Automation Studio One-Line Electrotechnical Guide
Automation Studio One-Line Electrotechnical Guide
User’s Guide
Famic Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.©
REPRODUCTION
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1 Introduction
The One-line Electrotechnical Workshop is a graphic editing tool that manipulates and
simulates three-phase electrotechnical diagrams. Single-phase and direct-current
components are not simulated. Although there are no complete standards that rule one-
line schematic design, the designation used in Automation Studio ™ complies with the
philosophy of international standards such as IEC and NEMA.
This user guide provides all the required information to use and work efficiently with the
One-line Electrotechnical workshop of Automation Studio™. This guide includes technical
specifications for components, procedures to define properties, instructions for building
and simulating circuits, and provides examples of applications.
Chapter 2 One-Line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor : This section describes all Automation
Studio™ menus related to one-line electrotechnical functions.
Chapter 3 One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop : This section describes all the editing and
documentation functions available with the one-line electrotechnical workshop.
Chapter 4 Simulation : This section describes all the simulation functions available with
the one-line electrotechnical workshop.
The editor of the One-line Electrotechnical Workshop is not graphically compatible with
the other Automation Studio™ editors. Only components from the One-line
Electrotechnical Workshop and from the HMI & Control panel workshop can be used in a
one-line electrotechnical diagram.
Components from the One-line Electrotechnical Workshop cannot be used on other types
of diagrams. However, variables from the SFC workshop can be associated with
components from the One-line Electrotechnical Workshop without any problem. In the
same way, variables from the One-line Electrotechnical Workshop can be associated with
certain components from other workshops.
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2 One-Line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor Interface
This chapter describes the menus that are specific to the One-line Electrotechnical
Diagram Editor. For a description of items common to all workshops, see the Automation
Studio™ User’s Guide.
Figure 2-1: Main One-line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor Window presents the interface
of the one-line electrotechnical diagram editor with the description of its main elements.
Some of these elements can be moved while others cannot, they are therefore called
dynamic or static.
Description Categories
2 Ribbon Static
Description Categories
To access the main window of the One-line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor, you
must create a One-line Electrotechnical Diagram.
The functionalities of the "Home" tab are common to the other workshops with the
exception of the "line" group which contains functions that are specific to one-line
diagrams.
"Line" Group:
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One-Line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor Interface
Command Description
Except for the “Select” command, the functionalities of the "Edit" tab are common to the
other workshops. Refer to the Automation Studio™ User’s Guide.
The “Select” command of the “Edit” group allows you to select items using functions
specific to the One-Line workshop.
Command Description
The functionalities of the "View" tab are common to the other workshops with the
exception of the "Show" group.
"Show" Group
The "Highlight Links" and "Contact Points" functions are absent since they do not apply in
the one-line workshop.
The functionalities of the "Edit" tab are common to the other workshops. See the
Automation Studio™ User’s Guide.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor Interface
"Diagnostic" Group
Command Description
The diagnostic tool allows detecting errors in one-line diagrams. For more details
see section 3.8 Diagnostic Management.
"Tools" Group
Command Description
The functionalities of the "Edit" tab are common to the other workshops, see the
Automation Studio™ User’s Guide.
The Automation Studio™ menu at the top left of the window gives access to project
management functions like New, Open, Save. It also gives access to the main options of
Automation Studio™, see the Automation Studio™ User’s Guide for more details.
The document properties window is accessible from the "View" tab in the "Properties"
group. It gives access to the properties and history of the current document.
With the exception of the "Standard" branch which can change depending upon the
workshop, the other branches are similar for all kind of documents. For the description of
the common branches, see the Automation Studio™ User’s Guide.
Standards
Name Description
Map Locator Standard Select or change the map locator standard for
the current document
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One-Line Electrotechnical Diagram Editor Interface
Name Description
The standard of a document manages the usable component types and their naming
fashion. Thus, creating a standard requires defining component types and naming rules. It
is possible to choose the symbol of a given component from a selection of alternate
symbols proposed.
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Standard
Follows
Identifier
Proposed
Define Symbol
Symbols
COMPONENT
The “Component Properties” accessible from the "View" tab under the "Properties" group
or from the component contextual menu give you access to the properties of the
selected component. The “Data” branch in the component properties dialogue box is
made of different groups in which you can define the behavior of the component. These
groups can be shown or hidden by clicking on the plus (+) or minus (-) sign beside the
category name. The details of each property can be displayed by clicking on "Show
details" at the bottom of the window.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
A description of the technical data and of the behavior of the component is available by
clicking on the help button.
The “Component Type” branch allows you to see and to modify the type of the
component at hand. It is this property that is used to generate the component identifier
according to the naming rule specified in the project’s active standard. For more
information on component types, see section 3.4 Component Type Management.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
If you do not wish to choose a different symbol, dragging the symbol directly from the
main library will insert the default symbol used for the component.
The default symbol can be replaced by selecting the desired symbol and clicking on the
symbol library dialogues “Replace in Main Library” button.
Field Description
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Field Description
Essential Subdivision and Location are shared with the standard electrotechnical
workshop. An essential subdivision created for a standard electrotechnical diagram
can also be used by a one-line diagram and vice versa.
To assign a specific pair (Essential Subdivision and Location) to a component, after you
properly configured the essential subdivisions in the "Project Properties" → "Electrical
System" → "Essential Subdivisions / Locations", there are different ways to proceed:
● When a component is inserted on a diagram, the subdivision selected under the
"Edit" tab in the "Localization" group is automatically associated to the
component;
● When a component is already on the diagram and is selected, it is possible to
modify the Essential Subdivision and Location pair by choosing the desired pair
under the "Edit" tab in the "Localization" group;
All Automation Studio™ projects come with a list of default component types . It is
possible to modify these types by selecting different associated components, but it is not
For more details regarding the associated components and their impact on the
components identifiers, see section 3.5 Associated Component Management.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
1 Creation and
The icon creates a new component type.
deletion toolbar
3 Type name and The “Name” field contains the name of the selected
category component type (The name that appears in the
“Name” column of section 2). When a new type is
created, the field is empty and you can enter the
desired name.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
4. Click on the icon on the left of “Associated Component Type #1” to open the
“Available Component Type” and “Selected Component Type” lists;
5. Select the desired type from the list on the left, then click on the button to
You can add more than one associated component type in the list on the right. You can
also move all components to the list on the right. For more information on how
associated components are treated, see section 3.5 Associated Component Management.
This window allows you to define and configure label standards that will be used in the
project.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Number/Step Description
6 Save changes.
Label Types
● Show Card:
To add a label to a component (in edit or in simulation mode), use the component
context menu (right click). A label could be deleted using the right click on the
component or using the “Delete” of the keyboard.
The label text could be edited in two ways : a) select the label and press F2 b)
select the label and make one left click.
All components in the Automation Studio ™ main library come with a default type. You
can view and modify this type in the “Component Properties” dialogue box under the
“Component Type” branch:
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Figure 3-14: "Component Type" Branch of the "Component Properties" Dialogue Box
When components are assembled, the assembly automatically takes the “Generic
assembly” type. It is recommended to change that type to one more appropriate
for the assembly created.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Once the association is done, the component item identifiers are automatically updated
according to the naming rule followed by the component type (See section 3.6 Naming
Rule Management).
First the algorithm moves away from it by examining the closest connected components.
If no component is found which type corresponds to the initial component’s “Associated
Component Type #1” or “Associated Component Type #2” property (See section 3.5
Associated Component Management), the algorithm moves to components one step
further. Search is stopped when the boundary “Equipotential Zone” is reached
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
If two or more components are found on the same level, the one that comes first
in the list of associated components is registered.
The components that constitute the boundary of the equipotential zones are the
sources, transformers and converters.
Item Identifiers are formatted according to the active Standard (See section 3.7 Standard
Management). In order to update all identifiers in the document:
1. In the “One-Line” tab, in the "Tools" Group, click on “Regenerate ID”;
All identifiers are then regenerated and the correct information is displayed for all
components.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
All Automation Studio™ projects come with a list of default naming rules that can be
modified. Naming rules can be accessed by clicking on "Project Properties" button from
the "View" tab in the "Properties" group. In the project properties navigate to "Electrical
Systems" → "One-Line" → "Naming Rules (One-Line Standards)".
1 Creation and
The icon creates a new naming rule.
Deletion
Toolbar
The icon deletes the selected naming rule.
3 Rule Name and The “Name” field contains the name of the selected
Comments naming rule (The name that appears in the “Name”
column of section 2). When a new naming rule is
created, the field is empty and you can enter the
desired name.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Properties Description
Properties Description
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Properties Description
Associated Link Page Page where Associated Link is located. This is only
Number (only for link) applicable for types that are used with the “Link”
components.
Properties Description
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Naming rules are assigned to component types in the “Standards” branch of the “Project
Properties” (See section 3.7 Standard Management below for more details on standards.)
The standards in the One-Line Electrotechnical workshop manage which components can
be inserted in a document or a project, and the way these components are identified. To
do that, a standard interrelates Component Types with Naming Rules.
All Automation Studio™ projects have a standard by default called “Famic Technologies
Standard”. Naming rules can be accessed by clicking on "Project Properties" button from
the "View" tab in the "Properties" group. In the project properties navigate to "Electrical
Systems" → "One-Line" → "Standards" to find the standards. A standard is saved with the
project.
1 Creation and
The icon creates a new standard.
Deletion Toolbar
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Component types that are inactive (unchecked in the standard’s list of component
types) cannot be used in the project.
4. In the “Code” column of the component type list, enter the desired code that will
represent the component type in the components’ displayable tagname.
5. Associate a naming rule for each active component by selecting the desired naming
rule from the corresponding combo box in the “Component Type naming Rule”
column of the component type list;
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
These diagnostic tools can be accessed from the “One-Line” tab by selecting “Diagnosis
Tools”
You can select the One-line documents that requires diagnosis using the “Select
Diagrams for Diagnosis” dialogue.
Once the documents are selected, select what type of diagnosis is to be to perform.
Option Description
Free connectors Detects all connectors in the selected documents that are not
connected.
Uniqueness of Item Detects components that have identical Item Identifiers in the
Identifier selected documents.
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One-Line Electrotechnical Workshop Functionalities
Option Description
connected (without without the use of an electrical line.
electrical line)
Voltage level non Detects sources, transformers and converters whose voltage
uniform across settings do not correspond to the equipotential zone they are
equipotential zones in.
Typeless Component Detects all assemblies on the selected documents that have
Assemblies the type “Generic Assembly”.
The user can select one or several diagnoses. The results are displayed in the
The simulation might not work correctly if a receiver component such as a contact
is not linked to an emitter component such as a relay. A warning message will be
displayed in the message window.
The presence of directly connected components without an electrical line does not
affect the simulation. (Normally, components are connected by an electrical line.).
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4 Simulation
In this chapter we explore the characteristics of one-line electrotechnical project
simulation. For general information on project simulation in Automation Studio ™, see the
Automation Studio™ User’s Guide.
In order to do that:
1. Click on the desired component during simulation. If there is a modifiable property, a
“Settings” dialogue box should appear;
2. Modify the value by using the slider or by entering the desired value in the text box;
3. Hit ENTER or close the “Settings” dialogue box by clicking on the icon.
During simulation, changing the settings using the slider will automatically change
the associated value of the device in real time.
In order to toggle between the two states, a simple click on the contact will
automatically switch states.
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Simulation
Electrical contacts can also be activated through variables. Each contact has a Control
variable and a Monitoring variable. The Control variable is read by the contact to update
its state and the Monitoring variable is continuously updated by the contact to reflect its
state.
In order to close a contact through a linked variable, you must set the Control variable; in
order to open the contact by variable, you have to reset the Control variable.
When a contact is linked to a control variable, clicking on it will change its state,
but the state of the control variable will remain the same. However, the state of
the Monitoring variable will always reflect the true state of the contact.
Linking variables is done in the same way as with other Automation Studio™ workshops.
See the Automation Studio™ User’s Guide for more information on how to work with
variables.
4.3.1 Plotter
Values in the One-line Electrotechnical Workshop are plotted in the same plotter as the
standard electrotechnical workshop.
In order to plot a quantity, simply drag the component which property you wish to plot
into the electrotechnical plotter. If the component has more than one property that can
be plot, a dialogue box will open prompting you to select which properties to plot.
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Simulation
See the Automation Studio™ User’s Guide for more information on standard plotter
options.
Dynamic measuring instruments are specialized components satellites that allow you to
obtain useful information on the variables used in a simulation. This saves you from
inserting real components into a schematic that would affect a project’s documentation.
These instruments can be inserted into a circuit schematic during simulation.
The main purpose of these dynamic measuring instruments is to display and record a
given property. It is then possible for you to plot evolution curves of variables and to
build a complete analysis report of the simulation. Unit and refreshment period can be
modified.
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Simulation
Command Description
The Plotters are used to see the temporal evolution of different variables in a graphic
window during simulation. Several variables of different components can be viewed
simultaneously in a single graph. It can also plot different fluid data saved with the
measuring instruments and contained in a measure document in the Project Explorer.
1. Click on the icon in the "Measuring" group of the "Simulation" toolbar. The mouse
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Simulation
1. Click on the icon in the “Measuring” group of the "Simulation" tab. The mouse
following shape ;
3. Click and, while holding the mouse button, drag and drop to determine the
measuring instrument’s tag location on the diagram;
The “Connections” section of the “Recorder” dialogue box is dynamic and adapts
to the recorded property.
During simulation, all lines and components, except for circuit breakers, are displayed in
a color that reflects the voltage level across their connectors. If the voltage is below a
threshold, the component is considered de-energized and is displayed in a specific color.
If the voltage is above that threshold, the component is considered energized and is
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Simulation
The voltage threshold as well as the displayed energized and de-energized colors
can be customized in the "Project Properties" under "Electrical System" → "One-
Line" → "One-Line Standards", then click on the "Simulation" tab.
Circuit breakers are treated differently than other one-line components. They are
shown in a color that reflects whether they are open or closed, regardless of the
voltage level across their connectors. This allows to easily monitor the state of the
circuit by knowing which circuit breakers are tripped or opened.
Component rated values are constantly monitored during simulation. If a rated value is
exceeded, a flashing symbol is displayed on the component showing which connector is
faulty and which value was exceeded.
One-line disconnectors have a load monitoring feature. They detect if they were operated
under load. If they were operating under load, a symbol is displayed on the affected side.
The disconnector remains usable but the fault symbol remains until the simulation ends.
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Simulation
Basic elements used for creating diagrams. Each component represents a behavior or a
function during simulation. Components are part of the library and are provided by the
workshops.
Connection
A connection binds two components and/or links them together. Connections are the
same color as the element to which they are connected, and they differ if they are not
connected. Two connections from non-compatible technologies cannot be connected
together. For example, a pneumatic line cannot be connected to an Electrotechnical
component and vice-versa.
Connection Number
Connection port
Component terminal that permits the connection of a wire. Normally there will be one to
two wires connected to a component terminal.
Connector
An element represented by a red circle when it is not linked. It allows the connection of
two components. A connector becomes a connection as soon as it is connected to
another element.
Diagram
The tool used to create, modify and manage project files. The project editor includes the
document manager that enumerates all the documents in the project.
Edit Mode
Emitter
Component that transmits its state or its value to other receiver components that are
associated with it.
Equipotential Zone
Group of connected components that function at the same voltage level. An Equipotential
Zone is bounded by voltage sources, energy converters and transformers.
Library
Window containing the basic elements used for designing circuits or simulation models.
There are three types of elements: components, links and graphic objects. They are
included in the workshops.
Link
Project
Project Explorer
The contents of one of the project editor's windows. The document manager lists all of
the documents in the project.
A-2
Glossary
Properties
Receiver
Component that receives its state or its value from an emitter component with which it is
associated. It takes its tag name from the emitter component with which it is associated.
Simulation Cycle
One step in the calculation that determines the state of each component.
Simulation Mode
Title Bar
A horizontal bar located above the window which contains the title.
Toolbar
A bar located under the menu bar. It contains buttons for the most frequently used
commands.
User Interface
Environment made of windows, dialogue boxes, menus, commands, mouse and keys
etc… which enable user to communicate with the computer.
Utility
A general designation for different tools, workshops and other functions that operate in
different windows in Automation Studio™.
Workshop
A module that plugs into the Core System. Each workshop contains elements, diagrams
and functions relating to its own technological specialty and to the type of diagrams it
can generate.
Workspace
The part of the window that displays the information you are working on, such as graphs,
tables, and the item list of the application.
A-4
B Index
* Name Prefix ...................................... 4-1 Naming Rule Management .............. 3-22