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Cable

Cables

Description

The Cable Profile creates a Sketch object which represents the base profile (cross-section) of a cable. The profile is fully parametric and is created by choosing different cable properties in a dialog box (see Usage). The profile contains all the cross-section information needed for a Cable creation.

There are few predefined cable profile types, e.g. YDYp (flat power cable), YDY (round power cable). Additional custom profile types can be defined by the user (see Adding custom profile types).

The profile type, the number and thickness of the wires are defined together in the form of a Preset, which allows the user to create a complete profile definition by selecting it from a predefined list (introduced in version 0.3.1).

If the desired preset does not exist in the list, it is possible to manually select each of the key parameters defining the profile and immediately preview the result in the 3D View.

It is also possible to create entire profile manually in Sketcher. However, some rules have to be followed to successfully use it as a proper cable profile (see Manual profile creation).

Usage

1. Create cable profile by one of these methods:
   • Press the Cable Profile button.
   • Select the Cables → Cable Profile option from the menu.
   • Right-click in the Tree View or the 3D View and select the Cables → Cable Profile option from the context menu.
2. The Add a new cable profile task panel opens.
3. Select the Preset (introduced in version 0.3.1).
4. Optionally select the Profile type or any of its parameters (after selecting the option Show details).
5. Select the Number of wires.
6. Select the Standard gauge [mm2] from the list or leave custom.
7. Optionally enter the Custom gauge [mm2] value if the above selection was custom.
8. Press OK button.

Once created the profile is placed at the position [0,0,0] in the 3D space. It is recommended not to move or rotate it. It can be used later to create a Cable without changing position of the profile. When cable is created the pair of profile clones is created and each clone has its proper position and rotation related to the cable.

One profile can be used for many cables, there is no need to create another profile if another cable will have the same cross-section.

Notes

For some Profile types the Number of wires has to be > 1 (e.g. YDYp). Incorrect selection will show an error and the profile will not be created.

Adding custom profile types

An additional CSV file can be created by the user, containing custom profile types definitions. It must be named profiles.csv, and placed in:

$FREECAD_USER_DIR/Cables/

The $FREECAD_USER_DIR can be obtained from the Python Console:

FreeCAD.getUserAppDataDir()

The contents of the custom profiles.csv file must be modeled upon the same rules as the profiles.csv in the Cables Workbench source code. This file can be modified without restarting FreeCAD. Any changes made there are immediately visible in the list when making a new profile from the GUI.

To create your own custom profile type, simply add a new line to the profiles.csv file in the format shown in the example below:

MyName,F,MyClass,0.5,0.3,0.1

Where:

• MyName - Custom profile name.
• F - Shape type of a profile. Currently two shapes are supported: F = flat cable, R = round cable.
• MyClass - Custom profile voltage class, it can be any name indicating additional cable class.
• 0.5 - Insulation jacket thickness, see image below.
• 0.3 - Single insulation thickness, see image below.
• 0.1 - Insulation distance, see image below.

Dimensions used as a base for new profile type. 1 - insulation jacket thickness, 2 - single insulation thickness, 3 - insulation distance

Manual profile creation

Cable profile can be manually created in Sketcher. The proper order of drawing closed wires must be maintained for correct cable creation by Cable command.

1. First drawn closed wire will be interpreted as cable jacket (w0 in the example below)
2. Following series of closed wires must be drawn inside first wire and do not touch or cross each other. These will be interpreted as insulations of single wires (w1, w2, w3 in the example below).
3. Then the next series of wires should be drawn inside the series of insulations. Each insulation wire has to have one inner wire. These will be conductor wires (w4, w5, w6 in the example below).
4. Finally the series of points should be placed at the center of each conductor wire (p1, p2, p3 in the example below).

Example triangular profile created with Sketcher

Cable created from the triangular profile

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Cable

Cables