Use Tube & Pipe Styles to prepare totally new styles or new styles based on existing ones. You can define a style using standard library parts or published conduit parts and fittings in the Content Center Library.
When you create a new style, you search for and select the conduit part and fitting components that make up a run. You also establish certain rules to be followed while creating and populating routes. The size values and the active component in the component table on the General tab, filter the compatible library parts in the Content Center Library. Additional filtering is available on the Library Browser dialog box to further narrow your search.
Note: If tube and pipe styles require new materials, enable the Use Styles Library option for the project and then create new materials in the Inventor Styles Library.
- Activate the Tube & Pipe Runs assembly, a pipe run, or a route.
- Activate Tube & Pipe Styles
.
- In the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box browser, select a node whose style type will be the base type of the new style.
- To clear all values from the tabs when New is selected, select a style type node.
- To clear all values except the category when New is selected, select a category or individual style node.
- Click New
.
- On the General tab, supply a unique name for the new style.
- Optionally, create a new category or select a different one from the list.
- Optionally, select the Custom Elbows box to place elbows with other than 45 or 90 degrees.
- Optionally, for a Rigid Pipe with Fittings style, determine whether the fittings and pipe segments in the style are self draining, butt welded, flanged, or includes all three. If flanged is selected, specify whether mixed units are allowed.
Note: When the style type is both butt welded and flanged, the end treatment that is set for the fitting determines the fitting connections. All other end treatment types use a gap to join pipe segments and fittings.
- Select the appropriate components for the style type. The default components in the list differ depending on the style type selected. If self draining is selected, you must specify a previously published custom elbow or tee.
- To understand the status of a component, pause the cursor over the symbol. Optional and required components, and components that cannot be found are all indicated with unique status symbols.
- To clear the values in a row, right-click and select clear.
- To suppress and unsuppress the end fitting for a Flexible hose style, right-click the end fitting row and select or clear Suppress Fitting.
Note: The start and end fitting can use the same or unique parts.
- To display the Library Browser and search from a list of library parts that meet the style criteria you have set, double-click any column in a row or right-click and select Browse.
- If the Library Browser is displayed, you can set additional filters and select a component.
- Enable the appropriate check boxes for the filter criteria you need.
- Click Filter to narrow the list of components based on the filters.
- Double-click a family or component node or select a component from the list and click OK.
- In the Tube and Pipe Styles dialog box specify nominal diameter, diameter/inside diameter (OD/ID), schedule number.
Note: If defining a style with a given nominal diameter, that nominal diameter must be one of instances in the appropriate published part table.
- Set the conduit component appearance and the custom elbow appearance.
- If the style is self draining and you specified a custom elbow, the Custom Elbow Angle field displays the read-only angle value of the custom elbow. If the custom elbow was not been specified, you can type in a value between 45 and 90 degrees to filter your library search. To calculate the required slope angle based on drop and distance, choose the calculator icon
to open the Tube and Pipe Angle Calculator dialog box.
- On the Rules tab, set the following parameters:
- For Rigid Pipe with Fittings styles, set the minimum, maximum, and increment segment lengths, and the bend radius. If the style is butt welded, set the gap distance and indicate whether to show gaps in the completed route. If the style is a combination butt weld and flanged style, indicate the fitting combinations to use at coupling points.
- For Tubing with Bends styles, set the minimum, maximum, and increment segment lengths, and default bend radius.
- For Flexible Hose styles, set the minimum bend radius and hose round up value.
- Click Save.
- Repeat Steps 3 through 13 to continue defining needed styles.
- Click OK.
To make the new style active for forward creation, right-click the style in the browser and select Active. You can also select the style from the styles list on the ribbon.