software for electrical circuits

Carol Reed

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Coolidge, AZ
Anybody know of an app to draw electrical circuitry that works on a MacBook?

I want to diagram the electrical circuitry for the Pudder Palace.
 
Carol,

Do you use Gimp or Libre Office? (both free, and available for Mac or Windows)

Gimp is a photoshop-like program. but you can also paint with it, and draw lines and arrows and so on.

Libre Office is a office-like program which has a drawing tool. Again, you can draw lines and rectangles and so on. It's not like visio with any sort of predefined electrical images or the like, but you can certainly use it for basic drawings.

For that matter, It's fairly easy to flip Sketchup into 2D mode, and then just draw outlines, or objects that you can move around. The neat thing about sketchup is that you could first draw it out by hand on paper, and then scan the paper, import that images into sketchup as a model, and then use that as a backdrop/guide as you then draw the actual model in sketchup. For that matter, you could model the trailer in 3D also, if you wanted to use it to try and fit in your tools and benches and so on.

I also had a quick peek at the Grizzly online shop planner, but it does not seem to have anything in there for electrical hookups and the like.
 
Art beat me to it. You could certainly do it in SketchUp and make a 2D drawing if that's all you need. You can find electrical symbols in the 3D Warehouse. Just type 'electrical symbols' into the search line in the components browser. If there's some value to it, you could take the drawing a step further and make a 3D model of it.

 
I use an old Punch! Home Design Architectural Series 18 program that shows electrical symbols and lights and ceiling fans. Not sure what the current (sorry) program costs these days, but you could look on the net and see if there is a basic version available as a trial or freeware. You draw plans in 2D from multiple templates, then it will convert to 3D for a walk through. It is what I used to do this drawing of my shop, DSCN1244.jpg and the family room redo. living room remodel.jpg (you can see part of one recessed can light on the upper right side of the second picture. The program even allows you to change the shadows coming from outside light source) Jim.
 
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