Tube & Pipe Cross Assembly Editing

[cbenner]

Scenario:

Quite often we design systems that are skid mounted, each skid with it's own piping system.  The skids are then set next to each other and the piping connected.  The way Tube & Pipe works right now, if I design the piping on each skid, and then bring them together, and try to edit the piping on any one individual system... I get this lovely message:

I need to explicitly open each individual skid, modify the piping dimensions, and then return to the combined assembly and hope I got it right.  I continue this trial and error until everything lines up properly.  It would help considerably if I could edit the individual piping systems in the context of this combined assembly in order to mate things up more easily. In fact it would be really great if I could route from one skid to another in the context of this full assembly.  Not only making certain that things line up, but also having them actually connected to each other.  Typical inter skid connections.....

[lesmfunk]

Excellent idea. I have been placing reference components (engine, frame, axles, etc) into each system (air, fuel, hydraulics, cooling, etc) to be able to route around said components.

It would be nicer to work top-down (provided that I have enough RAM to do it).

[salariua]

I haven't done anything this complex but I would add possibly to demote / promote routes from one to the other as well. You might decide later that some routes should be on a different skit all completely.

[Cadmanto]

While in my current position I am not using tube and pipe, I do remember such a message from my last position.

[lesmfunk]

cbenner,

Have you tried placing your adjacent skids into the assembly of your individual skid and then setting each adjacent skids' BOM structure to reference? I know it's a backwards way of doing things, but might reduce your trial and error iterations.

This is definitely not a solution, but a temporary workaround.

Les

[dan_szymanski]

Accepted idea [US-50405]. Thanks!

[dan_szymanski]

We are refining procedures around idea status. Changing this to Future Consideration.