Components are schematic representations of electromechanical parts or subassemblies. Each component symbol uniquely identifies or represents a physical model, unless both symbols are part of the same multiple-view component (MVC). Two or more occurrences of the same component symbol represent different instances of that component. They must have different reference designators and can have different attributes.

A component has a graphical symbol representation and a set of defining parameters. Each component symbol must contain a set of predefined attach points called nodes, which define wire terminators and pins. You can define your own component symbols or retrieve them from the Creo Parametric electrical symbols library.

Nodes are displayed as green circles in Diagram. The radius of the circle is controlled by the node_radius diagram setup option.

A component is a type of symbol with the parameter OBJ_TYPE = COMPONENT associated with it. Components use reference designators as unique identifiers and include properties for pins.

Connectors are a sub type of component with the OBJ_TYPE value of CONNECTOR. A connector can use two additional parameters; GENDER (MALE or FEMALE) at the component level and ENTRY_PORT at the pin level. These parameters are used specifically to pass information to Cabling. The gender is a design reference for the intended solid model and is required for connectors. The entry port is the name of a coordinate system on the solid model that specifies the beginning or end of a connection. In Cabling, use the ENTRY_PORT parameter to designate pin-to-pin wire and cable connections for manual cabling or autorouting.

If ENTRY_PORT in Diagram has a value the same as a valid coordinate system in the 3D connector in Cabling, the coordinate system is automatically designated as an entry port, adding the ENTRY_PORT parameter to the connector and using default values of ROUND and 0.0 for the grouping and internal length values. This saves you having to enter the values manually after importing a logical reference into Cabling. The Internal length applies to all wires routed to pins represented by that entry port, not to individual pins.