GANGED ELECTRICAL SWITCHES

[mtldesigns]

Ok I thought I was seeing things... or saw things IDK.  I opened a plan I last opened and saved in x16, and my switches are "ganged" as a block.  I like this, but how did this happen?  I know I didn't do it on purpose..  and if its a X17 thing, why are the models I am working in 17 not doing this?  I don't see any setting for this kind of thing.

 

 

[PitMan71]

Is the screen shot from X16?

[ConnorE]

Howdy!

 

We changed the way Ganged Electrical works in X17. In previous versions, these blocks were created automatically when switches/outlets were within 9" of each other. Now, these blocks get created as the result of multi-selecting the Electrical objects and clicking the "Make Ganged Electrical Block" action on your edit toolbar.

 

When you load in an X16 plan that has the old Ganged Electrical, we automatically convert them to the new version. This is the only time the new Ganged Blocks are created automatically.

 

Hope this helps!

[mtldesigns]

9 hours ago, PitMan71 said:

Is the screen shot from X16?

NO that was a X16 file opened up into X17..  it now is a 17 file...

 

@ConnorE

So I wasn't crazy...  and I remember somewhere seeing this.. prob the X17 preview vid.  Thanks.  I am ganging away now.  

[PitMan71]

10 hours ago, ConnorE said:

When you load in an X16 plan that has the old Ganged Electrical, we automatically convert them to the new version. This is the only time the new Ganged Blocks are created automatically.

Good to know.

[mtldesigns]

10 hours ago, ConnorE said:

This is the only time the new Ganged Blocks are created automatically.

More of a follow up on your response Connor, and its more of just a curiosity thing.  Why in 16 does it do this automatically, but not 17?

[ConnorE]

12 hours ago, mtldesigns said:

More of a follow up on your response Connor, and its more of just a curiosity thing.  Why in 16 does it do this automatically, but not 17?

That solution was the result of trying to solve a lot of problems that the old Ganged Electrical had, and to unify this block alongside our other block types in the software.

 

The automatic behavior had a lot of issues in older versions, the most important being that a new object was never created as a result. The individual Electrical objects stayed individual, and we just rendered them differently in 3D. This made them inaccurate in Plan View, difficult to move around, and it didn't provide us with a lot of flexibility for improving ganged blocks in the future.

 

By making ganging electrical an explicit action, we provide a similar interface to our other blocked objects (Architectural Blocks, Mulled Units, etc.). This, in turn, allowed us to create an entirely new object where we can now provide specific controls and features, just for the ganged block.

[DBCooper]

I like the new way in X17 better even though it is not automatic.

 

- in X16, you couldn't get switches close without them making a gang.

- In X16, the edit box was off when you selected a switch in a camera view and you couldn't control where the switch was actually placed.

- In x17, you can control how the switches display in plan view better with the new controls over the spacing as well as displaying the wall plate.

- In X17, you can change the 3D alignment which can help if the gang is going to be near a wall end or something else that the plan display will collide with .

- In X17, you can now put a gang on a cabinet side.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9 by DBCooper

[DougWilson]

So...

 

I love the change to make ganging be explicit.     BUT, at least here in Australia multiple switch points are not just side by side single switches, but commonly multiple switches within one rectangular box...  like

 

Or 

 

 

 

But with only 1 row in the "stack" and what seems to be fixed 3D spacing the closest I think I can get is

 

Which is not TOO bad.... but much better would be to let you choose the 3D object that represents the ganged assembly.

 

I've been trying to figure out how to do this by creative hacking on a custom symbol.... but I can't seem to combine 2D views in a way that allows me to manage the connection points to wiring... Your ganging solutions solves that very nicely !

 

Any thoughts from the team on how to make a custom symbol who's 2D (plan) view allows multiple connection point would be appreciated !

 

Thanks so much

 

 

[DBCooper]

As far as I know, there is no way to make a vertical gang.  Electrical symbols are still very customizable though so you should be able to solve this fairly easily.  You already have complete control over what shows in plan view and in camera views.

 

You can import any 3D data you want to show the electrical object in camera views.  In your pictures above, it looks you already have the 3D model you need for your ganged switches.  It's just a matter of turning this into an electrical symbol.

 

You can use any 2D cad block you want to show the electrical object in plan views.  It should be pretty easy to make a cad block showing multiple switch symbols.  I think the only rule is that your cad blocks can't be nested so you are going to have to explode your normal switch cad block, make copies of the cad, and then re-block it to use for your new ganged symbol.

 

An electrical symbol can have as many electrical connections as you want.  By default, they will snap to one location but you can always move them around to show them connected where you like and they should stay there.

 

The one thing that won't work right is the automatic switching to 3-way and 4-way switches.  In this case, I would just turn off the "auto change switch type when wiring".  You will need to manually add your "3" and "4" to your custom cad block (or whatever you use down-under to show this on your plans).

 

In the picture below, I took some random electrical object and modified it to use a 4-ganged switch cad block and then connected it to 4 different light symbols.  Obviously not what you need but just a proof of concept.  Let us know if you get stuck with any part of this.