Create I/O cards

In DB tool, there are two ways to create I/O cards: a quick way with just a few pieces of information and a more comprehensive way via the device property dialog.

Learn more:

Create I/O cards with device properties

Do the following:

Start creating the I/O card in one of the following ways:
- In the project tree, right-click and select New > I/O card.
- Select the I/O cards tab, right-click in the grid and select New I/O card.
The New device dialog opens.

Enter the necessary device information:

ID – The next consecutive ID is suggested.
Customer ID – Optional, free-form ID for the device that can be displayed both in drawings and reports. For information on creating customer IDs, see Create customer IDs.
Description – Additional information about the I/O card recorded in a report or a drawing.
Full ID – Full ID is constructed from location and device ID.
Device text 1–4 – Attributes of the device symbol in the drawing: E_SYMBTXT1–4. The texts can be edited in the drawing and the data will be updated in the database.
Planning area – Reports and grouping, for example, can have this piece of information as a filtering value. If you select a product model, this information will come from there.
Order
Location – Information about where the device is located. You can click the button next to the Location field and then select the location in the Select location dialog.

Circuit – Additional information for the device. You can click the button next to the Circuit field and then select the circuit in the Select circuit dialog. Depending on your settings, the Select circuit dialog either shows a grid or a tree view.
I/O rack – Select an I/O rack from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, create a new one by clicking the button next to the I/O rack field and clicking New in the Select I/O rack dialog.
Device type – By default, the type is I/O card. Reports and grouping, for example can have this piece of information as a filtering value.
Product model – Select the desired product model. By clicking the button next to the Product model field, you can fetch product models from the standard database or shared databases.
Position number – This is shown for devices that can be positioned. If you select a product model, this information will come from there.
To be deleted – Mark the device as to be removed from the project database.
Automatic removal allowed – The device created from drawing can be deleted automatically.
Size and position
- X-size, Y-size and Z-size – Dimensions of the device: width (X), height (Y) and depth (Z). If you select a product model, this information will come from there.
- Space info – If device is located in some space.
- Shape – Shapes define the 3D presentation of the device if 3D symbol is not defined. If you select a product model, this information will come from there.
- Elevation – Elevation of the device in drawing. This affects for example 3D generation of the device.
- System – System of the device.
- Feeding distribution board

In the I/O card properties section, enter the necessary information.

If you selected a product model and want the channel addresses to be created automatically, define a value in the Start address IN or the Start address OUT field. If necessary, also define a value in the Bit address offset field.

When the addresses are automatically created, you cannot edit addresses for individual channels.

Define information on the various tabs as necessary.

Pins

The Pins tab shows the device's pins (terminals) and their connections. Devices get pins from drawings and along with product information (item code) assigned to them. From a drawing, pins are created based on the wiring points of the device symbol occurrences. The wiring point refers to a terminal attribute, and together they form a pin. Several wiring points can be defined to the same terminal attribute, in which case they only form one pin.

The pins (wire connection points) are updated to the project database. You can edit pin values in the database. The values are updated to the device occurrences in drawings, where the pinGUID refers to the pin. The same pin can occur in several different symbols (occurrences) in the drawing.

If different symbols are used in different occurrences of the device and the symbols have the same attributes while they mean different things, you have to include a part number (e.g. [112]), which makes the pins different from each other.

Part numbering

The part number is added to the pin attribute name in brackets for the compiled symbols e.g. E_PINA001[112].

Part number is not visible in a single symbol occurrence but it can be seen/set by selecting the device, right-clicking and selecting Set part number.

The part number is also shown in the information box:

Part number ranges

Feeds: 0
I/O channels: 0– (unlimited)
Plug-in terminals and device terminals: 1–99
Coils: 101–109
Main contacts:
- Opening 111–199, odd numbers
- Closing 112–198, even numbers

Auxiliary contacts:
- Opening 201–299, odd numbers
- Closing 202–298, even numbers
Contacts: 301–399

Add new pins

You can add new pins i.e. terminals to devices.

Do the following:

Click the button in the first column.

Alternatively, right-click and select New. The New pin dialog opens.
Define pin information:
- Number – Pin number, can also include letters, for example A1.
- Attribute – For every pin there is a corresponding attribute that includes pin number, for example E_PINA???, E_PINB??? or E_PINX??? according to the connection side.
- Part number – If different symbols are used in different occurrences of the device and the symbols have the same attributes while they mean different things, the part number (e.g. [112]) separates the pins from each other.
- Description – Optional free form description for the connection point.
- Signal – Optional signal type, e.g. SIG, N or PE.

Click OK.

Symbols

The Symbols tab shows which symbols are assigned to the device and whether they have been inserted into the drawing. On this tab, you can add symbols for the device before inserting an occurrence in the drawing.

After clicking the arrow next to Add, select whether to select the symbol from a menu, from 3D symbols, from a file, or from the drawing:

From menu – Select the desired symbol in the Symbol selection dialog.

Show/hide procedure

Do the following:

Select the desired tab:

	Electrical symbols – This tab shows you all the Electrical symbols available.
	User's symbols – This tab shows you the symbols you have saved with the Save user symbol function or imported from the user icon menus.
	Favorite symbols – This tab shows you the symbols you have defined as your favorites.
	Symbols in current project – This tab shows you all the symbols in the project.
	Symbols in current drawing – This tab shows you the symbols that have been inserted in the active drawing.

You can also filter the symbols more by opening and selecting the tree nodes. In the Symbols section, symbols are shown according to your selection.

Double-click the symbols you want to select. Alternatively, right-click them and select Add. The symbols are moved to the selected symbols.
Click OK. The symbols you selected are now shown on the Symbols tab.

For more information on the Symbol selection dialog, see Symbol selection.

3D symbol – Select the desired 3D symbols in the Symbol selection dialog by double-clicking them and clicking OK. For more information on the Symbol selection dialog, see Symbol selection.
From drawing – Select the desired symbol in the drawing. This option is not available in the DB tool.
File – Select the document type, and then the symbol. This option is not available in the DB tool.

You can remove symbols that have not been inserted.
On the drawing side, you can replace symbols that have not been inserted. The type of the drawing affects replacing: If you are replacing a symbol of the same drawing type as that of the current drawing (single-line symbol / single-line diagram, for example), you have the option to select from the drawing or the menu, or a file. If you are replacing a symbol of a different drawing type (single-line symbol / arrangement drawing, for example), you can only select from the menu or a file.

Replacing is not available in the DB tool.
Attributes and their values are read when selecting symbols. For the attributes that create additional information, you can click the button to define when to update or add additional information according to the symbol attributes. The object's text fields 1–4 are also updated according to the E_SYMBTXT 1–4 attributes.

The options for the setting are as follows:
- Always – Additional information is always updated.
- Never – Additional information is never updated.
- Select – You can select the additional information you want to add/update. After selecting a symbol, the Update selected dialog opens and you can select what you want to update:
The addition/update is done according to your selection as long as you change the setting.

Click OK.

Create I/O cards in a quick way

On the I/O cards tab, you can create I/O cards quickly by defining just the necessary information.

Do the following:

Right-click in the grid and select New I/O card (quick). The New I/O card dialog opens. The previously selected location, circuit, and I/O rack are shown. In addition, the Card ID field suggests the next consecutive ID.

Select card location from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, click the Browse button button next to the Location field and then select the location in the Select location dialog.

Select a circuit from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, click the button next to the Circuit field and then select the circuit in the Select circuit dialog. Depending on your settings, the Select circuit dialog either shows a grid or a tree view.
Select an I/O rack, or create a new one:
- Create a new rack by entering a rack ID in the I/O rack field.
- Select a rack from the drop-down menu.
- Click the button next to the I/O rack field and select the rack in the Select I/O rack dialog.
In the Card ID field, enter an ID for the new card.
If desired, select a project product model from the Product model menu. Alternatively, click the button next to the Product model field and select the product model from the standard database or shared databases in the Product models dialog.

After selecting the product model, the description and channel information from the product model are shown in the respective fields. In addition, the Start address IN, Start address OUT and Bit address offset fields become available.
If you selected a product model and want the channel addresses to be created automatically, define a value in the Start address IN or the Start address OUT field. If necessary, also define a value in the Bit address offset field.

When the addresses are automatically created, you cannot edit addresses for individual channels.
If you did not select a product model, do the following:
1. Enter a description. If you selected a product model, the product model description will be used.
2. Define the number of channels, and the number of the first channel. If you selected a product model, the channel information from the product model will be used.
Click OK.