Creating Construction Constraints

This task shows how to define the construction points which will be used when routing the bundle segment to build the Flexible Curve geometrical representation.
They can be:
The construction points or parts can also be located in another part of the assembly.
Make sure the following check box is selected to take advantage of the associativity between the construction points or part and the bundle segment.

  1. Select Tools > Options.

  2. Select Infrastructure > Part Infrastructure, then the General tab.

  3. Under External References, select the Keep link with selected object check box.

Defining Construction Points

  1. Click Point .

    The Point Definition dialog box opens:

  2. Select Coordinates as Point Type:

    The different types of points are:
    • Coordinates
    • On curve
    • On plane
    • On surface
    • Circle center
    • Tangent on curve
    • Between.
    To know more about these options, refer to Creating Points.
    See also Creating Planes, Creating Lines.

  3. Enter the respective coordinates for x, y, z.

  4. Click OK to validate.
    The point is added to the specification tree in the container named as Geometrical Set.

Defining Construction Points on a Part Surface
Open the FollowOnPart1.CATProduct document.
aprereq.gif (1223 bytes) You cannot route branches on part surfaces using this method. Refer to Routing Segments between Points Created On-the-Fly.

  1. Double-click the part to activate Electrical Harness Installation.

  2. Click Point .

  3. Select On surface in the Point Type list.

  4. Select the surface where the point is to be created.

  5. Optionally, select a reference point.

    aprereq.gif (1223 bytes) You can select an element to take its orientation as reference direction or a plane to take its normal as reference direction.
    You can also use the contextual menu to specify the X, Y, Z components of the reference direction.

  6. Enter a distance along the reference direction to display a point.

  7. Click OK to create the point.
    The point (identified as Point.x) is added to the specification tree.

  8. Repeat these steps for the other two points.
    For more information refer to Creating Points.
    See also Creating Planes, Creating Lines.

At the end the document looks like this:

The construction constraints can be any structure elements (i.e. a plane structure).