Procedure for Generating a Straightened and Torsion-free Layout

You can use the formboard generation process to lay out a 3D design harness while keeping the tangency of branches at a junction. The branches are straightened without being flattened on the same plane. You can also solve the torsion during the process.

The stages in this procedure are as follows:

Before you begin: Open a 3D design content in an authoring tab.
See Also
About the Formboard Generation Process
Generating a Flattened Layout

Customize Preferences

You can manage tangency using options available in the Preferences dialog box.

  1. In Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Electrical and Electronic Systems > Electrical Manufacturing Preparation, click the Formboard tab and customize the following preferences:
    1. Under Component orientation, select Component torsion free.
    2. Under Tangency and shape at device junction, clear the Keep branch definition check box.
    3. Under Offset from global xy plane, enter a distance in millimeter.
    4. Optional: Under Torsion management, select the Make support not constraining check box.

      Important: When this check box is cleared, the supports are identified as constraining and their torsion is not automatically nullified. Therefore, you have to solve torsion on supports manually using the Analyze Torsion command.

  2. Select the General tab, and under Extract and Synchronize check, select the Electrical connection check box.

    For more information, see Formboard and General.

Customize Business Logics

You can implement business rules to customize the generation of your layout.

This stage is optional.

  1. To extract supports that are instantiated in the electrical geometry, write a rule for the Extract component business rule opening ID.
    For more information, see Extract Component Business Rule (EHFSynchronization_ComputationIfExtractComponent).
  2. To apply length tolerance at junctions, write a rule for the Junction management business rule opening ID.

    For more information, see Junction Management Business Rule (EHFArrangedJunction_ComputationLengthToleranceForOwningSegments).

Generate the Formboard Layout

You can generate the formboard layout for the 3D harness.

  1. Open a 3D design harness in an authoring tab.
  2. From the Formboard section of the action bar, click Formboard .

    The command is not available if a generated layout is already open.

  3. Select one of the following:
    • An electrical physical system
    • Required electrical branch geometries

    Notes:
    • You can click Select all to select all the electrical geometries. You can also use button to deselect the all the selected geometries.
    • If you select another electrical physical system after previous selection, previous selection is not considered.

    • In the 3D area, the selected content is highlighted.
    • In the Formboard Process panel, under the Selection tab, the selected elements are listed. You can click to filter the selection.
    • The Validation button is available.
  4. Click Validation to check the network connectivity.
    The content (branches, supports, devices, and mechanical parts) is highlighted as below:



    		The content is validated.


    		The content is not validated because of discrepancy.

    If discrepancies are found, the Validation button is displayed with the icon and the expanders between following are displayed in the Validation tab:

    • Electrically disconnected branches: Under this, all the branches which are open ended or electrically disconnected are listed.
    • Branches without curve: Under this, all the branches which are not linked to any curve are listed.
    • Loops in data: Under this, all the elements which are forming the loop in the harness data are listed. These elements will be displayed in orange .
    • Multiple Connected Networks: Under this, all the networks connected to current electrical physical system are listed. By default, the biggest network among the connected networks is flattened.
      Color Significance


      		Network to be flattened


      		Other identified connected networks

      To flatten the required network, you can right-click the required network and click the Select network. The selected network to be flattened is displayed in green in 3D area and the that will not be flattened is greyed out.

  5. Click Start element.
    The devices available for selection are identified in the following colors:
    • : Indicates devices with a symmetry plane.
    • : Indicates devices with no symmetry plane.

    For more information about symmetry planes, see Flattening of Bend Devices.

  6. In the 3D area, select a device as start element of the layout generation.


    : Indicates the selected device.

    The selected device is listed in Start element tab under Report.

  7. Optional: Apply filters to the required columns to display the required values.
    For more information, see Applying Filters.
  8. Click Generate layout to generate the formboard.
    The formboard layout appears in a new tab.
    • The branch connected to the device you selected as start element is aligned with the x-axis and tangency is kept at the branches junctions.

    • The generated layout is torsion-free.

      Note: For more information about torsion, see Analyzing and Editing Torsion.