Before you begin an electrical route subassembly, have the following available:
- Part documents that you need for the cable assembly. Store these part documents in the Routing Library.
- Electrical components (such as connectors, terminal blocks, and ring terminals). See Electrical Connectors for information on how to designate a part as an electrical component.
- Routing hardware (such as clips, cable clamps, and brackets). (Optional) If you want to enable automatic routing through routing hardware, see Cable Clips for information on how to create these parts.
- Cable/Wire Library. (Optional) This file defines the attributes of the cables and wires, such as specification number, size, color, and description. You need a cable/wire library if you want to assign electrical attributes to the route.
- Component Library. (Optional) This file cross-references the components in a from-to list to the SOLIDWORKS part documents for those components. You need a component library if you want to import component data using a from-to list.
- From-To List. (Optional) This file defines component and connection data for a route. You can generate a From-To List manually, or use a third-party schematic program that generates the electrical connection data.
- A main assembly with the components to be connected (such as instruments, motors, and power supplies). Add any other components that are needed to specify the path of the cable, such as 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 cable route subassembly in an empty main assembly.
Select or clear the following Routing Options:
- Automatically route on drop of flanges/connectors. Creates a new route subassembly 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 subassembly. Clear to insert the flange or fitting as a component of the main assembly.
- Automatically route on drop of clips. Generates a spline from the current route end through a drag-and-drop clip when the clip is placed in a route. Clear to insert clips as components of the main assembly.