WireViz

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WireViz takes YAML describing connectors, cables and connections, and produces a harness drawing complete with pin labels, wire colours, gauges and a bill of materials.

It is the only tool here that produces a parts list as a side effect of documenting the wiring.

#What it is good at

  • Cable harness and loom documentation.

  • Test rigs and lab setups somebody else will rebuild.

  • Field service documentation where the pinout is the instruction.

#What it draws

Element

Syntax

Connectors

connectors: X1: {type, subtype, pinlabels}

Cables

cables: W1: {gauge, length, colors}

Connections

connections: - [X1: [1,2], W1: [1,2], X2: [1,2]]

Notes

notes: on any connector or cable

#A worked example

A power and signal harness with two connectors:

WireViz

The source, which you can paste into a new diagram and edit:

connectors:
  PSU:
    type: Molex Mini-Fit
    subtype: male
    pinlabels: [+12V, GND, +5V, GND]
  BOARD:
    type: JST PH
    subtype: female
    pinlabels: [VIN, GND, VLOGIC, GND]
    notes: On the underside of the board

cables:
  W1:
    gauge: 20 AWG
    length: 0.45
    colors: [RD, BK, YE, BK]

connections:
  -
    - PSU: [1,2,3,4]
    - W1: [1,2,3,4]
    - BOARD: [1,2,3,4]

#A few things that catch people out

  • Colour codes are two-letter abbreviations: RD red, BK black, YE yellow, and so on.

  • Length is in metres, and it appears in the parts list, so get it right.

  • Say which side of a connector the pin numbering refers to.

Thirty-one languages. Nobody knows them all.