Can I use the drawing for a real project?

As a starting point for layout and layers, yes. The ratings, settings and cable sizes are made up, so the diagram has to be checked and changed for your project before it is used for design or construction.

Why are the layers coloured?

Colours and line weights follow the layers: power circuits are red and heavy, control is cyan, signal is green. The plot style table in the ZIP prints everything black and keeps the line weights, so you can plot in black and white as well.

Which CAD programs open it?

The drawing and the template are in AutoCAD 2018 format, which AutoCAD 2018 and later open, and so do other CAD programs that read this format. The browser viewer needs nothing installed.

Resources Electrical schematic symbols

Motor control circuit diagram: sample DWGs and electrical template

Complete motor control diagrams on ISO A3 sheets, drawn three ways: a direct-on-line starter with stop and start buttons and run and stop lamps, a forward-reverse starter with two interlocked contactors, and a star-delta starter with line, star and delta contactors and an on-delay timer. Each has the power circuit and the control circuit side by side, a device list, motor data, settings and a filled-in title block. All symbols are blocks from our IEC 60617 electrical symbol libraries, with tags and ratings filled in.

Free to use and modify in your own projects, including commercial ones. The ZIP holds the sample drawing, a template, a plot style table and a README; no add-in needed. The data in the drawing is made up, so it is not for design or construction. Provided as is, without warranty.

Direct on line

A 7.5 kW motor started across the line: circuit breaker, contactor and thermal overload relay in the power circuit; stop and start buttons with a hold-in contact, and run and stop lamps in the control circuit.

Download ZIP Preview in browser

Forward and reverse

A reversing starter for a 7.5 kW motor: two contactors that swap two phases, a shared stop button, separate forward and reverse buttons, and interlock contacts so that both contactors can never be on at once.

Download ZIP Preview in browser

Star-delta

A star-delta starter for a 15 kW motor: line, star and delta contactors, a motor with six terminals, an on-delay timer that changes over from star to delta, and interlock contacts so that star and delta can never be on together.

Download ZIP Preview in browser

This sample uses these resources

The symbols are blocks from our own libraries, with their attributes filled in. The sheet and its title block come from our ISO A3 title block template. Download them to draw your own diagrams.

What is in the ZIP

Motor-Control-Direct-On-Line-Sample.dwg
Sample drawing (DWG, AutoCAD 2018 format)
Motor-Control-Forward-Reverse-Sample.dwg
Sample drawing (DWG, AutoCAD 2018 format)
Motor-Control-Star-Delta-Sample.dwg
Sample drawing (DWG, AutoCAD 2018 format)
Electrical-Template-ISO-A3.dwt
Template (DWT) that the drawing was made on
CADXChange-Monochrome.ctb
Plot style table (CTB) that prints every colour black
README.txt
README with the layer list and how to use the files

Every ZIP holds its own drawing together with the template, the plot style table and the README.

The template

The electrical template has 16 layers with colours, line weights and linetypes (power circuits, busbars, control, signal, protective earth, enclosure boundaries, text and more), the text styles ISO-2.5 to ISO-5, the dimension style ISO-25 and an ISO A3 layout with a title block and revision table. The layer names are a common convention, not a standard; rename them to match your company's rules.

Layers defined

Every layer in the template with its colour, line weight and linetype, and how many objects of this sample are on it. Layers the sample does not use are still defined, ready for your own drawing.

Layer	Colour	Line weight	Linetype	Used for	Direct on line	Forward and reverse	Star-delta
Electrical layers
ELEC-POWER	1	0.50 mm	Continuous	Main power circuits	17	29	44
ELEC-BUS	1	0.70 mm	Continuous	Busbars and heavy lines	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-CONTROL	4	0.25 mm	Continuous	Control circuits	20	21	22
ELEC-SIGNAL	3	0.18 mm	Continuous	Signal, instrumentation and communication circuits	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-PE	2	0.35 mm	Continuous	Protective earth and bonding	2	2	1
ELEC-CABLE	30	0.25 mm	DASHED	Cable, conduit and tray routes	not used here	not used here	not used here
SYMBOL	7	0.25 mm	Continuous	Symbols (the layer the symbol libraries use)	25	34	39
ELEC-TERMINAL	7	0.25 mm	Continuous	Terminals and connection points	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-BOUNDARY	5	0.18 mm	DASHDOT	Enclosure, panel and device boundaries	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-MECH-LINK	8	0.18 mm	DASHED	Mechanical links, interlocks and measuring links	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-REF	7	0.18 mm	Continuous	Reference designations (-QF1, -K2)	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-WIRE-NO	7	0.18 mm	Continuous	Wire numbers and cable labels	8	8	11
ELEC-XREF	9	0.13 mm	Continuous	Contact and cross reference texts	not used here	not used here	not used here
ELEC-TEXT	7	0.18 mm	Continuous	General text	103	102	112
ELEC-NOTES	7	0.18 mm	Continuous	Notes and legends	4	6	8
ELEC-DIM	3	0.18 mm	Continuous	Dimensions	not used here	not used here	not used here
Sheet and symbol layers
0	7	default	Continuous	Default layer, keep it empty	not used here	not used here	not used here
FRAME	7	default	Continuous	Sheet border	5	5	5
TITLEBLOCK	7	default	Continuous	Title block and revision table	1	1	1
VIEWPORT	8	default	Continuous	Layout viewport frame (does not plot)	2	2	2
DRAWING-AREA	8	default	Continuous	Boundary of the model drawing area (does not plot)	2	2	2

Styles defined

The text styles, the dimension style and the linetypes that the template defines, so you do not have to set them up in each new drawing.

Kind	Name	Settings
Text style	ISO	isocp.shx, 15°, variable height
Text style	ISO-2.5	isocp.shx, 15°, 2.5 mm high
Text style	ISO-3.5	isocp.shx, 15°, 3.5 mm high
Text style	ISO-5	isocp.shx, 15°, 5 mm high
Text style	TB-en	Arial, used by the title block
Dimension style	ISO-25	Text 2.5 mm, arrows 2.5 mm, extension lines 1.25 mm beyond the dimension line and 0.625 mm from the object, dimension lines 3.75 mm apart, 0 decimals
Linetype	Continuous	Solid line
Linetype	DASHED	Dashed
Linetype	DASHDOT	Dash-dot
Linetype	CENTER	Centre line
Linetype	PHANTOM	Phantom line
Linetype	HIDDEN	Hidden line

Sheet and drawing setup

How the sheet is set up, so your own drawings print the same way.

Sheet: ISO A3 landscape, 420 × 297 mm.
Layout: One layout named ISO-A3, plotted at 1:1 on full-bleed A3 media, so the sheet has no printer margin.
Border: 20 mm from the left edge (binding side) and 10 mm from the other edges; the drawing area inside is 390 × 277 mm.
Model space: Units are millimetres. The drawing area is shown at 1:1, so 1 mm in the drawing is 1 mm on paper.
Title block: 160 × 79 mm at the lower right, with a four-line revision table above the company, project, title and approval fields.
Text size: 2.5 mm for labels and notes, 3.5 mm and 5 mm for headings.
Linetype scale: 1, so dashes are sized for plotting at 1:1.
Plot style: None set. Pick the CTB from the ZIP in the page setup for black-and-white plots.

Direct on line

Title block fields

The attributes of the title block. Double-click it to fill them in, or write them for a whole set of drawings with BlockSync.

Attribute	Field on the sheet	Value in this sample
COMPANY	COMPANY	CADXChange
PROJECT	PROJECT	Pump Station Motor Control
AREA	AREA	Pump station
SYSTEM	SYSTEM	400 V / 230 V
CLIENT	CLIENT	Sample
TITLE	DRAWING TITLE	Motor starter, direct on line
DRAWING_NO	DRAWING NO.	E-101
CONTRACT_NO	CONTRACT NO.	—
REV	REV	A
DRAWN	DRAWN	—
CHECKED	CHECKED	—
APPROVED	APPROVED	—
DATE	DATE	2026-10-21
SCALE	SCALE	NTS
SHEET	SHEET	1
SHEET_OF	OF	1

Revision table: R1 to R4, each with REV, DATE, DESCRIPTION and BY (16 attributes, empty in this sample).

Blocks in the drawing

The equipment list of the drawing: block name, symbol and how many times it is placed. BlockSync exports the same list from your own drawings.

Symbol	Block	Placed
Junction	IEC_JUNCTION	8
Terminal	IEC_TERMINAL	2
Auxiliary contact, NO	IEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	2
Signal lamp	IEC_LAMP	2
Circuit-breaker, 3-pole	IEC_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_3P	1
Contactor, 3-pole	IEC_CONTACTOR_3P	1
Thermal overload relay, 3P	IEC_THERMAL_RELAY_3P	1
Motor, three-phase	IEC_MOTOR_3PH	1
Earth (ground)	IEC_EARTH	1
Fuse	IEC_FUSE	1
Thermal overload contact, NC	IEC_THERMAL_CONTACT_NC	1
Push-button, NC	IEC_PUSHBUTTON_NC	1
Push-button, NO	IEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	1
Relay / contactor coil	IEC_COIL	1
Auxiliary contact, NC	IEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	1

Equipment schedule

One row per placed symbol, read from the attributes of the blocks in the drawing: what is shown on the sheet, and the schedule attributes that were filled in but are not shown. BlockSync exports these same attributes from your own drawings.

Tag	Description	Shown on the sheet	Filled in, not shown
Q1	Circuit-breaker, 3-poleIEC_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_3P	RATING_A = C20	POLES = 3CURVE = CBREAKING_KA = 10VOLTAGE = 400 V
KM1	Contactor, 3-poleIEC_CONTACTOR_3P	RATING_A = 18 A	POLES = 3UTILIZATION = AC-3COIL_VOLTAGE = 230 V AC
FR1	Thermal overload relay, 3PIEC_THERMAL_RELAY_3P	SETTING_A = 10-16 A	CLASS = 10POLES = 3
M1	Motor, three-phaseIEC_MOTOR_3PH	POWER_KW = 7.5 kW	VOLTAGE = 400 VCURRENT = 14.8 ASPEED_RPM = 1455FREQUENCY = 50 Hz
PE1	Earth (ground)IEC_EARTH	EARTH_TYPE = PE
X2	TerminalIEC_TERMINAL	TERMINAL_NO = 1
F2	FuseIEC_FUSE	RATING_A = 4 A	VOLTAGE = 230 VCLASS = gGBREAKING_KA = 50
X2	TerminalIEC_TERMINAL	TERMINAL_NO = 2
FR1	Thermal overload contact, NCIEC_THERMAL_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 95-96	RATING_A = 6
SB1	Push-button, NCIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NC	LEGEND = STOP	CONTACT_NO = 1 NCCOLOR = Red
SB2	Push-button, NOIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	LEGEND = START	CONTACT_NO = 1 NOCOLOR = Green
KM1	Auxiliary contact, NOIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	CONTACT_NO = 13-14	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM1
KM1	Relay / contactor coilIEC_COIL	VOLTAGE = 230 V AC	POWER_W = 8
KM1	Auxiliary contact, NOIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	CONTACT_NO = 43-44	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM1
HL1	Signal lampIEC_LAMP	COLOR = GN	VOLTAGE = 230 V ACPOWER = 2 W
KM1	Auxiliary contact, NCIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 21-22	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM1
HL2	Signal lampIEC_LAMP	COLOR = WH	VOLTAGE = 230 V ACPOWER = 2 W

Manufacturer, model and remarks are left empty on every block, ready for your data. The values are examples.

Forward and reverse

Title block fields

The attributes of the title block. Double-click it to fill them in, or write them for a whole set of drawings with BlockSync.

Attribute	Field on the sheet	Value in this sample
COMPANY	COMPANY	CADXChange
PROJECT	PROJECT	Pump Station Motor Control
AREA	AREA	Pump station
SYSTEM	SYSTEM	400 V / 230 V
CLIENT	CLIENT	Sample
TITLE	DRAWING TITLE	Motor starter, forward and reverse
DRAWING_NO	DRAWING NO.	E-102
CONTRACT_NO	CONTRACT NO.	—
REV	REV	A
DRAWN	DRAWN	—
CHECKED	CHECKED	—
APPROVED	APPROVED	—
DATE	DATE	2026-10-21
SCALE	SCALE	NTS
SHEET	SHEET	1
SHEET_OF	OF	1

Revision table: R1 to R4, each with REV, DATE, DESCRIPTION and BY (16 attributes, empty in this sample).

Blocks in the drawing

The equipment list of the drawing: block name, symbol and how many times it is placed. BlockSync exports the same list from your own drawings.

Symbol	Block	Placed
Junction	IEC_JUNCTION	15
Contactor, 3-pole	IEC_CONTACTOR_3P	2
Terminal	IEC_TERMINAL	2
Push-button, NO	IEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	2
Auxiliary contact, NO	IEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	2
Auxiliary contact, NC	IEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	2
Relay / contactor coil	IEC_COIL	2
Circuit-breaker, 3-pole	IEC_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_3P	1
Thermal overload relay, 3P	IEC_THERMAL_RELAY_3P	1
Motor, three-phase	IEC_MOTOR_3PH	1
Earth (ground)	IEC_EARTH	1
Fuse	IEC_FUSE	1
Thermal overload contact, NC	IEC_THERMAL_CONTACT_NC	1
Push-button, NC	IEC_PUSHBUTTON_NC	1

Equipment schedule

Tag	Description	Shown on the sheet	Filled in, not shown
Q1	Circuit-breaker, 3-poleIEC_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_3P	RATING_A = C20	POLES = 3CURVE = CBREAKING_KA = 10VOLTAGE = 400 V
KM1	Contactor, 3-poleIEC_CONTACTOR_3P	RATING_A = 18 A	POLES = 3UTILIZATION = AC-3COIL_VOLTAGE = 230 V AC
KM2	Contactor, 3-poleIEC_CONTACTOR_3P	RATING_A = 18 A	POLES = 3UTILIZATION = AC-3COIL_VOLTAGE = 230 V AC
FR1	Thermal overload relay, 3PIEC_THERMAL_RELAY_3P	SETTING_A = 10-16 A	CLASS = 10POLES = 3
M1	Motor, three-phaseIEC_MOTOR_3PH	POWER_KW = 7.5 kW	VOLTAGE = 400 VCURRENT = 14.8 ASPEED_RPM = 1455FREQUENCY = 50 Hz
PE1	Earth (ground)IEC_EARTH	EARTH_TYPE = PE
X2	TerminalIEC_TERMINAL	TERMINAL_NO = 1
F2	FuseIEC_FUSE	RATING_A = 4 A	VOLTAGE = 230 VCLASS = gGBREAKING_KA = 50
X2	TerminalIEC_TERMINAL	TERMINAL_NO = 2
FR1	Thermal overload contact, NCIEC_THERMAL_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 95-96	RATING_A = 6
SB1	Push-button, NCIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NC	LEGEND = STOP	CONTACT_NO = 1 NCCOLOR = Red
SB2	Push-button, NOIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	LEGEND = FWD	CONTACT_NO = 1 NOCOLOR = Green
KM1	Auxiliary contact, NOIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	CONTACT_NO = 13-14	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM1
KM2	Auxiliary contact, NCIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 21-22	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM2
KM1	Relay / contactor coilIEC_COIL	VOLTAGE = 230 V AC	POWER_W = 8
SB3	Push-button, NOIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	LEGEND = REV	CONTACT_NO = 1 NOCOLOR = Green
KM2	Auxiliary contact, NOIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	CONTACT_NO = 13-14	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM2
KM1	Auxiliary contact, NCIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 21-22	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM1
KM2	Relay / contactor coilIEC_COIL	VOLTAGE = 230 V AC	POWER_W = 8

Manufacturer, model and remarks are left empty on every block, ready for your data. The values are examples.

Star-delta

Title block fields

The attributes of the title block. Double-click it to fill them in, or write them for a whole set of drawings with BlockSync.

Attribute	Field on the sheet	Value in this sample
COMPANY	COMPANY	CADXChange
PROJECT	PROJECT	Pump Station Motor Control
AREA	AREA	Pump station
SYSTEM	SYSTEM	400 V / 230 V
CLIENT	CLIENT	Sample
TITLE	DRAWING TITLE	Motor starter, star-delta
DRAWING_NO	DRAWING NO.	E-103
CONTRACT_NO	CONTRACT NO.	—
REV	REV	A
DRAWN	DRAWN	—
CHECKED	CHECKED	—
APPROVED	APPROVED	—
DATE	DATE	2026-10-21
SCALE	SCALE	NTS
SHEET	SHEET	1
SHEET_OF	OF	1

Revision table: R1 to R4, each with REV, DATE, DESCRIPTION and BY (16 attributes, empty in this sample).

Blocks in the drawing

The equipment list of the drawing: block name, symbol and how many times it is placed. BlockSync exports the same list from your own drawings.

Symbol	Block	Placed
Junction	IEC_JUNCTION	17
Contactor, 3-pole	IEC_CONTACTOR_3P	3
Relay / contactor coil	IEC_COIL	3
Terminal	IEC_TERMINAL	2
Auxiliary contact, NC	IEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	2
Circuit-breaker, 3-pole	IEC_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_3P	1
Thermal overload relay, 3P	IEC_THERMAL_RELAY_3P	1
Motor, three-phase	IEC_MOTOR_3PH	1
Earth (ground)	IEC_EARTH	1
Fuse	IEC_FUSE	1
Thermal overload contact, NC	IEC_THERMAL_CONTACT_NC	1
Push-button, NC	IEC_PUSHBUTTON_NC	1
Push-button, NO	IEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	1
Auxiliary contact, NO	IEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	1
Coil, slow-operating relay	IEC_COIL_SLOW_OPERATE	1
Break contact, opening delay	IEC_CONTACT_NC_TDO	1
Make contact, closing delay	IEC_CONTACT_NO_TDC	1

Equipment schedule

Tag	Description	Shown on the sheet	Filled in, not shown
Q1	Circuit-breaker, 3-poleIEC_CIRCUIT_BREAKER_3P	RATING_A = C32	POLES = 3CURVE = CBREAKING_KA = 10VOLTAGE = 400 V
KM1	Contactor, 3-poleIEC_CONTACTOR_3P	RATING_A = 32 A	POLES = 3UTILIZATION = AC-3COIL_VOLTAGE = 230 V AC
FR1	Thermal overload relay, 3PIEC_THERMAL_RELAY_3P	SETTING_A = 11-17 A	CLASS = 10POLES = 3
KM3	Contactor, 3-poleIEC_CONTACTOR_3P	RATING_A = 32 A	POLES = 3UTILIZATION = AC-3COIL_VOLTAGE = 230 V AC
M1	Motor, three-phaseIEC_MOTOR_3PH	POWER_KW = 15 kW	VOLTAGE = 400 VCURRENT = 14.8 ASPEED_RPM = 1455FREQUENCY = 50 Hz
PE1	Earth (ground)IEC_EARTH	EARTH_TYPE = PE
KM2	Contactor, 3-poleIEC_CONTACTOR_3P	RATING_A = 18 A	POLES = 3UTILIZATION = AC-3COIL_VOLTAGE = 230 V AC
X2	TerminalIEC_TERMINAL	TERMINAL_NO = 1
F2	FuseIEC_FUSE	RATING_A = 4 A	VOLTAGE = 230 VCLASS = gGBREAKING_KA = 50
X2	TerminalIEC_TERMINAL	TERMINAL_NO = 2
FR1	Thermal overload contact, NCIEC_THERMAL_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 95-96	RATING_A = 6
SB1	Push-button, NCIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NC	LEGEND = STOP	CONTACT_NO = 1 NCCOLOR = Red
SB2	Push-button, NOIEC_PUSHBUTTON_NO	LEGEND = START	CONTACT_NO = 1 NOCOLOR = Green
KM1	Auxiliary contact, NOIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NO	CONTACT_NO = 13-14	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM1
KM1	Relay / contactor coilIEC_COIL		POWER_W = 8
KT1	Coil, slow-operating relayIEC_COIL_SLOW_OPERATE
KT1	Break contact, opening delayIEC_CONTACT_NC_TDO	CONTACT_NO = 55-56
KM3	Auxiliary contact, NCIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 21-22	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM3
KM2	Relay / contactor coilIEC_COIL		POWER_W = 8
KT1	Make contact, closing delayIEC_CONTACT_NO_TDC	CONTACT_NO = 67-68
KM2	Auxiliary contact, NCIEC_AUX_CONTACT_NC	CONTACT_NO = 21-22	RATING_A = 10OPERATING_DEVICE = KM2
KM3	Relay / contactor coilIEC_COIL		POWER_W = 8

Manufacturer, model and remarks are left empty on every block, ready for your data. The values are examples.

How to use it

Open the sample drawing to see how layers, text and the title block are used, or open it in the browser first, nothing to install.
Start your own drawing from the template (NEW, then pick the DWT file). Copy the CTB file to your plot styles folder if you want black-and-white plots.
Insert blocks from the symbol library into your drawing. The blocks in the sample are copies; they do not change when a library changes.
Double-click the title block to fill it in, then export the equipment list with BlockSync.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the drawing for a real project?: As a starting point for layout and layers, yes. The ratings, settings and cable sizes are made up, so the diagram has to be checked and changed for your project before it is used for design or construction.
Why are the layers coloured?: Colours and line weights follow the layers: power circuits are red and heavy, control is cyan, signal is green. The plot style table in the ZIP prints everything black and keeps the line weights, so you can plot in black and white as well.
Which CAD programs open it?: The drawing and the template are in AutoCAD 2018 format, which AutoCAD 2018 and later open, and so do other CAD programs that read this format. The browser viewer needs nothing installed.