Multi-conductor cable configuration

In the legacy connection list, all rows in the .hrn file are wires. Using the legacy connection lists, there can be no hierarchy for wires within cables within cables.

Part Library View Modification

The PLV file must contain a wires node that contains a node for a wires.ptb or wires_mm.ptb file, and a node for a cir_cables.ptb or cir_cables_mm.ptb file, depending on which part units you are using. (The PTB files for wires and cables can be named whatever you want as long as the names are unique.) This allows NX to find the cable's information for sweeping a solid.

Note: The order of the subnodes is important — if the same information is in multiple PTBs, the information from the first PTB is used. Example PLV structure:

NODE WIRES
NAME     Wires
WIRES_NODE  CABLE_NODE
END_NODE

NODE_WIRES_NODE
NAME Wires_node
TABLE wires.ptb
END_OF_NODE

NODE CABLES_NODE
NAME Cables_node
TABLE cir_cables.ptb

cable_id in the import/export format and .hrn file

cable_id specifies the cable name into which the wires are placed. For example:

! unique_id, from_dev, from_conn, from_pin, to_dev, to_conn, to_pin, cable_id
w1, Dev1, Conn1, P1, Dev2, Conn2, P1, cable01

This specifies that wire w1 is in cable01. If cable_id is left blank for a particular row, the system assumes the wire is not part of a cable.

cable_type

cable_type within the import/export format and within the .hrn file specifies the type of cable to be used when the connection(s) are routed. The cable_type field does not have to be used — PART_NAME or some other field may be used instead. However:

• If cable_type is not used, the swept solid is based upon the wire bundle.
• If cable_type is specified, it is copied up from the wire row in the Connection List Navigator to the cable row in the navigator, and is used as a parameter when searching the wires node within the part library structure.

For a solid to be swept, values for the connection must match a single row in the part table. Once a wire in a cable is routed, the swept solid has the OD of the cable. If other wires within the same cable are routed, the OD of the swept solid for the common portions of the path remains the OD of the cable.

If the cable_type field is used, uniqueness of that field in the PTB file (although not strictly necessary) helps NX determine the correct cable by retrieving corresponding data — see the default cir_cables.ptb (CT is the cable type field in this PTB file). If more than one row in the part table matches, the first row is used — this is true for any field in the part tables.

If wire information is desired within the file (OD, or sufficient information to obtain an OD), create a part with the desired information, place that part file with the other inch/metric parts for the part library, and specify that part in the PTB file, for example using fields such as OD, CT, TYPE, PART_NUMBER, PART_NAME.

Example workflow

Using the default electrical installation, place five (5) connectors and create a path from one to the other four (4) connectors. Assign the connectors and then create a cable connection using the Create Connection Wizard, selecting the cable stock (e.g., C-05 — a cable containing a shield containing four wires). With connectors conn1 (source) and conn2–conn5 (destinations), the cable OD is used for the common portion of the path with no break-outs; each branch beyond a break-out sweeps at the individual wire/wire-bundle OD.

Related topics

• Routing Electrical best practices introduction
• Color bleed-through in shaded harness displays
• Understanding bundle diameter calculation
• Calculating bundle weights