Documenting your HA system using CAD??

[fleetz]

Hi Folks,

I am looking for a CAD solution to document my home automation and AV system. Just wondering if anyone is using a CAD system, ideally that already has a library of HA and AV components.

I am happy to pay a couple of hundred dollars if needed to buy a CAD package especially if there is already a HA and AV library and it is easy to use. I don't mind having to draw some components as typically there never is all you require.

I think we all have just taken our installations for granted do the maintence, add new technology and features and know what is needed if and when something goes wrong. Walking on the beach with the good lady wife and god bless her she said "what if you get hit by a truck" !!! :huh: Thought about it and she is right the poor bugger that has to come in and maintain it would really struggle. I have HA gear in the garage, pool enclosures, AV racks, HA closets, linen closets, bedrooms, buried in walls behind AC units, gatehouse, etc etc.

Anyway time to document it before the number 10 bus gets me!! Be interested in what folks might be using here? Any suggestions and recommendations would be great. Having existing related library with ELK components would be really attractive.

I have posted this in the ELK Inc section too.

Hope to hear what you are using.

Regards,

Fleetz

 

[pete_c]

I've documented my HA system using MS Visio. Works well and there are many vendor templates for application.

I have 18 plus serial links to my HA system and it helps me keep track of them. Attached is a JPG done in Visio of my serial connectivity.

 

[jwilson56]

I have used this free one

http://www.weresc.com/cade.php

 

[signal15]

OmniGraffle for mac is WAY better than Visio if you have a Mac:

http://www.omnigroup.com

Otherwise, there's a sweet web-based one that's free called Gliffy:

http://www.gliffy.com

You want diagramming software for documenting HA, not CAD.

 

[wuench]

I've documented my HA system using MS Visio. Works well and there are many vendor templates for application.

I have 18 plus serial links to my HA system and it helps me keep track of them. Attached is a JPG done in Visio of my serial connectivity.

+1 for Visio. Easy to use, probably has the most stencils for equipment (but probably not everything you want) if you can find them, .NET automation features if you really want to get crazy...

 

[signal15]

I've documented my HA system using MS Visio. Works well and there are many vendor templates for application.

I have 18 plus serial links to my HA system and it helps me keep track of them. Attached is a JPG done in Visio of my serial connectivity.

+1 for Visio. Easy to use, probably has the most stencils for equipment (but probably not everything you want) if you can find them, .NET automation features if you really want to get crazy...

Visio SUCKS compared to OmniGraffle. I've drawn well over 1000 complex diagrams using just about every tool that is out there and I do all of my diagrams for work in OmniGraffle now because I had way too many problems when drawing complex diagrams (over 1000 elements) with Visio. Stupid connection point problems, line routing issues, slowness when moving things around, layering problems... the list goes on. I hate Visio almost as much as I hate MS Word. OmniGraffle can load/export Visio files and stencils also. Clients go nuts for the diagrams that I draw in OmniGraffle, they look way better than what you can do in Visio. I'd throw you a sample, but everything I do is under NDA or it's at least confidential. I'd be fired immediately even if I scrubbed them. If I get around to documenting my network and HA system, I will post the diagram here. But it probably won't be anytime soon.

Believe it or not, even Apple Keynote does a better job than Visio for many types of diagrams, and it's not even designed for that.

If you don't have a mac to use OmniGraffle on, just use Gliffy. It's free, and it works awesome.

 

[wuench]

All I know is Visio is waaaay easier than trying to do something in AutoCAD or Microstation or other "real" CAD packages. If Engineers only knew about Visio they would have more free time, we'd have a bridge spanning the Atlantic and traffic would be a thing of the past...

 

[pete_c]

I've been using Visio since the 90's and it worked for me. We did utilize it for all network documentation for a major airline.

I worked for an Oil and Gas Co and most of the engineers did use CAD but the details of their drawings were probably much more granular than the higher level drawings done for the airline.

 

[fleetz]

Thanks for your valuable feedback I will have a look and play with the ones suggested.

I was having a close look at Autosketch by Autodesk.....you can get version 9 the one back from the current 10 for about $40US on ebay. But I will be going the freeeware path before I continue any further with Autosketch.

Regards,

Fleetz

 

[Neurorad]

Visio had a 30 or 60 day trial period, last time I checked. Try it for a single room.

Several couple companies offer stencil packages, to professionals, at a steep price. I think it was around an $800 buy-in. I'd love to see a cocoontech sponsored price, for end-users/consumers. The companies that I researched included NetZoom from Altima.

HAI offers Visio stencils for their equipment, for registered installers, for free. Search their Dealer Support website (NOT the Knowledge Base), or login and go to Support -> Planning Tools. The HAI site takes you to NetZoom, for a download from there. I'm impressed with HAI's support of this.

 

[signal15]

As others have said, CAD is not the way to do it. However, if you wanted a fully 3D plan of your house, then you would need CAD. Google SketchUp is a free CAD package. You have to pay though to get the functionality that will allow you to represent your 3D models in 2D space. I'm currently modeling my house with it, as I'm going to be adding on a deck and doing some other work. Once it's modeled, if I pay for the full version, I can export my model in blueprint form, import it into OmniGraffle or Gliffy, and then draw my HA/Security wiring and devices on it.

Many professional firms are using Google SketchUp now for architectural and landscape work. Grab the free version and play with it. You HAVE to go through their video tutorials or you will be lost. If you need blueprinting, you just pay the upgrade price.

http://sketchup.google.com/

Also note that there are a ton of 3rd party addons for it, including photorealistic raytracing.

 

[pete_c]

I was able to get the drawings for my home electronically. These were "DWG" CAD drawings (very large). I still use them because of the detal.

Sometimes mostly look at logical wiring drawings and other times more the physical drawings. I've also had the advantage of being able to utilize a printer/plotter to print the drawings but have also seen services that charge on about $20 for printing. Having personally contracted a few commercial/residential endeavors (family stuff) and other commercial endeavors (work). I've wanted to see some granular details. A couple of times with residential endeavors noticed that many things were "assumed" by contractors and would be not depicted accordingly (drawings). Typically a post installation drawing was done to indicate the changes. Its good to keep track. In my home it appears that there was a last minute change and a laundry shoot was put in about 8 times the size of the inbetween wall space. This added endeavor change the layout of the laundry room making it smaller by approximately two feet on one side in a similiar fashion on the second floor hallway. Today its not utilized and just occupies room space. In another part of the home there is a plumbing / AC duct wall which is close to 3 feet deep (still wondering about the logic).

An example was a commercial project new building (work) where changes were made by the contractor for comm closets. Reasoning was logical for new placements. The changes though came back in extra charge backs for adding costs of each infrastructre work proposed but not done (never removed from invoicing).

Its easier for me to just import the DWG drawings piece by piece into Visio and modify them with a little less physical detail and a little bit more logical detail. For personal at home endeavors I always say I will remember what is what and where its at but always reference drawings done.