SolidWorks Electrical 3D is a useful add-in that bridges electrical design with mechanical design. It provides additional tools and functions specifically for electro-mechanical projects. This helps designers to plan routing locations and paths in a 3D space.
A major benefit of using SolidWorks Electrical 3D is that it provides the ability to accurately determine wiring, cabling, and harnessing paths and lengths, in order to avoid costly design mistakes and rework. So, when you run into these errors in your design, it’s important to know some troubleshooting techniques so that you can resolve the issue and complete the design accurately.
Here are some common issues that you might encounter when working in SolidWorks Electrical 3D, and tips on how to fix them!
What to do if your route has failed
If the route doesn’t look as it should or how you expected it to, this is the first sign that your electrical route has failed. Of course, you can also tell that it failed if nothing was routed at all.
To get a better understanding of why your route failed, you can check by selecting Routing Analysis > Show Errors when routing your wires in SolidWorks Electrical 3D. This setting will display a routing analysis report which will highlight a number of errors and warning messages if there are any. You’ll be able to see:
- A description of the issue
- The objects that were affected
- The ability to preview the objects with the error
- A link to Help files that will explain each error in further detail and what you can do to resolve them.
How to check your electrical schematic if errors persist
If your routing analysis report doesn’t show any error messages or warnings but your wires still aren’t routing, look back at your schematic to see why these components are not being routed correctly.
To preview your Power schematic, select Electrical Project Documents. In the example below, you can see that the circuit breaker and disconnect switch components are not routing because they’re not connected or wired up on the schematic.
In most cases, the schematic error won’t be this exaggerated and instead might include small pinout mistakes or a few misplaced wires.
How to resolve warnings after a route completes successfully
Once your electrical schematic is good to go and a route is completed successfully, you might still receive warning messages in SolidWorks Electrical 3D. One common reason why this happens is that your project is missing a routing path. In this case, the program will likely calculate the shortest path within the wires’ allowable bend radius.
This is a warning and not necessarily an error. However, if you’d like to alter the routing path, you can easily generate a new one and reroute it. Then, you should see that your route completed as expected and no more warning messages should appear.
Reduce errors long-term by improving your SolidWorks Electrical 3D skills
These troubleshooting tips will help you resolve some of the most common routing errors you might run into in SolidWorks Electrical 3D. However, errors and resolutions will vary from project to project. Understanding why and how different issues arise, and how to fix them, will be much easier if you have a strong knowledge of how to use this add-in.
Related Video: Learn how to create electrical, piping, cable, and other routed systems in your assemblies
