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Whats the difference between a net and a   wire?

Former Member

When connecting pins together on a schematic, what's the difference between

using a net and a wire?

 

I know I'm supposed to use a net, but there doesn't really seem to be any

practical difference between the two.

 

Thanks

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  • Here is a little snipit form another post that should help explain it.

     

     

    "You might think that you'd use the "wire" command to make connections in your circuit.

     

    However, a wire in EAGLE is just a line; to properly make actual electrical connections, you need to use the "net" command. Nets will automatically form junctions when terminated on pins or other nets; I don't think wires are so nice."

  • in reply to Nate1616

    So when are you supposed to use wire?  Is it just for connections that only go to one point?  I just finished a schematic and I have a mix, but both wires and nets look the same.  Is there a way to hide the nets so I can delete the wires?

  • in reply to scott216

    On 8/5/2012 9:43 AM, scott216 wrote:

    So when are you supposed to use wire?  Is it just for connections that only go to one point?  I just finished a schematic and I have a mix, but both wires and nets look the same.  Is there a way to hide the nets so I can delete the wires?

     

     

    Wires should only be used for artistic purposes, the name LINE would be

    more inline with it's function than WIRE but for historical reasons it's

    still named WIRE.

     

    Never use WIRE to define connections in the schematic and in most cases

    you don't want to use WIRE to define connections on the board.

     

    In EAGLE there's no way to seperate WIRES from NETS.

     

    hth,

    Jorge Garcia

     

  • in reply to Former Member

    To add a bit of confusion but also clarity:image

     

    In version 6.2.0 it appears that wire and net both make electrical connections. At least by looking at the rats-nest in the board view.

    Wire though, dont make termination dots and wont auto-terminate the connection.

     

    By the way, the tool tip when hoovering the cursor on the tools, says (in lower left)

    • WIRE: "Draw lines"
    • NET: "Draw an electrical connection"

    Which is fairly clear information - just what you need - when you have forgotten in 2 weeks.

     

    But the terminology is very ambigous.