You’re working on an electrical design project. What are the best practices you need to know?

Before you start any design work, we must understand the local regulations and standards. Usually, the order of precedence is established as follows:- 1. Local regulations, such as Electricity Act and Electrical Installation Regulations 2. Local code of practices and standards, such as Singapore Standards, Malaysia Standards 3. International Standards, such as IEC, IEEE or etc

In my experience at El-Com Systems, defining project scope is often overlooked, leading to designs that don't fully meet specifications or client intentions. A tool aiding engineers to accurately define and adhere to requirements from the start, ensuring compliance and shifting responsibility from manufacturing to design, would greatly improve outcomes and efficiency. This approach addresses the critical need for precision and alignment in complex engineering projects.

An important aspect to consider during the scope definition is budget. Sometimes the customer's needs are not directly proportional with the budget available for a project. In such situations a reduced scope is recommended or additional funding required to complete a successful project.

In my experience, a clear understanding of the local network and applicable regulations is key to a successful project. Making assumptions based on high level information and or expectations is a clear indication of a disaster waiting to happen, followed by unhappy clients and investors. Many times, I had to assist clients with retrofitting efforts to recover failed projects due to negligence at the design phase. These are a few who were lucky to find a solution. Imagine having ship a whole consignment of useless equipment back to the suppliers across either the Indian or Atlantic pond. It’s not a peaceful exercise to experience should your engineering design team fail to factor such critical elements of your project location.

As stated, the best outcome of good design will come after having a full understanding clearly about the scope and requirements from the customers specification by following the international standards.

The gap between MCAD and ECAD presents a unique challenge in electrical wire harness design, inadequately addressed by existing tools. This discrepancy complicates design processes, as neither domain fully supports the intricate requirements of wire harnesses. Additionally, building a component parts library is manually intensive, further straining resources. Cableteque's PIA aims to bridge this gap, offering a unified solution that simplifies the integration of mechanical and electrical design elements and streamlines the development of parts libraries, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in design workflows.

When tackling an electrical design project, it's crucial to define clear scope and objectives, adhere to design principles, test and verify designs, and continuously review and improve. As for tools, consider using software like AutoCAD Electrical for schematic design, MATLAB/Simulink for simulation, and Multisim for circuit analysis. These tools streamline the design process, enhance accuracy, and facilitate collaboration among team members, ensuring efficient project execution and optimal results.

Defining the scope is the key element to success. choosing the right tools is the direct result to the accurate defined scope which directly leads to less wasted time / resources and a faster uninterrupted project cycle

Choose components (switches, relays, transformers, etc.) based on their specifications, ratings, and compatibility. Consider factors like voltage levels, temperature, environmental conditions, and reliability. Opt for quality components from reputable manufacturers. Create a clear and organized layout for electrical panels, control cabinets, and distribution boards. Create schematic diagrams, wiring diagrams, and panel layouts. Include component lists, bill of materials (BOM), and revision history. Simulate your design using software tools (e.g., SPICE, MATLAB/Simulink) to verify performance. Conduct functional tests, insulation resistance tests, and load tests.

Electrical design encompasses utilizing diverse tools and software for creating, simulating, analyzing, and documenting electrical systems. Depending on project complexity, various tools like schematic capture, circuit simulation, layout design, signal integrity, power analysis, testing, and debugging may be necessary. Choose tools based on project needs, budget, preferences, and compatibility with team members. Familiarize yourself with tool features, ensure updates, and maintain them regularly.

In my perspective, adept electrical design deeply integrates fundamental principles like Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws, essential for understanding and optimizing circuits. It's not just about wiring but applying specific principles like power factor correction and noise reduction to enhance efficiency, reliability, and safety. Leveraging advanced tools that embed these core principles ensures superior design outcomes.

In electrical design projects, key best practices include defining clear scope, selecting appropriate tools, adhering to design principles, testing rigorously, and continuously reviewing and improving. Design principles like safety, efficiency, reliability, and compliance with standards such as NEC (National Electrical Code) are paramount. Additionally, consider principles like simplicity, modularity, and scalability to optimize designs for functionality and ease of maintenance. These practices ensure successful project execution and high-quality outcomes.

Following the design concept shall also be accompanied by following the local and international codes to ensure the quality of the final project. The design concept, the local/international codes and clients needs should be considered and respected during the engineering cycle yet it is very important to keep the engineering/construction contract into consideration.

It's always a best practise to know the basics in designing electrical systems. Whether its AC or DC, fundamental standards apply. Keeping in mind Ohm's Law, Series and Parallel circuitry, calculating total resistances, capacitances, inductances, and impedances.

There’s no need to re-invent the wheel. If you’ve got a proven solution for a design and you can use it again, do so - why start from scratch? Not only are you wasting time and effort, you’re introducing more chances for the design to include errors that wouldn’t be there if you reused your proven design.

Every design should be validated with the local and international codes to ensure that the design meets them and to clarify any issues in the design during the early contact stages is one of the main reasons that the project is on the right track. Considering the contract and your scope as per the contract during this process.

Having the right commissioning documentation doesn’t only help prove it works - it can save you and your electricians from damages or prosecution if an incident were to occur.

Cableteque's application underscores the criticality of thorough testing and verification in electrical design. Embracing methods like simulation, prototyping, and debugging, we advocate for validating designs against specifications and performance expectations. This rigorous process ensures quality, functionality, and compliance, highlighting the importance of documenting outcomes and addressing any issues promptly. Our approach ensures designs are not just created but are proven to perform reliably under varied conditions.

Following design principles, testing thoroughly, and continuously reviewing and improving the design. Regarding tests to be verified, common ones include: Functional testing: Performance testing: Safety testing: Reliability testing: Environmental testing: Compliance testing: By conducting these tests, you can verify the functionality, safety, reliability, and compliance of your electrical design, ensuring its effectiveness and quality.

Every electrical design needs to be tested and validated. Ideally, there should be multiple validation stages throughout the project, until its completion. Although calculations and simulations are extremely important, they are not able to accurately represent the real-world situation. Therefore, after designing a system, it needs to be tested. Whenever possible, it is advantageous to test and validate small parts of the system, and then integrate them into larger systems and test again until the entire system is complete. Prototyping is an essential method for validation, as it helps identify problems early and at a low cost. The closer the prototype is to reality, the more reliable the results will be.

At Cableteque, we believe electrical design is all about constant improvement and innovation. Our solution cuts down on the time it takes to check and tweak designs, making it easier for designers to quickly refine their work based on solid feedback and performance data. We’re all about staying up-to-date with the latest trends and tech, learning from every project—ours and others’—to keep boosting design quality, dependability, and user happiness.

Conduct regular design reviews with team members to gather feedback and identify potential improvements. Analyze test results and user feedback to pinpoint areas for enhancement. Implement iterative design cycles, making incremental improvements based on feedback and testing results. Utilize simulation and modeling tools to explore design alternatives and optimize performance. Stay updated with industry trends and advancements to integrate innovative solutions into the design. Document all revisions and changes to ensure traceability and facilitate future iterations. By consistently reviewing and refining the design through collaborative efforts and utilizing available resources.

Scada and touch screens make understanding design easier Visually seeing the system overview makes understanding the design easier

Los costos de los materiales vs la calidad de los mismos El formato en que se presentan los esquemas eléctricos para facilitar la interpretación de los mismos

In some electrical systems, other things to consider during design may be: (1) power redundancy at the utility source level, (2) standby emergency power system at customer level, (3) renewable power sources integrated to the electrical system or (4) UPS for selected loads.

Some scenarios I have witnessed have shown engeenering / R&D teams using field service tools to produce electrical components/ assemblies in-house. This is fine for development, but there is a reason to look at mass production/ CapEx equipment beyond just efficiency…it’s also important to note that field service tools do not always have the same quality of materials, and they may not be robust enough to handle the load of mass production.

Address any deviations or issues promptly. Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: Optimize energy usage by selecting efficient components and minimizing losses. Consider renewable energy sources (solar, wind) if applicable. Design for longevity and ease of maintenance. Collaboration and Peer Review: Involve other engineers, technicians, or experts for peer review. Seek feedback on design choices, safety measures, and feasibility. Learn from collective experience and improve iteratively.