AutoCAD Electrical | Essentials

AutoCAD Electrical | Essentials is an intensive two-day private course, which can be delivered either virtually or in-person, designed to provide beginners with a solid foundation in AutoCAD Electrical for electrical design projects. Led by an Autodesk Certified Instructor, this course is ideal for professionals seeking to improve their skills in creating and managing schematics and panel drawings, focusing on adhering to industry standards and ensuring overall project efficiency.

Throughout the course, you will explore how to navigate AutoCAD Electrical’s user interface and set up projects within the project environment, applying key design methodologies such as working with PLC modules, designing panel footprints, and creating detailed schematic designs. You will learn to use the Project Manager effectively to organise project files, configure settings, and manage file versions, ensuring consistent and efficient workflows across your projects. The course covers the creation of single and multi-wire schematics, including working with 3-phase ladders and buses, managing wire numbering and referencing systems, and setting up accurate source and destination arrows for precise designs. You will delve into using editing commands to refine schematics, access and update catalogue information, and assign manufacturer data to components, ensuring a high level of accuracy and consistency in your projects. Additionally, you will learn how to link schematic data with panel drawings, create precise panel layouts, and generate bills of materials with detailed annotations, such as balloons and tables, to ensure thorough project documentation. The course further includes managing terminal configurations, including multi-level terminals and jumpers, using the Terminal Strip Editor to maintain organised and accurate electrical connections. Integration with Excel will allow you to streamline PLC tagging and data management, ensuring accuracy in complex PLC designs. You will also practise creating point-to-point wiring diagrams using connectors, splices, and multi-wires, allowing you to design clear and effective wiring layouts that comply with industry standards.

By the end of the course, you will have developed essential skills to manage electrical design projects using AutoCAD Electrical. You will be able to create and edit complex schematic and panel drawings, customise project elements, and efficiently manage project files and settings. These skills will enable you to produce accurate, high-quality designs and documentation, ensuring improved project workflows and greater collaboration across teams.

During this course, you will explore the following topics:

• Module 1 – User Interface | Design Methodologies | Project Manager | Project Settings: Learn how to navigate AutoCAD Electrical’s interface, set up projects, and apply essential design methodologies, including working with PLC modules, panel footprints, and creating schematic designs. Discover how to use the Project Manager to organise files, configure project settings, and manage file versions for consistent workflows. These skills will help streamline your electrical design processes and enhance collaboration across multiple teams.
• Module 2 – Single Wire Schematics | Insert & Edit Components | Wire Management: Learn how to create single wire schematics, insert and edit components, and manage wire numbering and referencing. Understand how to work with parent and child components and set up source and destination arrows for accurate designs. These skills will help you manage complex wire systems more efficiently, ensuring accurate designs that meet industry standards.
• Module 3 – Multi-Wire Schematics | 3-Phase Ladders | Circuit Builder: Explore how to create multi-wire schematics, including 3-phase ladders and buses. Learn how to set up 3-phase components, manage wire numbering systems, and use tools like Circuit Builder for efficient circuit design, helping you handle complex electrical systems more effectively and improve the management of your projects.
• Module 4 – Schematic Editing Commands | Catalogue Information: Discover how to edit parent and child components, use catalogue information, and update drawings efficiently. Learn how to manage attributes and assign manufacturer data to components, ensuring accuracy and consistency across your designs. These skills will help you maintain high standards of documentation and quality throughout your electrical projects.
• Module 5 – Panel Drawings | Bills of Materials: Learn how to link schematic and panel drawings, ensuring accurate component and panel information. Create panel drawings, insert components, and generate bills of materials with balloons and tables. This module will help you manage and document your designs with precision, ensuring project success and consistency across all drawings.
• Module 6 – Terminals | Terminal Strip Editor | Rails | PLC Symbols | Excel Integration | PLC Tagging: Learn how to work with terminals, including multi-level terminals, jumpers, and terminal rails, while effectively using the terminal strip editor to create organised and well-documented configurations. You will also learn how to insert PLC symbols, including parametric and full-unit PLCs, practice tagging PLC components and integrating Excel spreadsheets to streamline the creation and editing of PLC designs.
• Module 7 – Point-to-Point Wiring Drawings | Connectors | Splices: Create point-to-point wiring diagrams using connectors, multi-wires, and splices. You will learn how to insert, edit, and organise electrical connections in your projects, ensuring accuracy in wiring configurations. This module will help you maintain clear and effective designs while ensuring compliance with industry standards.
• Module 8 – Title Blocks | Reporting Tools | Project & Drawing Settings | Drawing Update Tools: Discover a variety of tools to assist you in managing your drawing files and data. Learn how AutoCAD Electrical title blocks function and how they differ from standard AutoCAD title blocks. Discover how to extract project data into various formats, including tables and Excel spreadsheets. Understand how to configure project and drawing settings, and utilise a wide range of drawing tools to enhance efficiency and streamline drawing production.

Before the course, you will receive a Course Pack containing training notes and/or files that need to be downloaded prior to joining the training.

This course includes 12 months of complimentary access to the course-related ASCENT Center for Technical Knowledge e-book (valued at 90 USD) which contains files that need to be installed prior to joining the training. This e-book provides comprehensive training notes that you can refer to after the training to further ensure your knowledge retention. Login details for the ASCENT platform will be issued a few days before the training. To learn more about ASCENT, please visit their website.

Participants joining this course virtually will need:

• AutoCAD '22 or higher, or AutoCAD LT '22 or higher installed on their computer (required). We strongly recommend that participants join using the most recent version of the software. Please contact us if you need to purchase a software licence.
• The latest Zoom version installed on their computer (required).
• A stable internet connection with a minimum download speed of 10 Mbps (required).
• A secondary screen to follow instructions shared by the course instructor during training, along with a mouse for easy software navigation (recommended).
• A headset to ensure clear communication with the instructor, and preferably a microphone and webcam for interactive conversations (recommended).

Participants joining this course in person will need:

• AutoCAD '22 or higher, or AutoCAD LT '22 or higher installed on their computer (required). We strongly recommend that participants join using the most recent version of the software. Please contact us if you need to purchase a software licence.
• A large computer screen, along with a keyboard and mouse for easy software navigation (recommended).

Additionally, the training venue should be equipped with:

• A projector setup or a large screen enabling the instructor to connect their laptop, facilitating attendee visibility of the instructor's screen (required).

To join the course, participants will need basic computer skills and a solid understanding of electrical design concepts. No prior experience with AutoCAD Electrical is required, but exploring the user interface beforehand is recommended.

ARKANCE, an Authorized Autodesk Training Center, delivers high-quality training for Autodesk software users. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive an official ARKANCE Certificate of Completion, demonstrating their commitment to ongoing professional development.

Additionally, participants are encouraged to register their attendance with Autodesk Education to receive a Certificate of Completion from Autodesk. To obtain this certificate, participants must follow the steps provided in the confirmation email sent after registration and submit a post-training feedback survey within 60 days of completing the course.

Our private training sessions are offered at a flat rate per course and accommodate up to eight participants. Delivered on request, these courses can be conducted virtually or on-site at your venue.

The training can follow a standard agenda or be customised to align with your team’s specific workflows, existing templates, and project requirements. Please note that in-person training will incur additional travel costs, and pricing may vary for customised curriculums.

Please contact us to discuss organising this training for your team.