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Twisted Pair Wire System

Twisted pair wiring is essential in modern automotive, marine, and industrial wiring harnesses to mitigate electromagnetic interference (EMI) on high-speed data buses (such as CAN Bus, RS485, and Ethernet).

Wiringly features an intuitive, zero-modal twisted pair bundle system that allows designers to quickly group, name, and visualize twisted wires directly on the interactive canvas, pinout overlays, and exported wiring reports.

Key Features​

  • Dedicated Twist Action (🔀): Each connected pin card features an amber twist icon button located directly underneath the + connection icon.
  • Instant 2-Click Bundling: Twist two wires together seamlessly with 2 clicks — no modal popups required.
  • Automatic Naming: Bundles are automatically assigned sequential labels (TW1, TW2, TW3...) upon creation.
  • Multi-Wire Bundling: Easily add a 3rd or 4th wire (e.g., ground shields or drain wires) to an existing twisted bundle.
  • Cross-System Visualization: Twisted bundle badges (🔀 TW1 · CAN Bus) automatically appear on Graphical Canvas Cards, Canvas Pin List Tables, the Device Tree, and exported Wiring Lists.

How to Create a Twisted Pair​

Method 1: Using the Pin Card Twist Button (🔀)​

  1. Open the Canvas Graphical Pinout Card by clicking any device or connector.
  2. Locate the connected pin row you wish to twist. Underneath the blue + button on the socket edge, you will see a dedicated amber 🔀 Twist Button.
  3. Click the 🔀 button on Wire 1:
    • The button will highlight in glowing amber.
    • The top banner will display: 🔀 Twist mode active — Click another wire's twist icon to join.
  4. Click the 🔀 button on Wire 2:
    • Wiringly automatically creates a new bundle (e.g., TW1) and groups Wire 1 and Wire 2 together.
    • Both wires will immediately display an amber 🔀 TW1 pill badge.

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut (CTRL / Cmd + Click)​

You can also initiate twisting using key combinations:

  1. Hold CTRL (Windows/Linux) or Cmd (macOS).
  2. Click the socket dot or pin card row of Wire 1.
  3. Hold CTRL / Cmd and click Wire 2.
  4. The wires will be automatically bundled into TW1.

Adding Additional Wires to a Bundle​

If your differential pair includes a drain wire or shield wire (e.g., CAN_H, CAN_L, and CAN_DRAIN):

  1. Click the 🔀 Twist Button on any wire already belonging to the bundle (e.g., TW1).
  2. Click the 🔀 Twist Button on the 3rd wire.
  3. The 3rd wire will automatically join TW1.

Renaming a Twisted Bundle​

While bundles default to automatic labels like TW1 or TW2, you can give them custom descriptive names (e.g., TW1 · CAN Bus or TW2 · Wheel Speed Sensor):

  1. Click the amber 🔀 TW1 Badge on any connected pin card row.
  2. A compact popover will open containing a Bundle Name input field.
  3. Type your custom name (e.g., CAN Bus) and click Rename.
  4. The badge will update across all views to 🔀 TW1 · CAN Bus.

Untwisting & Removing Wires​

To remove a wire or dissolve a bundle:

  1. Click the 🔀 TW1 Badge on the wire you want to untwist.
  2. Click Untwist in the popover menu.
  3. The wire will be unlinked from the bundle.
  4. If a bundle is left with fewer than 2 wires, Wiringly automatically cleans up and deletes the empty bundle.

Visualization Across Wiringly​

Twisted wire bundles are seamlessly highlighted across the entire application:

LocationVisualization
Canvas Overlay CardsAmber 🔀 TW1 pill badge with inline popover menu
Canvas Pin List TablesAuto-expanding cell badge: 🔀 TW1 · CAN Bus next to wire color swatch
Device Tree View🔀 TW1 pill badge adjacent to pin sub-rows
Wiring Table & ReportsDedicated Twist column listing all active bundles for production export
Automatic BOM & Production Exports

When exporting your project's Wiring List or Bill of Materials (BOM), all twisted bundle memberships and custom names are included automatically for harness assembly technicians.