What a route promises

Why it's hard

On a plan, a run between two boxes is a line. In the model it's a path through a ceiling that is already full.

• Most of what's in the way isn't yours. Structure, ventilation, plumbing and sprinklers sit in linked models that other people own, and they move between revisions.
• Every bend is a fitting. An elbow needs straight run on both sides, and a run that's a little too short won't take one.
• Bends add up. Codes limit how much a run may bend between pull points (in the US, 360 degrees), because every bend makes the cable harder to pull.
• Not everything is an obstacle. Conduit goes through walls and slabs every day, but each penetration needs a hole, a sleeve and often fire stopping, and someone has to know where it is.
• Clashes found late are expensive. On site they mean stopped work, a reroute, and more bends than anyone planned.

The promise

Every route CodeVault Electrical suggests keeps clear of everything set to Avoid, in the model and in its links. It's checked before the suggestion appears, against the real geometry of what's there. If anything set to Avoid would be hit, nothing changes, and the message names the element in the way.

Avoid, or Go through

Every kind of element is set to one or the other. By default, conduit keeps clear of ducts, pipes, cable trays, columns, equipment, doors and windows, and may pass through walls, beams and ceilings, the way it's installed. Each switch can be changed, and your own families can have rules of their own: anything named glass, say, always avoided.

Listed, not hidden

What a route passes through because the settings allow it is listed in the preview, with a reminder to check drilling, sleeves or fire stopping. Ends that couldn't be joined are named too, with the element to select, so they can be finished by hand. Coordination starts with a list instead of a search.

Fittings that fit

A route that can't take its elbows isn't a route. Every bend we suggest has room for the fitting that goes there, sized from the conduit you're using. Routes prefer fewer bends and level runs, and boxes in a wall are joined up, across and down, the way they're installed.

When there's no way through

Sometimes there isn't one. Then you get no route rather than a bad one. The message says what kind of element is in the way, and suggests setting it to Go through if conduit may pass it. Nothing is added to the model without you seeing it first.

Why we don't say clash-free

Because it isn't the promise. A route keeps clear of what you set to Avoid, and tells you about the rest. That's narrower than clash-free, and it's a promise we can keep.