Compact Electronic Symbols Template - CEST Version 2 25.7.

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The Compact Electronic Symbols Template (CEST) is based on a set of simple

geometrical figures and allows easy drawing of electrical circuit diagrams.

The following symbols are supported:

- resistor (horizontal and vertical)

- potentiometer, trimmer
- relay
- capacitor, electrolytic capacitor
- transformer
- transistor: npn, pnp, FET ...
- operational amplifier
- logic gates (according to IEC 60617-12 or ANSI/IEEE Std 91-1984)
- oscillating quartz
- diode, zener diode, LED, thyristor
- switch
- connector
- measuring instruments

The template is designed for electronic hobbyists and does not support the complete set of
existing symbols. It is also not fully compatible with all current international standards.
For more complex symbols a combination of basic figures can be used.

npn Transistor

Elements with high pin count like microcontrollers can easily be created using the outline
of the template and drawing a small rectangle with variable height in two steps.
For example see the circuit diagram in the picture gallery.

The CEST is designed with FreeCAD.

All edges are generated with a taper angle and most of the corners are rounded with a
small radius.

A mechanical graphite pencil with a lead thickness of 0,5 mm is a good choice for drawing
with the template.

Dimensions: 93 x 24 x 1.4 mm
Printing time: 19 minutes / 30 minutes with ironing
PRUSA i3 MK3S+ with PRUSA Slicer standard parameter setting
Layer height: 0.2 mm
Nozzle diameter: 0.4 mm
Weight: 2.35 g

Optionally ironing can be activated, so that pinholes in sharp corners are avoided and the
surface of the top layer will be very smooth.

The CEST shown in the pictures is printed with PETG Prusament Clear and with ironing.
Usage:

The CEST can be used with different types of pens shown in the picture below.

Type A Mechanical Graphite Pencil with fixed or movable metal sleeve

lead thickness 0.5 mm / outer diameter 0.9 mm
e.g. Faber-Castell TK-Fine 9715 or Pilot Dr.Grip XS 0.5

Type B Mechanical Graphite Pencil with conical metal sleeve

lead thickness 0.5 mm
e.g. Faber-Castell GRIP 1345 0.5

Type C old style pencil with wooden case

Type D color pencil

e.g. Faber-Castell Copier 9609, different colors available

Type E ballpoint pen with very fine tip

Type F foil pen with metal-encased round tip

lead thickness 0.3 mm / outer diameter 1.5 mm
e.g. Edding 140S super fine, waterproof permanent ink, different colors av.

Type G Fineliner with metal-cased tip

0.4 mm / outer diameter 1.1 mm
e.g. STABILO point 88 fine 0.4 different colors available
For “open figures“ like circles, rectangles or arrows all types work fine but for “narrow lines“
especially for the “T-symbol“ for trimmers the used drawing pen should match exactly with
the width of the slot.

All edges of the template are generated with a taper angle of 15° so that the orientation
makes a difference in usage.

Pen type B-C-D-E Pen type A-F-G

normal version mirrored version

wide side on top narrow side on top

remark: sometimes it is easier and faster to use drawing templates than modern computers 😉
used pen type G on coated paper for the drawing

For pencils with conical tip (type B-C-D-E) the “wide side“ of the slots should be on top.
→ normal version

For pencils with straight tip (type A-F-G) the “narrow side“ of the slots should be on top.
→ mirrored version

Most of the symbols are symmetrical so that using the template upside down is not a
problem but if you want to invert the taper angle simply mirror the template in the slicer.
For Prusa slicer: click right mouse button → mirror along y-axis

Normal Version

Mirrored Version

For easy identification of both sides the template optionally can be printed with color
change. If you print a two-color version it would be nice to post a make.

Pens type A-B-C-D-E work fine for drawing circuit diagrams on paper but for labelling of
circuit boards (e.g. arrows for input/output signals) a pen type F with permanent ink should
be used.
The template should be used with the “narrow side“ on top, so that the liquid ink does not
come into contact with the template. The template should be removed carefully without
smudging the wet ink.
Small slots (e.g. cathode for diodes) cannot be used with the tested pen!

Pen type G is similar to type F and small slots can also be used. The ink is not suitable for
the surface of circuit boards.
The optical impression on coated paper is very good but the result on normal paper is not
satisfactory because of leaking ink at the end and turning points of lines.
Maybe it is very suitable for graphical applications with drawing templates but difficult to
erase and therefore it is not my first choice for drawing electrical diagrams.

For pen types F and G the height of the CEST might be to small and you have to increase
it in the slicer.
For Prusa slicer: unlock scale → scale size z = 2 mm or more (x, y unchanged)

The listed pens are available in Germany but I suggest that there exist more types of pens
from different manufacturers in other regions of the world which are suitable for this
application.

My personal favourite is type A with 0.5 mm diameter.

Design Notes - FreeCAD - Blender

Basically it is very easy to design a flat drawing template within a 3D-CAD program.
Starting such a project is a very good training even for beginners.

For simple structures only one sketch and one PAD is necessary.
For more complex structures as for the CEST it is helpful to distribute the elements to
different sketches. In this case one sketch for the outline with PAD and two sketches for
the cut outs with POCKET are used.

The challenge in the design process is to find a good compromise between “as much
symbols as possible” for comfortable use and “not more symbols as necessary” for a
compact design. Arranging the different elements is like playing TETRIS in CAD-tool.

Most of the inner corners of the cut outs are rounded with a small radius of 0,2mm. In
summary the three sketches include more than 600 constraints to define the structure
completely.

To avoid notches the minimal distance between two elements should be long enough that
at least one continuous external perimeter (in Prusa slicer displayed in orange) can be
printed in the top layer. The taper angle should be taken into account for calculating the
distance in the sketches.
Analysing the mesh structure in BLENDER shows that the resolution is sufficient for good
quality 3D prints.

The pictures shows the tip of the diode-arrow-symbol

The STL-file was generated with:

surface deviation = 0.1 mm

angle deviation = 15°

The file size of ~680 kB is acceptable for downloads.

Have a lot of fun designing electronic circuits with the tool