You create cable occurrences by selecting a library cable and indicating the pins that the cable wires connect to in the context of the assembly. Cables are represented in the graphics window as the collection of wires that they contain. Cable wires can be placed manually by selecting pins or automatically by importing a wire list.
Once a cable is in an assembly, the cable can be moved, deleted, or routed. To control the shape of the cable wires, you can add and adjust wire work points. Wires contained in the cable can be connected and disconnected. The connection state of each cable wire is represented graphically for easy tracking. You can also add custom properties to the cable occurrence and each cable wire.
The cable is created as rendered or centerline depending on the selected display setting.
Cables can be displayed as rendered, three-dimensional solids or centerlines. For optimal performance, use centerline mode while creating and editing cables.
Like segments and wires, the display options can be set for individual cables or for all cables in a selected harness assembly. The display settings for individual wires within the cable can also be changed.
The display preference can be set in three ways, either with the context menu, the Cable Properties dialog box, or the Display Settings on the ribbon. The occurrence level display settings always override the current display state.
Natural curvature between the wires and cable wires and the associated pins can also be set on the Harness Settings, Wires/Cables tab. Without Natural Curvature creates wires and cables that are not tangent to the outward direction assigned to the associated connector. Wires and cables created without tangency are displayed as straight lines that go from point-to-point. With Natural Curvature creates wires and cables that are tangent to the outward direction assigned to the associated connector. Wires and cables created with tangency are displayed in a more natural shape that curves as the wires and cables approach the connector pins. Including this natural curve makes the length of the ribbon cable more realistic.
Cables are assigned Cable ID's as they are created. By default, the first cable is named Cable1 where 1 is a number incremented by one for each cable created. You can accept the default name or change it to a name that is unique within the harness assembly.
Cable wires are automatically assigned Wire ID's as they are connected. By default, the Wire ID is the Cable ID plus the Conductor ID. For example, the first cable wire for the first cable is Cable1:1.
In the browser, cable wires are named with the Wire ID and the conductor ID in parentheses. For example, a cable wire with a Wire ID of Cable1:1 is represented in the browser as Cable1:C1(C1). Spare wires are initially represented as (Cx) since there is no Wire ID assigned. Cable wire names are changed by modifying the Wire ID in the Cable Wire Properties dialog box.
Unlike wires, there is no default cable for the first cable you create in a harness assembly. You must select a cable from the library to begin creating a cable. Once a cable is selected, the last selected cable is used as the default for subsequent insertions.