General Procedure for Pipes and Tubes

This procedure describes ways to create a pipe or tube route sub-assembly. (For electrical cables, see General Procedure for Electrical Cables.)

You set different routing options and start the route differently depending on whether you want the fitting from which you start the route to be a component of the main assembly or the route sub-assembly.

A main assembly can contain both pipe route sub-assemblies and tube route sub-assemblies, but a single route sub-assembly cannot contain both pipes and tubes.

Preparations

Click Tools, Add-Ins, and make sure SolidWorks Routing is selected.

Before you begin the route sub-assembly, have the following available:

• Part documents that you need for the pipe or tube assembly. Store these part documents in the Routing Library.

• Pipe or tube parts

• Fittings (elbows, flanges, reducers, and other fittings)

• Routing hardware (such as clips and brackets). (Optional) If you want to enable automatic routing of flexible tubes through routing hardware, see Cable Clips for information on how to create these parts.

• A main assembly with the components to be connected (tanks, pumps, and so on). Add any other components that are needed to specify the path of the pipe or tube, such as supporting brackets and obstacles that must be avoided. Position the fixed components using mates, dimensions, or relations to a layout sketch, and save the assembly. (You can also create a route sub-assembly in an empty main assembly.)

Select or clear the following Routing Option:

• Automatically route on drop of flanges/connectors. Creates a new route sub-assembly and starts a route when you drop a routing component (such as a flange or tube fitting) into an assembly. The flange or fitting becomes a component of the new route sub-assembly. Clear to insert the flange or fitting as a component of the main assembly.

Procedure

The general procedure for creating a pipe or tube route:

1. In the main assembly, do one of the following:

• For the starting fitting to be a component of the route sub-assembly:

1. In Routing Options, make sure Automatically route on drop of flanges/connectors is selected.

2. Insert a flange or other end fitting into the main assembly by dragging it from the Design Library, the File Explorer, an open part window, or Windows Explorer, or by clicking Insert Component (Assembly toolbar).

• For the starting fitting to be a component of the main assembly:

1. In Routing Options, make sure Automatically route on drop of flanges is not selected.

2. Insert a flange or other end fitting into the main assembly by dragging it from the Design Library, the File Explorer, an open part window, or Windows Explorer, or by clicking Insert Component (Assembly toolbar).

The flange or fitting is inserted as a component of the main assembly.

3. Right-click the connection point on the flange or fitting where you want the route to start, and select Start Route. (To make the connection points visible, click View Routing Points (View toolbar), or View, Routing Points.)

2. Set options in the Route Properties PropertyManager, then click .

The following happens:

• A 3D sketch opens in a new route sub-assembly.

• The new route subassembly is created, and appears in the FeatureManager design tree as [Pipe<n> or Tube<n>-<assembly_name>] .

• A stub of pipe or tube appears, extending from the flange or fitting you just placed.

If you clear Save route assembly externally in Routing Options, the new route subassembly is created as a virtual component.

3. Sketch the path of the run using Line (Sketch toolbar). For flexible tube routes, you can also use Spline (Sketch toolbar). Press Tab to change from one sketch plane to another. See Visualizing the 3D Space for tips on working with 3D sketches.

You do not need mates or sketch relations between the components of the route sub-assembly, because the sizes and positions are driven by the 3D sketch. Each component in the route sub-assembly is parametrically related to the 3D sketch. If you change the sketch in any way, the pipes, tubes, and fittings are updated automatically. For information on mating end fittings, see Mating in Routing Sub-assemblies.

4. Add fittings as needed.

5. Exit the sketch.

The following appear in the FeatureManager design tree of the route sub-assembly:

• Components folder containing the flanges and fittings you placed in the route. If any custom elbow fittings are required, the sketch segments are highlighted, and the dimensions are displayed for each individual case. You can select an alternate fitting, create a custom fitting, or choose to form a bend in the pipe or tube.

• Route Parts folder containing the pipe or tube that was created as a virtual component when you exited the sketch.

• For pipes, configurations for each unique cut length in the current route are created.

• For tubes, a separate part file is created for each tube segment in the route (unless you selected Multibody part in the Route Properties PropertyManager).

• Route feature containing the 3D sketch that defines the path of the route. The 3D sketch is related parametrically to the components in the route sub-assembly. If you move a component, the route parts update automatically.

Click Edit Route (Piping toolbar) or Edit Route (Flexible Tubing toolbar) to edit an existing route.