I suggest E-CAE-S and E-CAE-P (systems vs products). If you ask me this is a completely different category of E-CAE that should have a different designation from electronics PCB production. These can span from a single panel with a few cables to hundreds of panels and miles of cabling. The segmentation between the two types you mention and specifically ePLan, ACAD Electric and such is that they are not focused on PCB based electronics 'products' as much as these others, but they are rather focused on engineering for factory / building systems integration.

You might want to review this question about different types of diagrams, though it is more specific to electrical PCB and device engineering than the much broader scope of electrical data and energy in various industries.Īll of the above fall within the E-CAE category of software tools, which differentiate from CAD because they achieve more than just drawing schematics and include engineering features, hence the 'E'. The three packages you list are more about documentation and wiring diagrams than about multi-layer printed circuit board design.

(Perhaps most importantly) Full CAD support for designing multi-layer circuit boards īy the looks of it, from cursory searching: Autodesk Electrical EPLAN (eView, Electric P8, Cogineer, Pro Panel, and a myriad of other offerings) and ELCAD Aucoplan are aimed more at manufacturing and automation industry professionals who need to wire and document complex equipment and/or entire buildings, PLCs, robots, industrial processes, and the like.Connecting to vendors and/or managing component selection alternatives.Managing connected nets, buses, and pins.Managing component libraries and footprints.Drawing a schematic is only a portion of the workflow. Altium Designer, Eagle, and KiCAD EDA are full PCB design packages.

Autocad electrical alternative