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Ohmstead

Getting started

An Ohmstead project is two lists. Components are device tags such as U1, K2 or PLC_MAIN, each linked to a part in the Codex, the shared parts library. Wires join a terminal on one component to a terminal on another. From those lists Ohmstead lays out the schematic, routes every wire, keeps a wire schedule and prints a drawing set. You never place a symbol or draw a line by hand. When the wiring changes, the drawing follows.

  1. Create a project from Projects, then open the Codex panel beside the grid and add the parts in your system. Each one gets a tag you can rename.
  2. On the Connections tab, wire their terminals: one row per wire, or one row per multi-pin cable. The schematic on the right redraws as you type.
  3. Fix any warnings (a terminal with too many wires, a cable whose plugs don’t mate, a net that mixes signal types).
  4. Group blocks into subsystems, check the print pages, fill in the title block on the Sheet tab, and export the PDF.

Everything saves automatically. You can also start from the Gallery instead of a blank project. The built-in templates cover 24VDC distribution, E-stops with Pilz and Allen-Bradley safety relays, a DOL motor starter, a PowerFlex 525 VFD, ESP32, Arduino and Raspberry Pi builds, and the Formula SAE EV low-voltage system these docs use as their example. Public community projects are listed there too. Any of them opens read-only. Fork copies one into a new project of yours; Add to project pulls it into one of your projects as a new subsystem, retagging anything that clashes with tags you already use (Q1 → Q2, TB1 → TB3).