EPLAN Wire vs Cable in Schematic Drawing

EPLAN Electric P8 — Wire vs Cable in Schematic Drawing

Software: EPLAN Electric P8 Topic: The fundamental difference between wires and cables in schematics — definition, behavior, documentation, and form output Level: Beginner to Intermediate

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The Core Concept

In everyday speech, “wire” and “cable” are used interchangeably. In EPLAN P8, they are two completely different engineering objects with different data, different behavior in reports, and different purposes in the schematic.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    EPLAN DEFINITION                         │
│                                                             │
│  WIRE   = a single conductor connection between two points  │
│           (one connection, one potential, drawn as a line)  │
│                                                             │
│  CABLE  = a physical multi-core cable that groups multiple  │
│           wires together inside one outer jacket/sheath     │
│           (a container object assigned to wires)            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

A wire is always a child of a connection. A cable is always a parent that owns one or more wires/conductors.

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Wire — Full Definition

What is a Wire?

A wire in EPLAN is the graphical line you draw between two device connection points on a schematic page. Every line you draw in a circuit diagram IS a wire. It represents a single electrical conductor.

Wire Properties

Property	Description	Example
Connection color	Wire conductor color	BK (Black), BU (Blue), RD (Red)
Cross-section	Conductor area in mm²	1.5 mm², 2.5 mm², 0.75 mm²
Potential	Electrical potential assigned	L1, 24VDC, GND, PE
Signal name	Logical signal identifier	Emergency_Stop, Motor_Run
From (source)	Device:pin at start of wire	=GB1+ET1-K1:13
To (destination)	Device:pin at end of wire	=GB1+ET1-K3:A1
Wire number	Auto-generated or manual ID	W001, 001
Connection type	Type of connection	Conductor, Shield, PE

How Wires Look in a Schematic

   -K1          -K3
  [13]──────────[A1]
        wire
   BK 1.5mm²
   Potential: 24VDC

A single horizontal or vertical line connecting two component pins. EPLAN automatically:

• Assigns potential from connected symbols
• Propagates color and cross-section from connection settings
• Generates a unique wire number

Where Wires Appear in Reports

Report	Form	What is shown
Connection list	.f17	Every wire as one row — from, to, color, cross-section, potential
Terminal diagram	.f11	Wires arriving at terminals — internal connections
Terminal-strip overview	.f10	Wire color and cross-section at each terminal
PLC diagram	.f22	Wire from terminal to PLC I/O channel

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Cable — Full Definition

What is a Cable?

A cable in EPLAN is a physical object — a multi-core cable with an outer jacket that groups multiple conductors together. It is NOT drawn as a line. Instead, it is assigned to existing wires to tell EPLAN that those wires physically run inside the same cable.

A cable is a logical grouping and procurement object. It has a type (article number), length, and routing path — but it does not create connections by itself.

Cable Properties

Property	Description	Example
Cable designation	Unique cable ID	W1, W2, C-101
Cable type	Article/type string	NYCWY 3×1.5mm²
Number of conductors	How many cores inside	3, 5, 7
Cross-section	Core cross-section	1.5 mm²
Voltage level	Rated voltage	0.6/1 kV, 300/500 V
Length (manual)	Planned cable length	15 m
Length (routed)	EPLAN topology-calculated	16.2 m
From	Source end location	=GB1+ET1-X1:1
To	Destination end location	=GB2+MCC-X2:3
Shielded	Shield flag	Yes / No
Jacket color	Outer jacket color	Black, Grey
Outer diameter	Physical OD in mm	12.4 mm
ATEX identifier	Explosion protection class	Ex e IIC T4
Reel reference	Cable drum/reel number	Reel-07

How a Cable Looks in a Schematic

A cable is represented by a cable definition line — a special symbol placed across the wires that belong to it:

  Panel A                            Panel B
  -X1:1 ──────────────────────────── -X2:1
  -X1:2 ──────────────────────────── -X2:2    ← individual wires
  -X1:3 ──────────────────────────── -X2:3
         ┌──────────────────────┐
         │   W1  NYCWY 3×1.5    │             ← cable definition line
         │   L=15m              │
         └──────────────────────┘

The cable definition line crosses the wires graphically and “owns” them. In EPLAN this is inserted via Insert → Cable definition.

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Aspect	Wire	Cable
What it is	Single electrical conductor	Physical multi-core cable grouping
Drawn as	A line between two pins	A cable definition line across wires
Creates a connection	✅ Yes	❌ No — groups existing connections
Has a potential	✅ Yes	❌ No
Has a length	❌ No	✅ Yes (manual + routed)
Has a type/article	❌ No	✅ Yes (from parts management)
Appears in connection list	✅ Yes — as a row	Referenced by name in rows
Appears in cable diagram	❌ No	✅ Yes — .f04
Appears in BOM	❌ No	✅ Yes — .f05 (by meter)
Has color	✅ Yes (conductor color)	✅ Yes (jacket color — different property)
Has cross-section	✅ Yes (conductor area)	✅ Yes (individual core area)
Can be shielded	❌ No	✅ Yes
Assigned to potential	✅ Yes	❌ No
EPLAN object type	Connection	Cable
Inserted via	Drawing a line	Insert → Cable definition

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The Relationship Between Wire and Cable

A cable contains wires. The wires define the electrical connections. The cable defines the physical routing object.

CABLE W1 — NYCWY 3×1.5mm², 15m
│
├── Conductor 1 (BN / Brown)  →  wire:  -X1:1 → -X2:1 (L1, 1.5mm²)
├── Conductor 2 (BK / Black)  →  wire:  -X1:2 → -X2:2 (L2, 1.5mm²)
└── Conductor 3 (GY / Grey)   →  wire:  -X1:3 → -X2:3 (L3, 1.5mm²)

• Each wire has its own color, potential, and connection points
• The cable has the type, length, shielding, and article number
• When you assign a cable to a wire, the wire gets a Cable name and Conductor number property

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Real-World Example

Scenario: Motor starter cabinet connected to a motor in the field.

Control Panel                           Motor Terminal Box
  -X1:1 (U1) ─────────────────────────── Motor U1
  -X1:2 (V1) ─────────────────────────── Motor V1
  -X1:3 (W1) ─────────────────────────── Motor W1
  -X1:PE (PE) ────────────────────────── Motor PE
              ┌──────────────────────┐
              │  W5  NYCWY 4×2.5+E   │
              │  L=22m  0.6/1kV      │
              └──────────────────────┘

The wires are:

Wire	Color	Cross-section	Potential	From	To
Conductor 1	BN	2.5 mm²	U1	-X1:1	Motor U1
Conductor 2	BK	2.5 mm²	V1	-X1:2	Motor V1
Conductor 3	GY	2.5 mm²	W1	-X1:3	Motor W1
Conductor 4	GN/YE	2.5 mm²	PE	-X1:PE	Motor PE

The cable is:

Cable ID	Type	Conductors	Length	Voltage	Shielded	Article
W5	NYCWY 4×2.5+E	4	22 m	0.6/1 kV	No	—

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What Appears in Which Report

Connection List (.f17) — Wire-driven

Shows the wires — one row per conductor connection.

From          │ To           │ Cable │ Cond │ Color │ mm²  │ Potential
─X1:1         │ Motor U1     │ W5    │  1   │ BN    │ 2.5  │ U1
-X1:2         │ Motor V1     │ W5    │  2   │ BK    │ 2.5  │ V1
-X1:3         │ Motor W1     │ W5    │  3   │ GY    │ 2.5  │ W1
-X1:PE        │ Motor PE     │ W5    │  4   │ GN/YE │ 2.5  │ PE

The cable name W5 is a reference — it appears in the wire’s row to show which cable the conductor belongs to.

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Cable Diagram / Overview (.f04) — Cable-driven

Shows the cable as the primary object, with its conductors listed below.

Cable: W5
Type:  NYCWY 4×2.5+E
Length: 22m
From: =GB1+ET1-X1    To: Motor terminal box

  Cond │ Color  │ mm²  │ From pin │ To pin    │ Potential
  1    │ BN     │ 2.5  │ X1:1     │ Motor U1  │ U1
  2    │ BK     │ 2.5  │ X1:2     │ Motor V1  │ V1
  3    │ GY     │ 2.5  │ X1:3     │ Motor W1  │ W1
  4    │ GN/YE  │ 2.5  │ X1:PE    │ Motor PE  │ PE

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Summarized Parts List (.f05) — Cable as a part

The cable appears once as a purchased item with quantity in meters.

Article: NYCWY 4×2.5+E   │ Manufacturer: Lapp   │ Unit: m   │ Qty: 22

The individual wires do NOT appear in the BOM — only the cable as a product.

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Terminal Diagram (.f11) — Wire at terminal

Shows where each conductor lands on a terminal, including which cable it belongs to.

Terminal │ Internal from    │ Cable │ Cond │ Color │ mm²
X1:1     │ -K3:2            │ W5    │  1   │ BN    │ 2.5
X1:2     │ -K3:4            │ W5    │  2   │ BK    │ 2.5
X1:3     │ -K3:6            │ W5    │  3   │ GY    │ 2.5
X1:PE    │ PE busbar        │ W5    │  4   │ GN/YE │ 2.5

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Common Beginner Mistakes

Mistake	Problem	Correct Approach
Drawing a cable as lines between panels	No cable object exists — no cable report	Draw wires, then insert cable definition across them
Assigning wrong number of conductors to cable	Cable type says 3-core but 4 wires assigned	Match cable type to actual wires assigned
Forgetting to assign cable to wires	Wires exist but no cable report generated	Open cable dialog, assign each wire to a conductor
Using wire color for cable jacket color	Color properties are different objects	Wire color = conductor; Cable jacket color = outer sheath
Expecting cable to appear in connection list	Connection list shows wires, not cables	Check cable diagram (.f04) for cable documentation
Not setting cable length	Cable BOM shows 0m	Enter manual length in cable properties dialog
Confusing cross-section	Cable shows 3×1.5 but wires set to 2.5mm²	Cross-section on wire = conductor; on cable = type description — must match

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How to Insert a Wire (Connection)

Wires are created automatically when you:

1. Draw a line between two component pins in the schematic editor
2. Use Insert → Connection to draw a conductor line
3. Drag from one pin connection point to another

EPLAN automatically assigns the potential from the connected symbols.

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How to Insert a Cable Definition

1. Draw all wires that will belong to the cable first
2. Go to Insert → Cable definition
3. Click and drag a cable definition line across all wires that belong to this cable
4. The Cable properties dialog opens — enter:
   • Cable designation (W1, W2…)
   • Cable type (from parts management or free text)
   • Length
   • Number of conductors
5. In the cable dialog, assign each conductor to a wire
6. Click OK

Alternatively, use the Cable Navigator (Project data → Cables) to manage all cables in one place.

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Summary

WIRE                              CABLE
────────────────────────────      ────────────────────────────
= electrical connection           = physical routing object
= drawn as a schematic line       = inserted as cable definition
= has potential & signal          = has type, length & article
= has conductor color             = has jacket color
= drives connection list          = drives cable diagram & BOM
= one wire = one connection       = one cable = many wires
= child of the circuit            = parent container of wires

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Related Files

File	Description
eplan_p8_project_structure.json	Full metadata for all 16 project report folders
README.md	General project structure reference
README_Expert_Properties.md	Expert property reference — cable & connection properties
README_All_Categories_2026.md	All property categories including Cable data & Connection
README_Form_Layout_and_Types.md	Form layout and .f04, .f17, .f11 type reference
README_Wire_vs_Cable.md	This file

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EPLAN Electric P8 — Engineering Reference Documentation