When Do I Need SOLIDWORKS Routing?

Routing is an add-in to SOLIDWORKS Premium that allows engineers and designers to create routed systems easily and automatically. Through Routing, you can generate wire, harness, cable and conduit designs and drawings to take advantage of cut lists and complete bills of materials (BOMs) and speed up their manufacturing process.

What is SOLIDWORKS Routing?

Routing makes it easier to create special subassemblies that build a path of pipes, tubes, electrical cables or ducts between components. When you insert certain components into an assembly, a route subassembly is created automatically. Unlike other types of subassemblies, you do not create a route assembly in its own window and then insert it as a component in the higher-level assembly.

These are some of the capabilities within SOLIDWORKS Routing:

• Position all equipment and run electrical routes throughout the overall design
• Route electrical cable, harness and conduit systems through your product, including ribbon cable
• Determine required lengths of all wires, cables and harness segments as you design
• Flatten electrical cable harness for manufacturing documentation
• Import From-To electrical connection information from schematic design tools
• Automatically route segments through your products to speed creation
• Generate complete bill of material (BOM) and wire cut lists for harnesses for manufacturing
• Create cable harnesses as mechanical-only or with electrical data
• Run rigid or flexible electrical conduit segments
• Include additional components, such as mounting hardware, splices, connectors, insulation, looms, heat-shrink tubing and cable ties
• Routing Library Manager (RLM) wizard to guide the creation of custom electrical component

Benefits of Using SOLIDWORKS Routing

With SOLIDWORKS Routing, it’s easy to drag and drop configurations in your model and create 3D sketches automatically. Once in the route, you can auto route between two points.

• Importing P&ID: With SOLIDWORKS Routing, you can make projects like a plant layout design in a breeze by leveraging component positions (via a .xml file). SOLIDWORKS is able to automatically route between the components.
• Piping: Changes directions by following straight pipework with 90- or 45-degree elbows.
• Tubing: Create freeform shapes and routes controlled by a spine, like a rubber hose.
• Cabling: Used for electrical mostly but works like tubing.

Take advantage of the 3D design of your route and other SOLIDWORKS tools such as flow and simulation to ensure that your components can sustain the rigors of operation.