From: Ken Carpenter on
Hi All
I am trying to evaluate Solidworks router for doing electrical cables.
Has any one got any advice for setting this up.
I'm being told by my VAR that a traiining course is required and it
takes a lot of setting up of the intial database.
The type of routing we do is fairly simple. most cable consist of 1
cable with 1 connector each end. The problem is we have at least 1000
cables.
Any help advice greatly appreciated.
regards
Ken

From: Dom on
Ken,

I did some exhaustive research on the routing package in 2005. We
were using SWx 2006 SP4 I think. I came to the conclusion, that it
wouldn't meet our capablities. If it worked the way I expected it to,
it would have been great. We needed it to document wiring harnesses
for aftermarket automotive equipment (Emergency warning lights for
police etc.). I also thought that the type of wiring we did was
fairly simple too. In the end we stuck to 2D wiring diagrams, and
manually calculated/measured cutting lengths. For the more common
harnesses, we made nailboards to speed up production.

So my best advice is, unless someone can tell you there has been a
revolutionary change in the routing package, don't waste your time
with it.

If you still want to investigate it, your VAR should be able to give
you a valuation copy to play with. Then you will understand how
clunky and useless it is.

"I'm being told by my VAR that a traiining course is required and it
takes a lot of setting up of the intial database."

This means it will be hard to get it to work.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Dom

From: gk on


Ken Carpenter wrote:

> Hi All
> I am trying to evaluate Solidworks router for doing electrical cables.
> Has any one got any advice for setting this up.
> I'm being told by my VAR that a traiining course is required and it
> takes a lot of setting up of the intial database.
> The type of routing we do is fairly simple. most cable consist of 1
> cable with 1 connector each end. The problem is we have at least 1000
> cables.
> Any help advice greatly appreciated.
> regards
> Ken
>
I have done a considerable amount of cabling with the SW Routing package
in 2006. I initially purchased a manual from Wes Mosier called "Pipe &
Tubing Design Guide" which got me off on the right foot. If you are
proficient at 3D sketching, you won't have much trouble using the app.
as most routes are controlled by 3D sketches.

There is also a PDF from SW which is a 2005 routing tutorial. Wes
Mosier can be reached at:

http://www.forefrontstudios.com/

Contact me off line if I can be of any help.

Regards,
Gary