Components

Components (also called connectors) are the main elements in wire harness designs. They represent physical connectors, terminals, splices, and other devices that wires connect to.

Creating Connectors

From Library

1. Open the Side Menu and select the Library tab
2. Browse or search for a component
3. Drag and drop onto the canvas

Custom Component

1. Click the Custom Component button in the Toolbar or press Ctrl+Insert
2. Enter component properties in the dialog
3. Click Create

While the Custom Component tool stays active, each placement after the first opens the dialog pre-filled with the values you submitted last - manufacturer, partnumber, manufacturing fields, pin configuration, and sideview image all carry over. Only the unique component name is regenerated. Press Submit to chain identical placements, or tweak any field first. Switching to a different tool clears this carry-over; re-entering the Custom Component tool then starts fresh with schema defaults. The Terminal tool behaves identically with its own dialog. Library placements do not chain in this way - their props always come from the library entry, so there is nothing to carry over.

Using AI Chat

Ask the AI to create connectors in natural language:

Create a connector J1 with 8 pins

Create 5 connectors J1-J5, all 4-pin

Connector Properties

Select a connector and open the Inspector to view and edit:

Property	Description
name	Component reference (e.g., J1, P1)
description	Component description
partNumber	Manufacturer part number
manufacturer	Component manufacturer
pinCount	Number of pins
connectorStyle	Connector type/style

Component Name Label

The component name is displayed in a separate text container attached to the component's anchor. This label can be moved independently from the component itself.

The label supports variable substitution:

Variable	Replaced with
$REFDES	Component name
$PN	Component part number

By default the label text is $REFDES. Edit the label in the Inspector to change the displayed variable or add custom text.

Pin Editing

Each connector has pins that wires connect to.

Adding Pins

1. Select the connector
2. In Inspector, find the Pins section
3. Click Add Pin
4. Configure pin properties

To add multiple pins at once, set the pin count in the dialog. Pins are auto-named sequentially starting after the last existing pin number. Template properties (gender, partner number) are applied to all created pins. The pinout grid auto-expands to fit the new pins.

Script commands

You can add or remove pins programmatically with Script.addPins() and Script.removePins(). See the command reference for details.

Pin Properties

Property	Description
name	Pin identifier (e.g., 1, A, GND)
description	Pin function description
signal	Signal name
wireGauge	Compatible wire gauge
stripLength	Bare-conductor length at the pin end (mm)
addonLength	Length consumed by the contact / termination beyond the strip (mm)
fanLength	Excess length added to fan the conductor out to the bundle (mm)

The last three are wire-length contributions used by the Wire Cut List. They can be edited per pin in the inspector or populated in bulk via Script.calculateFanouts.

Pin Numbering

LoomCAD supports different pin numbering schemes:

• Horizontal-first - Numbers increase left to right, then top to bottom
• Row-first - Numbers increase top to bottom within each row

Pinout Display

Components can display a pinout diagram showing all pins with their names and connections. The pinout updates automatically when pins change.

To show pinout:

1. Select the component
2. click and select "Show Pinout"

Side Views

Side views are visual representations of the connector shell - the physical connector body as seen from the side.

Supported Formats

• SVG — Vector graphics (scalable)
• Raster images — PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF, WebP, ICO, AVIF

Adding a Side View

1. Select the component
2. In Inspector, find the Side View section
3. Click to upload an image or fetch from DigiKey

Component Wire Table

Each component can display a wire table showing all connections to its pins:

• Pin name and number
• Connected wire
• Wire color
• Destination component and pin

Click a row in the wire table to highlight the corresponding wire on the canvas.

Property Fetching

Populate component properties from external sources:

From DigiKey

1. Select the component
2. Click the DigiKey button in Inspector
3. Search for the part
4. Click MERGE or REPLACE to import properties

See DigiKey Integration for details.

From Component Library

1. Select the component
2. Click Fetch in Inspector
3. Choose a library component
4. Properties are copied to your component

Context Menu Options

Components are represented by pinouts, sideviews, and wire tables.

click on any of these to access component actions:

Action	Description	Available On
Flip Component	Mirror the component orientation	All representations
Add Pins	Add new pins to the component	Pinout only
Open Inspector	View and edit component properties	All representations

When click on a pin within a pinout, you also see pin-specific options:

• Add Start/End Wire - Begin or complete a wire connection
• Remove Wire - Delete wire connected to this pin
• Remove Pin - Delete this pin (if component has more than one pin)

See Context Menu Quick Reference for all context menu options.

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Creating Custom Components

Build components from drawing primitives:

1. Draw the component shape using Line, Circle, Rectangle tools
2. Add text labels
3. Select all elements
4. click and select "Create Component"

Related Topics

• Wires - Connections between pins
• Bundles - Wire routing containers
• Inspector - Property editing
• DigiKey Integration - Component data import