Building Circuits in FireCAD

Overview

This guide walks you through the complete process of building circuits — from placing devices in a drawing to having fully connected, labeled circuits with drawn wirepaths.

Prerequisites

• A FireCAD project must be open
• Circuit templates must be applied (run ATRESET_CIRCUIT_TEMPLATES if not done)
• The drawing must be validated (run ATVALIDATE after placing devices)

Phase 1: Place Devices

1. Insert device blocks into your AutoCAD drawing (panels, detectors, notification appliances, etc.)
2. Position devices at their intended locations
3. Type ATVALIDATE to register all placed devices in the database

Validation creates database records for each device, which is required before any circuit operations.

Phase 2: Assign Circuit Templates

Choose one of these approaches:

Option A: Assign to Selected Devices

1. Select specific devices in the drawing
2. Type ATSET_DEVICE_INPUT_CIRCUITS
3. The Input Circuit Selection dialog opens
4. Click a device in the right pane to see its available circuit options
5. Select the desired circuit template for each selection group
6. Click Apply

Option B: Assign to All Devices

1. Type ATSET_ALL_DEVICE_INPUT_CIRCUITS
2. All devices in the active drawing are processed at once
3. Follow the same selection process as Option A

Consolidate Templates

After assigning, type ATRESET_CIRCUIT_TEMPLATES to:

• Create circuit records from assigned templates
• Apply device type configurations
• Sync current values
• Update all labels

Phase 3: Connect Devices to Circuits

Using the Project Circuits Palette

1. Open the Project Circuits Palette from the FireCAD ribbon
2. Select a circuit from the dropdown at the top
3. Click Connect
4. Select devices in the drawing to add them to the circuit
5. Press Enter to confirm

The palette shows connected devices in real-time as you add them.

Using the Command Line

1. Type ATCONNECT
2. Follow the prompts to select the circuit and devices

Creating Branches

To create a sub-circuit branching from a device:

1. Select a circuit in the palette
2. Click Branch
3. Select the device that will serve as the branch origin
4. The new child circuit appears in the circuit dropdown

Inserting a Device Mid-Circuit

1. Type ATINSERT_IN_CIRCUIT
2. Select the device already on the circuit (the new device will be inserted before it)
3. Select the device to insert
4. The circuit resequences automatically

Phase 4: Resequence Devices (Optional)

If devices need to be in a specific order on the circuit:

1. Type ATRESEQUENCE_CIRCUIT
2. Click devices in the drawing in the desired order
3. Addresses and labels update to reflect the new sequence

Phase 5: Draw Wirepaths

Auto-Draw for All Circuits

1. Type ATAUTO_DRAW_CIRCUIT_WIREPATH
2. Select which circuits to draw wirepaths for
3. Choose options:
   • Delete existing segments or Reuse them
   • Set a time limit for the layout algorithm
4. The routing algorithm calculates optimal paths and draws them

Auto-Draw for Active Circuit Only

1. Select a circuit in the palette
2. Type ATAUTO_DRAW_ACTIVE_WIREPATH
3. Wirepaths are drawn for the selected circuit only

Rerouting

If wirepath routing needs improvement:

1. Type ATREROUTE_WIREPATHS to recalculate all routes
2. Or type ATREROUTE_POLYLINES and select specific segments to reroute

Phase 6: Validate and Label

1. Type ATVALIDATE to run a final integrity check
2. Labels refresh automatically after validation

If labels need manual refresh:

• ATREFRESH_LABELS — Fast refresh (labels only, no database reload)
• ATREFRESH_LABELS_FULL — Full refresh (reloads data from database first)

Monitoring Circuit Status

The Project Circuits Palette provides live feedback:

• Connected Device List — See all devices on the active circuit with sequence order
• Usage Summary — Bar graphs showing capacity usage (green/yellow/red)
• Point-to-Point Calculations — Voltage at each device
• Decibel Loss — Power loss at each device

Toggle the PTP Preview and Lump Sum Preview switches for real-time calculations (disable on large projects for better performance).

Quick Reference

What's Next

• Generating Reports — Create device schedules and calculations
• Validating Your Design — Run the Design Assistant
• Wirepath Routing — Advanced routing and segment management

FireCAD is the industry-leading AutoCAD add-in for fire alarm system design — from circuit layout to wire routing to code-compliant reports.
Learn more and get started at getfirecad.com →

Inspect Point Integration — Fire alarm system device lists and bill of materials can be pushed directly from FireCAD into Inspect Point, eliminating manual data entry and ensuring every device is ready for inspection scheduling and ongoing asset management.
Learn more here →