Electrical Schematic Editor — Symbol Library for IEC 60617-Style Diagrams

A direct-on-line motor starter, on two sheets. The contactor coil shows where its contacts are.

And the power sheet points back to the coil. The schematic keeps its own cross-references.

This is the MechanixCalc Electrical Schematic editor. IEC 60617-style symbols, cross-references, wire numbers and a cable size estimate. Let's build one, step by step.

Step one: start from a template, the DOL motor starter. The power circuit: isolator, motor breaker, the KM1 main contacts, overload F1 and the motor.

The second sheet is the control circuit: emergency stop, stop and start, the KM1 hold-in contact, the overload trip and a run lamp.

Step two: the library. 38 IEC 60617-style symbols in 9 groups, from protection and coils to drives and PLC I/O.

Search for terminal, select it, and press Enter. It drops in, tagged X1.

Step three: tags. Every tag is unique across all sheets. Click the motor, and add its power, 7.5 kW, and the starter type, DOL.

A contact takes the tag of its coil. That is how the cross-references work.

Step four: cross-references. Every sheet has numbered rungs. A location reads sheet, then rung. So /2.2 is sheet two, rung two.

Under the coil, its contacts: on /1.2, /2.4 and /2.6. Beside each contact, the rung of its coil.

Move the lamp contact down a rung, and the cross-reference under the coil updates.

Give a contact a tag with no coil, and an amber warning tells you.

Step five: wire numbers. Open the wire panel. Pick a prefix and a format, then Auto-Number Wires. The numbers carry on across sheets.

To change one number, select the wire and press Enter, or double-click its label.

Step six: the one calculation, a cable size estimate. Click the motor feed. 30 amps. 400 volts, three-phase. 10 metres. Power factor 0.85. Copper, XLPE.

The result: 4 square millimetres, rated 32 amps. Volt drop 2.49 volts, 0.62 percent. PASS. And the label goes on the wire.

Make the run 60 metres. 4 square millimetres still carries the current, but the volt drop would pass 3 percent. So it steps up to 6. 2.5 percent, PASS.

It is an estimate, and this box says what it leaves out: installation method, ambient temperature, grouping, and protective-device coordination.

Step seven: arrange. Press R to rotate, and the wires follow. Line types: power, control, signal and bus.

Step eight: the lists. Wire list, terminal list, motor list, cable schedule, cross-reference list and bill of materials.

Each one as a CSV, or all of them in one Excel workbook, a tab per list.

Step nine: save and export. Save to cloud, and the drawing opens on any device. From the Cloud Library, you can share a read-only link.

The PDF drawing puts every sheet in a zoned frame, with a title block. And the cross-references are printed on every sheet.

Plus a DXF for your CAD, and a vector SVG.

One honest note. The symbols are IEC 60617-style, and the cable size is an estimate. Check it against your installation.

That's a motor starter, drawn and cross-referenced. Try it on your own panel, on MechanixCalc.com.