I've used SW Routing but never SW Electrical and I have a few questions for the folks who used it.
Do you have to have input from both the EE and ME to complete a Electrical project? I guess what I'm trying to find out is if we purchase this software, will the MEs have to create electrical circuits to create wire diagram or the electrical information can be imported from Cadence (our electrical software) into SolidWorks Electrical.
Thanks Caleb!
When you say you do both the 2D and 3D, are you saying you create the 2D schematic and convert it to 3D so you can create all cable routing details for manufacturing of the cable?
Sorry for all these questions but I'm trying to understand if we can use the SolidWorks Electrical Add on. As an ME, using just the SW Routing Add - in. we use drafting to creating the wire diagrams and use the Flatten Config to create our manufacture drawings. The wire diagram is not associated with the model, they are just lines and names to represent the wire route.
I believe it is possible to purchase only the 2D software, which does have its advantages.
And yes, I create electrical (and hydraulic) schematics, then associate those to the 3D model in one of two ways:
1. Create the assembly, in some cases creating new parts, and then associating the 2D schematic components, and performing the routing. For electrical boxes and other smaller modules, I usually do this.
2. Taking an existing assembly created by another engineering group, associating the 2D schematic components, and performing the routing. Usually in this case it is a larger assembly.
Thanks for replying, Caleb.
We have hundreds of components that were defined (c-point, wire dia. etc) using the SolidWorks Routing add-in. Are you saying that we will need to go back and redefine all these components using the Electrical add-in package?
I am not sure, to be honest.
I have never used the SolidWorks routing tool. We do have a license but I joined the company as Electrical was being implemented...I have not encountered any parts that were already set up.
My guess would be that the c-points are a different attribute and would not apply to Electrical. I am with the impression that SWE is much more detailed and requires more information...for example there are not just 'cpoints' in electrical, but connection points with an identifier for the circuit and terminal - for example "0_0" would be circuit 0 connection point 1, and "0_1" would be on the same circuit but would be a different connection point.
I'll throw in my 2 cents...
I don't know for sure of a bridge between SOLIDWORKS Electrical and Cadence, so I'm not sure how far the conversation can go. Are you heavily invested in that schematic package and if so, what would be your potential timeline for a transition?
While Electrical 3D does use the same algorithms to route as the routing package and can make use of some of the same features like clips and routing through ducts etc, the tie in to your routing wires library kind of ends there, when you pick up on 3D as Caleb described above, your wires, cables, and harnesses are all defined by your 2D data. That's a lot of front end configuration to build up your library initially, but once you get it settled, that data entry produces a lot of information in a short amount of time per project. So if changing your schematic package is also on the table, the real benefit is that 3D directly ties into your 2D schematic projects so the workflow is trimmed and all of your data entry/output is essentially in one place rather than creating the project in Cadence, then producing the same thing in 3D. Alternate workflows are also possible if you embrace this setup where you can either produce schematic, then populate your 3D, or populate your 3D, then drum up your schematics from the selection of parts, routing in any order and tying into your existing SW assemblies etc.
The collaborative abilities are notable, with your electrical guys creating schematics, and the mechanical guys creating your layouts in 3D, routing, and producing the flattened routes etc. If you don't have the 2D/3D interaction though, 3D won't be much of a time saver over what you're doing now entering everything manually into your routing package.
As far as i know is Cadence an EDA Tool for PCB Design. If you want to synchronize printed circuit boards with SOLIDWORKS you should have a look at SOLIDWORKS PCB or in you case Altium Desinger with the SOLIDWORKS PCB Connector.
If you want to rout the cables and wires from a connector or the terminal on a PCB, SOLIDWORKS Electrical is the right choice.
In both cases you will need the linked applications, either SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic and SOLIDWORKS Electrical 3D or SOLIDWORKS PCB and the PCB Add-In in SOLIDWORKS. There is no direct link to other applications.
Regarding your routing library, the naming of the connection points is elementary. Electrical uses EwCable as end point for a multi wire cable and something like 0_0 (Circuit_ConnectionPointNo) fpr thwe wire connection points. There is a built in wizard for defining those connection points. Other data like wire diameter will come from the schematic part of the software.
Coming back to your original question, you can define everythin either from the ME or the EE side since both are connected to the same database. At some point somebody has define the electrical properties and add a 3D Model to the manufacturer part.
I think the best way to understand how electrical works is to attend a webinar at your var or invite them to your site for a demo.
Thanks for the feedback guys!
First, I want to correct my original statement. I didn't realized at the time that Cadence is just the design tool for PCB and that is not what I want to import in SWE. Now I realize that the schematic has to be done in SWE 2D and then convert into the SWE 3D.
Currently we are doing all our cabling using the SW Routing package and we have a "Line Diagram" as the schematic (not linked to the actual 3D cable). The EE creates the Schematic for the PCB using Cadence and they also are responsible for the cable from the PCB to the component in our instrument. ME only do the 3D route and create manufacture drawing for each cable, so I'm not sure if this software is right for us. This is what we are trying to evaluate.
I am 'applications engineering' - I do both the 2D and 3D:
1. Create 2D project, create schematic - this process requires associating manufacturer parts with each symbol on the schematic.
2. Create 3D assembly - this process requires building a normal 3D assembly, then 'associating' each 2D symbol with a 3D component.
3. Route - click of a button, wires pop up. The more I play with this, the better I get at having a good initial setup, and the faster it goes.
The software is VERY picky - you have been warned:
4. 3D parts require setup for routing (much like CPoints from SW routing tool, but not the same so I don't think parts will carry over).
5. The 2D and 3D setup must be identical - hard to explain without giving a class but basically connection 1 in 2D must be connection 1 in 3D - it can be tricky to keep things straight sometimes.
As I re-read your question I see a quicker answer:
I have had no luck with importing anything into SolidWorks Electrical - even simple dxf symbols do not want to transfer correctly. Also, every wire, every symbol, every part in a 2D schematic within the Electrical software has a mountain of information behind it.
For example - a single wire:
This is just one wire - we have dozens of these set up, each with its own data used to drive both 2D design checks as well as 3D routing data (i.e. minimum bend radius, color, etc.)