Rarely do piping or tubing routes contain just flanges, elbows and tees. There are also valves, filters and regulators that are not included in the standard routing library.
These parts are typically modeled from vendor cut sheets or other sources. Once you have the dimensions, and the part is modeled there are some routing features you will need to add in order to bring it into a SolidWorks Routing subassembly.
Let’s start with a part model of a typical buttwelded valve. I created the part to the exact dimensions provided by the manufacturer. The valve will not have multiple
configurations or sizes, so there is no need for a design table.
At the moment, the valve is nothing more than a typical SolidWorks part that you would bring into an assembly. Since we will be inserting the valve into a routing assembly, it needs a little more information.
Cpoints
All components inserted into a routing assembly require at least one Cpoint.
Cpoints tell SolidWorks Routing what size of pipe to attach to the end of the valve and where to break the pipe to insert the body of the valve.
Cpoints are created from existing “points” of any feature sketch. The points can be endpoints of lines, vertices, or just plain sketch points.
It is recommended however, that you create a sketch specifically for the Cpoints of the part. This valve is centered on the Right Plane, so a sketch should be created on that plane to house the sketch points.
For this valve, since it is buttwelded, sketch points are added at the center of the face that will be welded up against another component or pipe.
Sketch Points mated to the “midpoint”.
Isometric view showing sketch points along the center of the valve.
Cpoints can now be added on top of the sketch points. To do this, exit the sketch, and select one of the sketch points.
Now CTRL-Select the mating face of the valve for that sketch point.
With the mating face and one of the sketch points selected, pick “Connection Point” from the
“Routing” toolbar.
The Feature tree will now display the properties for the new Cpoint. In the Connection Point properties area, set whether you want this Cpoint to be a Piping or Tubing Cpoint.
Select Fabricated Pipe
Set the Nominal Size of pipe that you wish this Cpoint to represent.
Enter the Nominal Pipe Size Here
If you are unsure about what size to use, then press
“Select Pipe” and browse to the Base Pipe Part File that you will use for your route, and select a
configuration. The Diameter will be pulled from that.
The other fields are optional, and will be discussed later for more advanced components.
Select Okay and a Cpoint feature will now be created in your part.
Repeat these steps to create the Cpoint on the other side.
Rpoints
Most components used in a routing assembly require an Rpoint. Rpoints tell SolidWorks where to place the part in the assembly. For example, if you were to drag a tee onto the intersecting point of three lines, the Rpoint would be placed at that point.
The Rpoint for our valve needs to be placed at some point between the Cpoints, and should be in line with them.
Rpoints are added similar to Cpoints. They are placed on top of existing sketch points, vertices, line endpoints, or even the origin but do not require a face be selected because they have no particular direction they flow. For this valve, we will need to create a sketch point between the Cpoints.
You may be wondering why you had to select a face when you created the Cpoint.
The face tells SolidWorks which way the pipe or tubing will enter or exit the cpoint when you place the part into a routing assembly.
Take note of the little arrow (shown in red) in the above image. The arrow will be “collinear” with the pipe or tube in the route.
If you were to select a face that is vertical, then the arrow would be pointing upwards, and the pipe or tube would not enter the valve correctly.
To keep the part clean and tidy, I’m going to add the sketch point to the same sketch that I used to create the Cpoints from. I draw a construction line from one Cpoint to the other, then place a new sketch point in the middle of that line.
New construction line New sketch point
Exit the sketch, and pre-select the sketch point that you just created.
Now select “Route Point” from the “Routing”
toolbar.
The Route Point properties will be displayed in the Feature Manager.
There aren’t really any options to set, the only property shown, is the point you selected to place the Rpoint on.
Select Okay and the Rpoint is added to the route.
The valve is now finished, and can be inserted onto a “Split Entity Point” or the endpoint of a routing line in the route’s 3D sketch.
Vertical Axis
The vertical axis is an optional feature that can be added to components so when they are added to a route, they are rotated a certain direction.
For example, if I add a vertical axis to the valve shown below, it will always be inserted into a route sitting straight up, and not upside down, or rotated to one side.
The Vertical Axis feature must be named “Vertical” with a capital “V”, lowercase “ertical” and be the last feature in the part’s feature tree.
See also:
Chapter 2-required features of routing components (Cpoints & Rpoints) Chapter 6-Adding components into your route