connectCAD

A connectCAD project comprises the schematics and layout drawings that describe a system. These can reside in one or more Vectorworks files. A small system can usually be documented in a single file, while larger systems may have several files with WorkGroup References between them.

Schematics

are drawings, consisting of a number of devices with one or more sockets and the interconnections between them. Schematics are not usually drawn to scale but serve to represent connectivity.

Interconnections between sockets are represented as polylines called circuits. Circuits join output sockets to input sockets.

Devices are just Groups of sockets together with a device label and whatever graphics you decide on to depict the device and its function. You can easily create and edit devices on-the-fly while drawing without entering any cumbersome and bureaucratic device-definition modes. Devices can also be duplicated or copy-pasted freely, so it’s very easy to create a series of similar devices. The speed with which you can create devices is one of the features that makes connectCAD special.

 

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Layouts

are scale drawings showing the physical positions of equipment items in racks and console bays.

Devices on layouts are represented by active Equip Item objects that detect and report their position within rack bays and rack frames. connectCAD allows you to automatically correlate devices on schematics and layouts so that they are consistent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cable lists

are Vectorworks Worksheets generated by connectCAD directly from the schematic drawings. The cable list we create from our schematic drawing comprises a list of circuits and the details of their source and destination sockets.

These lists can be copied and pasted to and from popular spreadsheet programs.

1. Signals should flow left to right. Put primary sources on the left of the drawing and primary destinations on the right. Any signals that loop back into the inputs should either be routed around the perimeter, or alternatively use “arrow” style connections.
   
   

2. Inputs on the left of devices, outputs on the right. Inputs and outputs that loop from one device to the next can be placed on the bottom of the device. The top of the device is normally reserved for the device label. These rules are applied by default but you can easily make exceptions. (e.g. in high-level block diagrams where a central hub sends and receives signals form various surrounding peripherals.)

3. Keep spacing between objects consistent - helps to make life simpler. We have found that a 4mm grid is a good compromise. It keeps the drawing compact, and allows enough space for text to be readable. However, you can use other grid settings if you like: all tools are designed to use the current Vectorworks grid setting.

3. Before you start drawing, check that the constraints palette with Snap-to-Grid enabled only. This makes sure that everything you draw is on the grid. A consistent style makes it easy to re-use and re-purpose your designs.

The look of connectCAD drawings can be customised to match your existing “house style” or particular preferences. The system resources are all accessible to the user and can be edited and saved as Vectorworks drawing templates to support a range of styles (see Appendix for details).

connectCAD does not rely heavily on ready-made device libraries. Instead the process of creating and editing devices has been made astonishingly easy.

This is a deliberate choice - long and sometimes painful experience has shown that manufacturers do change equipment specifications. Ultimately the systems designer is responsible for ensuring that the design is correct. So before money is spent the specs should be re-checked with each project. Device libraries are a tempting quick fix when time is short. But they create a false sense of security and can be a source of expensive design errors. All that said, it is useful to keep a personal (or workgroup) collection of frequently used devices to speed up drawing. connectCAD provides a simple way to do this is using the Vectorworks Resource Browser. Each time you create or edit a device it gets stored in the current document as a symbol in the 'User Devices' folder.

The Resource Browser allows you to view symbols in any Vectorworks document and drag and drop these into your drawing. It is a simple matter to organize the your device symbols into a library document and add this to the Resource Browser favorites for easy access.

Broadcast

connectCAD began life in the world of broadcast TV and radio systems and provides a full workflow solution for broadcast systems design.

Theatre

Theatre wiring is different from broadcast. The control rooms are usually simpler, but they are connected to a complex network of facilities boxes located throughout the building. Design is an exercise in inter-area wiring with many circuits run in multi-core cables. connectCAD supports sockets with multi-circuit connections so that one line on the drawing can represent a bundle of circuits.

Audio-Visual

AV systems tend to be smaller scale than broadcast but often have a larger number of different signal types. Drawings need to show more than one signal type and allow these to be distinguished visually. connectCAD allows the designer to create a legend and apply the colors and line styles to the whole drawing.

LAN

LAN systems are handled using the standard device and socket tools. Network ports are in essence bi-directional so the sockets will usually be I/O type. Both Krone-based and point-to-point wiring can be handled and suitable cable numbering applied.

Your industry?

connectCAD is a very flexible tool for documenting almost any system of connected things. The specialisation of tools for particular kinds of connectivity is simply there to speed up the design process, but here is nothing inherently difficult in adapting connectCAD to other applications. If you have a new application for connectCAD get in touch.