wouldn't be designing the circuits, just replicating.

Any feedback on this subject would be gratefully received

Carl

 

[mcgyvr]

I've used Autocad many..many times for schematic drawings (Ive got blocks created for common components that you can just drop in,etc..).. Some programs however can help to automate the process after schematic generation.. Like "Autocad Electrical" can then feed that data to my 3d cad program (Inventor) and help to automate the wire harness creation process,etc...
I've also used LTSpice as well as my PCB design packages built int schematic functionality (I use Diptrace for PCB's/pcb schematics and love it) of course its not the top of the line stuff like Altium/orcad,etc..

 

[IRstuff]

Doesn't this depend on what you plan on doing with these drawings, which you've not specified?

I'm also a bit perplexed why this wasn't assigned to an EE.

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[mcgyvr]

I'm also a bit perplexed why this wasn't assigned to an EE.

I wouldn't be designing the circuits, just replicating.

Any computer monkey can do that...

But yes.. Choice of schematic capture software should be heavily influenced by the processes required after creation.. But if it really is just to have digital copies of old paper schematics and they won't be needed to "feed" into another program or whatever then frankly what ever gets the job done the quickest and being familiar with Autocad would steer me that way.

 

[zappedagain]

Or you could get them scanned and then you'll have an electronic copy (PDF, JPEG, TIFF, etc.) for documentation purposes. When a drawing needs to be revised that will be the time to enter (copy) it into a system where you can use it.

Z

 

[CarlosEstinos]

Thanks for all the replies! Some of the drawings need some editing (im not the technical authority) but they still need to be created, so scanning is unfortunately out of the window. I guess Auto Cad and Blocks is the way to go if that's software im comfortable with( im more comfortable with solidworks) although its 2D credentials isn't fantastic . Id be interested to use an Electrical circuit design software that has all the Blocks pre-installed.
I don't need to do anything will the drawing after they are made other than submit and file them for approval.

 

[IRstuff]

"Id be interested to use an Electrical circuit design software that has all the Blocks pre-installed. "

To what end? Such a package, if one of the mainstream ones, would run in the tens of thousands of dollars per seat. Not to mention a probably absurdly steep learning curve for a non-EE

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[mcgyvr]

ho hum...
AutoCAD® Electrical software comes with more than 2,000 standards-based electrical schematic symbols. A simple, menu-driven system for inserting devices—including electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic—enables you to quickly build standards-based electrical control designs by selecting frequently used devices from a menu. Symbol libraries include support for the AS, GB, IEC, JIC, and JIS standards. AutoCAD Electrical also includes all the functionality of AutoCAD® software plus a comprehensive set of functions developed specifically for designing electrical control systems. Specialized features enable you to trim wire, copy and delete components or circuits, and scoot and align components, making it much easier to create electrical drawings quickly.

all for that low bargain price of around $5K.. could be less since you already have Autocad "vanilla"

 

[eng1ne]

As another option, Promis-e might be worth considering. It comes with pre-installed blocks, and in various flavours to suit your requirements. Not endorsing it; I haven't used it but the folks at my previous place of work were very pleased with it.

It also integrates with AutoCAD and provides some productivity improvements over a basic, non-electrical AutoCAD.

However, AutoCAD should suffice if you're familiar with it. You could end up spending time reviewing software, all the while you might have drawn three or four pages worth of circuit

 

[LiteYear]

My vote would actually go for Microsoft Visio. I'm a staunch Microsoft critic, but the flowcharting type functionality (eg. connecting and annotating blocks in a vector drawing type way) is very good and the built-in "Basic Electrical" template is quite thorough. If you already have access to it via an Office license then start-up costs are zilch, otherwise the sticker price is attractive compared to dedicated CAD and schematic capture packages.

One advantage of Visio is that you need no specialised CAD or EE skills - anyone that can use a vector drawing package can create and edit the schematics.

 

[Hopfe7]

I would recommend Cadsoft EAGLE to you. It offers everything you need. Schematic Editor, Autorouter and a Layout Editor.
For me its the best circuit board design software available.

Bye

 

[mcgyvr]

EAGLE.....For me its the best circuit board design software available.

Then you clearly haven't used anything else..
Not to mention he is doing more electrical schematics not electronics schematics.