Wire harness modeling and nailboards

[jlucas]

I've recently been given some time to research the possibility of using Inventor to create wire harness models, and in turn, creating nailboards from them. I am using 2014 Professional while my company is dragging its feet to update to 2016. They will eventually update, but not soon enough for this test project. In the meantime, I will be using what's available. Also, keep in mind that electronics is completely new to me. :Oops:

The modeling aspect is fairly simple to catch on to and looks great. The initial nailboards on the other hand looks like a child's first coloring assignment. My main questions are:
1) Can the nailboard drawing view be edited to be one color and more wireframe-like?
2) Can the harness be edited to show the connectors and plugs used?
3) Can they be ballooned?
4) Can they be dimensioned?
5) On an assembly that is designed for range of movement, will the harness stay constrained and "flex" with it's mating connectors, points, etc?

Thank you in advance for any input. It is greatly appreciated!

[jlucas]

Another question: If a change is required at a future date, let's say a 10-pin connector at one end of a harness needs to become 2 5-pin connectors, can the Inventor model be updated to show this without recreating the entire harness? Will the Inventor drawing automatically update?

[jlucas]

I've recently been given some time to research the possibility of using Inventor to create wire harness models, and in turn, creating nailboards from them. I am using 2014 Professional while my company is dragging its feet to update to 2016. They will eventually update, but not soon enough for this test project. In the meantime, I will be using what's available. Also, keep in mind that electronics is completely new to me. :Oops:

The modeling aspect is fairly simple to catch on to and looks great. The initial nailboards on the other hand looks like a child's first coloring assignment. My main questions are:
1) Can the nailboard drawing view be edited to be one color and more wireframe-like?
2) Can the harness be edited to show the connectors and plugs used?
3) Can they be ballooned?
4) Can they be dimensioned?
5) On an assembly that is designed for range of movement, will the harness stay constrained and "flex" with it's mating connectors, points, etc?

Thank you in advance for any input. It is greatly appreciated!

I will answer my own questions to the best of my ability, for the benefit of others who may need this information. Here they are:

1) No, not really. It's a poor design and layout, and doesn't print well. I've asked questions directly to our software supplier and he couldn't come up with an actual answer for this.
2) Once again, the answer seems to be no. The connectors will not show attached to the harness. A supplemental view can show them near the end of their appropriate wires, but not attached. My company measures length from outside of connector to outside of the next connector and the harnesses are purchased as a unit. Inventor will not show what we need naturally, so a work around is in order. The software supplier couldn't answer this one either.
3) Yes they can be ballooned.
4) Yes they can be dimensioned.
5) Inconclusive. I believe this depends on how the harness assembly is set up initially, and whether or not the connectors are included in the harness. I do know that you cannot create a positional representation within the actual harness .iam. If you make any changes within this .iam it will negatively affect the harness in the parent assembly and change loom and wire lengths.

All in all, I like the cable and harness tools of Inventor, but there are still some glaring holes, mainly with documentation. The work around that we have come up with is a bit labor intensive and requires manual updating for every change, lots of sketching at the drawing level to achieve the "proper" look.