Medeek Electrical Plugin

Started by Medeek, January 25, 2019, 11:14:57 PM

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Medeek

The prototype toolbar:



I may also add in a (horizontal) move tool/icon, which may be easier than manually moving the electrical components.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

First look at the draw switch menu:



Currently there are no advanced options but I am including that parameter since I am almost 95% sure that something will come along that will dictate the use of this parameter.

This plugin seems fairly basic when compared with the other plugins but I may be missing some additional parameters here.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

Here is a first look at the switch symbols, I've shown them drawn at 4.5" in height but I've set it up so that the symbol height can be determined by the user in the global settings and everything (symbol spacing etc...) should scale appropriately.



Also note that the symbols are with the switch group so when you move the switch in the wall the symbols move with the switch.

The symbols are also placed on the electrical_2d_layer by default (again user definable in the global settings) so they can easily be toggled on or off.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

As can be seen in the image below a gang of switches can all be different types:




In the image below I've turned on the "Labels" for the switch boxes.  The Switch (box) name can be edited in the switch edit menu for each switch:



With weatherproof switches I will need to have a different faceplate but for now it will default to the generic toggle switch.

Tomorrow I will spend a few minutes and model up a low poly version of the Leviton Decora switch and outlet series and then we will have at least two options for switch and outlet styles.

Similar to the Wall Plugin the labels are assigned by default to the Dim3 layer and can be toggled separately from the symbols, or be turned off completely in the global settings.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

After reviewing a few more electrical plans online it looks like the convention is to show the ganged outlets similar to ganged switches.

I've added Decora switches (and outlets) as well as the option for a simple blank face plate, which I am labeling as a junction (box):



For junction boxes or blank face plates I am following the same convention as I am for outlets and switches and showing a symbol for each location.

I will eventually add another icon in the toolbar for Combo Outlets (ie. switch, blank, outlet combinations), however I probably won't get to this until later.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

I have a 1-gang GFCI as well as a two gang GFCI-Duplex and GFCI-Decora combo.  What other combinations of GFCI/Outlets are common?  (I will handle the GFCI/switch combo later)

The possible permutations are crazy so I am trying to limit things slightly for certain outlet types, I think this makes the most sense.  Just trying to rein in the madness.

For instance I have never seen multiple GFCI outlets ganged up in a single box, only ever one with another switch or regular duplex/decora receptacles.

Also what type of weather proof outlet would you prefer I include as the default?  I'm looking at Leviton's offerings and also at Taymac, too bad I can't seem to find readily made models for any of these.  Oh well, I would probably have to remodel them anyways because the poly count would probably be obnoxious.

After digging through Leviton's website straight for the last 3-4 days I now know more about switches and receptacles than I care to really, but it certainly is an education.  I'm still amazed at all of the possible combinations of switches and outlets that are possible and how the manufacturers do their best to provide as complete coverage as possible, there are literally hundreds of face plates (configurations).
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

It looks like I will need to add in one additional option, Weather Proof GFCI.  It seems that this combination is fairly popular:



My weatherproof cover is based on the Taymac MM420C, probably a little more detail than it needs but I wanted it to look somewhat recognizable.

I also have the Decora option and the standard duplex option.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

MountainDon

This question may have been covered. I have not studied all the posts in detail soam not sure.   

Is there a provision to show an exterior outlet, switch, light fixture, or hose bib, on a mounting block when lap siding is used?  Maybe it is not a big deal.

Below is a photo illustrating what I mean. A flat block, the same thickness as the trim is cut and placed where the item will be. Corner trim, etc.is also installed and then the lap siding installed. I should have installed a small piece of flashing on the upper edge rather than just rely on caulk. My excuse is it doesn't rain much in the desert and the wall has a good rain plane using vertical 3/4" furring strips.



I need to remove the blank plate and install the outlet and cover some day.   ::)
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Medeek

Added the advanced option which will allow for a horizontal mount of any receptacle:



First look at the the following:  GFCI, USB, Simplex, Horizontally mounted Duplex



I will also extend this same functionality to the switch module so that they can be mounted in any orientation.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

Quote from: MountainDon on February 01, 2019, 10:52:34 AM

Is there a provision to show an exterior outlet, switch, light fixture, or hose bib, on a mounting block when lap siding is used?  Maybe it is not a big deal.

I haven't really gotten this far yet but it is something that I should probably add in for lap siding since the trim block is a fairly common feature with something like this.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Option for weatherproof GFCI added:



I haven't gotten every combination but I think I now have about 85% of the most commonly used configurations added in for outlets.  I will now return to the switch module and work that over for a while until it is also about 85-90% coverage.

I also still need to add in a completely new style: 240V

This will comprise single gang outlets for clothes dryers, welders, and ranges.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

I've added in the option for 240V receptacles:



These are limited to single gang configurations as shown (2 gang electrical box).  They can be mounted either vertical or horizontal.  The annotation allows one to specify either a dryer (D) or range (R) outlet. 

By default the color of the outlets is a dark brown (thermoplastic) but can be modified by the user as well as the wall plate material.

I was going to add in an option for a welder outlet but I'm not sure which outlet type is the most common for this application, it appear that the NEMA 6-50 is commonly used for welders but until I get more information or a direct request for this particular NEMA receptacle I will leave this one for now.

Dimensions for these outlets types are per Leviton's product lineup, as is the wall plate.  For now I've employed the standard 2-gang Carlon PVC box but for a heavier circuit like these I personally would probably go with a metal box and the appropriate mud ring and cable clamps.

https://www.hubbell.com/raco/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Boxes/4-in-Square-Boxes-Covers/8235/p/1670412#prod-resources-section

https://www.hubbell.com/raco/en/Products/Electrical-Electronic/Boxes/4-in-Square-Boxes-Covers/769/p/141876
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

A few more options for the switches module:



One of my favorite switches, the Trimatron.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

I will provide the same 14-xx outlet in 30 and 50 amp without the dryer or range designation, for those applications that are something other than those two typical residential usages.

I was looking at Square D service panels (load centers) last night and I'm most familiar with their QO product, not a huge fan of the cheaper Homelite product line.  I can't seem to find any decent drawings or dimensions for these enclosures other than the overall size.  If anyone can direct me to a resource which will allow me to model these up with some accuracy I would like to add in a handful of service panels.

I'm probably not going to dive too deeply into the load center module right now, only providing a basic model and label, but eventually it would be nice if one could assign specific outlets, switch and light fixtures to a given circuit/circuit breaker.  There is a lot that can be done with this sort of thing.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

For low voltage I am going to start with only one style for now and that is the Leviton Quickport system:



The advantage with this system in my opinion is that there will be less electrical boxes to install since you can get more than one outlet per box (max. is 6 ports for a single gang box).

My only problem now is how to show this type of port on the electrical plan.  Typically I would have a symbol for TV, Phone and/or Data.  However, what does one show when you have a situation like above where all three data types are compressed into one box.  Even worse, what if I have the 6 port version and have one phone jack, two CAT6 jacks, two coax jacks and a blank?

What is the preferred convention?  If there is one.

Additionally there is the 2-gang low voltage box (Carlon SC200AR) which can be fitted with a Quickport face plate and have a maximum of 12 separate ports, yikes.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek


I've also added in the RCA QuickPort by request.



You will be able to assign a unique QuickPort outlet to each port of the wall plate and also assign it its own unique color if you choose (this will be important for people who are color coding network jacks).
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

The updated toolbar:



I will leave it up to inquiring minds to figure out what all these icons mean. :)
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

The low voltage module is working pretty good now.  I just need to wrap up the 2D symbols and then we will see if I can put together a few typical load centers, and then its out to the public for some BETA testing.

A 2-gang, 12 port low voltage box is probably your worst case scenario:



Each port can be assigned one of the following:

- CAT6
- CAT5e
- COAX
- PHONE (RJ11)
- RCA (Audio/Video, gold plated)
- BLANK (Plastic Insert)

Additionally each port has its own unique material/color which by default is "White".  The faceplate can also be assigned a unique material/color.

Similar to other outlets the advanced options can be enabled which allows for vertical or horizontal mounting.

The number of possible QuickPorts is limited to the following:

1-Gang:  1, 2, 3, 4, 6
2-Gang:  8, 12

There are additional 2-Gang QuickPort wall plates that I have not added.  I will only add these if requested, since they are already covered by the 1-Gang option.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Various combinations of QuickPorts yields a number of possible 2D symbols:



I've tried to stay with conventional symbols as much as possible.  Please let me know what you think on this.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

Tomorrow I will finish modeling up some typical load centers (breaker boxes) like the one below (200 Amp, 40 Spaces):



I'm not going to put any special logic into this module yet, just a simply positioning and selection.  However at some point it would be really cool to use the plugin to setup the various breakers and identify circuits as well as assign specific elements to a circuit.

For now three sizes of breaker components are provided and it is up to the user to manually configure their panel if they so choose to do so, otherwise is is more representational than anything else.

When it comes to setting the vertical height of the load center what is the method used to measure from the floor?  Center, Top or Bottom of the panel?

I will provide some common panel sizes (spaces):  24, 30, 40, 42, 54, and 60.

My breakers are based on the SquareD QO series as are my load centers however they are considerably simplified to maintain a low poly count.

Also for now I am only going to provide flush mount and not surface mount however I will probably enable both in the future.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/560f7404-63e8-4b7f-9920-eb0775ae5e34/Load-Center-Example
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Various load center sizes, view model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/d1271b9e-fa3f-4c74-beba-750d5d330ff0/Load-Centers-Low-Poly

All load centers are 200 Amp except for the 24 space unit which would be rated for 100 or 125 Amp.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

The inside of these boxes and the breakers are very simple and low poly.  The idea is mostly to convey the number and location of breakers and overall dimensions:

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

First look a the output of the load center or service panel module:

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Perusing the selection of electrical outlets and boxes at my local Ace Hardware this morning it became painfully obvious that I should have added the option for "amperage" to the outlet parameters.

Standard and Decora outlets now are available in 15A or 20A:



I've never actually seen this type of outlet (NEMA 5-20R) installed in any residence I've ever lived at or in any new construction I've worked on but I'm sure it has its place.

Currently the 240V outlets are limited to only 30A and 50A outlets.  At some point I may add in NEMA 6-15R and NEMA 6-20R if there is call for it.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer