Otis Singleton
AutoCAD Electrical is a computer-aided design (CAD) software that enables users to create and modify electrical designs and schematics. It offers a comprehensive set of tools for drafting, designing, and documenting electrical systems and circuits. One of the key features of AutoCAD Electrical is the ability to manipulate components in a variety of ways, including rotating, flipping, deleting, scooting, aligning, moving, stretching, and splitting them. This allows users to create and edit complex electrical diagrams with ease. One of the commonly used commands is the Flip/Rotate Component command, which allows users to swap pins or rotate component attributes. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to rotate a component in AutoCAD Electrical, covering the different methods and options available to users.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Command | AEFLIP |
| Available when | A component has only two wire connections |
| Options | Reverse or flip only the graphics, or include component attributes |
| Rotation | 90 degrees |
| Flip | From top-side of the wire to the bottom and vice versa |
| Other tools | Delete, scoot, align, move, stretch, split, flip components and swap contact states |
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What You'll Learn
Rotating component attributes
To rotate component attributes in AutoCAD Electrical, you can follow these steps:
- Click on the Schematic tab.
- Go to the Edit Components panel.
- Select Modify Attributes from the drop-down menu.
- Choose Rotate Attribute.
- Enter AEATTROTATE at the command prompt.
- Select the attribute text, text, or MTEXT string that you want to rotate. This action will rotate the selected element by 90 degrees from its current orientation.
- After rotating, press M and then the space bar to enter the Move Attribute mode.
It is important to note that rotating a symbol or block does not change the direction from which wires attach. The software has set values that determine the wire attachment direction. Therefore, if you mirror or rotate a symbol, the attributes may still instruct the software that the wires should attach from the same side as before the rotation. To address this, you need to have separate versions of the symbol for different orientations, such as horizontal and vertical versions.
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Flipping component orientation
Flipping or rotating a component in AutoCAD Electrical can be done through the Flip/Rotate Component command. This tool is useful for swapping pins from top to bottom, for example.
To rotate component attributes, go to the Schematic tab, then the Edit Components panel, and select Modify Attributes. From the drop-down menu, select Rotate Attribute. Enter AEATTROTATE at the command prompt. You can then select the attribute text, text, or MTEXT string to rotate 90 degrees from its current orientation. After rotation, press M and [space] to flip into the Move Attribute mode.
If you are using AutoCAD Electrical's ACADE tool, it will automatically orient your component based on the wire you select. For example, if you start with a component on a horizontal wire and then move it to a vertical wire, clicking on the vertical wire to place the symbol will automatically orient the block to the vertical version, keeping all the attribute values.
It is important to note that the blocks must be properly named according to the Symbol Naming Conventions, and the opposite version of the block must already exist and be in a folder that is part of ACADE's search tree. Additionally, ACADE cannot handle blocks that are rotated or mirrored due to wire connection attributes.
For blocks with symmetrical wire connections, there is a tool to mirror the graphics in the rotary menu. The Reverse/Flip command can be used to reverse or mirror the component. It is recommended to only use this command on the graphics, as it does not change the wire connections. For non-symmetrical blocks, you can create a reversed block by copying the original block, modifying the copy, and adding "Reversed" to the end of the name.
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Deleting components
When deleting components in AutoCAD Electrical, it is important to use the designated delete tools provided by the software. Using the standard delete key or the AutoCAD Erase command will only erase the component in the drawing, not in the project database, which can lead to orphaned entries and cause errors.
To delete a component, use the AutoCAD Electrical Delete Component tool, which can be accessed from the ribbon or by right-clicking. This will ensure that the component is removed from both the drawing and the database.
If you accidentally use the keyboard delete key instead of the AutoCAD Electrical Delete Component tool, you can try the following solution: type "AEREBUILDDB" at the command prompt and press enter, then choose a Full Rebuild. This may not work in all cases, especially if the terminal strip editor (TSE) has added extra terminals to your strip because it has decided you don't have enough for the number of connections. In this case, the only way to remove the extra terminals is to physically delete the footprints from the terminal strip after it's generated. However, the next time you edit the terminal strip, TSE will add them back in.
Another method to delete everything outside your current view in model space is to select all in the drawing, hold down the shift key, and draw a window selection around the desired geometry. Then, hit the delete key to remove the unwanted elements. Alternatively, you can copy-paste the desired geometry into a new drawing and delete the former, or use the WBLOCK command to highlight and save only the desired parts of the drawing, leaving the original file intact.
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Scooting components
In AutoCAD Electrical, the Scoot command allows you to move wires with components on them up, down, left, or right. This action also updates the 90-degree wiring, either by trimming or stretching it.
To use the Scoot command, first, grab the wire by selecting it. Then, choose the Scoot command. You can now move the wire and all the components on it in the desired direction.
It is important to note that Scoot and Align are specific to AutoCAD Electrical. While the command is also available in regular AutoCAD, the functionality is different.
Additionally, the Rotate Attribute command in AutoCAD Electrical allows you to rotate component attributes. To use this command, go to Component Attribute Tools > Rotate Attribute. At the command prompt, enter AEATTROTATE. You can then select the attribute text, text, or MTEXT string to rotate it 90 degrees from its current orientation. After rotation, press M and the space bar to enter the Move Attribute mode.
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Moving components
When moving components in AutoCAD Electrical, it is important to use the AutoCAD Electrical move function, rather than the regular AutoCAD move. This is because the AutoCAD Electrical editing commands are specific to working with the project and the database behind the project in AutoCAD Electrical. The Move Component command can be found on the Edit Components panel.
To move a component, hover over the desired component, right-click and hold, and select Move Component. You can then move the component along with your cursor.
It is important to note that if you are moving a component with wire connections, the Move Component tool will cause the connection to be lost. This is because the tool assumes you are moving the component to a different wire. To maintain wire connections when moving components, you can use the scoot tool.
If you only want to move a small segment of the wire to the component, you will need to draw a small leg off the main rung in the direction you want to move, trim the wire going to the component, and then use the Move Component tool to move the component to the end of the new leg. This is because the Move Component command will join the two wires and delete one of the wire numbers if there are two wires present.
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Frequently asked questions
To rotate a component, select the component attribute text, text, or MTEXT string to rotate 90 degrees from its current orientation. After rotation, press M and [space] to flip into the Move Attribute mode.
The command to flip a component is AEFLIP. This command is available when a component has only two wire connections.
To scoot a component, select the component to move along its connected wires. Then, move your cursor to the appropriate position and click. The item will scoot and reconnect.
