That may not sound like such a big deal, but a quick scan through a substation drawing set will remind you just how many different symbols you use on a given project, and just how daunting a task it can be to create intelligent symbol libraries. And that’s all that an AutoCAD Electrical symbol is: a block with attributes. AutoCAD Electrical utilizes a blocks+attributes approach, which is what gives it so much of its power and intelligence. One of the biggest hurdles in making the transition to AutoCAD Electrical and the SDS Toolkit is the development of intelligent symbol libraries. But what does it take to make this kind of transition? It’s an exciting time for our industry, and while it’s not my place to name names, there are major organizations leading the way toward industry-wide intelligent substation design. More and more utilities and engineering firms are making the switch to AutoCAD Electrical and the SDS Toolkit for P&C substation design.
