Parts

Parts are the physical items used in the harness—such as connectors, cables, and coverings. They are created and managed in the Parts View.

Each part can have specific properties like part number, manufacturer, colour, and more. Parts are assigned to components, and once assigned, relevant properties are automatically validated. For example, a connector part must have the same number of cavities as the connector component it is assigned to.

Adding Parts

In the Parts View, right-click on the canvas or click the Add part button in the bottom-left corner to add a new part.

Creating Part from Component

Parts can be created by right-click a component in the Schematic or Layout View and selecting Assign Part -> Create new part.

Adding Parts from the Parts Catalog

Real manufacturer parts can be added straight from the Parts Catalog instead of being typed in, complete with their properties and a part image. Press K to open it, or choose Search parts catalog at the bottom of any part dropdown.

Editing Parts

left-double-click on a part name or right-click the part and select the Edit to view and edit a part’s properties.

The part’s details lay its properties out in one table. The heading shows the part’s preview, its name and a one-line summary of its specs. The table starts with the fields every part has:

• Part Number, with the internal part number on the right under Internal. Once a part number is entered, click Search catalog in the field to open the Parts Catalog searching for it.
• Manufacturer, with the part’s price on the right under Price.
• Description and URL.
• Color. For a wire this is the insulation colour (its stripe is the row below), and for a contact its plating.

The fields for the part’s type follow in the same table. A range is one row: a contact’s Wire Gauge, for example, is entered as Thinnest – Thickest, and a range entered the wrong way round is swapped.

The part image sits to the right of the table, with a wire or cable’s cross section below it. A connector shows its image, pinout and drawings in a row above the table instead. Configurations and a cable’s cores span the full width below.

Changes are saved as you make them; click Done to close the details. At the other end of the footer are Add configuration, for part types that have configurations, and Delete part.

The Manufacturer field suggests the manufacturers already used in your harness and part libraries as you type, so the same manufacturer is always spelled the same way.

Internal Part Numbers

Besides the manufacturer’s part number, every part can carry an Internal Part No.: your own identifier for the part, such as a stores, ERP or drawing number. Enter it in the field beside the Part Number when editing a part.

The internal part number is shown in the part dropdown when assigning parts, and can be shown on the part bars under components in place of the manufacturer’s part number. Turn this on under Preferences → Appearance → Part bars. Parts are still matched between your harness and part libraries by the manufacturer’s part number.

Part Images

A part can have an image, shown in its details and in the Parts Catalog. Catalog parts come with an image already.

To add your own, edit the part and drop a PNG or JPEG image onto the image area, or click it to choose a file. Images are stored with your account and shared by every harness and library part that uses them; manage them under Account → Images. In a local .harness file on the Desktop App, the image is saved beside the file instead.

Showing a Part Image on the Canvas

right-click a component with a part assigned and select Show part image to place the image next to the component in the current view, joined to it by a tether line. left-click-drag the image to position it; it follows the component when the component moves. right-click the image to change its Size, or select Hide part image. Part images are drawn in the PDF export too.

Part images are per view: showing one in the Schematic view doesn’t show it in the Layout view. A part without an image shows the generated part preview instead.

Assigning Parts

right-click on a component in the Schematic or Layout and select Assign Part. Search for or select that part you would like to assign. The quantities shown in the Parts View will be automatically updated as you assign parts.

The dropdown lists parts that fit the component first, for example connector parts with the same number of cavities, or terminal parts of the same type, followed by the rest. Search results are ranked by how well they match, with matches at the start of a part number or manufacturer ahead of matches in the middle of a description.

Changing an Assigned Part

Once a part is assigned, the right-click menu shows the part in place of Assign Part, with its preview, part number and manufacturer. Click it to open the same dropdown and swap the part for another, or choose Unassign part, without unassigning first. When several components with the same part are selected, the change applies to all of them.

Configurations

Connector, terminal, splice, diode and resistor parts have configurations: a Default Configuration plus any named ones you add, each a list of other parts that go with the part, such as a boot or a length of heat shrink. When the part is assigned to a component, the parts in the configuration it uses are applied to that component and counted in the BOM.

When you assign one of these parts, the dropdown lists each of its configurations, so you choose the part and configuration together. The part bar shows the configuration name next to the part number; turn this off with the Configuration checkbox under Main Menu → Preferences → Appearance → Part bars.

Configurations take Heat shrink and Tape coverings; other covering types go on Bundles and Branch Points. Configurations are edited in the part’s details. See Connector Configurations for how to add, duplicate and delete configurations and add, reorder and remove their parts; it works the same way for every part type. Terminal, splice, diode and resistor configurations take Boots and Coverings, any number of each.

Assigning Coverings

Where a covering goes depends on what it covers:

• Bundles - right-click a Bundle and select Assign Part, then search for or select the covering. A bundle can have any number of coverings. A cut-to-length covering takes the bundle’s length in the BOM.
• Branch points - right-click a Branch Point and select Assign Part to add a covering or boot.
• Connectors, terminals, splices, diodes and resistors - add the covering to a configuration of the component’s part. It then applies to every component using that configuration, exactly as if it were assigned to each one. To cover only some of the components using a part, add a configuration for them (for example “With heat shrink”) and choose it for those components. A component needs a part assigned before it can take a covering this way.

The quantities shown in the Parts View are updated automatically. A fixed-length covering in a configuration counts once per component using that configuration; a cut-to-length covering only gets a length from a bundle, so use fixed-length coverings in configurations.

Part Price

Part price can be entered by double clicking a part to edit it properties and setting the Price value. Parts that have a length can be assigned a length unit.

Total price of the individual parts and entire harness can be seen on the Parts view. Show the Unit Price and Total Price under the Columns menu.

Excluding Parts from BOM

Parts can be removed from the BOM by right-clicking a component in the Layout or Schematic View with a part assigned and selecting Exclude from BOM.