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Thread: AN Fittings

  1. #1

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    AN Fittings

    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

  2. #2
    Mike Switzer's Avatar
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    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.

  3. #3
    SOLIDWORKS Support Volunteer Tom Gagnon's Avatar
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    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 is reliable. So is Engineering ToolBox. 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 on CadRegister.com by ThomasNet (referral link) 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.

    Parker-Hannefin
    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 has great free resources for the many parts it sells. I don't know if you'll find what you seek there though.

    traceparts 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 directed me to Tompkins Industries, Inc. 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 . 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.

  4. #4
    SOLIDWORKS Support Volunteer Jeffrey Meyer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hstaton View Post
    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
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  5. #5
    Matt Gonitzke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Meyer View Post
    Why AN fittings - why not more modern metric fittings? Just curious
    AN fittings are the standard for aircraft in the U.S. You won't find many people here using metric fittings.

  6. #6
    SOLIDWORKS Support Volunteer Jeffrey Meyer's Avatar
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    Yeah, I know - it's an excellent way to confuse the enemy

  7. #7
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Meyer View Post
    BTW - Why AN fittings - why not more modern metric fittings? Just curious
    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

  8. #8
    SOLIDWORKS Support Volunteer Jeffrey Meyer's Avatar
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    Far be it for me to oppose such statistics ...

  9. #9
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeffrey Meyer View Post
    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

  10. #10

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    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.

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