Method for generating three dimensional ribbon cable objects in computer aided design drawings

摘要

A method for generating a three-dimensional representation of a ribbon cable in a computer-aided design drawing is disclosed. In one embodiment, a user may create a three-dimensional ribbon cable object with an arbitrary shape and an arbitrary number of fold or twists. A user creates or specifies a ribbon cable template incorporating several attributes and a computer aided design application may be configured to generate a three-dimensional ribbon cable object from the template and displays the representation of the three-dimensional ribbon cable object in the computer-aided design drawing. Further, once generated, the ribbon cable object may be flattened to a two-dimensional surface, identifying the overall length of the ribbon cable and the location of any folds.

主权项

1. A method for generating a representation of a three-dimensional (3D) ribbon cable object in a computer aided design (CAD) model, the method comprising:
receiving a selection of a ribbon cable template, wherein the ribbon cable template specifies a set of attributes for the 3D ribbon cable object to be generated; receiving a selection of a first 3D connector object and a second 3D connector object present in the CAD model; determining a path for the 3D ribbon cable object to be generated, wherein the path links the first 3D connector object and the second 3D connector object; generating the 3D ribbon cable object based on the ribbon cable template, the first 3D connector object and the second 3D connector object, and the path; placing the 3D ribbon cable object in the CAD model; and associating the 3D ribbon cable object with the first 3D connector object and the second 3D connector object in the CAD model.