Abstract
Computer-aided design (CAD) is a technological revolution, very powerful and with large applicability to problem solving. It is essential in many different disciplines ranging from architecture to education, medicine, physics, or gaming. In this work, we propose a novel CAD tool, called CADDi, to assist in the design of electric diagrams in the educational context. We are applying the theory of formal languages to create WDLang, an easy-to-use, highly expressive, unequivocal, and correct programming language for designing electric circuits. This programming language is the cornerstone of CADDi, which automatically generates the equivalent ladder diagram (explains the circuit operation) to the programmed circuit, offering additional features that allow analysis of its functionality in an interactive way. It also offers a graphical interface to directly design ladder diagrams, or to modify the automatically generated ones. The existing electrical CAD tools are either very simple, e.g., for creating good-looking diagrams with no functionality, or too complex, for professional systems design. CADDi is extremely useful for learning purposes. It assists users on how to generate ladder diagrams, and on understanding the behavior of electrical circuits. Additionally, it serves as an assessment tool for self-evaluation in the translation from wiring diagrams to ladder ones. In order to make CADDi highly accessible, it was implemented as a web page.
Highlights
Computer-aided design (CAD) tools are extremely useful for many applications, such as design [1,2], engineering [3,4], or medicine [5,6,7], among many others
We focus on this paper on the application of CAD tools in the educational context, a field in which they have proved to be really useful tools [8,9,10]
Here, we present CADDi, a CAD tool for designing electric diagrams
Summary
Computer-aided design (CAD) tools are extremely useful for many applications, such as design [1,2], engineering [3,4], or medicine [5,6,7], among many others. Technology links students to teachers and to resources and professional content or systems that can assist them in their learning process, allowing them to have their own learning pace In this context, here, we present CADDi, a CAD tool for designing electric diagrams. CADDi, students can design electrical circuits, automatically transform circuits into their ladder diagram representation (focused on showing its functionality), and check its operational behavior in an interactive way It has been conceived as a web page for supporting learning. We applied the knowledge of formal languages to create a tailored programming language The application of this technique allows the creation of specific languages for designing electric diagrams that checks the correctness of the proposed system.
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