Design Your Electrical Panel in Seconds with Switchonomy Auto Design
Product Deep Dive | Switchonomy
4 min read · 736 words
Designing an electrical panel used to mean hours with AutoCAD, a specialised design engineer, and a separate workflow entirely disconnected from your quotation. One change to the specification meant going back and forth between tools, redoing drawings, and updating documents manually.
Switchonomy's Auto Design feature changes this completely. Enter your feeder and enclosure specifications — and your panel layout drawing is generated automatically, in seconds, right inside the same platform where your quotation lives. No CAD expertise needed. No separate software. No waiting.
Why traditional panel design is broken for most businesses
Tools like AutoCAD, EPLAN, and Zuken E3 are powerful — but they were built for large engineering teams with dedicated design departments, complex project pipelines, and months of training time. For most electrical contractors, LT panel manufacturers, and switchgear professionals, they are simply too complex, too expensive, and too disconnected from the quotation process to be practical.
The result is that most panel businesses either skip formal drawings entirely, spend hours doing them manually, or rely on one person who knows the tool — creating a bottleneck every time a design is needed. Switchonomy was built to solve exactly this problem.
Two design modes — built for different needs
When you click Create Panel in Switchonomy, you're presented with two options:
Electrical + Auto Design — the full mode. Configure both electrical and automation components, set up your feeders, define the enclosure, and let the system generate a complete standard-based panel layout drawing automatically. This is the mode for LT panel manufacturing, MCC panels, and complex switchgear assemblies.
Panel Design Only — a focused mode for structural and electrical panel configuration without the full estimation workflow. Also available as a standalone Free Drawing option directly from the dashboard.
What you configure — and what the system builds for you
Layer 1 — Feeder configuration: Feeder name, Feeder type (EB Incoming, DG Incoming, Solar Incoming, Bus Coupler, Outgoing), Switchgear type (ACB or MCCB), Current rating (200A to 8000A — system validates compatibility), Quantity, Duplicate Feeder option.
Layer 2 — Panel enclosure specification: Enclosure type and form, IP rating, Termination locations (incoming and outgoing), Busbar material and size, Short circuit rating (STC kA), Panel depth and rear maintenance, Load and non-load bearing material thickness, Door and gland plate material.
How it works — Generate Diagram
Once feeder and enclosure configuration is complete, click Generate Diagram. Switchonomy processes every specification you've entered and automatically produces a complete, standard-compliant panel layout drawing — no drafting, no manual component placement, no AutoCAD file to open.
The generated drawing can be reviewed and edited within the platform before finalising. Once confirmed, it becomes part of the estimation record — automatically included when you export the Quotation PDF or BOM PDF.
The Duplicate Feeder advantage on complex panels
For panels with multiple feeders sharing the same specifications — common in MCC panels, distribution boards, and large LT switchgear assemblies — the Duplicate Feeder feature eliminates repetitive configuration entirely. On a panel with ten identical outgoing feeders, this alone can save 30 to 45 minutes of setup time per job.
Free Drawing — no project needed
Switchonomy also offers a Create Free Drawing option directly from the dashboard. Generate a panel board design without tying it to a project or estimation — useful for client presentations, design reviews, or preliminary layouts before a formal enquiry is created.
Why this matters for your business
When a drawing can be produced in seconds, it becomes feasible to include a preliminary panel layout drawing with every quotation — before the client has even confirmed the order. A complete quote with accurate pricing and a drawing attached shows clients exactly what they're getting, builds confidence, and dramatically reduces the back-and-forth that delays approvals.
Key benefits: No CAD training needed — any team member can generate a professional panel drawing. Always linked to the quote — no risk of design-price mismatch. Standard-compliant by default — feeder and enclosure specs validated automatically. Client-ready in one click — export as PDF alongside the quotation or BOM.
For electrical contractors, panel board manufacturers, and switchgear professionals — Switchonomy's Auto Design feature reframes what's possible. A complete, standard-based panel drawing is no longer the end of a long process. It's the automatic output of a quotation that takes ten minutes.
That's not a small improvement. That's a fundamentally different way to run an electrical panel business.
Try Switchonomy free at switchonomy.com