Routing along a Surface

You can route along a surface. The Route Along Surface command is available when the Bend Manipulator is activated or when you create your first node.

This task shows you how to:

Route along Surface

Before you begin: Open a product containing a route.
  1. Double-click the route.
    You switch to the HVAC 3D Part Design app and a yellow symbol appears on each node of the route.
  2. Activate the Bend Manipulator.
  3. In the context toolbar, click Route Along Surface .
    Note: You can also directly select a surface without clicking the command in the context toolbar.
  4. In the Route Along Surface panel, enter the values and select the options of your choice.
    OptionDescription
    Snap Step Length Lets you indicate a snap value that is applied between the nodes that are displayed on the curve.

    To apply this value, select Along the Surface as Surface Mode and Length as Snapping Mode
    Offset Value Lets you enter an offset value between the route and the surface.
    Offset Mode

    Skin Offset: applies the offset value between the skin of the route and the selected surface / plane.

    Center Offset: applies the offset value between the center of the route and the selected surface / plane.

    Surface Mode

    Along the Surface: lets you route using either Standard Routing or Intersection Routing.

    Along Robot Base: creates an offset route from the virtual plane defined by the X and Y axis of the Robot.

    Routing Mode

    Available if the Along the Surface option as Surface Mode is selected.

    Standard Routing: creates a route along the selected surface.

    Intersection Routing: creates a route on the intersection between one of the three planes displayed on the node and the selected curved surface.
    Plane Orientation

    Available if the Intersection Routing option as Routing Mode is selected.

    Global: orients the intersection plane according to the global axis.

    Local: orients the intersection plane according to the local axis.

    Robot: orients the intersection plane according to theRobot axis.

    Snap Mode

    Available if the Intersection Routing option as Routing Mode is selected.

    Free : lets you click anywhere on the blue line.

    Length : lets you create route segments with the same spool length by clicking the points displayed on the blue line.

    The spool length value corresponds to the Snap Step value.

    Angle : lets you create route segments with the same bend angle value by clicking the points displayed on the blue line.

    The bend angle value corresponds to the Angle Step value.
    According to the selected options in the Route Along Surface panel, there are three ways to route along a surface:
    • If you select Along Robot Base , you can position the X0Y plane of the Robot in the plane of your choice and route on this plane. For more information, see Routing along Robot Base.
    • If you select Along the Surface and Standard Routing , you can route along a surface by clicking the surface of your choice and continue clicking other locations to create the route. For more information, see Standard Routing along a Surface.
    • If you select Along the Surface and Intersection Routing . For more information, see Routing along the Intersection of Surfaces.
    Note: When you start creating a route with the Route Along Surface command, you can press the ESC key to exit the command after the first node creation. The 3D manipulator appears on this first node.

Routing along Robot Base

Routing along the robot base lets you position the X0Y plane of the robot in the plane of your choice and route on this plane.

Before you begin: Before performing this task, you must perform the steps 1 to 3 of Route along Surface.
  1. In the Route Along Surface panel, select Along Robot Base .
    Two perpendicular white lines, corresponding to the mouse location, appear to indicate the location of the point on the plane.
  2. Position the X0Y plane of the Robot in the plane of your choice.
  3. Click the plane to create the node.
  4. Click other locations on the plane to continue the route.

Standard Routing along a Surface

Before you begin: Before performing this task, you must perform the steps 1 to 3 of Route along Surface.
  1. In the Route Along Surface panel, select Along the Surface as Surface Mode and Standard Routing as Routing Mode.
  2. Select the surface on which you want to route.
    A preview of the first node on the surface is displayed. If the surface is a plane, the first node on the plane can be build according to:
    • the normal to the surface.
    • the intersection between the plane and the direction of the segment.
    Note: To switch between the two solutions, you can move the mouse over the two surfaces or press the Page Up or Page Down keys.
  3. Click the surface to start routing on it.
  4. Click other locations on the surface to continue the route.

Routing along the Intersection of Surfaces

Before you begin: Before performing this task, you must perform the steps 1 to 3 of Route along Surface.
  1. In the Route Along Surface panel, select Along the Surface and Intersection Routing .
    Three planes appear on the active node. The green plane is the active plane.
  2. Click the plane to change the active plane.
  3. In the 3D area, select the surface of your choice.
    A blue line is displayed to represent the intersection between the active plane and the selected surface with the offset value define in the Route Along Surface panel. You can press the I key to position the line on the negative offset value.
  4. Select the Snap Mode option of your choice.
    • Free: lets you click anywhere on the blue line.
    • Length: lets you create route segments with the same spool length by clicking the points displayed on the blue line.

      The spool length value corresponds to the Snap Step value.

    • Angle : lets you create route segments with the same bend angle value by clicking the points displayed on the blue line.

      The bend angle value corresponds to the Angle Step value.

  5. Click the blue line to create the route nodes.
    Tip: Press the Shift key and select a point to add automatically the points between the route end and the selected point.
  6. Optional: Change the active plane or click another surface to modify the position of the blue line.