Wire Groups & Cables

Wire groups and cables organize conductors into physical groupings — twisted pairs, bundled sets, or multi-conductor cables. They affect BOM, assembly output, and schematic display. See Terminology for definitions.

Manage wire groups and cables in the Groupings section (Properties panel, bundle selected) or Bulk Editor > Bundles.

Creating Wire Groups

From the Conductor Action Bar

Select conductors on a bundle in Schematic view. The action bar shows:

From the Context Menu

Right-click a conductor → Twist with… to pair with another conductor on the same bundle.

From the Groupings Section

In the Groupings section, click Add Wire Group, then add conductors with the picker.

Wire Group Properties

Select a bundle containing wire groups to see them in the Groupings section:

Adding and Removing Conductors

• Click + to open the conductor picker (shows available ungrouped conductors).
• Click x to remove a conductor.
• Minimum 2 conductors. Groups below minimum are auto-removed.

Untwisting / Removing a Wire Group

• Select grouped conductors and use Untwist in the action bar, or delete the group from the Groupings section.

Creating Cables

From the Conductor Action Bar

Select conductors and click Create Cable. Conductors are auto-assigned as cores.

From the Groupings Section

Click Add Cable in the Groupings section, then add conductors as cores.

Cable Properties

Core Mappings

Each cable core maps a core number to a conductor. Cores are numbered sequentially (1, 2, 3…).

• Add cores — Click + to add a conductor as the next core.
• Remove cores — Click x on a core to remove it from the cable.
• Renumber — Click Renumber to re-sequence core numbers after removals (fills gaps).
• Reorder — Drag cores to reorder them.
• Reassign — Change the conductor dropdown on a core row to swap two conductors between core slots. Both pin assignments and wire properties (color, stripe, gauge) swap together, so each conductor fully takes on its new core’s identity.

Conductors that belong to a cable cannot be assigned individual wire PNs — they inherit the cable’s BOM entry. Cable core rows appear disabled in the Wire PN Table. See Parts & BOM: Cable Cores for details.

Cable Part Assignment

Cables are assigned a single part number covering the entire cable assembly. Three ways to assign:

1. BOM picker — Click the assign button to choose from existing cable BOM entries.
2. Search Database — Search the cable catalog by MPN, manufacturer, or core count.
3. Inline editing — Type an MPN directly; a BOM entry is auto-created if needed.

See Parts & BOM: Cable Part Numbers for the full workflow.

Cable Spec Sync

When a cable has a BOM entry with core specifications (color, stripe, gauge), the system validates conductor properties against the cable spec and highlights mismatches in the Groupings section.

Core Count Validation

After assigning a cable part, validation banners appear:

Each core row shows an insulation color swatch matching the cable spec. A sync indicator appears when the conductor’s properties differ from the spec — hover it to see which fields are out of sync.

Adding Missing Cores

Click Add missing to create conductors for all unmapped cable cores. New conductors inherit the cable’s route and get color, stripe, and gauge from the cable spec. They appear as unassigned on the schematic until you connect them to pins.

Applying Cable Specs

Click Apply specs to overwrite conductor properties (color, stripe, gauge) with the cable’s core definitions for all mapped cores.

Sync Behavior

• Sync is manual — assigning a cable part shows the validation banners, but does not auto-change conductor properties. You choose when to apply.
• Add missing creates unpinned conductors. Connect them to pins using the conductor picker or drag-and-drop.
• Apply specs overwrites existing values. Only applies when the BOM entry has per-core data (from the cable database or manual entry in the Edit Part dialog).
• After editing cable core properties in the Edit Part dialog, click Apply specs to push changes to conductors.

Cable Shielding

Toggle the Shielded switch on a cable to mark it as having an overall shield.

When shielded:

• The schematic indicator shows an amber outline.
• Assign a shield conductor (drain wire) from the same bundle.
• The schematic shows the shield path from cable oval to drain wire’s target pin.

If the BOM entry has a shielded spec, the toggle defaults to that value.

Converting Between Wire Groups and Cables

Wire groups can be converted to cables and vice versa:

Each wire group has Convert to Cable and each cable has Convert to Wire Group in the Groupings section. Converting preserves conductor membership. Wire group to cable assigns sequential core numbers.

Schematic Indicators

Wire groups and cables overlay conductor paths on the schematic.

Twist Brackets

Twisted groups appear as a vertical bracket with arrow indicators, labeled with the group name. Draggable horizontally along the bundle. Multiple twist groups on the same bundle are spaced to avoid overlap.

Cable Ovals

Cables appear as a labeled oval encircling member conductors. Shielded cables show an amber oval. A shield dot below the oval shows a line to the drain wire’s target pin. Draggable horizontally. Ovals auto-size to fit all member conductors.

Bundle Cross-Section Popup

Click the cross-section button on a bundle to see conductor circles (colored by wire color), cable sheaths, shield indicators, and wire group brackets.

Wire Groups & Cables in Assemblies

Wire groups and cables carry over when generating an assembly. See Assembly Generation: What Gets Converted. Sync pushes changes without regenerating.

Quick Reference