Autodesk Inventor Routed Systems 2010
Getting Started
January 2009Part No. 464B1-050000-PM01A
©
2009 Autodesk, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by Autodesk, Inc., this publication, or parts thereof, may not be
reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose.
Certain materials included in this publication are reprinted with the permission of the copyright holder.
Trademarks
The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries: 3DEC (design/logo), 3December,
3December.com, 3ds Max, ADI, Alias, Alias (swirl design/logo), AliasStudio, Alias|Wavefront (design/logo), ATC, AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD
Learning Assistance, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Simulator, AutoCAD SQL Extension, AutoCAD SQL Interface, Autodesk, Autodesk Envision, Autodesk
Insight, Autodesk Intent, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Map, Autodesk MapGuide, Autodesk Streamline, AutoLISP, AutoSnap, AutoSketch,
AutoTrack, Backdraft, Built with ObjectARX (logo), Burn, Buzzsaw, CAiCE, Can You Imagine, Character Studio, Cinestream, Civil 3D, Cleaner,
Cleaner Central, ClearScale, Colour Warper, Combustion, Communication Specification, Constructware, Content Explorer, Create>what's>Next>
(design/logo), Dancing Baby (image), DesignCenter, Design Doctor, Designer's Toolkit, DesignKids, DesignProf, DesignServer, DesignStudio,
Design|Studio (design/logo), Design Web Format, Discreet, DWF, DWG, DWG (logo), DWG Extreme, DWG TrueConvert, DWG TrueView, DXF,
Ecotect, Exposure, Extending the Design Team, Face Robot, FBX, Filmbox, Fire, Flame, Flint, FMDesktop, Freewheel, Frost, GDX Driver, Gmax,
Green Building Studio, Heads-up Design, Heidi, HumanIK, IDEA Server, i-drop, ImageModeler, iMOUT, Incinerator, Inferno, Inventor, Inventor
LT, Kaydara, Kaydara (design/logo), Kynapse, Kynogon, LandXplorer, LocationLogic, Lustre, Matchmover, Maya, Mechanical Desktop, Moonbox,
MotionBuilder, Movimento, Mudbox, NavisWorks, ObjectARX, ObjectDBX, Open Reality, Opticore, Opticore Opus, PolarSnap, PortfolioWall,
Powered with Autodesk Technology, Productstream, ProjectPoint, ProMaterials, RasterDWG, Reactor, RealDWG, Real-time Roto, REALVIZ,
Recognize, Render Queue, Retimer,Reveal, Revit, Showcase, ShowMotion, SketchBook, Smoke, Softimage, Softimage|XSI (design/logo),
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Landscape, Visual Survey, Visual Toolbox, Visual LISP, Voice Reality, Volo, Vtour, Wire, Wiretap, WiretapCentral, XSI, and XSI (design/logo).
The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Canada Co. in the USA and/or Canada and other countries:
Backburner,Multi-Master Editing, River, and Sparks.
The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of MoldflowCorp. in the USA and/or other countries: Moldflow, MPA, MPA
(design/logo),Moldflow Plastics Advisers, MPI, MPI (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Insight,MPX, MPX (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Xpert.
All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Disclaimer
THIS PUBLICATION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS MADE AVAILABLE BY AUTODESK, INC. "AS IS." AUTODESK, INC. DISCLAIMS
ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THESE MATERIALS.
Published by:
Autodesk, Inc.
111 Mclnnis Parkway
San Rafael, CA 94903, USA
Contents
Tubes and Pipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About Tube & Pipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Tube & Pipe Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Tube & Pipe Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Tube & Pipe Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Work in Autodesk Inventor Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Back Up Tutorial Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Workflow for Tube and Pipe Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Set Up Projects For Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Define the Master Runs Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Create Master Runs Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Add Individual Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Specify Global Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 2 Route Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About Rigid Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Auto Route Cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Parametric Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
About Flexible Hose Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Route Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
iii
Rigid Route Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Hose Route Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3D Orthogonal Route Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Tool Elements for Pipe Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Tool Elements for Tube Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Change Tool Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Define Angular Position and Rotation Snap . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Define 45-degree Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Define Bent Tubes Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Use Point Snap to Define Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Enter Precise Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Route Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Basic Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Bend Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Dimension Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Parallel and Perpendicular Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 3 Set Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
About Tube and Pipe Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Access Tube and Pipe Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
View and Select Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Set Style Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
General Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Rules Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Work with Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Create Rigid Pipe with Fittings Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Tubing with Bends Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Flexible Hose Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Create Flexible Hose Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Change Styles for Existing Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Change Active Styles for New Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Add Styles to Assembly Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter 4 Create Rigid Routes and Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Workflow for Rigid Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Create Auto Route Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Manually Create Parametric Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Automatically Dimension Route Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Create Segments With Precise Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Define Parallel and Perpendicular Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Snap Route Points to Existing Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Place Constraints On Route Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Create Bends Between Existing Pipe Segments . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Create Pipe Routes With Custom Bends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
iv | Contents
Create Bent Tube Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Realign 3D Orthogonal Route Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Control Dimension Visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Populated Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 5 Create and Edit Flexible Hose Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Workflow for Flexible Hose Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Create Flexible Hose Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Create Hose Routes with Both Fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Change Nominal Diameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Create Hose Routes With One Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Edit Flexible Hose Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Hose Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Hose Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Start Fitting and End Fitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Bend Radius Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Delete Flexible Hose Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 6 Edit Rigid Routes and Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
About Editing Rigid Routes and Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Auto Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Parametric Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Options for Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Route Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Pipe Run Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Context Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Control Individual Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Route Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Add to Finished Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Insert Intermediate Route Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Delete Route Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Auto Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Move Auto Route Segments Approximately . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Move Auto Route Segments Accurately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Remove Unwanted Segments or Route Points . . . . . . . . . . 124
Convert Auto Region to Parametric Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Place Fittings in the Active Project Workspace . . . . . . . . . . 131
Insert Library Parts Using AutoDrop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Adjust Fitting Position and Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Restore Default Fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Replace Existing Fittings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Contents | v
Delete Fitting Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Connect Fittings and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Edit Bent Tube Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Change Bend Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Move Coupling Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Delete Routes and Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Chapter 7 Use Content Center Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
About Content Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Content Center Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Manage Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Configure Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Place Tube and Pipe Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Chapter 8 Author and Publish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
About Authoring and Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Author Tube and Pipe Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Access Tube & Pipe Authoring Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Author Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Prepare iParts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Author iParts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Publish to Content Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Set Up the Library and Subcategories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Publish Authored Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Create Styles Using Published Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Chapter 9 Document Routes and Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
About Documenting Routes and Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Workflow for Documenting Pipe Runs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Use Drawing Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Prepare Design View Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Create Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Create Base Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Create Projected Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Create Detail Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Recover Route Centerlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Dimension Drawing Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Create and Export Bills of Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Enable the Parts Only View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Add Base QTY and Stock Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Create and Export Bill of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Create Parts Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
vi | Contents
Annotate Drawings with Piping Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Cable and Harness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Chapter 10 Get Started with Cable and Harness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
About Cable and Harness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Back Up Tutorial Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Set Up Projects For Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Work in Autodesk Inventor Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
About Electrical Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Workflow for Electrical Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Create Electrical Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Place Pins and Define Pin-level Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Set Part Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Add RefDes Placeholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Modify Pinned Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Add Custom Properties to Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Place Electrical Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Chapter 11 Work With Harness Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
About Working in Harness Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Cable and Harness Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Create Harness Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Workflow for Harness Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Use the Cable and Harness Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Set Properties for Harness Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Customize Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Set Occurrence Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Assign Occurrence Reference Designators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Chapter 12 Use the Cable and Harness Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
About the Cable and Harness Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Locate the Cable and Harness Library File . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Display the Library Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Adding Library Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Create New Library Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Modify Library Wire and Cable Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Copy Library Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Edit Library Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Delete Library Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Add Properties to Library Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Contents | vii
Import and Export Library Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Import into the Cable and Harness Library . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Export Library Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Chapter 13 Work with Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
About Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Set Modeling and Curvature Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Insert Wires and Cables Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Insert Wires Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Insert Cables Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Move Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Move Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Move Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Delete Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Delete Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Remove Cables and Cable Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Replace Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Assign Virtual Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Import Harness Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Configuration File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Comma Separated Value Data File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
XML File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Review Harness Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Import Harness Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Add Shape to Wires and Cable Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Add Wire Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Redefine and Move Wire Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Delete Wire Work Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Set Occurrence Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Wire Occurrence Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Cable Occurrence Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Override Library-level Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Restore Library-Level Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Change Wire and Cable Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Chapter 14 Work with Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
About Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Define Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Select Work Points for Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Plan Segment Start Points and Endpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Apply Offset Distances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Create Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Add Segment Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Manipulate Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
viii | Contents
Redefine or Move Segment Work Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Insert Segment Work Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Delete Harness Segment Work Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Delete Harness Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Set Segment Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Set Diameter Behavior in Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Change Displays of Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Set Segment Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Chapter 15 Route Wires and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
About Routing and Unrouting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Define Manual Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Define Semi-automatic Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Route Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Define Automatic Routes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
View Wire and Cable Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Unroute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Unroute Wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Unroute Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Unroute All Wires or Cables from All Segments . . . . . . . . . . 303
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Chapter 16 Work with Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
About Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Recommended Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Create Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Insert Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Modify Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Splice Wires or Add Wires to the Splice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Redefine the Splice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Splice Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Access Properties for Splices and Splice Pins . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Control Length for Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Delete Splices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Chapter 17 Work with Ribbon Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
About Ribbon Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Define Raw Ribbon Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Place Connectors from Content Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Create Ribbon Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Adjust Ribbon Cable Orientation and Shape . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Chapter 18 Generate Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Contents | ix
About Generating Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Workflow for Harness Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Use the Report Generator Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Format Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Use Sample Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Edit Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Generate Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Create Part and Wire Bills of Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Create Wire Run List Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Create Custom Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Chapter 19 Work With Nailboards and Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
About Nailboards and Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Nailboard Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Nailboard Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Nailboard Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Create Nailboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Set Display Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Manipulate the Harness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Move the Harness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Arrange the Harness Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Arrange the Wire Stubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Arrange the Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Change Nailboard Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Change Segment and Wire Line Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Change Fan State and Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Annotate Nailboard Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Dimension the Nailboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Add Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Add Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Placing Connector Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Create an Assembly Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Print Nailboards and Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Practice Your Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
IDF Translator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Chapter 20 Use the IDF Translator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
About the IDF Translator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Exchange Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Understand Import IDF Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Select document type to create . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
Select items to import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
x | Contents
Item color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Import IDF Board Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Use IDF Board Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Contents | xi
xii
Tubes and Pipes
Part 1 of this manual presents the getting started information for Tube and Pipe in Autodesk
Inventor® Routed Systems. This add-in to the Autodesk Inventor assembly environment
provides the capability to create complete tube and pipe systems in mechanical assembly
designs.
1
2
Get Started with Tube & Pipe
This chapter provides basic information to help you get started using Tube & Pipe in Autodesk
Inventor® Routed Systems and the exercises in this manual.
It also provides information about the tube and pipe environment, how to get started with
a tube and pipe assembly, and how to use tube and pipe data.
1
About Tube & Pipe
Tube & Pipe provides features for setting tube and pipe styles, adding runs and
routes to mechanical assemblies or product designs, adding initial fittings to
create route branches, and populating selected routes. When a tube and pipe
assembly is complete, the tube and pipe information can be represented in
drawings and presentations, and output to different data formats.
Tube & Pipe Features
With the tube and pipe tools you can:
■ Create tube and pipe assembly files.
■ Define, view, modify, copy, delete, and share tube and pipe styles that
conform to industry standards.
■ Create tube, pipe, or hose routes using automatic solutions the system
calculates based on the style criteria.
■ Create derived routes and edit the underlying base sketch.
3
■ Use sketched tools to create parametric regions in rigid piping and bent
tubing routes.
■ Utilize the existing geometry and drawn construction lines to navigate the
rigid piping and bent tubing routes.
■ Defer updates on automatic routing for the tube and pipe runs assembly,
pipe run, and individual routes.
■ Modify both routes and runs by placing dimensions and geometric
constraints.
■ Access and use the Content Center to place conduit parts and fittings in
tube and pipe assemblies. Fittings can be used to initiate route branches.
■ Author custom tube and pipe iParts and standard parts for publishing to
the Content Center Library.
■ Populate selected routes with library components.
■ Suppress memory-costly tube and pipe components in Level of Detail
representations, especially in large tube and pipe assemblies.
■ Place non-adaptive occurrences of master runs assemblies, runs, hose
assemblies, and routes and make them adaptive for reuse.
■ Swap in the needed master runs assembly member in the tube and pipe
interchangeability set when a tube and pipe iAssembly factory is created.
■ Recover the route centerlines in tube and pipe drawings.
■ Use the bill of materials to document routes and runs.
■ Move pipe runs rigidly and edit hose routes in positional representations.
■ Save tube and pipe data to ISOGEN .pcf files or ASCII bend tables.
■ Use the browser to edit tube and pipe runs and to change visibility for
routes, runs, and components.
Tube & Pipe Environment
Tube & Pipe provides the familiar Autodesk Inventor® assembly environment
in addition to commands for adding and editing routes and runs.
When you open an assembly in Autodesk Inventor Tube & Pipe, a command
appears on the Assembly tab for adding piping runs to your design.
4 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
Tube and Pipe
Once you add your first run, the commands specific to creating tube and pipe
runs in an assembly are displayed.
The Tube and Pipe panel is active when the top-level (master) run is active as
shown in the following image.
Use the Tube and Pipe panel to add new individual runs to the master runs
assembly, define tube and pipe styles, set Gravity, and output the ISOGEN
data.
Use the tabs to switch between the Tube & Pipe and the Assembly panel bars.
The Pipe Run tab is active when an individual run is active as shown in the
following image.
Pipe Run
Tube & Pipe Environment | 5
Use the Pipe Run tab to add new routes, place and connect fittings, define
tube and pipe styles, and output the ISOGEN data.
The Route panel is available when the tube, pipe, or hose route environment
is active.
Route
Use the Route panel to create new routes, create a derived route, add or move
sketch nodes and segments, define tube and pipe styles, and dimension or
constrain the route.
There are several ways to enter the route environment, such as creating new
routes in a pipe run, double-clicking an existing route, and right-clicking a
route and selecting Edit.
There are additional tube and pipe commands contained here:
Browser toolbar
Model browser
Part Features panel
Tube & Pipe Browser
All tube and pipe components added to an assembly are contained in the
main runs subassembly. The components include individual runs and their
associated routes, fittings, segments, and route points.
Each run contains an Origin folder, one or more routes, and any segments or
fittings that are populated or manually inserted.
Routes contain the designated route points. To become familiar with the
various components in the browser, open a sample tube and pipe assembly.
Enables switching between the Model browser, Content
Center Favorites, and Representations.
Contains the content of the tube and pipe assembly
in a hierarchy, along with the main Tube & Pipe Runs
subassembly. The main run acts as a container for all
routes and runs and the components created or placed
in the routed system.
Contains the Tube & Pipe Authoring command to author tube and pipe iParts and normal parts for publishing to the Content Center.
6 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
Use the Tube & Pipe Browser
1 Open the tube and pipe assembly, Accumulator. By default, it is located
at: Windows®XP C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor<version>\Tutorial
Files\Tube & Pipe\Accumulator
Windows Vista
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor<version>\Tutorial Files\Tube
& Pipe\Accumulator
2 Activate and expand the master runs assembly Tube & Pipe Runs.
Pipe Run 1 contains components for a bent tubing style run.
3 Expand Hose Run 1 to view components for a flexible hose style run.
4 Continue to expand folders in the hierarchy until you are familiar with
the contents, and then close the assembly.
®
5 To view components for a rigid pipe run, open the sample, Buffer Prep
Skid. By default, it is located at: Windows XP C:\Program
Files\Autodesk\Inventor<version>\Samples\Models\Tube & Pipe\Buffer Prep
Skid
Windows Vista
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor<version>\Samples\Models\Tube
& Pipe\Buffer Prep Skid
6 Expand the folders in the hierarchy until you are familiar with the
contents, and then close the assembly.
Work in Autodesk Inventor Installations
If Autodesk Inventor Tube & Pipe is not installed on the system viewing the
tube and pipe data, the master runs assembly and all that it contains is
read-only. This means that the outline of the tube and pipe component is
Work in Autodesk Inventor Installations | 7
visible through Autodesk Inventor, but the component cannot be edited, and
new tube and pipe components cannot be added.
When the Tube & Pipe add-in is not installed, the tasks you can perform with
the tube and pipe data include:
■ Open a Tube & Pipe Runs subassembly.
■ Determine interferences with tube and pipe components in populated
routes by selecting the entire tube and pipe runs subassembly in the
browser.
■ View the outline of tube and pipe run data within the context of an open
assembly file.
■ Turn visibility off to completely hide the Tube & Pipe Runs component
in the graphics window.
■ Create detailed drawings of populated routes within any file.
Prerequisites
It is assumed that you have a working knowledge of the Autodesk Inventor
interface and tools. If you do not, use the integrated Help for access to online
documentation and tutorials.
At a minimum, you should understand how to:
■ Use the assembly, part modeling, sketch, and drawing environments, and
browsers.
■ Edit a component in place.
■ Create, constrain, and manipulate work points and work features.
■ Set color styles.
■ Use Content Center.
Be more productive with Autodesk® software. Get trained at an Autodesk
Authorized Training Center (ATC®) with hands-on, instructor-led classes to
help you get the most from your Autodesk products. Enhance your productivity
with proven training from over 1,400 ATC sites in more than 75 countries.
For more information about training centers, contact atc.program@autodesk.com
or visit the online ATC locator at www.autodesk.com/atc.
8 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
It is also recommended that you have a working knowledge of Windows XP,
or Windows Vista, and a working knowledge of concepts for routing tube and
pipe through mechanical assembly designs.
Back Up Tutorial Data Files
For each exercise in this section, you use files that contain the example
geometry or parts for that task. These files are included in the Tutorial Files
directory for the application. For Tube & Pipe, the files are located in the
installation path of Autodesk Inventor Tube & Pipe by default:
■ Windows XP C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Inventor <version>\Tutorial
Files\Tube & Pipe
■ Windows Vista C:\Users\Public\Documents\ Autodesk\Inventor
<version>\Tutorial Files\Tube & Pipe
Before you begin the exercises, back up the files so the originals are always
available. You can revert to these files if you make any mistakes during the
exercises, or if you would like to repeat an exercise.
Back up the tutorial files
1 Go to the Tube & Pipe directory and create a new folder called
Exercise_Backup.
2 From within the Tutorial Files directory, copy the exercise data into your
new folder.
Now you can use the files in the Tutorial Files directory as you work through
the exercises in this book. Keep any files you create for an exercise in the
Tutorial Files directory to avoid the possibility of file resolution problems.
Workflow for Tube and Pipe Assemblies
The first step in creating a tube and pipe system is to open an assembly file.
The assembly file can be empty or contain an assembly model. You can then
create the first pipe run and begin adding bent tubing, rigid piping, and flexible
hose routes.
Back Up Tutorial Data Files | 9
Create a tube and pipe runs assembly
1 Set up the project environment such as project type, workspace, and
permissions to the style library. Content Center configuration is also
especially important.
2 Optionally, customize your own master runs assembly template.
3 Within a normal Inventor assembly, create a master runs assembly.
4 Use the Tube & Pipe Styles tool to set style options.
5 Select a tube, pipe, or hose style, and then create a new route using
automatic solutions and parametric regions to guide your selections.
6 Adjust the route to design changes.
7 Populate the route or insert additional fittings into the tube and pipe
assembly or directly onto a route. Fittings can be used to initiate new
routes.
8 Add additional routes and runs.
9 Make final adjustments to each route and run. Change the active style
or add, remove, reposition, and replace fittings, route points, and
segments.
10 Populate selected route(s).
11 Optionally:
■ To reuse the master runs assembly, runs, routes, or flexible hose
assemblies, place secondary occurrences and use the Make Adaptive
tool to transition them to new primary occurrences.
■ Create Level of Detail representations to save memory if you are
working with a large assembly.
■ Create drawing views based on specific representations and
configurations, create and export bill of material tables for routes and
runs, and annotate drawings using parts lists, piping styles, and so
on.
■ Save the file in a different format such as ISOGEN or bend table to
import to other drawing applications.
10 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
Set Up Projects For Exercises
For the exercises, browse to and select the project file in the Tutorial Files
directory.
Set up the project for Tube & Pipe exercises
1 Click ➤ Manage ➤ Projects.
2 Use the Configure Content Center Libraries tool to configure
libraries. If required, ensure that you have logged in to your Autodesk
Vault server and the needed libraries are ready on the server.
3 Select the AirSystemAssy.ipj as the active project.
4 Optionally, in the Edit Project pane, right-click Use Styles Library, and
then select Yes or Read Only.
5 Optionally, expand the Folder Options, right-click Content Center Files,
select Edit, and then enter CC.
The CC folder is under the root path of the project work space. You can
specify any other location you need to store the Content Center library
content. You can also use the default Content Center Files location.
6 When you have completed all settings for the project, click Save.
7 Ensure the project is active. If it is not, double-click the project.
8 Click Done.
Define the Master Runs Assembly
When an assembly file is first opened, the assembly environment is displayed
and you can begin adding pipe runs. For the first pipe run added, the system
creates the master runs assembly along with an individual run. The master
runs assembly is a container for all pipe runs added to the assembly. The
number of runs you include depends on your design and manufacturing
documentation needs.
Each run can include one or more individual routes. All routes in a run can
use the same or different styles. With the capability to assign unique styles,
it is possible to have all three route types, each with different size diameters
Set Up Projects For Exercises | 11
in a single run. Routes can start and end on assembly model geometry or an
initial fitting dropped on the route to create a branch or fork.
Create Master Runs Assemblies
To create the master runs assembly, you click Environments tab ➤ Begin
panel ➤ Tube and Pipe on the ribbon. On the Create Tube & Pipe Run dialog
box that appears you provide a unique name and location for the master runs
assembly and individual run respectively. By default, the files are saved to the
workspace of the active project.
The Tube & Pipe Runs assembly is added to the browser along with other
placed components and is arranged in the order it was added to the assembly.
In the following exercise, you open an existing assembly and prepare to add
tubing and piping in the context of that assembly. You also become familiar
with the components included in the tube and pipe design environment
including the Tube and Pipe tab, Pipe Run tab, Route tab, and Model browser.
Create a tube and pipe assembly
1 Click ➤ Open.
2 Open the AirSystemAssy.iam assembly.
12 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
3 On the ribbon, click Environments tab ➤ Begin panel ➤ Tube
and Pipe.
4 On the Create Tube & Pipe Run dialog box, enter AirSystem1 as the name
for the first run and accept the other defaults. Verify the default path in
the project workspace.
5 Click OK.
The individual run is automatically added and activated so you can begin
defining a route and adding components.
6 Examine the available tools on the Pipe Run tab, as shown in the
following image.
7 Examine the Pipe Run tab to see the New Route tool, the Display All
Objects/Display Route Only tool, and the Active Style list.
Create Master Runs Assemblies | 13
New Route
Display All Objects/Display Route Only
Active Style list
8 Click Help ➤ Help Topics to access Help, and then click the Contents
tab to display the table of contents if it is not already displayed.
9 Click Tube and Pipe to display and examine the related Help topics.
14 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
10 Close the Help window.
11 Activate the top-level assembly and save the file.
NOTE It is recommended that you save the top assembly regularly. Tube and Pipe
components are not stored in your project workspace until the top assembly is
saved.
Add Individual Runs
Each time you use the Create Pipe Run tool after the Tube & Pipe Runs
assembly is created, an individual run is added to this container run. Individual
runs are arranged in the order they are added to the tube and pipe assembly.
You can name and locate each run file as it is added.
The following image shows the default settings when you create the second
run:
Add Individual Runs | 15
Specify Global Settings
With the top assembly active, right-click Tube & Pipe Runs in the Model
browser and use the Tube & Pipe Settings dialog box to specify the global
document and application settings for the master runs assembly.
Defer All Tube & Pipe Updates
Defer all tube and pipe updates when you are editing normal parts in a standard
Autodesk Inventor assembly or editing positional representations.
After the Defer All Tube & Pipe Updates check box is selected, most commands
specific to Tube & Pipe are disabled. The tube and pipe runs assembly is not
visible. Neither the tube and pipe runs assembly nor the associated parts in
drawings automatically update. You cannot create new pipe routes and runs
in the tube and pipe runs assembly.
When the Defer All Tube & Pipe Updates check box is cleared, you can defer
updates for individual runs and individual routes. For detailed instructions,
see Control Individual Settings on page 117 in Chapter 6.
Specify the setting for defer all tube and pipe updates
1 Activate the top assembly.
2 Right-click Tube & Pipe Runs, and select Tube & Pipe Settings.
16 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
3 In the Tube & Pipe Settings dialog box, ensure the Defer All Tube & Pipe
Updates check box is cleared.
You can view automatic responses to edits on the tube and pipe assembly.
4 Click OK.
Use of Bill of Materials
The drawing manager uses the current bill of materials (BOM) to create tube
and pipe drawings. When you migrate R9 or earlier tube and pipe drawings,
you can specify whether to continue using the R9 BOM (default) or to use the
current BOM.
The BOMs mainly differ in how they store the raw material description for
library parts:
■ In the current BOM, the raw material description for conduit parts is stored
in the new stock number property. All BOM items with the same part
number are automatically merged in parts lists. If the part number is blank,
parts do not merge.
■ In the R9 BOM, the raw material description for conduit parts was stored
in the part number property. You had control over the merging of rows
in the parts list. Even if two pipes had the same part number, you could
choose not to merge them.
In the exercises that follow you use the current version of Autodesk Inventor
Tube and Pipe to create tube and pipe assemblies, so the Use R9 Bill of Materials
check box is cleared by default.
NOTE For more information about how to migrate legacy tube and pipe drawings
to the current version, see the Help.
Prompt for Conduit File Names
When conduit parts are saved to your project workspace the first time, the
default file names are used, with a suffix of a 13-digit number that is generated
randomly based on your system time. The conduit file naming convention
can be customized when you enable the Prompt for Conduit File Names option.
Specify Global Settings | 17
Specify the prompt for conduit file names
1 Activate the top assembly or master runs assembly.
2 In the Model browser, right-click the Tube & Pipe Runs and select Tube
& Pipe Settings.
3 In the Tube & Pipe Settings dialog box, Application Settings pane, to
accept the default conduit part file names, clear the Prompt for Conduit
File Names check box. Otherwise, select the check box.
4 In the exercises that follow you do not need to customize the conduit
file names, clear the check box.
5 Click OK.
18 | Chapter 1 Get Started with Tube & Pipe
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