Electrical Drawings off AutoCAD (decision record)
This page records NFE's decision to move building electrical drawing work off AutoCAD and onto an open-source toolchain that Claude drives through the existing Team subscription. The evidence and the full tool comparison are in Electrical Drawing Tools Evaluation (Oct 2026).
Decision (21 Oct 2026)
| Item | Decision |
|---|---|
| Direction | Leave AutoCAD and produce electrical drawings on an open-source stack. Cut over only when the gates below are passed |
| Deliverables | DXF plus PDF is the standard deliverable, which architects and clients accept. DWG only if a recipient later asks for it |
| Core stack | LibreDWG and ezdxf read the architect's DWG and write NFE's overlay. An NFE electrical toolkit and MCP server in Python is kept open source in the NFE GitHub organisation (nfe-electrical-toolkit, Apache-2.0). Open CAD Studio is piloted for review, and QElectroTech draws single-line diagrams |
| AI | Claude on the Team seats (Claude Desktop or Claude Code). Claude proposes devices and circuits, the toolkit computes every position and checks the rules, and an engineer approves. The toolkit treats text inside drawings as data, never as instructions |
| Standard | Each job records its governing standard. BS 7671 is the default, and an IEC 60364 / US EAS 811-1:2014 rule set is added when a client or regulator requires it |
| Client data | No special restrictions on using AI tools with client drawings while NFE explores which tools work best. Revisit before cut-over |
| Stays proprietary | The Claude model and apps |
| Not chosen | ArtCraft, which generates images and video. CadCraft and CADCraft as foundations, because they are weeks old and their DWG saves are lossy; both stay pilot candidates. AutoCAD add-ins such as AUTOM8LABS and ArchiLabs |
| Owner | Aaron Tushabe |
Why
- Speed. A typical LSHA floor holds 380–500 symbols and 190–350 wiring runs, roughly 5–6 hours of pure drafting by estimate, and most revisions are rework to match new architectural drawings.
- It works on our files. Free tools read all eleven LSHA floors cleanly and added symbols and a circuit to the sixth floor without disturbing anything else.
- Ownership. NFE owns the playbook, symbol library and toolkit, and MCP keeps the tools independent of any one AI vendor.
- Cost, a secondary benefit. About $2,095 a year per AutoCAD seat, or $540 per LT seat, at US list prices.
Gates before AutoCAD goes
| Phase | Pass gate |
|---|---|
| 1. Pilot on LSHA F6 | The overlay re-reads cleanly in LibreDWG and ezdxf with counts matching the source, and its DXF plus PDF set opens and prints correctly |
| 2. Parallel run on the next project | Every floor passes gate 1, a friendly architect or client opens and prints the DXF and PDF files, the open workflow beats the manual time, and the engineer signs off |
| 3. Cut-over | Gates 1 and 2 are passed, recipients confirm on a real issue, and any AutoCAD subscription lapses at renewal |
No AutoCAD seat is needed as a checker, because recipients open the DXF files in their own software.
Status (21 Oct 2026): phase 1 ran on LSHA F6, and both overlays re-read cleanly with matching counts. Gate 1 now waits for an engineer to open the DXF + PDF set and check it. See Open-source electrical drawing toolkit: phase 1 pilot.
Open questions
- Which AutoCAD licences does NFE hold, and when do they renew? Aaron is checking. The pilot and parallel run should finish before the renewal date.
Answered on 21 Oct 2026
- Architects and clients accept DXF plus PDF instead of DWG.
- Each job follows its own named standard, with BS 7671 as the default.
- There are no special restrictions on AI tools and client drawings while NFE explores.
First steps, useful with or without AI
- Clean up the symbol library. Centre each block on its base point, draw in millimetres at a single insert scale, give blocks meaningful names, and add attributes for circuit, DB, rating and mounting height.
- Give the title block attributes for sheet number, title and revision.
- Keep the architect's DWG untouched as a separate base, and ask for native DWG at every issue.
History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 18 Sep 2026 | Check-in action to put the AI-assisted AutoCAD/design workflow on the agenda (NFE Checkin 18/09/2026) |
| 21 Oct 2026 | Tools evaluated. Direction set to leave AutoCAD for an open-source stack, with DXF plus PDF as the deliverable and BS 7671 as the default standard. LSHA F6 pilot started, with the toolkit to be published in the NFE GitHub organisation |
| 21 Oct 2026 | Phase 1 pilot run on LSHA F6. Toolkit published at github.com/Nearly-Free-Energy/nfe-electrical-toolkit under Apache-2.0. Gate 1 waits for an engineer's review (phase 1 pilot) |