You can create all your panel and cable wiring from the Domain Explorer, which opens automatically after starting SmartPlant Instrumentation. If for some reason the Domain Explorer is not running, press F7 to open it. Since it is possible to perform most wiring operations from the Domain Explorer, you do not need to start the Wiring module at this time.
Let us now examine how SmartPlant Instrumentation arranges the wiring items in the Domain Explorer.
Panels and their sub-items are arranged in the tree view of the Domain Explorer according to panel location and panel category. Therefore, you can find the same panel and its sub-items in both the Panel by Location and Panel by Category folders of the Domain Explorer.
Panels are classified according to their category. Click the Panel by Category folder to display the panel category folders. These folders will hold all your panels according to their categories. You cannot delete these folders, nor can you create new ones. Note that each panel category is represented by a particular icon to make it easily recognizable. The panel categories are as shown.
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Junction box |
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Plug-and-socket junction box |
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Marshaling rack |
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Cabinet |
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Device panel |
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Plug-and-socket device panel |
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DCS (Distributed Control System) cabinet |
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PLC (Programmable Logical Controller) cabinet |
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In the Domain Explorer, click Panels by Category > Device Panels.
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Select a device panel.
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Click the device panel to display the existing sub-items. Currently the next child item is a terminal strip.
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Double-click the terminal strip to expand it and display its child items.
The Telecom Panels folder contains a separate group of panels that are specific to Telecom only. These
panels are not dealt with in this tutorial.
Panels by Category Hierarchy
Panels can contain a whole range of child items. These child items can be terminal strips, racks, wiring equipment, and so forth. There is a lot of flexibility in creating a panel hierarchy. There is no rigid structure like "panel – terminal strip – terminal" that limits your wiring design. You can create various wiring structures as you require. To create a new panel, right-click the Panels by Category folder, click New followed by a suitable command on the sub-menu. In our example, we have three types of panels (a junction box, a marshaling rack, and a DCS). We will make use of the following structures as shown.
For the junction box and marshalling rack:
For the DCS panel:
Cable Hierarchy
Cables are arranged in the Cables folder. Cross wiring cables are arranged in the Cross Cables folder. To create a new cable, right-click the Cables folder, click New followed by a suitable command on the sub-menu. You can create various child items under cables. Here is one possible structure:
