Tube and Pipe bug?

[Anonymous]

Hi

Does anyone know what's going on with this?

Please see the screencast below.

I've created a pipe route (in the same way as I've created hundreds of other routes with no issues), and when I try to place a valve I get an error message ("The fitting does not align with the pipe run or it is too close to the pip end."). As you can see from the screencast, I have no problems snapping the same valve to other routes in the run.

I can delete the route (right click in tree, "Delete Route"), but the pipe sections don't get deleted.  I can select them in the window and the tree, but there is no option to delete them.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

I've seen odd behavior with routed system..  I might suggest backing out of routed system to your top model and then perform a rebuild all.  Save your assembly and then try again.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply.

Rebuild All didn't work, but thanks for the suggestion.

The route was started from a tee on another route.  I found if I deleted the route that contained the tee, it also deleted the left-over sections from the route that came off the tee.

Weird...

[Mark.Lancaster]

I just went back and looked at your screencast again, if it was me doing that piping run, I wouldn't made all those different routes under the same pipe run.  I always designate a pipe run as how I would build that piping spool.  Basically not putting all your eggs in one basket but that's just my 2 cents. 

@cbenner any other thoughts?

[cbenner]

@Anonymous

At any point while working on this design, did you experience a Crash to Desktop?

I've seen this behavior before, and if I remember correctly (it's been a while), it happened after some sort of crash or other problem.  Basically what happens is that the route becomes corrupt because the full information never got written to the assembly database correctly (or something like that. IT is not my thing).  When this happens, about the only thing you can do is to delete the route, and all of the individual pieces of it that get left behind, and start over.  In extreme cases, I have had to delete the entire run.

This lends itself to @Mark.Lancaster's advice to, perhaps, break your piping up a bit more so there isn't so much in one run.  It's less to rebuild if you get a corrupt run or route.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, thats's good advice.

I didn't actually create the assembly - I'm adding bits to someone else's work.

However, on my own assembly it's even worse - I've got all my new pipework as a single run, with probably 30-40 different routes within it.

But if I were to do it all in separate runs, wouldn't I no longer be able to connect it all together (e.g. use a tee in one route as the starting point for a new route) without manually making a load of references outside the run?

Thanks again

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

Yes that's one of the downfalls of routed system..  The ability to interact between separate pipe runs.  But there's a few steps that allows you to do that..  These are some of the items that @cbenner and I will be discussion at AU this year...     Give me a few and I will post my video in how to do this

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot, that's really helpful.

I've got a couple of questions.

1. I understand how you created the axis and plane on the tee in Run08, and constrained the node in Run07 to the plane, then placed the upper tee on that node.  The video skips the part where you add the reducer and valve at the bottom - are they just placed within tube and pipe, but outside of a run?

2.  The new route you create seems to be within Run08, but the autoroute end is at the tee in Run07 - how have you referenced the tee in Run07 with the autoroute in Run08?  Or have you created a plane and an axis on the upper tee, but not shown it in the video?

Many thanks for taking the time to help.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

Question #1:  The valve and reducer was added to the pipe run 8 using the connect fitting function.  It wasn't shown in the video but all I did was to active pipe run 8 and place from CC.  Simple select my valve and then right mouse click and select "CONNECT" fitting.   I then repeated the process for the reducer.

Question #2:  Yes the new route was part of run 8 but it doesn't need to be.  When you select an existing fitting, Inventor will decided that's the end point and auto-route from where you are.   It doesn't matter where this fitting resides.  If its authored for tube & pipe, it will auto-route to it.  Granted I should've gone one more step in the video and converted it to sketched geometry.  Meaning don't leave auto-routes in your piping routes..

Hope that helps.

[cbenner]

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@Mark.Lancaster wrote:

@Anonymous

Granted I should've gone one more step in the video and converted it to sketched geometry.  Meaning don't leave auto-routes in your piping routes..

Hope that helps.

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 The Golden Rule of Tube & Pipe... never leave Auto Routes!  

[Anonymous]

"auto-route from where you are.   It doesn't matter where this fitting resides.  If its authored for tube & pipe, it will auto-route to it"

So auto-route is the key?  You can't start a new route from a fitting in another run, but you can auto-route to a fitting in another run?

And yes, not leaving auto-routes in the model is one of the very first things I learnt from this forum!

Many thanks again

[cbenner]

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@Anonymous wrote:

You can't start a new route from a fitting in another run, but you can auto-route to a fitting in another run?

Many thanks again

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@Anonymous You should be able to begin a route FROM a fitting in another run.  As long as it is a valid fitting, T&P should be able to see the connection point.  So, you should be able to start the route on either end and have it go where you want.  I often begin a new route form either a fitting in the previous run, or from a piece of equipment that isn't even IN tube *& pipe, but rather at a higher level in the overall assembly.

[Mark.Lancaster]

@Anonymous

Actually you can start a route from any defined point in your model..  For example I started this pipe run/route at the corner of a support leg pad.. 

  This allows me to start a pipe run from locations that do not have a defined T&P authoring points.   In this example I started a route from a pressure vessel (imported STEP file) that I got on GRABCAD.  The bottom flange connection does not have any T&P authoring assigned to it but I can start a route from it.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I cross-posted with you and have only just noticed this reply!

Yes, my inventor did crash.  Since then it's crashed a few more times whilst saving the routes and they've become corrupted.  I'm now in the habit of doing a pack and go every hour or so, so if things get really messed up I go back an hour and continue working from the last P&G.

I have also taken Mark's advice on board.

Many thanks for the help.