AutoCad or AutoCad Electrical

[wdd0422]

For a novice at CAD who needs to learn to draw electrical schematics, is it worth the extra money for AutoCad Electrical or would you just start with Autcad Lt


Thanks everyone and wishing you all good health.

 

[dmroeder]

We don't use ACADE, but personally, for a novice, I'd stick with AutoCAD LT. There is a lot to learn before you'd be able to take advantage of the added features in ACADE.

 

[sharkyh2o]

I recently took an autocad electrical tool set class. When i called and inquired about the same questions you had, they told me i would be fine. That was not the case. I was way behind and the instructor would give directions of "Do an autocad move". He got me through but i was lost most of the time and missed out on the full benefit of the lessons. I am using it now but still watching lots of youtube videos to make up for what i missed in class.

 

[bluenoser337]

Might want to check this out https://www.draftsight.com/

 

[Elcan]

I recommend you to take a look at SkyCAD, a very innovative electrical CAD software, with a free version:
https://skycad.ca/

 

[parky]

Not sure if it is still around but there was a free one called ACAD, this looked just like a clone of AutoCAD LT, If you are just doing electrical drawings then LT is all you need, after all, do you want the functions like rotating?

 

[mister x]

Starting to see Siemens Solid Edge CAD creeping in. But I think Autodesk has the marketshare, as hateful as it can be by times.

 

[sbaum]

IMHO, AutoCAD electrical will be much easier for a beginner to do drawings than AutoCAD LT. No need to build your own symbols or even need to understand the depths of a CAD program. Been awhile since I checked but they used to provide beginner videos to get you rolling.

 

[Rson]

DWG is definitely the standard - so whatever you look for should be able to export to DWG.

Basic autocad is fine if you have a good symbol library and can keep good documentation of the components you use.

There are other autocad clones such as Bricscad (which offers a perpetual license and lisp, plugins, etc that autocad LT does not) or ZWcad.

- - Side Rant - - Log read - -

On the subject of a 'good' symbol library, Autocad Electrical does not have one IMO. Because Autocad is based in the auto industry, there are some pretty dumb and archaic standards built into autocad electrical - like "D" sized sheets and symbol libraries that, when printed on 11x17 or 8.5x11, are nearly illegible IMO. That said, it is the standard and you do see many companies use it (not the auto industry anymore, ironically enough). You can completely re-do the symbol library and autocad electrical can be a very powerful tool, but it takes a lot of time to get to that point.

Most of the Auto industry has switched to Eplan, which is nice (but waaaay too expensive to be taken seriously) and at least has a good symbol library and fairly legible design standards (ie, 11x17 symbols as opposed to D size). IEC standards are also 11x17 (or A3 which is close), and most electronic schematic software works on a 0.1" grid (2.54mm - same as IEC which works on a 2.5mm grid)

Use a grid, and find or create a symbol library you like. There are a few online. Scale the symbols to the grid pattern that works for you. I'm personally fond of a 2mm grid (I do my drawings in metric) with most text at 2.5mm and some at 2mm minimum (this is how some of the auto industry is doing schematics at the moment in Eplan)

Radica Electra has some decent symbols in DWG format that are free to download:
https://radicasoftware.com/
I've used thier software, and I wold avoid it, personally. Autocad is just as capable.

 

[mbartoli]

Once upon a time, there was a small company called Via Development, that made an add-on package for AutoCAD called Via Schematic. They had versions for both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. extensive symbol library, lots of configurability, and reasonably priced. I had LT back then, and bought the Schematic Lite package; used it for everything electrical. The best part is that, since it was an add-on package, it made no changes to AutoCAD, so you could use it for normal stuff, and when you wanted to do schematics, you would open Via Schematic, which opened AutoCAD and loaded its modified menus and settings. Worked great, so great that Autodesk ended up buying them out, and incorporating that package into what was released as AutoCAD Electrical. IMHO, Via Schematic did it better.


If you could locate a copy of Via Schematic, the symbol library would be a worthwhile tool. I still use it in AutoCAD.

 

[wdd0422]

I think Auto Cad LT is what I will go with. No luck with Via Schematic doing a quick Google search but i will look into it a little more, Thanks. Any suggestions on the quickest way to get started. Would it be worthwhile to take a online training or just watch YouTube and dig right into it?

 

[OkiePC]

I've been using NanoCad pro for about 5 years now and like it much better than Autocad LT. It uses the same interface as Autocad. I took a Vo-tech AutoCad class in '96 with release 14 that was an invaluable basis for me to build from. If you are new to Autocad, some training on the basics, with emphasis on the command line interface is highly suggested.

I once worked for an employer that had ACADE and it was really only good for doing new designs. Trying to use it with dwg files made by others when you don't have their standards and sheet sets was almost more difficult that just using regular Autocad. I really needed to go to school for the electrical version but that never happened. I did purchase some training DVDs but only had enough time to go through about 3 hours worth of it. In my opinion, the electrical version would be great if you are trained up and are doing your own designs and not trying to modify things done by vendors as the bulk of your work.

 

[Rson]

I think Auto Cad LT is what I will go with. No luck with Via Schematic doing a quick Google search but i will look into it a little more, Thanks. Any suggestions on the quickest way to get started. Would it be worthwhile to take a online training or just watch YouTube and dig right into it?

Learn by using the command line (you will memorize them with enough repetition) and learn to use the Snap to Grid, Entity snaps, and Ortho mode and you will go a long way.

It does take some time to learn.

 

[DaDaDadeo]

TurboCAD Designer is great for standard 2D electrical diagrams. It can open and and export to .dwg files and blocks. It also has most of the same tools as AC and only requires a one time purchase which is already a low price. I think it's also more intuitive than AC.

 

[dogleg43]

If you are a novice & you , or your company can afford it the get AutoCAD Electrical. You won’t learn a lot of bad habits trying to create and do things that are automatic in AutoCAD Elect.