TypeCAD Wiring

🤖 Programmatically 💥 Create 🪢 Wiring Diagrams

TypeCAD Wiring is a TypeScript library for programmatically generating wiring harness diagrams and bill of materials (BOM) using code. Design your connectors, cables, and connections with type-safe code, then generate visual diagrams and BOMs automatically.

It is part of the typeCAD ecosystem that allows you to 🤖 Programmatically 💥 Create 🛰️ Hardware

Features

• Programmatic Creation - Define your entire wiring harness using TypeScript/JavaScript
• Visual Diagrams - Generate Graphviz DOT files for visual representation
• Bill of Materials - Automatically create BOMs in CSV format
• Detailed Customization - Define colors, pin labels, connectors, and more

Installation

npm install @typecad/wiring

This package will generate a GraphViz DOT file. The intended workflow is to use VSCode to generate, and then preview the DOT file. There are two recommended extensions for this:

• Graphviz Interactive Preview - requires no additional configuration, but cannot use DOT files that show embedded images
• Graphviz Preview - can use embedded images, but requires Graphviz to be installed.

Quick Start

import { Connector, Cable, Wiring } from '@typecad/wiring';

let harness = new Wiring();
  
  // Arduino/microcontroller connector
  let mcu = new Connector({
    name: 'MCU',
    type: 'Header',
    subtype: '1x4',
    pins: ['VCC', 'GND', 'SDA', 'SCL'],
  });
  
  // I2C sensor connector
  let sensor = new Connector({
    name: 'SENSOR',
    type: 'JST',
    subtype: 'SH 1.0mm',
    mpn: 'SM04B-SRSS-TB',
    pins: ['VCC', 'GND', 'SDA', 'SCL'],
  });
  
  // Connecting cable
  let cable = new Cable({
    name: 'I2C_BUS',
    type: 'Ribbon',
    gauge: '28 AWG',
    length: '20cm',
    additionals: [
      {quantity: 1, item: 'JST-SH housing', mpn: 'SSH-004T-P0.2'},
      {quantity: 4, item: 'JST-SH crimps', mpn: 'SSH-003T-P0.2'}
    ]
  });
  
  // Create connections
  cable.net({color: 'red', left: mcu.pin(1), right: sensor.pin(1)});       // VCC
  cable.net({color: 'black', left: mcu.pin(2), right: sensor.pin(2)});     // GND
  cable.net({color: 'blue', left: mcu.pin(3), right: sensor.pin(3)});      // SDA
  cable.net({color: 'yellow', left: mcu.pin(4), right: sensor.pin(4)});    // SCL
  
  // Add to harness
  harness.connectors(mcu, sensor);
  harness.cables(cable);
  
  // Create outputs
  harness.create('./i2c_sensor');
  harness.bom('./i2c_sensor_bom.csv');

Documentation

Core Components

Connector

Represents a physical connector with pins.

new Connector({
  name: string,              // Connector name
  type?: string,             // Connector type (JST, Molex, etc.)
  subtype?: string,          // Connector subtype (XH, PH, etc.)
  color?: string,            // Connector color
  mpn?: string,              // Manufacturer part number
  pins?: string[],           // Pin labels/names
  additionals?: Array<{      // Additional components
    quantity?: number,
    item?: string,
    mpn?: string
  }>,
  note?: string,             // Notes about the connector
  image?: {                  // Image for diagrams
    src?: string,
    caption?: string,
    height?: number
  }
});

Cable

Represents a cable connecting pins between connectors.

new Cable({
  name: string,              // Cable name
  type?: string,             // Cable type (Stranded, Solid, etc.)
  gauge?: string,            // Wire gauge (AWG)
  length?: string,           // Cable length
  color?: string,            // Cable color
  mpn?: string,              // Manufacturer part number
  bundle?: boolean,          // Is this a bundled cable?
  note?: string,             // Notes about the cable
  image?: {                  // Image for diagrams
    src?: string,
    caption?: string,
    height?: number
  }
});

Create connections with net() and shield() methods:

cable.net({
  color?: string,            // Wire color
  left?: Pin,                // Left (source) pin
  right?: Pin,               // Right (destination) pin
  striped?: string           // Secondary color for striped wires
});

cable.shield({               // Create a shield connection
  left?: Pin,
  right?: Pin
});

Wiring

Main class for managing the entire wiring harness.

const wiring = new Wiring();

// Add components
wiring.connectors(...connectors);
wiring.cables(...cables);

// Generate output
wiring.create(filename);     // Generate Graphviz DOT file
wiring.bom(filename);        // Generate BOM CSV file

// Utility methods
wiring.validate();           // Validate the entire harness
wiring.getConnector(name);   // Get a connector by name
wiring.getCable(name);       // Get a cable by name

Error Handling

The library uses specific error classes for better error identification:

• TypeCadWiringError - Base error class
• ConnectorError - Connector-specific errors
• PinError - Pin-specific errors
• CableError - Cable-specific errors
• NetError - Connection-specific errors
• DiagramError - Diagram generation errors
• BomError - BOM generation errors
• ValidationError - General validation errors

Output Examples

Wiring Diagram (Graphviz DOT)

The library generates Graphviz DOT files that can be converted to images using various Graphviz tools.

graph {
  // Graph generated by https://typeCAD.net
  // Graphviz look heavily influenced by https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz
  graph [bgcolor="#FFFFFF" fontname=arial nodesep=0.33 rankdir=LR ranksep=2]
  node [fillcolor="#FFFFFF" fontname=arial height=0 margin=0 shape=none style=filled width=0]

  // Connector nodes, cable nodes, and edges...
}

Bill of Materials (CSV)

Designator,Description,Quantity,MPN
motor_power,Stranded 2x 22AWG 30cm,1,
motor_controller,JST XH 3-pin,1,
motor,Terminal 2-pin,1,

Requirements

• Node.js v14 or higher
• TypeScript/JavaScript environment
• GraphViz (for rendering the output diagrams)

License

Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Links

• TypeCAD Home
• Support Development

Built with ❤️ by TypeCAD