Introduction

We are transforming the world of electrical design with DesignSpark Electrical, our new free-to-download design software for engineering professionals. Whether designing from scratch or updating a previous design, DS Electrical is a fully specified electrical CAD package that delivers time saving with high accuracy and error avoidance.

Supported by Schneider Electric, DS Electrical becomes the latest in the suite of FREE design tools from RS Components. Why? Because due to the substantial costs associated with CAD software, currently a large proportion of electrical designers are making do with unsatisfactory methods such as generic CAD, mainstream graphics software or paper based solutions. With this in mind we want to help you transform the way you work so you can bring your latest products to market faster than ever before.

So leave behind errors, inaccuracies and the tedious manual tasks that take up hours of your day, and switch to DesignSpark Electrical today.

Top 5 reasons to use DS Electrical

1. Specialist automated electrical design features

   When using DesignSpark Electrical, device and wire numbering happen automatically, cross referencing updates itself in real-time and the software checks your work as you design. If something isn’t right, the software will help you fix it immediately, so you can eliminate any time-consuming and costly errors before you get too far along.
   
   

2. Our comprehensive integrated parts library

   DesignSpark Electrical offers a huge selection of parts and symbols, as well as a part creation wizard so you can create your very own. There are 250,000 components in our parts library, including 80,000 from Schneider Electric, and they’re all available to add to your design at the click of a button.
   
   

3. Creating accurate 2D panel layouts and diagrams

   Gone are the days of guessing what size cabinet you need, or laying out all the parts and measuring around them. DesignSpark Electrical provides the capability to produce accurate, scaled and dimensioned 2D panel layouts alongside schematics and reports. Cabinets, rails and ducting are all available in the parts library and will be included in the bill of materials.
   
   

4. Bill of Materials quote function

   As you create, DesignSpark Electrical automatically generates a list of all the components you’ve added to your design. Once you’re finished, you can check prices, availability and order your parts with just a few clicks.
   
   

5. It’s completely free

   Free to download, free to use, forever.

Hardware Requirements

CPU:

1. Pentium® 4 2.0 GHZ or Athlon® 2000+ or faster, 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

RAM:

• Minimum: 512MB RAM (32-bit), 1Gb RAM (64-bit)
• Recommended: 2GB RAM or higher

Video Card:

• Full DirectX® 9c,
• Shader Model 3.0 hardware support,
• 256 MB of graphics memory or higher,
• 32 bits per pixel,
• 1024x768 minimum resolution.
• Please ensure that you have the latest graphics driver for your card and that Direct3D Acceleration is enabled.
• Run this diagnostic tool to check if your graphics hardware meets the above requirements

Others:

• 2 Button Mouse with Wheel
• Optional - 3D Mouse (e.g. 3Dconnexion)

Multi-touch:

Multi-touch now works on all Windows 7, 8 and 10 (64-bit) devices via the native pen-and-touch interface.

Software requirements

Operating Systems:

• Microsoft® Windows 7 - 32-bit and 64-bit
• Microsoft® Windows 8 - 32-bit and 64-bit
• Microsoft® Windows 10 - 64-bit
• DesignSpark Electrical is not officially supported on virtual platforms.
• Intel-based Apple hardware running native Windows using Boot Camp is subject to the same hardware requirements as other Intel-based hardware and will require special licensing.

FAQs

1. Where can I download DesignSpark Electrical?
   DesignSpark Electrical is available for download directly from the DesignSpark website.
2. How much does DesignSpark Electrical cost?
   DesignSpark Electrical is free to download.
3. What file format are designs produced in?
   All drawing designs completed in DesignSpark Electrical are saved in DWG format.
4. Can I import existing DWG design files to DesignSpark Electrical?
   Yes, you can.
5. Where can I find out more about DesignSpark Electrical?
   You can find a wealth of resources related to DesignSpark Electrical on our DesignSpark website. This includes tutorials, example designs and additional FAQs.