Autodesk Inventor Services & Support

Autodesk Inventor 2008 Tube & Pipe Styles and Legacy Runs

When you migrate a legacy pipe run to Autodesk Inventor 2008, the Tube and Pipe styles for that legacy run will not automatically contain styles, such as Flange and Butt Welds, that were new styles introduced in the 2008 revision. You must export those styles from a master tube and pipe run created in 2008, and then import those styles into the legacy run. The 2008 style can be native to the 2008 installation or can be a user-defined style created in 2008.

The workflow for this Skill Builder takes place entirely in Autodesk Inventor 2008, however, to perform the following workflow, you need a tube and pipe run created in a revision earlier than 2008. This Skill Builder uses sample files contained in 2008 and Inventor 11.

A. Export the needed style from the 2008 master runs file

  1. Start Autodesk Inventor 2008.
  2. Open the master Tube and Pipe runs assembly, located: (your installation of Autodesk Inventor 2008) > Design Data > Tube & Pipe > piping runs.iam.
  3. Click the Tube & Pipe Styles tool.
  4. In the styles browser located on the left side of the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box, select the style or styles you must export. You can Ctrl + click to select multiple styles. In this example a user-defined flange and butt-weld style, FB1, is selected.

  5. With the appropriate styles selected, click the Export tool , located at the top of the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box. 
  6. In the Export Tube & Pipe Style Data File dialog box, select a location for the T&P Style .xml file. In this example, the file is saved to a subfolder in the version 11 Samples directory. Specify a name for the file.

  7. Click Save.
  8. Close the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box.
  9. Close piping runs.iam. You don’t need to save the file.

B. Import the style into a legacy run

  1. Open the assembly that contains your legacy tube and pipe run. This example uses a version 11 sample file: Inventor 11 > Samples > Models > AIP > Tube & Pipe > Tank > Tank.iam.
  2. Edit the run that needs the 2008 style.
  3. Click the Tube & Pipe Styles tool .
  4. Click the Import tool  , located at the top of the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box.
  5. Locate and select the .xml file you exported earlier, and then click Open. Click OK in the Import Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box. Any styles that you exported are now available for application to this legacy run.

    This image shows the imported flange and butt-weld user-defined style, FB1, as it appears in the browser of the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box.



  6. Close the Tube & Pipe Styles dialog box.

In this example, Pipe Route 19 (nested under Pipe Run 19) is edited, and then FB1 is selected from the Tube & Pipe style drop-down menu (located on the standard toolbar). When you click Return to end the route edit, the threaded pipe style is replaced with the flange and butt-weld style, FB1.

For further info on Autodesk Inventor 2008 styles for Tube & Pipe, you can refer to the Using Tube & Pipe Styles tutorial. (From the main menu in Autodesk Inventor 2008, select Help > Tutorials. The tutorial is near the bottom of the list in the Autodesk Inventor Routed Systems section.)