pneumatic routes/piping

[pdelnet]

I am looking for an easier way to put pneumatic tubing and routing into the assemblies, I have the models for all the cylinders, valves and fittings.
I know that if we upgrade to SW Premium the routing add-on will do this, lots more $$$$ plus the extra $$$ per year for the subscription service. (Really tough sell for me here, I have the actual quote from our VAR)
Other than creating 3D sketches and new parts for each piece of tube, does anyone have a better solution for this?


SW 2013 SP 1.0 x64

 

[MikeHalloran]

I worked in a SW shop that was, er, loosely disciplined. We had one or two Premium licenses that could float as needed. But we also had individual workstations organized differently from each other, some with libraries on one server, some with libraries on another server, some with only local libraries, that kind of stuff. ... plus the IT guys kept moving older projects (the ones with the parts that get re-used) among different servers, with no notice, acknowledgement, or apology, or recourse.

So you never knew what the display of a routed assembly was going to look like, or how long it would take you to find all the pieces and make sense of it and fix it up enough to stop the boss from wondering what kind of idiot you were.

None of that is SW's fault, but it did cause me to stop using routed assemblies and do pretty much as you suggested.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[TateJ]

Try using WELDMENTS for the tubing... Then add that to an assembly with your valves and fittings.

As far as your re-used parts getting moved on your server. If a part can be used on multiple projects... Then it is a standard part and maybe should live in a common standard parts folder. Then you can add that folder to your REFERENCED DOCUMENTS list. Then every time that folder gets moved, you edit your SYSTEM OPTIONS. Also, every time you have to do this, leave a flaming bag of poo at your IT's door.



Jack L Tate - Xtreme Tower Products - SolidWorks 2013 - Windows 7 - Microsoft Wireless Mouse 5000 - SpaceNavigator - Slacker Radio - Swingline Stapler - [COLOR=red yellow]C₈H₁₀N₄O₂[/color] - Rental Bowling Shoes - Titanuim Spork - And that's all I need!

 

[NL8]

We had a similar hard sell when it came to Routing. We do an incredible amount of piping and tubing runs on a daily basis. After getting the libraries set up correctly and, more importantly, everyone disciplined in proper use of the libraries and tools, we are able to meet our promised ROI. What it basically came down to was that if we could save 30% of our time with this tool, we could pay it off and be back in the black on the purchase in less than 6 months. Right now, if I had to do the math, I would say that we have enjoyed something like a 55% reduction in time spent laying out pipe. That was a roughly 2.5 month ROI, implemented 4.5 years ago. It is a hefty up front fee, but the payoff is huge if it is part of your daily SW workload. If you want, get in touch with me and I would be glad to send you the ROI report I presented to our management team when we completed our implementation.

Joe Hasik, CSWP

 

[pdelnet]

Thanks NL8,
We dont do enough to make the ROI short enough, just enough to keep the PITA factor high.
If we start getting some more pneumatics in house and take on some more electrical I can see us pushing for E3 Wireworks or similar.

SW 2013 SP 1.0 x64

 

[NL8]

Looked at E3. Based on what I saw, I would recommend Traceparts ElecWorks, now SW Electrical. All native. E3 will have you moving parasolids back and forth.

Joe Hasik, CSWP