Silly question here. What software are people using to generate the high-quality drawings and diagrams of their power systems like the one below? Is there anything free out there that doesn’t have a near vertical learning curve? Where are the device images/icons coming from? I’d like to create something that doesn’t look like a 4-year old got a new box of crayons. Documentation is important for keeping a system running, troubleshooting, and future expansion.
For designing and building electrical schematics, I use SOLIDWORKS Electrical.
For layout planning and installing components in rooms, I rely on 3Ds Max.
It’s really handy and efficient, especially when you need to calculate cable lengths for estimates.
UPD: Victron has ready-made 3D models, many thanks to them for this, very convenient!
Thanks for the reply, but I think that Solidworks Electrical is a bit out of a hobbyist’s price range. The lowest price I could find was over $4K and subscriptions cost $1K a year. I did not find any demo or free versions. Also, I’m guessing the learning curve is pretty steep.
Yeah, software licensing does come with its costs.
So, developing the project documentation isn’t exactly cheap either.
But its a tool for the job, so all the expenses pay off in the end for me.
I haven’t come across any free software for high-quality design.
I used a drawing programme for my vessel electrics, CorelDraw. I drew each cable in a different colour on a different layer. Then at the end of designing used a measure widget to add all the cable lengths together on each layer to give me the cable shopping list. At one stage CD was free on discs or pretty cheap. Very simple and intuitive to learn/use.
Yeah, if I did this for a living, that might be different, but modifying my RV’s electrical system is just one of many hobbies that stretch my limited financial resources. I do appreciate the reply though.
I like ludic.app
Its a general workflow planner, but i just use it to draw boxes and wires.
I dont like schematics with pictures, i dont want to know what a device looks like, i want to know which terminal each wire goes to
That’s a nice and clean drawing. Could you point me towards a website for this software? Is this software for Windows? The name does not seem to show up with anything relevant in a general web search.
Because theres a typo and its not even the name of it Sorry about that
Its all online, so no issues with compatibility across Windows, Mac, Linux, Android (Although creating things on an Android phone is not fun, but looking at an already made diagram is ok)
You can try QElectrotech. It comes with a reasonable library of electrical symboloy and you can create your own symbols and add images. It helps if you are familiar with electrical drawings, SLD / MLD and so on. But youtube is your friend.
Attached is an example of the lynx busbar design I have for my boat in Qelectrotech.
Sorry about that
