Creating Retainers

A retainer is a type of support composed of a specified straight base. When routed on this support, the segment remains in contact with the base, whatever the segment diameter.

Before you begin: Open a mechanical product containing a standard 3D shape without electrical behavior.
See Also
About Multi-Section Supports
  1. From the Device section of the action bar, click Support .
  2. Select a 3D shape representation in the tree or work area.
    The Support Definition dialog box appears.
  3. Optional: Edit the name of the support in the Name box.
  4. In the work area, select a point through the support.

    Tip: If no point is defined, create a point on the 3D shape. For more information, see Generative Shape Design User's Guide: Creating Points.

    Note: The support point defines the position of the segment when it will be routed through the support.

    The name of the selected point appears in the Point box.
  5. Select a first plane to define the way into the support, for example, a face.

    Tip: Click in the Plane box to clear the current value (selection).

    The name of the selected plane appears in the Plane box.
  6. Select a second plane to define the way out of the support, for example, the opposite face.

    Important: The two planes must be parallel.

    The name of the selected plane appears in the Plane box in the Second Plane Definition area.
  7. Select the base plane to complete the definition of the retainer.

    Important: Only a planar surface or plane can be selected as base plane to avoid ambiguous positioning on curved surfaces.

    This plane is published with a special name: EHISUPPORT-RefBasePlane and means that the retainer will be recognized as such in CATIA.
  8. Click OK to validate.
    The tree is updated and the publications are created with the specific retainer parameter EHISUPPORT-RefBasePlane.
    Tip: You can route flat cables on retainer supports. Flat cables are positioned on supports according to a default reference axis which is perpendicular to the base plane. If you want to change the flat cable's orientation, you can use the Rotate functionality to define a new angle. For more information, see Rotating a Profile on Flat Cables and About Orientation Management.