Auto Cable

Auto Cable is a Revit add-in that draws conduits along cable trays for you. You pick the trays, choose how many conduits and which sizes, and the tool lays them side by side along the whole run, with elbows at every corner. It replaces drawing each conduit by hand.

It lives in its own tab, Super BIM Lab, with three tools:

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11.
• Autodesk Revit 2022 (tested). Revit 2023 and 2024 can be selected in the installer but are not yet fully tested. Revit 2025 and later are not supported by this version.
• No administrator rights needed. The installer works for the current Windows user only.

Install

1. Unzip the file you downloaded (do not run the installer from inside the zip). If you also received a licence file (.sbl), keep it in the same folder.
2. Save your work and close Revit. The installer will not continue while Revit is open.
3. Run SuperBIMLab_AutoCable_Setup_1.1.0.exe. If Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, click More info, then Run anyway (the file is not code-signed yet).
4. Accept the agreement, choose the Revit versions (the ones found on your computer are ticked), and click Install.
5. Open Revit. The first time, Revit asks whether to trust the add-in: choose Always Load. Look for the Super BIM Lab tab.

Update

Just run the newer installer again. Your licence and trial information stay as they are.

Uninstall

Close Revit, open Windows Settings → Apps, find Auto Cable (Super BIM Lab) and click Uninstall. The licence and trial record are kept on purpose, so reinstalling does not restart the trial.

• 14-day trial. Every feature works for 14 days, counted from the first time you open a tool on that computer.
• After the trial you can still open the tools, select trays and see the preview, but creating and deleting conduits is locked until you activate a licence.
• Licence file. After purchase you receive a personal file ending in .sbl. It carries your name and is for your own use; please do not share it.

Where to see the status

At the bottom of every window there is a small coloured text:

Activate a licence

1. Open any tool and click the coloured text at the bottom of the window.
2. In the Licence window click Choose licence file... and select your .sbl file.
3. You should see Licence activated. The buttons unlock immediately; no restart is needed.

Your first conduits, step by step, using Single Run:

1. Open a 3D view or plan that shows a cable tray run. Click Super BIM Lab → Single Run.
2. Click Select Trays. The window folds away and a small floating panel appears at the left of Revit. Select the tray run in the normal Revit way: click, or hover and press Tab to highlight a whole chain, or drag a window. Include the fittings (bends). The panel shows a live count.
3. Click Finish on that panel. The window comes back showing the tray size.
4. Choose the Conduit type and set the number of conduits with the − and + buttons. Pick a size for each conduit.
5. Look at the Live preview at the top right: it shows the tray cross-section with your conduits and the fill percentage.
6. Click Create Conduits. If there are warnings you will be asked to confirm. Done: the conduits and elbows are in your model.
7. Not happy? Press Ctrl+Z once in Revit.

Use it for one tray run with no branches. If your trays have tees or crosses, use Multi-Way instead.

The window

Create Conduits

• The button is available once trays are selected and a layout exists (and the trial/licence allows it).
• Warnings never block you. If conduits stick out of the tray, or the fill is above your limit, a box lists the warnings and asks Create anyway?
• The Last run card on the left summarises what was created, including the bend radius result and any elbows that could not be set.

Use it when trays branch (tees, crosses). You choose one source and several destinations. Each source-to-destination path is a Route with its own group of conduits. Auto Cable then arranges all conduits inside each tray segment so that routes never cross.

Step by step

1. Click Select Network and select all the trays and fittings of the network (drag a window, or press Tab on each chain). Click Finish.
2. The scan reports, for example, 26 tray(s) · 3 junction(s) · 5 open end(s). Check that these numbers match your drawing.
3. In the Network preview (plan view) the open ends are circles with letters A, B, C... Click the end where the cables start: it becomes the source.
4. Click the other ends one by one: each becomes a destination and a Route card appears (for example C → A). Click an end again to remove its route.
5. On each Route card set the number of conduits (− / +) and the size of each.
6. Check the Lane plan and the Tray section (top right). Use the drop-down to look at any segment.
7. Click Create All Routes.

The preview

• Zoom: mouse wheel, or the + / − buttons. Fit shows the whole network again.
• Pan: drag with the left mouse button on an empty area, or with the middle button.
• Each route is drawn in its own colour, side by side in the order the conduits will really lie.
• Under the source and destinations a small label shows the room found at that end (number, name, area). If no room is found it shows ไม่ระบุ (not specified).

How the conduits are arranged (no crossing)

Looking along the direction of travel, away from the source: at every junction the branches are ordered from left to right, and the conduits are laid out in the same order. A route that leaves first therefore lies on the outer side of the direction it turns to, and no route has to cross another.

Tray section (top right)

A fixed card that draws the cross-section of one tray segment with the conduits of every route that passes through it. Use the drop-down to choose another segment. It starts on the most crowded segment. Conduits that stick out of the tray get a red outline and the note under the card says by how much.

After a branch leaves (optional)

After a branch has left, the conduits that go straight on may no longer sit where you want them (for example no longer in the centre of the tray). Under Placement → After a branch leaves choose:

• Keep their lane (default): they stay where they were.
• Move back to the alignment: the group moves sideways together, using a gentle jog (two small bends) in the straight tray after the junction, back to the alignment you chose (for example Center). The jog is longer when the bend radius is larger.

Removes the conduits (and the elbows only they use) that run along the trays you select.

1. Click Super BIM Lab → Clear Conduits (or select the trays first, then click it).
2. Click Select Trays and pick the trays you want to clear, then Finish.
3. The report shows how many conduit segments and fittings will be removed, by size.
4. Click Highlight in Revit to select them in the model so you can check.
5. Click Delete and confirm. Press Ctrl+Z to undo.

Which conduits?

Your settings are remembered for the next time.

The elbows Auto Cable creates have a Bend Radius. By default Revit uses the radius from the project's conduit size table, which is often small (for example 4.5 × the conduit diameter). In the Bend radius card you can ask for a bigger one.

• Target radius = multiplier × conduit outer diameter. Presets: ×6, ×8, ×10, ×12, or type your own number.
• Set the radius on new elbows (default): each new elbow gets that radius. Keep Revit's own radius: the tool does not touch it.
• The list in the card compares the radius in your project's size table with your target (green = already enough, yellow = lower than the target).

I do not see the "Super BIM Lab" tab.

Close and reopen Revit. Make sure you installed for your Revit version (Revit 2022, 2023 or 2024) and that you chose Always Load when Revit asked. Reinstall if needed.

The installer says Revit is running.

Save your work and close Revit completely, then press Next again.

I selected the trays but nothing is created.

Check the footer: the trial may have ended, or there may be an error. In Single Run the tray must be one run without branches. Select the fittings too.

The size list shows other sizes than I expected.

Sizes come from the conduit size table of the project for the conduit type's standard. Change the conduit type, or edit the sizes in Revit's conduit settings.

Conduits are not attached to the elbows.

Press Ctrl+Z. Try Keep Revit's own radius or a smaller multiplier, and check the straight tray lengths. Send us a screenshot.

Room labels say "ไม่ระบุ".

No room was found at that end (no room placed there, the linked model is not loaded, or the tray end is far above the room). It does not affect the conduits.

The text at the bottom of the window is cut off.

Hover over it: the tooltip shows the full message.

Can I use it on a computer without internet?

Yes. Auto Cable does not connect to the internet and does not send your models anywhere. The licence and trial information stay on your computer.

• Tested on Revit 2022. Revit 2023 and 2024 are not yet fully tested. Revit 2025 and later are not supported by this version.
• Multi-Way needs a branching layout without closed loops, one source and one or more destinations at open tray ends.
• Junctions with a branch going up or down are not fully supported (a warning is shown; the left-right order may be wrong there). Vertical drops at the end of a run (for example down to a panel) are fine.
• The re-align jog works on horizontal runs only.
• Room labels are only information. They do not change the conduits.
• The tool checks the layout it draws, not electrical or code requirements. You remain responsible for the design.