Free Software

[dale1627]

Doug
Have you ever used a DDE link in an openoffice spreadsheet? I've got several automationdirect plcs on a plant network that I link to using DSData server and an excel spreadsheet. Just wondering if it can be done with openoffice also.

dale

 

[Kevin Jimenez]

Try "The Constructor" from Koldwater.com

If you want to draw, print and also simulate circuits for free, you can download a Demo version of "The Constructor 2003" from

www.koldwater.com

http://www.koldwater.com/downloadlinks.htm

I could e-mail you a copy of the first circuit I did on the Demo version. The Demo does not have a time limit only restrictions.

You can also convert the drawings to a Bitmap file and easily email or save.

If you are a student they provide a considerable discount with evidence of enrollment in a technical school / college etc. Click on the "Student Discount" link on the main page.

Good luck!

Kevin Jimenez

 

[Doug_Adam]

Dale,

I havn't used openoffice for communications yet.
At work, I use MS office.
For Scada, I use Citect.

I only use open office at home.

Open office tends to have a lot of good stuff built in, and also has linkages to a lot of data bases built in as well. One thing it dosn't have is good documentation.
If you want to find out what it can do, you will have to down load it an try it.
Open office is actually the same as Sun's Star Office, so you may be able to get some more information off them.

Sorry I couldn't help.

Doug

 

[Doug_Adam]

I forgot to mention,

One of the big advantages with open office is that it has a built in PDF generator.
If you want to send out documents in a mostly non alterable state, then this is a good feature.
I cannot load it onto my work desk to PC, ou IT section would go balistic and I would be a marked man, but I can load it onto my programming laptop. I have done this and tested converting our standard word documents to PDF. They needed a bit of editing, but it worked well.

It was enough to convince my manager that we should purchase Acrobat.

Doug

 

[rhill]

We use TurboCad Standard. It is about $100 USD and works great for drawings. You can store symbols on your harddrive which you can display on the right side of the screen. Then it is a matter of drag-and-drop to put a symbol in the drawing. It also handles the industry standards like DWG & DXF. The UI is pretty good and you can move your buttons around where you want them. You can also set up keyboard shortcuts for your more common tasks. IMHO it kicks AutoCAD's butt when it comes to controls diagrams.

Rob

I've attached a screen shot.

 

[testsubject]

I will admit to you that it is extremely inexpensive compared to Autocad Electrical (AE), but kick its butt? Not hardly.

It all boils down to what you have to do and how much time do you want to spend doing it? If all you do is the occasional wiring diagram then, by all means, use one of the inexpensive CAD packages (TurboCAD, DesignCAD, AutoCAD Lite.) BUT, if you are going to be doing control diagrams (Control Doors, Control Panels, Wiring ,BOM, Cable Pinouts) all the time then it is essential to have a ECAD package.

For example, TurboCAD cannot change all your wiring numbers on the fly across 10 drawings. AE can. TurboCAD cannot give you an I/O PLC list showing you which I/O are not populated. AE can. TurboCAD cannot automatically select the various parts needed to place them in the Panel Layout. AE can. A dedicated ECAD program will mean the difference between being productive or taking forever to complete a project.

Yes, they do require some practice to use fully and you will have to create some customized parts that are unique to you applications but the company I work for would never be able to ship as much as we do if I did not have AE. I have been using this software for over 7 years now and if I ever change jobs, my future employer will have to purchase for me to come work there. It is that important to me.

[Stepping down off of soapbox now]