Circuit management

The circuits in a component correspond to the device "poles". These circuits are used in the symbol definition, and also in the manufacturer part definition. Cross references are generated, and terminals are shown by comparing the circuits of the symbol and the circuits of the manufacturer part.

The circuits are not limited to devices. Terminals and PLC cards can also have circuits.

Circuit definition

The software manages several types of circuits, corresponding to the nature of the electrical component.

For example, a three-pole circuit breaker consists of three Circuit breaker, Switch circuits.

The circuits of a component are the sum of the circuits of all the symbols representing this component.

The above example shows the definition of reference LC1D09006B7 from Schneider in circuit terms. It consists of a coil, a 3-pole power contactor, NO and reversing contacts.

Circuits and groups

To associate circuits, enter a number (or a name) on each circuit. They must have the same number.

For example, a reversing contactor uses the circuit groups, on which you can find one coil associated with one contactor and a second coil associated with a second contactor.

The manufacturer part data stores the group number. When you insert the symbol component, the cross references are automatically updated with the group number.

Manufacturer parts and circuits

When you assign a manufacturer part, the softwarecompares the circuits of the manufacturer part and the circuits of the various symbols representing the component.

If they match, the material terminal numbers are automatically propagated to the symbol circuits and displayed in the scheme. If there are any differences between the circuits of the manufacturer part and the circuits of the symbols, the circuits are added or reserved. In this case, the material terminal numbers are not displayed in the scheme.

SOLIDWORKS Electrical uses a color code to display the circuits of a component.

The green color indicates consistency between the symbol circuits and the manufacturer part circuits.

The Red color indicates an inconsistency. Certain circuit symbols are not present in manufacturer parts. You will have to add auxiliaries or modify your component to add the symbols within the manufacturer part.

The blue color indicates that the manufacturer part contains circuits not represented in the symbol (reserved circuits).

The Yellow color indicates the presence of virtual circuits, which appear neither as symbols nor as manufacturer part references (added manually).

When you replace a manufacturer part by another one, SOLIDWORKS Electrical removes the previous circuit association and associates the circuits of the new manufacturer part with those of the symbols, like the first association.

Switching circuits

The association of the circuits of the manufacturer parts and those of the symbols is automatic. You can change the association, but only between circuits which have the same characteristics, for example, to switch a NO contact to another NO contact.

In the Symbol properties dialog box (Tab: Manufacturer part and circuits), select a circuit and drop it to another one.