Tube & Pipe Routing for Fusion 360 — User Guide

New in 0.5.0

Place pneumatic push-in unions, elbows and tees, BSP threaded couplings, and sanitary weld ferrules from 23 manufacturer-referenced sizes. Matching polyurethane and 16ga sanitary tube families add eight stock sizes. Fitting placement applies the connector's insertion or make-up allowance to the tube cut length, and the Cutting List records the manufacturer and part code.

Quick start

Platform: Windows and macOS. Every version is published as a Windows bundle and a separate macOS bundle with the same commands.

1. Draw the tube centreline as a 3D sketch: straight lines joined end-to-end. Sharp corners are fine - the add-in rounds them with the bend radius. You may also draw tangent arcs yourself; their radius is used as-is.
2. Tube and Pipe > Route Pipe: select the lines, pick Standard / Family / Size and, where the size comes in several walls, the Thickness (or type one under Other…), set the Bend radius (CLR), OK.
3. Manage > Bend Data: read the bend table per tube; export it as a CSV table and A4 bend sheets (PDF).
4. Manage > Bender Setup: assign a saved machine, die and material setup. Both Bend Data and Cutting List use that same revision.
5. Manage > Cutting List: developed lengths grouped by size and bend sequence + fittings BOM; CSV / PDF.
6. Manage > Stock Optimizer: nest developed tube blanks onto stock lengths with saw kerf, end trims and per-part allowances; PDF / CSV.
7. Fitting, Auto Route, Pipe Support, Notch Template: see below.
8. Manage > Fabrication Package: release the cut list, bend data and saved end templates together in one ZIP with part numbers, revisions and a change list.

Route Pipe

Route source accepts sketch selection, an XYZ table or an LRA table. Paste comma-separated rows or load a UTF-8 CSV; select mm or inches explicitly (an inch document starts in inches, and the rotation sign starts as the one Bend Data uses). XYZ rows are centreline apex coordinates X,Y,Z. LRA rows are incremental tangent feed, incremental rotation, nominal part angle and optional centreline radius: L,R,A[,CLR]. The first rotation is zero; finish with the tail straight L,0,0. Set the rotation sign to match the input. Angles remain degrees for inch input. Tables create an editable 3D source sketch; later path changes use that sketch and Edit tube. This is a simple geometry-input format, not a controller program or a direct import of the report's annotated CSV. Limit: 300 data rows / 100 KB.

Editing moved/rotated routes preserves placement in preview and after OK, including independent component copies and nested repeated subassemblies. Keep component output enabled. Every piece of a split route must have matching placements and copy counts. Edits that would remove native component patterns, mirrors, joints, rigid groups, downstream references or user-added geometry remain blocked with an explanation. A linked support tracks its selected pipe instance; an unsupported support update leaves the support intact and reports a warning. A Paste New copy of a routed tube is another placement of the same tube: Edit tube rebuilds the original and its copies together, each at its own place, as instances of the same part, and the edit hint says how many copies it found. Paste New the tube's component (not a body into the same component) and copy every piece of a split tube together; otherwise the edit is refused with an explanation.

Bend Data

Per tube: feed length, rotation and bend angle for every bend, CLR and arc length, the end feed, and the developed (cut) length. Select tubes, or leave the selection empty to list all.

Convention, Rotation sign, First bend rotation and XYZ frame are remembered. Cutting List and Fabrication Package use the same convention, rotation sign and first-bend reference.

Each tube reports its estimated mass using the assigned setup's density. Unassigned routes use zero compensation and the density of their tube standard's material (for example PVC-U 1400, copper 8940, steel 7850 kg/m3; steel when the tube is not from the size library); the exports state this.

The bend data CSV is a readable fabrication table for people: the operator or CNC programmer reads the values and types or pastes them into the bender's control. It is not a machine program; no CNC bender loads a generic CSV. Machines take typed LRA/YBC or XYZ + CLR values, a STEP model of the bent tube (Fabrication Package can write one per part) or a maker-specific file. Each tube's block states its conventions in words: Feed (end A leads, the collet grips end B; L, or Y in YBC, is the straight between bend tangent points), Rotation viewed (from the bender front, looking back along the tube toward the carriage), with World up First bend zero (bend 1 is 0 toward +Y), when the assigned setup compensates springback Set angle (the angle to dial on this bender), and when the route has an elongation Arc elongation: the arcs, marks and developed length already include it, so do not add the machine's own on top. Match the convention and units to the bender before production.

Bend sheet PDF: one A4 page per unique bent tube, numbered like the Cutting List items (straight tubes get no sheet); with tubes selected, each sheet keeps its Cutting List item number and the quantity placed in the whole design. It shows the tube and stock, material, die CLR, cut length, bender and die, springback and mass; an isometric view standing like the model on screen (Z up or Y up: the camera's up in an orbited view; in a Top, Front or Right view, which cannot tell, the Up direction last chosen for valves and supports), with the bends numbered and the A and B ends tagged; the bend table (L, R, A or Y, B, C, the SET angle only when the assigned setup compensates springback, a CLR column only when a tube has different radii, and MARK FROM A); and notes that state the conventions in words, followed by any checks such as a tight CLR. The view is not to scale; the dimensions are in the table. The view gets smaller to keep a sheet on one page; when it still runs over, every following page starts with the tube's number and name. Text outside Western European characters prints with the nearest letters it has (accents it lacks are left out).

Export file names start with the document name, and every save dialog opens in the folder of your last export (library files from Manage Library keep their plain names).

Before exporting: Bend Data, Cutting List, Stock Optimizer and Fabrication Package check the source curves, fitting trims and tube geometry against the saved bend data. If they have changed, update the tube with Route Pipe > Edit tube first. Export does not rebuild the model. Add-in notch/penetration cuts retain the nominal bend data after a successful cut. Older bodies without a saved geometry revision are checked analytically; an older manually cut body may require review before its bend data can be verified. Rebuilding remains blocked when it would remove added user features. Source XYZ describes the original route path, before any assembly Move/Rotate.

How it is computed

• Apexes P0..Pn are the intersections of the straights. Bend angle A = angle(v[i-1], v[i]); setback t = CLR x tan(A/2).
• Feed = straight length minus the setbacks at both ends. Rotation = signed angle between consecutive bend planes about the incoming tube axis.
• Arc length = A[rad] x CLR x (1 + elongation/100); developed length = sum of feeds + arcs.

Cutting List

Tubes with the same stock size, bend sequence (either direction), developed length, assigned setup and material are grouped into one row with a quantity. All placed component instances, including nested instances, contribute to the tube and fitting quantities; hiding a component does not remove it from the list. Rows are sorted by OD, wall and length (longest first); the row number is the item number used everywhere in the PDF.

The PDF carries the design name, date, totals and Page i / N on every page. Page 1 shows an isometric overview of every placed tube at its own place with its item number (above 120 tubes one number per item; left out when a placement cannot be read), then the CUT LIST table: item, quantity, tube stock, material, cut length, bends, mass each and the tube names (part IDs in a Fabrication Package), and with more than one stock the TOTALS BY STOCK (pieces, cut length and mass per stock and material). Material is the assigned setup's material, else the Fusion material of the tube body, else the material of its tube standard (for example Steel S195T for EN 10255 pipe, Copper C12200 (DHP) for ASTM B88 tube, with the common grades and per order where a standard allows several); Fusion's default Steel, which the add-in never assigns, does not count as a choice, and a body material that contradicts the setup is shown beside it. PURCHASED FITTINGS lists type, size (both ends of reducers and reducing tees), standard and the dimensions to order by: a weld-neck flange is bored to suit its pipe, a blind flange has no bore or hub, and an estimated valve face-to-face or a non-catalogue elbow takeout says to confirm it with the supplier; catalogue sources and modelling notes stay in the CSV. SUPPORTS and the WELD SUMMARY (count, length and diameter-inches per joint type and size) follow. ITEM DETAILS (on page 1 already when there is room) give each bent tube an isometric view with numbered bends and A/B ends next to a compact bend table; the bend sheets of Bend Data add the marks and the conventions in full. Cut length is the developed centreline length, with no grip or trim allowance; a route elongation is in it and the notes name those items. The weld summary uses Weld Joints' socket-weld size and leaves out the joints excluded there.

Stock Optimizer

1. Open Manage > Stock Optimizer. It reads all routed and recognized tubes in the design, including placed and nested component quantities.
2. Enter available stock lengths separated by commas, in millimetres. Set saw kerf, trim at each stock end and the minimum reusable offcut length.
3. If needed, add an Allowance per part end for grip or post-bend cutoff. A blank uses developed length plus twice this allowance. This does not move the model or its bend marks; account for the added lead in your machine setup.
4. Rebuild edited routes first. The plan is calculated when the dialog opens and updates as you change a setting; review the material/specification groups and any unplaced pieces, then export PDF bar diagrams and/or the CSV cut sequence. Export rereads the saved route data, recognized-tube geometry and instance counts.

Saw kerf, trims, allowance and offcut use the document's length units. Export saves the stock settings in the design; the last values you used start any design without its own, including Fabrication Package's stock plan.

The PDF uses the layout of the other shop documents (design, date, totals and Page i / N on every page): a SUMMARY per purchase group (bars, pieces, reusable offcut, waste, yield), the settings and conventions as numbered notes, then every bar drawn to scale (end trims, each blank with its item and length, the reusable or wasted offcut) above its cut table with start and end positions; a bar never splits over two pages.

Material is taken from the assigned Bender Setup and the Fusion material; the PDF words it as the cut list does (else the tube standard's material). Verify the actual purchase grade, especially for generic/default materials. B-numbers identify blanks within this stock plan; component names and route:piece keys in CSV link them back to the design. These are not Fabrication Package release IDs.

The planner rounds blanks, kerf and trims up to 0.1 mm and stock down to 0.1 mm. Waste includes trims, saw cuts and short tails; reusable remnants are shown separately. Parts too long for every available stock length remain listed as not planned. Stock lengths have unlimited availability; finite remnant inventory and machine-specific CNC postprocessing are not included. The per-bar subset search is exact at this resolution, but the overall purchase plan is a heuristic. Limits: 4,000 blanks, 12 stock lengths, 100,000 mm per stock; oversized searches are rejected to bound memory.

Bender Setup

Optional Machine limits specify the minimum entry straight, exit straight and straight between bends (mm), and maximum commanded bend angle (degrees). Leave a field blank if unrestricted. The angle check includes springback compensation. A violated assigned limit blocks manufacturing export with the affected tube/bend identified. These are the limits you enter; they do not simulate tooling collisions or the complete machine cycle.

1. Select tube routes, or leave the selection empty to apply to all. Selecting one piece of a split route applies the setup to every piece of that route.
2. Choose a saved setup or enter a new name, machine, die and material. Optional OD, wall and CLR restrictions prevent applying the setup to incompatible stock. The dialog selects the setup the tubes already share; otherwise New setup is filled with their common OD, wall and CLR and a name. Saved setups that would reject the tubes end in (no fit); pick one to see why in the status line.
3. Enter measured compensation, die mark offset and density. Alternatively, expand Measured test bends and enter one commanded,measured angle pair per line. At least two different measured angles are required. The fit estimates commanded angle as a linear function of the desired angle and displays residual error and measured range.
4. Click Apply. The design stores a complete setup snapshot. Editing a library setup creates a new revision and does not silently alter other designs or routes.

The personal library is stored outside the installed add-in: %APPDATA%/VanThanBK/TubeRouting/bender_profiles.json on Windows, or ~/Library/Application Support/VanThanBK/TubeRouting/bender_profiles.json on macOS. Clear assigned setup returns the selected routes to the stated defaults.

Recognize Tube

Import a STEP file into Fusion, then use Create > Recognize Tube on one local solid hollow round tube. The command reconstructs a centerline from analytic cylindrical and toroidal faces and checks tangent connections, complete skins, annular ends and solid volume. Review the displayed feed end (End A) and use Reverse feed end if needed before accepting.

Supported: constant OD/wall, square-cut ends, straight leads and tails, and circular bends below 180 degrees, including bends in multiple planes and split surface seams. Holes, coped ends, solid bars, fittings, variable-wall tubes, meshes, freeform/NURBS surfaces, branches and closed loops are rejected. This geometric classification is not a manufacturing-tolerance certificate.

Recognition attaches reporting data without replacing the imported solid. Bend Data and package export re-read its current geometry; unsupported later edits block export instead of using stale dimensions. Use Recognize Tube again to change its feed direction; it opens with the stored feed end. Imported tubes do not use Route Pipe's sketch rebuild command.

Fabrication Package

Each part includes a shop sheet PDF: the Bend Data bend sheet of that part under its part ID and revision (isometric view with numbered bends and the A/B feed ends, bend table with marks, conventions), plus the apex points in the machine frame for inspection, the setup limits and the part's saved end templates. Apex points are tangent-line intersections, not tube-surface measurements; the view is not to scale. A straight part gets its data, cut to length and its two end points. The views show each part in its component's own axes. The package cutting list has no overview picture (a release keeps no model placements); it keeps parts with different end templates, and a part routed the other way round (bent from its other end), as separate items, marks the notched ends, and its item details point to the shop sheets. Optional STEP per part exports the actual solid in the same machine frame (A at the origin, first straight along +X, first bend in XY). One file represents one part definition; quantities are listed separately. Optional Stock plan adds PDF/CSV using the same TP part numbers and revisions as the shop sheets. Stock settings are saved in this design when exporting from Stock Optimizer (a design without its own uses your last ones); oversized blanks stop the package until stock is changed or the stock-plan option is cleared. Stock end allowances do not shift bend marks.

1. Assign the required bender setups. In Notch Template, select the branch and target cylindrical faces and choose Save end for package > End A or End B for templates to include. End A is the bend-table feed start; End B is the tail. For a routed branch tube the end at the target tube is selected for you, and the Result box warns if you choose the other end; it stays at Do not save when the template cannot be saved, for example a clipped profile.
2. Open Manage > Fabrication Package. Review part definitions, assembly quantities, release number and changes. The dialog previews up to 30 parts; export includes every managed tube. The package name starts as this design's last package name, else the document name.
3. Choose an existing local folder (the dialog opens in the folder of your last export). Export creates a new ZIP, never overwrites an existing release, and restores the previous numbering if publication fails.
4. Extract the ZIP and open index.html. Use the linked cut-list PDF/CSV, combined and per-part bend CSV, saved end-template PDF/DXF, changes.csv and manifest.json. The manifest records units, setup snapshots and file checksums.
5. Save the Fusion design after exporting to keep numbering and release history across sessions.

Part IDs such as TP00001 persist across releases. Relevant geometry, source-body revisions, setup or end-template changes increment the affected part revision; quantity changes are listed separately. A Paste New copy of a tube keeps the original's part ID and adds to its quantity, like a placed instance; a copy whose material or geometry was changed afterwards is refused, so route such a tube from its own sketch. A source-body revision triggers review even if an edit leaves equivalent geometry: this is deliberately not a geometric-equivalence test. Changing the number of pieces in a route requires explicitly enabling New part IDs for changed route splits; old IDs are retired.

Saved notch templates are bound to the branch, target and their assembly placement. If either body or placement changes or disappears, regenerate the template before release. Templates describe the selected joint geometry and saved parameters; they are not automatically inferred for every end. A saved End A/B applies to the native part definition and therefore all its instances; use a separate part definition when an instance needs a different end treatment. A different template from another occurrence is rejected; use the original occurrence when intentionally updating the shared part's end.

Support assemblies have a separate BOM in the Cutting List PDF/CSV and package index. Placed component instances contribute to quantities; a partially deleted support is marked partial. The manifest retains support parameters and part metadata, and support BOM changes appear in the release change list.

Weld Joints

Pipework is estimated per joint, not per millimetre of seam: the shop unit is the diameter-inch (nominal size in inches × joints × a type factor). The command estimates supported joints from managed fitting ports and tube ends; review the list and exclude connections outside the fabrication scope:

• Butt weld — every port of an elbow, tee, reducer, cap, weld-neck flange or custom fitting, and two collinear tube ends of the same size (field joint). Length = circumference.
• Socket weld — with Socket-weld fittings up to OD set (typically 60.3 mm, DN50), elbows, tees, caps and custom fittings on pipe that size or smaller count as one fillet at the socket mouth, factor 0.75 (ASME B16.11 small-bore practice). 0 disables the socket-weld classification.
• Slip-on flange — two fillets (hub and face), factor 1.0.
• Set-on branch — a tube whose end sits on the barrel of another tube (after a notch cut). Length = the saddle intersection curve, factor 1.5.

Mechanical connections are not welds. Tubes of PVC, PPR, HDPE, PEX, multilayer, copper, EN 10312 press-fit, SMC polyurethane and EMT/RMC conduit add no weld joints. Built-in bolted valve interfaces, pneumatic push-in ports and BSP coupling threads are omitted automatically from weld lengths, deposited metal, cost and bead rings. A sanitary ferrule contributes only its pipe-side butt weld; its clamp face is excluded. A mating slip-on or weld-neck flange still contributes its actual pipe-to-flange weld. Custom captured fittings retain their existing port classification; review their connections before estimating.

Per joint: type, size, length, dia-inch, deposited metal (butt = single-V 60° with root and cap; fillet leg = wall, min 3 mm), wire with the deposition efficiency, minutes from Minutes per dia-inch, and cost from the labour rate and consumable price. Rates are remembered. Show joints on the model draws every counted joint with its label (bronze = butt, blue = fillet, green = set-on curve, red = excluded); Exclude joints: click the tube or fitting next to a ring to leave that joint out of the count, cost and beads — for example, a sub-assembly welded elsewhere. It stays in the list marked excluded. Apply remembers the excluded joints in the design (also left out of beads and the Cutting List); click next to a red ring to count that joint again. Bead rings on the model adds a bronze torus bead at every circumferential joint in a Welds component (set-on branches are listed only); running the command again replaces them. CSV and PDF export include the per-type/size summary.

Weld quantities use assumed single-V or fillet sections and a steel deposited-metal density of 7850 kg/m3. Diameter-inch factors, deposition efficiency and time rates are estimating inputs, not a qualified welding procedure or a pressure-design calculation.

Weld Joints evaluates each placed tube and fitting occurrence, including moved, repeated and nested instances, at its assembly position. A valve assembly with inconsistent placements between its valve and mating flanges is rejected rather than counted as a complete connection.

Fitting

New fittings use display colours to distinguish them from the tubes: blue fittings, dark-blue valves and blue-grey flanges. These are Fusion Appearance overrides; they do not change physical material, dimensions or fabrication quantities. Use Fusion's Appearance palette to change a colour. Edit preserves body-level custom colours on the fitting being replaced.

The dialog's Summary shows warnings in orange and, in grey, reminders that hold for every fitting of that kind: simplified valve and 45° elbow bodies, the wafer valve note, and pipe ends flush with slip-on flange faces until you enter a setback. After OK, a message lists only the warnings, such as estimated dimensions or flange drilling that differs from the valve.

Automatic valve connections: new flanged/wafer valve insertions enable Add mating flanges. Choose slip-on or weld-neck pipe flanges. Both pipe-side flanges follow the valve axis and bolt-hole rotation; the adjoining tube lengths include their takeout. Face allowance is independent of slip-on pipe setback or weld-neck root gap. The EPDM wafer preset uses zero face allowance, following its no-extra-gasket installation instruction. Unmatched catalogue/drilling dimensions are rejected. The three parts share one editable fitting ID; select the valve or either mating flange to edit them together. BOM lists one valve and two purchased flanges, and Weld Joints counts the two pipe-side joints; the bolted faces are excluded. Bolts and gaskets are not modeled or added to the BOM. Older valve-only installations stay unchanged unless you enable mating flanges. New fittings on moved/copied routes inherit their common placement set. At a node that only a pasted tube and its copies touch (a cap or flange), the new fitting is placed at every copy. A tee or elbow that joins a tube with Paste New copies to a tube without them is refused: copy all tubes that meet there together, or delete the copy.

Select the sketch point where tubes meet. The connected curves give the tube directions; the pipe size is taken from a routed tube at that node (or pick it). Adjoining tubes are rebuilt automatically, using the fitting's per-port cut-back: face offset minus insertion, plus any applicable weld gap. A tube passing through the node is split into two pieces. The library includes 20 built-in fitting, valve and connector types, plus your captured fittings.

Once a node is selected, Type lists only what can be placed there: a free end gets caps, flanges and the sanitary ferrule; two tubes in line get the valves, the reducer, the union and the coupling; a corner gets the elbows of its angle (90 or 45 degrees, all elbows for other angles); a straight run with one or two perpendicular branches gets the tees or the cross. Connectors appear only for the tube sizes in their catalogue, and captured fittings only where their ports fit the node's directions. A type you picked yourself stays while it fits; otherwise the likely one is selected, such as the reducer where two sizes meet. Size comes from the largest routed tube at the node and Secondary size from a tube of another diameter, also one routed in another family (taken by its outside diameter); the reducer's large end faces the large tube. Changing Standard or Family keeps the outside diameter when the new family has it. Flange standard follows the pipe: ASME B16.5 Class 150 for ANSI pipe, JIS B2220 10K for JIS pipe, EN 1092-1 PN16 otherwise, or another table that lists the pipe OD; Add mating flanges is cleared when no table lists it. A choice you make in the dialog stays. Picking a node that already has a fitting opens that fitting for editing.

Pneumatic, threaded and sanitary connectors

1. In Route Pipe, choose the matching stock. Under Manufacturer, use SMC TU polyurethane (mm) for the push-in connectors or Sanitary tube 16 ga (0.065) for the ferrules. BSP couplings use matching pipe ODs 13.5, 17.2, 21.3, 26.9 or 33.7 mm, such as the corresponding EN 10255 sizes.
2. Open Fitting, select the node and connector type, and review the manufacturer, part code, insertion or make-up value and linked dimension source. Unsupported ODs are rejected rather than replaced with a nearby size.
3. Review the preview, then click OK. Connected tube ends use the source insertion allowance automatically. Mechanical connector gap is fixed at zero; the sanitary ferrule accepts a pipe-side weld gap.
4. Use Edit fitting to reload the saved node and catalogue part. Cutting List and Fabrication Package keep connector purchase rows with manufacturer and part codes. Weld Joints excludes the non-welded interfaces automatically.

The BSP coupling's Z dimension is a mean make-up reference, not a physical insertion stop. Actual engagement depends on the pipe threads and sealant; verify it before final cutting. Thread helices are not modelled. A sanitary entry is one weld ferrule: the mating ferrule, clamp and gasket must be specified separately; no assembled gasket gap is assumed.

Published interface dimensions are retained, while seals, collets, casting transitions and undimensioned grooves remain simplified. Matching tube OD does not establish material, fluid, pressure or temperature suitability. See Connector dimension sources for the exact rows and represented dimensions, or use Fitting from Model for another supplier's geometry.

Valve placement and editing

Select a node between two collinear tube directions, choose the valve type and pipe size, then choose the flange standard. Face-to-face sets the distance between its connection faces; a length you type stays when you pick another node or flange standard, and goes back to the catalogue value for another valve type or pipe size. Up direction (Z up or Y up, as your designs are made; remembered) is where the handwheel or lever points at rotation 0. Valve rotation turns the complete valve, including its body, operator and flange bolt pattern, around the pipe axis. Align its bolt holes with the separately modelled mating flanges. Reverse flow, available for the check valve, reverses the displayed flow arrow. These settings are saved with the fitting and survive rebuilds and reopening the design.

Gap / face allowance adds clearance between each valve face and the adjoining pipe end; for welded fitting types it remains the root gap. It affects cut lengths without changing the valve body. Model mating flanges separately and confirm the complete flange/gasket stack against the actual supplier parts. Select a body in Edit fitting to restore its saved node, size and parameters; preview and OK replace that fitting and rebuild touching tubes when enabled.

The three new valve families include catalogue installation dimensions for DN50, 65, 80, 100, 125, 150 and 200. The fitting dialog identifies the source and the dimensions used:

With EN flanges selected, the AVK gate/check valve ends use the supplier's cast EN 1092-2 PN16 dimensions, including the raised face. At DN65, the valve has four holes and the steel pipe flange has eight on the same 145 mm bolt circle. Automatic mating flanges retain their eight holes and rotate 22.5 degrees so alternating holes align with the valve; the dialog flags this combination for supplier verification. Geometric drilling alignment does not certify pressure rating or interchangeability. The butterfly wafer follows the selected mating bolt pattern; the simplified model does not check disc-opening clearance in the selected bore.

Unlisted sizes are labelled parametric estimates; another flange standard is a custom combination, and edited catalogue dimensions are labelled user-defined. Ball-valve face-to-face remains approximate. The listed dimensions describe installation envelopes; casting contours and internals remain simplified, and rounded supplier overall heights can differ by 0.5 mm from the flange radius plus centreline height. These models do not simulate valve operation, flow, pressure loss or pressure strength. Use a vendor model through Fitting from Model for the complete part geometry and installation clearances.

Elbow catalogue dimensions describe layout only; the simplified bodies do not certify material, connection, pressure rating, bevels or manufacturing tolerances. LR/SR refers to nominal pipe size, not actual OD. Route Pipe bend CLR remains independently user-defined. Existing saved fittings retain their parameters until edited/replaced; check takeout before rebuilding connected routes.

Fixed-shape fittings require matching tube directions: reducers and valves need a straight run; tees and crosses need perpendicular branches. Direction tolerance is 0.1 degree, including captured custom fitting ports. Failed solid joins, bore cuts or saved specifications cancel the operation. Independent copies are retained during edits. Rebuilding remains blocked when native patterns, assembly constraints, added geometry or later references would be removed.

Auto Route

Pick a start and an end point (sketch point, vertex or construction point) and the bodies to avoid. The add-in searches an orthogonal path on a voxel grid (A*, six axis directions) that keeps clearance (+ half the pipe OD) from every obstacle's bounding box and prefers fewer bends (Bend avoidance). The result is a 3D sketch AutoRoute n; with Route pipe on the path the tube is swept immediately and can be edited like any routed tube.

The dialog opens with the size and CLR of the newest routed tube; a start (else end) on a routed tube takes that tube's size and CLR until you pick a size. Bend radius (CLR) follows every size change until you type one.

The selected start and end coordinates are kept exactly, including points between regular grid planes. Minimum straight lengths and obstacle intersections are checked on the resulting path; an impossible connection is reported without moving either selection.

Notch Template

Fishmouth / cope for a branch tube meeting a target tube. Pick the branch's cylindrical face then the target's (radius, axis angle and offset are read from the model), or type r / Rc / angle / offset. The unrolled cut curve is exported as a 1:1 PDF with crop marks, a 100 mm check bar and 0/90/180/270 wrap marks, and as a DXF (layers CUT / EDGE / MARKS). Wrap the printout around the branch tube with the 0 mark on the common plane.

Paper picks the sheet size: A4, A3, A2, Letter or Tabloid. The template is placed upright when it fits one sheet, turned sideways when that is what makes it fit, and only otherwise tiled over the fewest sheets (8 mm glue overlap, sheets numbered left to right and top to bottom, an even split so no sheet carries a sliver). The dialog shows the sheet count before you export.

Options: Cut the notch on the model copes the branch body on the model (live preview); Cut penetration hole in target also drills the branch bore through the near wall of the target (flow-through joint, like SolidWorks segment penetration).

Model cuts respect the selected components' assembly placement. A cut must remove material while leaving one tube body. Penetration requires a measurable coaxial inner bore and an unambiguous branch approach from one side; no bore diameter is guessed. Both cuts are checked before changing the model, and a failed two-body operation restores the original bodies. Model cuts also work in a Direct design (no timeline).

Radial clearance is a non-negative distance added to the target radius for both the model cut and the exported template. The zero-clearance datum stays fixed; if the paper blank must extend below it, a separate datum line is shown (DXF layer DATUM). Sample step must be 0.25-90 degrees and axis angle must be greater than 0.5 and less than 179.5 degrees.

Math: w = r sin(phi) + e, depth = Rc - sqrt((Rc + clearance)^2 - w^2), z = depth / sin(theta) + r cos(phi) / tan(theta), x = r phi.

Library

851 stock sizes in 44 families are grouped under ISO / EN, ANSI / ASME, JIS and Manufacturer. ISO / EN: EN 10255 medium/heavy, EN 10220 / ISO 4200 series 1, EN 10305 precision tube (OD 8-114 mm, walls 1-5 mm), EN 10305-4 hydraulic tube in the DIN 2353 sizes (6-42 mm), EN 10312 press-fit tube, sanitary ISO 2037 and DIN 11850, copper EN 1057, aluminium EN 755 stock sizes, multilayer EN ISO 21003, PVC-U EN ISO 1452 PN10/PN16, HDPE PE100 EN 12201 / ISO 4427 SDR 11/17, PPR PN10/PN20 (DIN 8077) and EN 39 scaffold 48.3. ANSI / ASME: NPS Sch 5S/10/40/80/160 (1/8"-12"), PVC Sch 40/80, EMT and rigid conduit (ANSI C80.3 / C80.1 with NEC bender radii), copper ASTM B88 types K, L and M, ACR refrigeration tube B280, PEX F876, stainless instrumentation tube A269, DOM, 4130 chromoly, exhaust and A554 stainless tube (inch) and 6061 aluminium. JIS: SGP / STPG / SUS Sch 10S / STKM. Manufacturer adds five SMC TU polyurethane sizes and three exact 16ga sanitary tube sizes matching the connectors. Plastic families carry a note: PVC-U is not bent (place elbows), PE uses its 20 x OD cold-bend radius as the default CLR.

Flange tables: EN 1092-1 PN10/16 and PN40, ASME B16.5 Class 150 and 300, JIS B2220 10K. Dimension references cover pipe OD/wall, B16.9 centre-to-end, B16.5/EN 1092 flange dimensions and the valve and connector tables described above. The existing ball-valve face-to-face values are approximate layout defaults. These tables and simplified fitting bodies do not certify material, pressure rating or manufacturing tolerances. Flange hubs, weld-neck lengths and valve bodies/operators remain simplified; check supplier dimensions for shop drawings. Tee / reducer / cap dimensions follow ASME B16.9 by OD.

Manage Library

Your own sizes never live in the add-in folder. Manage Library and CSV import write them to %APPDATA%\VanThanBK\TubeRouting\pipes_user.json (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/VanThanBK/TubeRouting/), so an add-in update keeps them. Packs sit in the packs folder next to that file and load in file-name order; your own sizes always win over pack and built-in entries. The status line of Manage Library shows how many sizes are yours and how many packs are loaded. Flange sizes you add or import (fittings_user.json), fittings captured with Fitting from Model (custom_fittings.json and the custom_fittings folder) and the Weld Joints rates (settings.json) live in the same folder and survive updates too. Fittings captured with an earlier version that are still in the add-in's data folder are copied there the first time the library loads. Flange sizes added with an earlier version were stored in the add-in folder, which an update replaces; import them again from an exported CSV.

Fitting from Model

Turn any solid - an imported vendor STEP valve, a coupling, a push-fit connector, a flange you modelled - into a reusable library fitting:

1. Select the body, then one circular edge per port (the rim of each face where a pipe connects). The port axis points out of the body; the fitting's node is where the port axes meet.
2. Give it a name and, for socket / push-fit connectors, the pipe insertion depth.
3. OK stores the solid (SMT) and its ports in your user folder, so an add-in update keeps them: %APPDATA%\VanThanBK\TubeRouting\custom_fittings\ on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/VanThanBK/TubeRouting/custom_fittings/ on macOS. It now appears in Fitting > Type as name (N ports); long names are shortened, and fittings that share a name are numbered name #2 (N ports).

When inserted, the ports are matched to the sketch directions at the node (any orientation), and each pipe is cut back by node-to-port distance - insertion + gap individually. Custom fittings appear in the Cutting List BOM. Use the Delete from library dropdown in the same dialog to remove one.

Pipe Support

New supports use muted bronze for the support structure, silver-grey fasteners, dark liners and green clamp blocks. The document reuses these appearances across all supports. Colours are visual aids, not material assignments or pipe-service identification.

Place a support on the outside cylindrical face of a straight pipe segment. Choose a split pipe clamp, U-bolt and saddle, block clamp, fabricated pipe shoe, or a support saved with Support from Model. Supports are separate assemblies: they do not introduce flow ports, shorten pipes or create pipe-weld joints.

U-bolts on standard pipe follow DIN 3570 form A (EN / ISO pipe, DN20-DN500) or MSS SP-58 type 24 (NPS 1/2-12, Anvil Fig. 137), by the routed tube's standard. Other built-in presets use selected dimensions from Walraven BISMAT 2000 and DMC U-bolt drawings, and STAUFF Standard Series clamp tables. The pipe shoe is a generic fabricated arrangement. See Support dimension sources for the source tables and simplifications. A dimensional preset is not a complete supplier CAD model or a certified load rating; verify support spacing, fasteners, anchorage and installation loads for the actual system.

Support from Model

1. Import supplier STEP geometry using Fusion's normal import workflow, or model your own support. Select its component instance or solid bodies. A selected assembly includes all its nested solid parts, including hidden solids; avoid selecting the pipe or surrounding equipment. Surface and mesh parts must first be converted to solid BRep.
2. Select the support's inner cylindrical pipe seat. The seat diameter becomes the required pipe OD; the midpoint along its axis is the support's placement point. Do not select an outside cylinder or a bolt hole.
3. Select a planar mounting face parallel to the pipe axis. The direction from that plane toward the pipe defines the support orientation. The plane may belong to the support base or to a separate mounting datum.
4. Enter a library name, review the solid count, pipe-seat diameter and fixed mounting height, then click OK. Reverse pipe axis reverses the saved axial direction when an asymmetric support needs it.
5. Open Pipe Support > Support type and select the saved custom support, listed as name (custom). Its pipe OD and mounting height must match the installation; the imported parts are positioned without scaling.

The source assembly remains unchanged. Each solid is stored separately with its name and material label; nested assembly transforms are preserved in a common support coordinate system. The personal library lives outside the add-in installation: %APPDATA%/VanThanBK/TubeRouting/custom_supports/ on Windows or ~/Library/Application Support/VanThanBK/TubeRouting/custom_supports/ on macOS. Keep the index and SMT files together when transferring this library to another computer. Capturing support geometry assigns no load capacity or pipe-flow connection.

Licensing & privacy

Open Manage > Info for license status, activation codes and purchase links. See PRIVACY.txt in the add-in folder for the privacy policy.