Autocad Library Help

I just started a job as a inside engineer for a manufacturing company and I am coming from working as a integrator in the past.

At my last job we had 3 people who did all the autocad drawings for projects and being a field guy I never got much hands on with it. I understand fully the principles for making good drawings but not autocad itself.

My current job has autocad 2006 and they have some good training manuals and videos on it's use so I think I will be ok on that part but they do not have any electrical sysmbols but they want me to get up to speed and make a lot of drawings for existing equipment and modify a lot of drawings they have.

I tried to talk them into upgrading their autocad package or purchaing autocad electrical but it did not go far and that may be just because I am new here so maybe they will consider it later but my question is how would one go about building a autocad electrical symbol library and how is the best way to reuse work in this enviroment and organize your library.

This will most likely end up being a large library just due to all their equipment is different and they use many differenet brands of components.

I have an old zipped tabset folder from my AutoCadLT99 days, I think it's somewhere on this forum and I know I can get you a copy from work tomorrow.

It's all the basic contacts and symbols but not quite JIC standard stuff. I have evolved many of them by adding attributes and they are by no means a finished work of symbols, but timesavers nonetheless.

I drew all my own as the ACAD ones were not to Oz standards.

There was a download on the net a while back with a complete iec symbol library but i think it got taken down for copyright breach. Might pay to search for a library though...

But save each symbol in its own drawing, learn about the design centre (basically windows explorer as an expandable pane in your drawing environment) and once your library is built and structured you can use the design centre to drag and drop your blocks into your schematic.

I used to use vanilla autocad before using autocad electrical, so i know it can be done well, just takes a tad bit longer. One point, if using plain autocad, leave your wire numbers, terminal strip definitions, cable core identifications, cable definitions, component marking and cross referencing till last (if practical) because without the automation of those tasks reworking pages of drawings is boring, error prone and annoying.

Hope your still reading this Mike because you can thank me later. Orgainse with autodesk a free 30 day trial of autocad electrical 2013. It will come with all the symbols you will ever need, schematic, panel, pnuematic, hydraulic and p&id. When you uninstall the software after your trial ends you have the option to retain the symbol libraries.

Warning: if you do go down that road try your hardest to leave the many many block attributes intact. If your company eventually migrates to the electrical package all your old drawing symbols can be used in your new autocad electrical drawings with full smart functionality.

Try going to www.cadtoolsonline.com. I have used their Block Libraries for about 5 years now. Use them almost every day. They have saved me a bunch of time. The price is reasonable and they offer good service.

No I don't work for them just a happy customer.