14_Add a Conductor to a Run: Using Additional Circuit on Connections in AECinspire (3:26)

Overview

When a run needs one more conductor than the cable it was drawn with, such as a switch leg that turns 12/2 into 12/3, you add it on the connection itself. This video shows how to add that conductor through the Additional Circuit option in a connection's properties, confirm the change in the Wire BOM, and explains why you should enter a wire color instead of a circuit number. It applies to MC cable, EMT, and any other connection type, and it is for anyone detailing connections.

What you'll learn

• Check a connection's current conductor count in the Wire BOM
• Open a connection's properties from the right-click menu or the Properties button
• Read the Electrical section: circuit, phase, hot wire count, neutral, and ground
• Add a conductor with Additional Circuit using a wire color
• Refresh the BOM and confirm the cable now reports the added conductor
• Keep cable descriptions orderable by using a color instead of a circuit number

Before You Begin

You need an existing connection on the sheet. Creating connections is covered in 13-creating-connections. In this example, the project's default wire size is 12 gauge, and the run starts as 12/2 cable.

Part 1 — Check the Connection in the Wire BOM

Check the run's current cable description so you can compare it after adding the conductor.

1. Open the Wire BOM and filter or isolate it to the connection you want to change.
2. Locate the feed for that connection. In the video, this is Feed 2, running to the device labeled 2R1814.
3. Scroll right to the wire information.
4. Note the current size and cable. In the example, it reads 12 gauge (the project default) and 12/2 cable.
5. Click a segment of the run you want to change.
6. Right-click and open Properties. You can also click the Properties button in the upper right corner.
7. Scroll to the Electrical section at the bottom of the properties panel.
8. In the Electrical section, go to Additional Circuit.
9. Enter the color of the extra wire, for example purple. Do not enter a circuit number.
10. Click Add.
11. Apply the wire to the connection.
12. Click Close.
13. Refresh your view.
14. Close out of Properties if it is still open.
15. Refresh the BOM if it has not updated yet.
16. Go back to the same feed in the Bill of Material.
17. Confirm the cable now reports as 12/3.
18. Check the wire color description. In the example, it lists black, white, green, and purple.

Part 2 — Open the Connection's Properties

The Electrical section shows the circuit the connection carries, the phase, the hot wire count, the neutral, and the ground.

Part 3 — Add the Conductor with Additional Circuit

The option is named Additional Circuit, but what it adds to the run is a conductor.

Best practice: Enter a wire color, not a circuit number. A circuit number appears in the wire color description and makes the cable description nonstandard for ordering. A color is not tied to a circuit, so you can reuse the same color on every cable that needs an extra conductor.

Part 4 — Refresh and Confirm in the Bill of Material

Note: The BOM may not refresh on its own after you close Properties. Refresh it before you check the result.

Color vs Circuit Number in Additional Circuit

Part 5 — Bulk Changes with Manage Data

Use Properties to add a conductor while detailing an individual connection. For changes to many runs, the narrator points to Manage Data, with filtering on Feed 2 to find all its devices as an example. Bulk changes are mentioned but not demonstrated here; Manage Data is covered in a later video.

Quick Reference

Troubleshooting