Using Components in a Device

Prev: Part 9: Routing with Fractional Paths

This step shows how to assemble a full device from subcomponents, apply component operations, and use autoroute when you don’t need strict path control.

We’ll build a device with:

Two inlet pinholes feeding a Y‑junction
A serpentine between the Y‑junction and the outlet
One outlet pinhole

Component operations (quick recap)

Subcomponents are just components placed inside a larger device. You can transform them before adding them:

translate((x, y, z)) moves the component
rotate(x) rotates it in degrees (multiples of 90)
mirror(mirror_x, mirror_y) mirrors it across axes

These operations make it easy to reuse the same component in multiple orientations.

Step 1 — Device context

Preview the empty device canvas.

Step 1 preview

Step 2 — Add subcomponents (pinholes, Y‑junction, serpentine)

Pinhole is a prebuilt component from pymfcad.component_library that provides a standardized access port geometry. We’ll reuse it for the two inlets and one outlet.

At this stage you are only placing components in space; the channels that connect them will be routed in the next step.

Preview component placement before routing.

Step 2 preview

Step 3 — Autoroute between ports

If you don’t need strict control of the path, autoroute is faster and cleaner. You can also set a direction preference to bias the search (for example, prefer X‑moves before Y‑moves).

Preview the routed device.

Step 3 preview

Full example

Notes

Use subcomponents to build devices from reusable building blocks.
Autoroute is ideal when path shape is not critical.
Use direction_preference=("X", "Y", "Z") to bias routing order.