Wiring Diagram terminals and locking pieces

[AL_13006242]

My company is wanting to start modeling wiring harnesses in 3D. My plan was to add the connectors into the CAD model with an axis at each point where a pin would be.

My current problem is I don't know what to do about the terminals and the locking mechanisms for the terminals (like the small plastic piece you shove in a Deutsch connector so the pins don't come out). I would really rather not add the terminals and locks into CAD just because there just such tiny pieces.

We have part numbers for each lock and terminal, would it be possible to somehow add that information to the connectors Creo file? So once the 2D drawing is made is can pull in and show the connector the terminal and the lock when you make one of those tables?

Thanks in advance 

[Catalina]

Hi @AL_13006242 

Thank you for your question. 

Your post appears well documented but has not yet received any response. I am replying to raise awareness. Hopefully, another community member will be able to help.

Also, feel free to add any additional information you think might be relevant. It sometimes helps to have screenshots to better understand what you are trying to do.

Best regards,

[AH_10565398]

There are a few options.

We just have simple 1mm diameter, 1mm long cylinders that have the correct part number for parts we don't care about displaying accurately like pins/wedgelocks.  We assemble them to the CSYS of the connector, so they are hidden inside of it, but they show up on BOMs.

You can also setup your connectors in subassemblies that have the hardware already assembled in.  We do this with many of our connectors.

If you're using schematics, you can setup your connectors in there to reference additional hardware.  We don't do it, and it looks a little hectic to setup properly.

[AL_13006242]

Just to clarify, are you mating the terminals to the connector in the harness assembly or are you making an assembly with the connector and terminals in it and then putting that into the harness assembly.

We don't use schematics, and from what I've seen it doesn't look easy.

Thanks,

Andre

Andre Lehman | Design Engineer

TILMOR LLC

Cell: 234-301-7510 | Work: 330-985-0007

Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

[AH_10565398]

The other guy seems like he has a better suggestion?  Unfortunately there are not really any good standard practices from what I see when it comes to Creo Cabling, so we are going to have to look into the assembly, include option.

At the moment what we do is we have a harness assembly.  Under it is the various pin parts, connector subassemblies, and the harness.prt.  Within the connector subassemblies is the wedgelocks, labels, etc. that always go with those specific connectors.  It's definately a bit tedious, but it's what we've found works the best for our harness vendors and quality control.

Also, if you're doing larger harnesses, I'd highly recommend looking into some form of schematic software that can export to creo cabling.  It absolutely saves us time.

Our company only started fully using creo cabling a few years ago, so we are also looking into better methods/options.

[BrianMartin]

My advice, DO NOT use the technique where you put lots of fake parts into the model just to massage the BOM. If you're going to do that, please for the love of all that's good, look into using included items. (Assemble-->Include).

What I'm saying is... there's already a way to add small things to the BOM without constraining them, without making 20,000 BULK items, and without making little "magic cylinders" to handle every item. It works like a champ and has several benefits over bulk items. Eventually I hope to convince PTC to abandon it's misguided attempt to use bulk items to solve these problems (coming in Creo 12).

Also... if you're trying to route harnesses in 3D in Creo, you don't want axes in your connectors - you want one or more entry ports which are coordinate systems with the positive Z axis facing down the wire (away from the rear of the connector).

[AL_13006242]

I've been looking into my options as far as setting all this up. Could the terminator table also be a viable route for getting the terminals, seals, etc into the system (just saw it and don't know much about it )  I'm still working out a few things but at the moment the plan would be to add parameters inside the connectors file that I could then reference in the drawing tables. The problem with this is creating a BOM isn't really automated and certain connectors can have more than one terminal and seal depending on the wire being used.

[AH_10565398]

I'm the other guy, but you could definately do this.  I forgot there's a terminator table within cabling.  Using repeat regions, you could access that info.

We only use physical pins because of our windchill BOM requirements, and the requirement we have balloons on our drawings.

Here's a creo link to the report parameters you could use in a repeat region.
https://support.ptc.com/help/creo/creo_pma/r10.0/usascii/index.html#page/electrical_design/cable/report_parameters_for_harness_assemblies.html#

[AL_13006242]

So if I set up a terminator table the system can see the wire gauge and then assign the correct terminal, seal, etc and then that could also be put into a BOM?

For context we need to have a table by each connector with its name and then wires going to it and possibly some of the terminal and seal info and if possible we would like a BOM at the end.

[AH_10565398]

Yes to all of the above, except maybe wire seals.  I'm not sure if you can have two items on the same entry port like that.  We haven't played with it yet.

The only downside is it won't push to windchill.  It will be a paper only BOM.

[AH_10565398]

Thanks for the feedback on my suggestion.  I've never used the assembly include option before.  Does it work with BOM Balloons, or is there a way to make it work with BOM Balloons?

[BrianMartin]

It does work with BOM Balloons. 

For any item which was included, you can select BOM Balloon-->By Record (drop-down menu under the main BOM Balloon icon). Next, you'll select an included item from the BOM. Finally, you can select to make a balloon unattached to anything at all (you can then merge it to a stack of other balloons if you wish) or you can create a balloon with a leader line and point to anything you want (no restrictions).

Also... it's worth mentioning that at Creo 12, everything is changing. PTC is working through a complicated strategy to help fix some of the BOM issues faced by people using Creo Cabling. Unfortunately, their solutions are (in my opinion) somewhat weak and fail to FIX issues settling instead for a "band-aid".  I'm hoping they continue to refine their strategy for something more robust but change is definitely coming! Keep that in mind as you develop your company's standards and practices for harness design.