Generate a power design

In the Design step, FOND designs the electrical network: where transformers, pull boxes and joint boxes go, how primary and secondary wire is routed, and which phase each part of the primary network carries.

The Design step has two parts:

Optimize, covered here
Override, which is optional. See Override a power design.

Before you start

Make sure that:

The right architecture is applied. See Configure a Power Design architecture.
Your input data is complete, and you’ve checked it over. See Preparing input data for Power Design.

Set your inputs

Under Optimize, set up:

Input	Required?	What it does
Source hubs	Yes	Where power enters the network. Draw or upload them. They snap to underground points and poles, and should not be located on a point with a leadin.
Blockers	Optional	Paths the design must not cross. You can upload separate primary and secondary blockers.
Transformers	Optional	Fixes transformer locations you’ve already decided on. Each one must sit on an underground point, and not on a source hub. Leave this empty to let FOND determine locations itself.

Tip: It’s often best to generate a first design with only source hubs. Then look at the result, and add blockers or fix transformers where you want a different outcome.

Generate

Click Start design generation. FOND generates the power design, then the bill of materials. When it finishes, you’ll see Power design complete.

To stop a run, click Cancel. The last completed design will stay visible on the map.

Review the design

Your design appears in the legend under Network Design › Output:

Layer	What it shows
Sources	Where power enters the network
Transformers	Placed transformers, grouped by phase
Boxes	Primary joint boxes and secondary pull boxes
Meters	One for each address
Primary wires	The primary network, colored by phase
Secondary wires	Wiring from transformers and pull boxes to meters

If something goes wrong

If FOND can’t complete the design, you’ll see Power solver failed.

Check the issue layers on the map. Validation Issues and Design Issues highlight problem features in red. Click a feature and read its Message attribute to find out what’s wrong.
Click View Logs to see the solver’s log files.

Fix the problem, then click Re-run design generation. If you can’t work out the cause, contact support and include the logs and your project URL.

Refine the design

Most designs take a few rounds. Adjust your source hubs, blockers or fixed transformers, then click Re-run design generation.

Once the locations and routes are right, you can take manual control of the final network with overrides.

Tip: Before trying a different approach, create a new project version with Continue from most recent version, so you can compare options and go back if you need to.

Keep your design up to date

If you change your input data or architecture after generating, make sure to regenerate your design to apply the changes.