Spotlight and ConnectCAD terminology
There is some overlap between Spotlight and ConnectCAD terminology and functionality. Each industry has unique requirements for tools and functionality that can also be somewhat similar. The following table provides clarification.
|
Terminology |
Spotlight |
ConnectCAD |
|
Cable |
The Cable tool creates a cable object, modeling a physical cable in the real world |
The cable object optionally models a physical cable in the real world, end to end. A cable may act as the conduit for the circuits on a schematic layer, or to designate multicore cables that each carry several circuits. It is not necessary to create a cable for every circuit; the level of detail depends on the design and the designer. One or more circuits can be assigned to a cable to specify the exact physical path of these circuits; this is useful when you want to override the automatic allocation to the shortest route. |
|
Circuit |
The Create Power Schematic command creates an association between Spotlight cables and ConnectCAD circuits |
The Connect tool creates a circuit on a schematic layer, and represents the connection between two sockets (on devices) on the theoretical level. The circuit’s path does not reflect the real-world route. |
|
Cable path |
The cable path object, created by the Cable Path tool, acts as a guide for the physical cables created with the Cable tool |
Cable paths, created by the Cable Route tool, act as physical cable routes placed on the model but also as a theoretical route for the circuits defined on a schematic layer. A network of these objects specifies the paths followed by circuits. The assignment of circuits to routes through the network is done by the Analyze Cable Routes and Calculate Cable Lengths commands. |
