Defining Protection Parts

This task explains how to define a protection part for electrical bundle segments.
This functionality is available in Electrical Part Design workbench only.
A protection part is a mechanical object used to cover one or more bundle segments.
The bundle segments must be tangent at their extremities, within the same geometrical bundle.
The centerline of the protection part is a combination of the bundle segment centerlines.
This functionality is only available for bundle segment with circular section.
It is possible to add supports to bundle segments inside a protection part.
Open a new CATPart document.

  1. Click Define Protection Part .
    You are prompted to select a part.

  2. Click the Part1 in the specification tree.

    The Define Protection Part dialog box opens:

  3. Enter/change the name for the protection part.

  4. Select the protection part type.

    It can be Corrugated tube or Tape. When the feature is defined, the type is frozen.

    Corrugated tube:

    		 A tube defined through an inner diameter, a thickness, a bend radius and a linear mass.

    Tape:

    		 A strip defined through a width, a thickness, a bend radius delta and a linear mass.
    The inner diameter is the bundle segment diameter.
    Note: The tape type is also displayed as a tube in the geometry.

  5. Enter the parameter values:

    For the corrugated tube:
    • Inner diameter: when you enter a value, the section updates accordingly.
    • Inner section: when you enter a value, the diameter updates accordingly.
    • Thickness
    • Bend radius: must be greater than the sum of the inner diameter plus the thickness.
    • Linear mass
    For the tape:
    • Width
    • Thickness
    • Bend radius: must be greater than the sum of the inner diameter plus the thickness.
    • Linear mass

  6. Select the Line type.

    Line type defines the representation of the protection part viewed in 2D when using the Electrical Harness Flattening workbench. New line types can be defined with the Tools > Options menu.

  7. The Light geometry option allows you to create the protection part geometry according to two modes:

    • when the option is checked, the geometry looks like a cylinder and the CATPart document created is smaller. It's the default value.
    • when you uncheck this option the geometry looks like a tube.

  8. Click OK to validate.

    The specification tree is updated:
You can now save the protection part into a catalog. Using the Electrical Harness Installation workbench, it will be possible to instantiate and modify it according to your needs.
As the bundle protective covering object is highly customizable and flexible, you can modify the reference to create new kind of objects that protects bundles (refer to Creating a Protection Part of Given Length methodology to see an example). You can modify the geometry, add a design table, user attributes or a material to fulfill your protective covering specification. All this information will be stored into the catalog and re-instantiated each time you will use the protection part in your 3D design.
Be aware that if you modify the geometry, you must not change any object under the ElecRouteBody at the risk of getting hazardous behavior when instantiating, modifying or updating the protection part.
You cannot instantiate an protection part over a protection product.