Let your project set of schematic wiring diagrams help drive the panel layout using the Insert Footprint (Schematic List) feature. AutoCAD Electrical toolset uses the footprint database to identify the footprints corresponding to the MANUFACTURER, CATALOG, and ASSEMBLYCODE attribute values of the schematic symbols. Footprint information is furnished with the default AutoCAD Electrical toolset installation. The information is in tables in a Microsoft Access database file (mdb) and the database content is found at C:\Users\{username}\Documents\Acade {version}\AeData\{language code}\Catalogs\.
AutoCAD Electrical toolset also supports SQL Server for your footprint data information. Use the Autodesk Content Migration Utility for AutoCAD Electrical toolset to move the data from the default footprint database (footprint_lookup.mdb) to your SQL Server instance.
If you are using footprint_lookup.mdb as your footprint database, the following is the search sequence:
1st choice -- <project>_footprint_lookup.mdb in the subdirectory of the project
2nd choice -- footprint_lookup.mdb in the subdirectory of the project
3rd choice -- footprint_lookup.mdb in user subdirectory
4th choice -- footprint_lookup.mdb in panel subdirectory
5th choice -- AutoCAD search paths
For SQL Server, there is no such search sequence.
AutoCAD Electrical toolset takes the MFG code of the target footprint and looks for a table, in the footprint database, with that name. For example, if the MFG value of the footprint is SQD, then AutoCAD Electrical toolset searches for a schematic lookup table called SQD. Manufacturer code of AB yields the table name AB.
The footprint database supplied with AutoCAD Electrical toolset points to symbols that are full-size physical representations of the device. There may be times you want to insert a footprint that is not necessarily a physical representation, but one that carries wire connection attributes. With this type of symbol AutoCAD Electrical toolset can annotate the symbol with schematic wire connection data to create a panel wiring diagram drawing. From the Schematic Components dialog box, if you select “Use Wiring diagram tables”, AutoCAD Electrical toolset accesses an alternate table in the footprint lookup table. This table matches the MFG code but attaches a "_WD" suffix. The tables with the "_WD" suffix are set up to insert a symbol that carries the wire connection attributes.
You must expand and modify these tables to meet your specific panel footprint needs. You can do this using tools provided with AutoCAD Electrical toolset or through the use of a database program that can read/write the database.
Footprint tables are in the footprint database. Each record consists of these fields (in this order):
|
CATALOG |
Catalog number, wild cards allowed |
|
ASSEMBLYCODE |
Optional assembly code value - internal AutoCAD Electrical toolset use only |
|
BLKNAM |
Footprint block name with partial path or geometry definition |
|
DESCRIPTION |
Optional short description used for display purposes only |
You can encode a simple geometry definition in place of a footprint path/block name in the footprint database. For example, if a footprint shape for a given part number is a 3x4 rectangle, instead of creating and saving a 3x4 rectangle as a Wblocked .dwg file, you can encode the instructions for drawing the rectangle in the footprint database like the following syntax:
("LINE" "0,0" "@4.00,0" "@0,3.00" "@-4.00,0" "C")
The previous example follows the command sequence you type in to create the footprint outline. When AutoCAD Electrical toolset comes across it instead of a path/block name in the footprint database, it executes the command sequence and blocks it on the fly.