AN Fittings

[Hstaton]

I am attempting to build a library of AN tube fittings, and am having a devil of a time finding properly dimensioned drawings. If anyone can point me to decent source, that would be a marvelous thing. TIA

[Mike Switzer]

I can't seem to locate mine right now (probably still in a box, I haven't needed it in ages) but I am 99% sure that Parker - Hannifin hydraulic fitting catalogs have dimensions for pretty much every fitting available - at least the old ones from the 80s & 90s did, I remember copying them into autocad at one of my early engineering jobs.

[Tom Gagnon]

Very short answer: No I do not.
But I elaborate.

I'm personally unfamiliar with AN fittings, so I looked it up. I assume you tried searching Google for specifics. There's a lot of junk among the useful results. Do any of these links below achieve what you need?

For simple standards, wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN_thread) is reliable. So is Engineering ToolBox (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/). I keep a few of these bookmarks on an edge of my work desktop to refer back to tables repeatedly within my discipline.

Full Swagelok catalog (http://oem.cadregister.com/asp/PPoW_Entry.asp?language=GB&company=SwagelokCo) on CadRegister.com by ThomasNet (referral link (http://www.swagelok.com/landingpages/cad.htm?CID=2011OB_EN_eNewsPVWorld_CAD)) is free and easy multi-format. You do not have to install Java to use the site, although it will recommend you to, and from a PC security standpoint I avoid Java entirely as it only adds minor value for historically bad patching practices since being acquired by Oracle. At CadRegister.net, Java simply gives an interactive viewport for the parts, and is not required at all to download full parts. I am very familiar with this one. I also recommend you simply download, tweak the part, then add it to your assembly, instead of using their "Insert.." function. See also discussion of library standards in this previous thread (http://eaaforums.org/showthread.php?6912-Toolbox-specifically-smart-fasteners).

Parker-Hannefin (http://www.parker.com/) was disappointing to me because I am unfamiliar with their site or their correct terms to search by. But, I do know the nuggets of free downloads are in there as Mike has said. They compete directly with Swagelok.

As mentioned recently here, McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/) has great free resources for the many parts it sells. I don't know if you'll find what you seek there though.

traceparts (http://www.tracepartsonline.net/) is a fair and free resource, mostly uploaded from manufacturers in many categories. If you know the manufacturer of the part, you may find same or similar there. Manufacturers have self-interest in proper tagging, categorization, and useful accurate models. I've found this useful a couple of times in the past, and so it is on my short list of new item sources professionally.

Or, if buy them.. ask your vendor or go straight to the manufacturer!! Professional vendors & product reps usually have resources like this to hand out so that you design their parts into your project and then buy from them. Connectors is a very competitive market. This generally applies broadly to these last 5 paragraphs.

A Blog post at Mobile Hydraulics Tips (http://www.mobilehydraulictips.com/) directed me to Tompkins Industries, Inc. (http://www.tompkinsind.com/) which claims to have over 3,000 hydraulic adapters and hydraulic tube fittings in multi-format downloads. It requires a login there. I am sorry, but I did not explore further. I'm unclear if this even applies to your question.

SolidWorks' official file sharing site, http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/ but be prepared to sort and sort and search in this user community as it has an international user base that commonly doesn't tag or name things very usefully. Technical multilingual capability helps a lot there. Patience too. I am often frustrated by specific searches there.

Another user community, same caveats: GrabCAD (https://grabcad.com/) . A worthwhile email newsletter from there, though.

There's also paid library downloads galore out there. Pay $450-ish just to find out the specific variety you seek isn't included. From experience, I recommend that you try some samples before you buy digital standard resources.. from anywhere.

[Jeffrey Meyer]

I am attempting to build a library of AN tube fittings, and am having a devil of a time finding properly dimensioned drawings. If anyone can point me to decent source, that would be a marvelous thing. TIA

If by "properly dimensioned drawings" you mean 2D drawings for the purpose of manufacturing such tube fittings, then I can't help:(
However, if you mean 3D digital "drawings"/models for your design purposes, then the Swagelock catalog seems to be quite comprehensive and the 3D models provide a nice balance of detail as opposed to computational resources.

Example herewith:

BTW - Why AN fittings - why not more modern metric fittings? Just curious :eek:

[Matt Gonitzke]

Why AN fittings - why not more modern metric fittings? Just curious :eek:

AN fittings are the standard for aircraft in the U.S. You won't find many people here using metric fittings.

[Jeffrey Meyer]

Yeah, I know - it's an excellent way to confuse the enemy :D

[rwanttaja]

BTW - Why AN fittings - why not more modern metric fittings? Just curious :eek:
The vast majority of aircraft in the US are type-certificated ones. The almost-as-vast majority of these were certified in the 40s, 50s, or 60s, which means they use AN fittings. Mechanics must use replacement parts that comply with the original TC, so casual replacement of AN parts with metric ones just isn't happening. A large number of US Type Certificated aircraft have been exported to the rest of the world (~6,400 Cessna 172s, 3,200 Cessna 182s, 1,700 Cessna 152s) and it's a good bet that these all still use AN standard parts, as well.

Builders of homebuilt aircraft, of course, are free to use metric fittings. However, there's the availability issues: Because most aircraft in the US use AN fittings, that's what the parts houses stock. So homebuilders can find difficulty in locating aircraft-quality metric hardware.

In addition, the metric specifications for aircraft components equivalent to the AN/NAS series are pretty much unknown, here. So even if a guy wants to use metric parts, he has a hard time researching what the actual specifications are for the parts he wants to use. And THEN find somewhere that sells them....

And if he DOES use metric parts, and breaks down away from home, he can have a hard time finding local replacements. All the shops will have AN fittings.

Ron Wanttaja

[Jeffrey Meyer]

Far be it for me to oppose such statistics ... :|

[rwanttaja]

Far be it for me to oppose such statistics ... :|
Have you ever owned an airplane? If so, you'd have a better appreciation for local parts sources.

Ron Wanttaja

[Hstaton]

I am amazed at the wealth of information already provided! Thanks everyone for your input. As for metric, I just say no. AN fittings (and their later cousins NAS &MS) are the industry standard, so that works for me.

[Jeffrey Meyer]

3D Digital models of AN fasteners are available in STEP format from the sources previously mentioned in this SolidWorks​ topic.
If you have a commercial license of SW then go to: Tools > Options > System Options > Configure > Hole Wizard/Tools and choose ANSI inch and/or MIL.

[Kurt Flunkn]

I am attempting to build a library of AN tube fittings, and am having a devil of a time finding properly dimensioned drawings. If anyone can point me to decent source, that would be a marvelous thing. TIA

There has been a lot of good discussion here but nothing that points to a hard answer. Through my profession, I have access to commercially available CAD libraries and MIL specs that the home user does not. Having said that, the next best thing is to:
1. Make a list of the families of AN parts to be created. This does not need to include dash numbers!
2. Visit http://everyspec.com/ (yes, there are other sites that have the same information too)
3. Search for the base part number (again no dash numbers, i.e. AN821)
4. When the search results are returned do not select the newest file. Most, if not all, of these specs have been cancelled by the DoD. All the newest file will usually contain is a cancellation notice and a pointer to the industry group that is now supporting the spec that will happily sell you the latest copy for a fee. Choose one of the older specs as this will contain a generic drawing with a table of dimensions for each dash number.
5. Collect the PDF versions of the specs and have fun building your CAD library of parts.
6. DON'T FORGET TO SHARE!

Yes, you can used this approach to get the datasheet for practically every AN, MS, or NAS part.

Cheers,
Kurt

[Hstaton]

Kurt -
I found those, and they were somewhat helpful. Hard to read sometimes, due to age and poor copying processes, I suppose. Thanks!

[ekimneirbo]

While not an answer to the original question, http://www.discounthydraulichose.com/product_p/starterkit.htm

has some really nice wall charts that show a lot of information on shapes and thread types. 5719

Also, JIC fittings are an industrial "equivalent" to AN fittings at usually less expensive prices. This handy little

magnetic ref chart is available cheaply on Ebay.

5720

[AnnaWood]

Kurt -
I found those, and they were somewhat helpful. Hard to read sometimes, due to age and poor copying processes, I suppose. Thanks!

You may need to purchase the most common fittings you plan to use, then measure and model with the level of detail required for your purposes.

[bigdog]

I too have been searching for AN/MS/NAS hardware to use in the SW Toolbox. To start with I'm looking for fasteners - bolts, nuts, screws, washers, etc. I've had a standard SW license for years and have repeatedly asked my vendor and SW Help to no avail. I've resigned myself to using the supplied inch-based hardware but I'd really like it to have the proper grip lengths and nomenclature, e.g. AN4-4A bolt instead of whatever they supply. You'd think that with Dassault being an aerospace manufacturer there would be a source for an aerospace hardware library.

[Hstaton]

Check McMaster-Carr out. They have completely accurate models of all go their fasteners - including AN bolts and fittings.

[Jeffrey Meyer]

Check McMaster-Carr out. They have completely accurate models of all go their fasteners - including AN bolts and fittings.

The McMaster models are truly accurate and detailed. But there's no free lunch:|

Attached hereto a picture of a McMaster MIL spec bolt as opposed to a similar ANSI inch SW Toolbox model.

What is common to both?:
1. They can both be imported (as STEP files) to your private fasteners library.
2. They can both be used in your SW assemblies.
3. As SW assembly components they can both be assigned Bill-Of-Materials Part Numbers/Catalog Numbers in any form you like (for example KUKU123, MYBolt_321, and even stranger names like AN4-44).
4. They can both be assigned as many properties as you like within the SW model, like Material, Finish, Vendor name, Cost, Weight, etc., etc.

Major difference between the two:
The top model in the picture requires 20+ times more compute power. Try putting 200 of these in your SW assembly. If you can live with this, all's well.;)

[Hstaton]

In the words of Robert Heinlein - TANSTAAFL.

[Jeffrey Meyer]

Stumped again :mad: - the story of my life - I thought I invented the expression :(

[Hstaton]

If you are a science fiction reader, check out 'The moon is a harsh mistress'. That's where I saw it first.

[fidot]

I started a small-ish library on GitHub that I also have detailed on my website here:

http://79ft.net/pages/solidworks-models.html

The models piecemeal here: https://github.com/fidot1983/swx

I'll be more than happy to upload more :)