Reuse

What to keep in mind

• Reuse is centered on block definitions rather than copied geometry.
• Local Definitions stay inside one Project when logic is project-specific or still evolving.
• Global Blocks make shared systems available across projects through the Library.
• Centralized definitions keep recurring logic consistent as systems scale.

Reuse is built around shared definitions

Reuse in LogiDraft is built around definitions. A Local Definition can stay inside one Project, while a Global Block is managed in the Library for reuse across projects.

Global Blocks become Library assets that carry proven behavior across projects.

Blocks are the unit of reuse.

Local Definitions live inside a Project. They are appropriate when the reusable logic belongs to a single project or when a system is still being developed in project scope.

Global Blocks live in the Library and can be inserted across projects. When used this way, a common system component does not need to be recreated in every file.

Why reuse matters beyond convenience

• It reduces business risk by keeping recurring logic consistent across projects.
• It lowers maintenance cost because changes happen once at the definition level.
• It prevents drift between teams, projects, and product variants.
• It matters most when systems repeat often enough that manual recreation becomes expensive or error-prone.

Reuse is not just faster authoring. It is a way of protecting system knowledge so that proven logic remains coherent as more projects depend on it.

Reuse keeps authored behavior stable across the rest of the system

• Defined in Blocks: block definitions define behavior and are the unit of reuse.
• Stabilized by Logic: reusable logic defines relationships once instead of many times.
• Proven in Evaluation: the same reused definition can execute behavior in many contexts.
• Scaled by Composition: reuse enables larger systems to be assembled from stable components.
• Reflected in Outputs: outputs remain consistent because they come from the same shared definitions and evaluated instances.

Consistency comes from centralizing behavior

The Library is organized as a reusable catalog rather than a flat list of copied geometry. That structure makes repeated insertion and standardization practical across many projects.

Reuse keeps logic consistent because changes happen at the definition level. Instead of fixing the same rule in many disconnected instances, the authored behavior stays centralized and instance variation happens through inputs.

This is the main reason LogiDraft scales beyond one-off drafting. Reuse turns recurring systems into shared authored components.

Local to refined to global to reused

• Local: start with a project-scoped definition while behavior is still taking shape.
• Refine: improve parameters, logic, and composition until the behavior is stable.
• Global: save the definition as a Global Block in the Library once it is worth standardizing.
• Reuse: execute that same Global Block across many projects and assemblies with different inputs.

Reuse is achieved through shared definitions

The key mental model is that reuse does not come from copying successful results. It comes from reusing the definition that produced those results.

In other words, the reusable asset is the system behavior itself. Instances can vary by input, but the maintained knowledge stays centralized.

Shared definitions prevent drift and enable scaling systems

Reuse matters most when a rule changes. If the same logic has been copied into many independent definitions, drift becomes almost unavoidable. Some variants get updated, some do not, and outputs lose consistency.

Shared definitions avoid that problem because the behavior is maintained once and evaluated many times. Inputs can still vary by project or assembly context, but the underlying logic remains coherent.

Local Definitions and Global Blocks therefore serve different scopes rather than different system models. Local Definitions keep an evolving Project coherent. Global Blocks carry stable definitions across projects without forcing authors to recreate the same logic over and over.

How reuse is usually applied

• Keep experimental or project-specific logic local until the behavior is stable enough to share.
• Save stable subsystems as Global Blocks when multiple projects need the same logic.
• Reuse assemblies by changing inputs at the reference level instead of branching definitions unnecessarily.

A motor starter assembly is a concrete example. It may begin as a local project definition, then be refined into a Global Block once its inputs, logic, and outputs are proven across several projects.

To use reuse in practice, start with Reuse Global Blocks Across Projects. For exact reusable instance fields, use Block References. To see reusable assemblies in a larger working system, open the Motor Control Panel example. For a broader explanation of how reusable definitions support parametric electrical CAD, read Parametric Electrical CAD or Electrical CAD Software.

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