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Hit a home run by intelligently adding wires between electrical devices.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
3 min.
Transcript
00:03
In AutoCAD MEP, wires are placed between electrical devices.
00:08
These intelligent objects can read the electrical connector data,
00:12
as well as information such as voltage, panel number, and load.
00:16
The wire object offers faster documentation and representation than using lines, arcs, or polylines.
00:24
Prior to placing wires, you can review wire styles and set the defaults that you want to work with.
00:31
From the ribbon, Manage tab, Style & Display panel, select Style Manager.
00:37
In the Style Manager, expand the Electrical Objects folder and the Wire Styles sub-folder.
00:42
Click 1 pole, CU THWN 75.
00:47
On the Specifications tab, you can view or change the number of wires,
00:52
material, insulation, and temperature of the hot, neutral, and ground wires.
00:58
On the Annotation tab, you can set tick marks and home run arrow defaults for conductor, neutral or ground wires.
01:06
In the Tick Marks section, set the Symbol for Ground to Pin (filled).
01:10
There are two options that set tick mark display:
01:14
Display on wire segment, and Display on home run.
01:17
Some firms choose to only show tick marks on a home run, so deselect the option for wire segment.
01:24
For the Home Run Arrow Symbol, the Closed filled arrow is an industry standard,
01:29
so leave that set as the default.
01:32
If several wires are run through one home run,
01:35
it is usually indicated by multiple home run arrows,
01:39
so enable the option to Display one arrow for each circuit.
01:43
Click OK to exit the Style Manager.
01:47
To add a wire, from the ribbon, Home tab, Build panel, click Wire.
01:52
In the Properties palette, on the Design tab, set the Style to 1 Pole CU THWN 75.
02:01
For the Segment, select Arc.
02:04
Leave the Height set to 4 inches and the Offset to Left.
02:07
In the drawing, pick the first light using the wire end connector snap.
02:12
When you hover the pointer over a fixture,
02:15
you can see the Electrical End Connector glyph appear in green.
02:20
Click to place the wire, and then click the next two light fixture connectors,
02:24
so that all three lights in the circuit are connected.
02:27
Click the switch near the last light, then press ENTER to create the home run.
02:32
Pick a point to place the home run in the direction of the panel.
02:36
Notice that two arrows appear on the home run,
02:40
which indicate a multi-circuit home run,
02:42
as the other light fixtures to the left have already been wired to this home run.
02:47
Click to select the Home Run.
02:49
From the Properties palette, Design tab, under Advanced > Dimensions,
02:54
click Calculate sizes for the wire.
02:56
The wire size is based on the load and wire style properties.
Video transcript
00:03
In AutoCAD MEP, wires are placed between electrical devices.
00:08
These intelligent objects can read the electrical connector data,
00:12
as well as information such as voltage, panel number, and load.
00:16
The wire object offers faster documentation and representation than using lines, arcs, or polylines.
00:24
Prior to placing wires, you can review wire styles and set the defaults that you want to work with.
00:31
From the ribbon, Manage tab, Style & Display panel, select Style Manager.
00:37
In the Style Manager, expand the Electrical Objects folder and the Wire Styles sub-folder.
00:42
Click 1 pole, CU THWN 75.
00:47
On the Specifications tab, you can view or change the number of wires,
00:52
material, insulation, and temperature of the hot, neutral, and ground wires.
00:58
On the Annotation tab, you can set tick marks and home run arrow defaults for conductor, neutral or ground wires.
01:06
In the Tick Marks section, set the Symbol for Ground to Pin (filled).
01:10
There are two options that set tick mark display:
01:14
Display on wire segment, and Display on home run.
01:17
Some firms choose to only show tick marks on a home run, so deselect the option for wire segment.
01:24
For the Home Run Arrow Symbol, the Closed filled arrow is an industry standard,
01:29
so leave that set as the default.
01:32
If several wires are run through one home run,
01:35
it is usually indicated by multiple home run arrows,
01:39
so enable the option to Display one arrow for each circuit.
01:43
Click OK to exit the Style Manager.
01:47
To add a wire, from the ribbon, Home tab, Build panel, click Wire.
01:52
In the Properties palette, on the Design tab, set the Style to 1 Pole CU THWN 75.
02:01
For the Segment, select Arc.
02:04
Leave the Height set to 4 inches and the Offset to Left.
02:07
In the drawing, pick the first light using the wire end connector snap.
02:12
When you hover the pointer over a fixture,
02:15
you can see the Electrical End Connector glyph appear in green.
02:20
Click to place the wire, and then click the next two light fixture connectors,
02:24
so that all three lights in the circuit are connected.
02:27
Click the switch near the last light, then press ENTER to create the home run.
02:32
Pick a point to place the home run in the direction of the panel.
02:36
Notice that two arrows appear on the home run,
02:40
which indicate a multi-circuit home run,
02:42
as the other light fixtures to the left have already been wired to this home run.
02:47
Click to select the Home Run.
02:49
From the Properties palette, Design tab, under Advanced > Dimensions,
02:54
click Calculate sizes for the wire.
02:56
The wire size is based on the load and wire style properties.
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