PTC has released the eagerly anticipated Routed Systems Designer 8.0 (RSD, a.k.a. RSDesigner) available for immediate download. This release has generated a lot of interest because it is the first time that users have been able to load Pro/DIAGRAM data into RSD. What is pleasing is that it is not just a dumb load but in fact most of the data is created as proper RSD objects in the resulting design. This is a smart move because it allows current Diagram users to carry live projects over to RSD and continue working with minimal re-work of their diagrams.

The process is a very simple one:

• Just add the config setting called diagram_export_allow to yes in your config.pro

• Load the diagram up in Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 and then choose File>Save a Copy. There is a new file format: Diagram Export File (DGE)

• Now load Routed Systems Designer 8.0 and do one of the following

  • Load the diagram directly by choosing File>Load Pro/DIAGRAM file and then selecting the exported DGE

  • Use the exported DGE as a template for a new design by selecting it in the Template field of the New Design dialog

RSD will then load the DGE file and load the items into the new design. The following diagram objects are supported and imported as native RSD objects:

• Components

• Connectors

• Wires

• Spools

• Multi View Components (MVCs)

• Parametric connectors

• Inline connectors

• Highways

• Notes

All the parameters and spool information are imported as well so the wire run list and exported XML should be the same between Diagram and RSD.

When items on sheets are loaded a corresponding item is created in the catalog so that it can be placed again on a sheet. There is no direct support for using the Central Catalog but there are tools provided to assist with linking designs with it if required.

There are some objects with limited or no support: TrueType fonts, rails and ladder diagrams are not supported whilst tables are only imported as text – they do not dynamically update. A log file is output whenever a diagram is loaded that comprehensively lists any items that were ignored or partially converted. The presence of some unsupported objects causes the load process to terminate because the resulting design would not be correct.

Other highlights of the RSD 8.0 release are terminator tables and improved label positioning control.

Terminator tables are now supported in RSD. They can be edited in Pro/DIAGRAM, Pro/CABLING or Pro/TABLE or as CSV files then loaded into RSD and executed. They were designed to operate just like those in Pro/DIAGRAM and Pro/CABLING although the output file format has changed to better support editing in Excel. When the terminator table is executed the live reporting system is utilized to indicate if any ports were not correctly terminated. This helps to quickly identify those ports that the process did not work for.

Label position support has been improved for RSD 8.0, especially when attached to fibers. It is now possible to define an offset distance for Start or End labels so that they can be consistently positioned when fibers are parallel but different lengths. It is also possible to constrain the angle of a label so that it will always maintain a specified angle; this works for blocks and groups as well. Finally, the automatic placement of labels has been improved for fibers that have multiple ends and are routed across sheets.

PTC has also fixed a number of SPRs in RSD 8.0, so it represents the latest and greatest version and we recommend users evaluate it as soon as possible.

Overall this is a major release that represents PTC's continuing support of RSD as its 2D diagramming package.