To Work with Tube and Pipe Routes

Trim, extend, add, highlight and control the visibility, and define the gravity direction of Tube and Pipe routes.

Trim and extend free tube and pipe ends

When a tube and pipe route ends at a selected point or circular edge, to get the correct engagement with adjacent fittings at a later time, you can trim or extend the pipe end.

The capability to extend or trim free pipe ends is useful especially when creating derived routes. When derived routes are populated, fittings that represent route nodes with more than two connections, such as the connection point where a tee or cross is needed are not inserted. These fittings usually overlap at the connection point and do no connect correctly. To complete derived routes, you must adjust couplings or discrete pipe segments, and then insert the appropriate fittings to connect the pipe and the fitting manually.

Note: Only a single pipe segment containing the specified free pipe end is extended or trimmed.

1. Activate the tube or pipe route.
2. Right-click the route node at the pipe end, or right-click the appropriate work point in the Model browser, and then select Trim/Extend Pipe from the context menu.
3. In the Trim/Extend Pipe dialog box, determine to trim or extend the pipe end.
   • If the tube or pipe end is too short to connect the fitting correctly, click Extend Pipe.
   • If the tube or pipe end is inserted too far into the connected fitting, click Trim Pipe.
4. Enter the length value to trim or extend the tube or pipe end.
5. Click the green check mark, or press Enter.
6. To make more adjustments, repeat Step 2 through 5.
7. Right-click in the graphics window, and select Finish Edit.
8. Verify whether the length of the tube or pipe segment meet the engagement requirement for connecting to the specified fitting or component.
   Tip: To view the engagement clearly, on the View tab select Transparency On to enable the transparent view. If the pipe run has not been populated, populate the routes to see the result.

Control the visibility of route objects

When a change is made to routes, runs, and positional representations, the tube and pipe assembly automatically updates all components as 3D objects. To save time for updating the tube and pipe assembly, you can choose to display individual routes and runs as centerlines. This action defers automatic updates of tube, pipe, and hose components and allows you to see the effect a change has on an individual route before repopulating. You can also disable automatic updates for the entire tube and pipe runs subassembly and display only centerlines.

Note: When a new route is created and populated, it always displays as populated and not as centerlines. This is true even when the pipe run is set to Display Routes Only.

1. In the browser, activate the primary run or a run contained in the primary run.
2. In either the Tube and Pipe or Pipe Run tab, click the Manage panel and then choose: Display All Objects or Display Routes Only.
3. Alternately, right-click a run in the browser and choose Display/Update Settings, then select All Tube & Pipe Objects or Route Objects Only in the context menu.
   • Display All Objects: All components in the selected run display as 3D objects.
   • Display Routes Only: The selected run displays as a centerline.

Add route points to finished routes

You can continue adding route points to the end of an existing rigid route or a flexible hose route with one or no fittings, even if it has been populated with library components.

1. In the Model browser, activate the route to continue.
2. Activate the 3D Orthogonal Route tool using any of the following ways:
   • On the ribbon, click Route tab Create panel Route and then click the last route point you just created.
   • In the Model browser or graphics window, click the last route point and then click Route tab Create panel Route .
   • In the Model browser or graphics window, right-click the last route point and select Route.

   The 3D Orthogonal Route tool resumes at the selected free route end.

3. Continue defining the route as needed.
4. To complete the route, click OK in the property panel or right-click in the graphics window and select Done.
5. Right-click and select Finish Edit.

Highlight route components

Use Show Components from the browser context menu to highlight all segments and fittings in an active route. Highlighting route components helps distinguish the various routes in a complex run.

1. In the browser, activate the run and pause the cursor over the route to highlight.
2. Right-click and select Show Components.

   Conduit parts and fittings affiliated to the selected route sketch are highlighted in both Model browser and graphics window.

3. Right-click again and select Done.

Define the gravity direction

You can define the gravity direction before or after creating a self draining line style. However, you must specify the direction of gravity before you can create a self draining pipe run. To define the direction of the gravity vector:

1. Double-click the Tube and Pipe Runs entry in the assembly browser to activate the Tube and Pipe Runs environment.
2. On the ribbon, click Tube and Pipe tab Run panel Define Gravity .
3. The Gravity dialog box opens. Make sure the selection arrow is active, and then choose an axis, linear edge, circular edge, or a cylindrical or planar face.
4. A temporary yellow vector indicating gravity direction displays after you select the defining geometry. The gravity vector is visible until the dialog box is closed. If the gravity vector points the wrong way, select the Direction icon to invert the normal direction.
5. Click OK when finished.

Note: Gravity defined in Tube and Pipe is separate from the gravity definition in Dynamic Simulation and Stress Analysis.