how to implement cadworx - welcome | augi to implement cadworx 3 licensing and installation if you...

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin ResortOrlando, Florida

11/28/2005 - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Room:Parrot 1/2 (Swan)

How to Implement CADWorx

CADWorx looks well-suited for my company's plant design requirements but what exactly is involved to implement and integrate this software into our work process? This session will provide soup-to-nuts implementation information for anyone using CADWorx P&ID or CADWorx Plant. Find out how other companies have dramatically increased their productivity by following these simple guidelines. The session will also explore utilizing core AutoCAD capabilities like the Sheet Set Manager to increase overall productivity.

PD14-1

About the Speaker:

Gary Mellinger - Mellinger & Associates

Gary has been training plant design professionals in the use of application software for 15 years. He spent 5 years on staff as a corporate trainer and manager of hands-on support for Applications Development (ADev) of New Orleans, Louisiana and Rebis Industrial Workgroup Software of Walnut Creek, California. In 1995, Gary launched Mellinger & Associates, an independent consulting firm providing training, integration, and software customization services to a wide variety of industries including power, manufacturing, food processing, pharmaceutical, oil & gas, petrochemical, and building trades. Gary has 20-plus years of experience in architectural, structural, mechanical, and piping design. He fully understands design processes and how software works with these [email protected]


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Objective

Before we can discuss implementation of an application, we must first consider your expectation for the software. Do you see CADWorx as just another drafting tool or a means of managing project data? If you are considering an investment in an application like CADWorx then I would hope you want as much productivity as possible from the software. The extent of work required will, of course, vary from company to company. This class will address many of the important points that will help you get the most from your investment.

• TRAINING

• LICENSING AND INSTALLATION

• CONFIGURATION

• SPECIFICATIONS

• AUTOCAD AND DELIVERABLES

Training

If application software is an investment, then there should be a return on that investment. Training will provide the best insurance that the software will give you that return. Need more justification than increased productivity? What value can be placed on workers that are confident, happy with your new investment, and have good work habits? How about the value of a customer who is very happy with your performance, on-time project delivery, and fewer mistakes? Sold? So what training options are available?

Your major decision will be where the class will be held, on or off site. There are positives and negatives to consider with each of these choices.

• COST

On site - $1000 to $1500 per day (6 to 8 students)

Off site - $300 to $400 per day per student

Travel Expenses (Student or Instructor)

• SPECIAL FOCUS (Class emphasis)

Basic AutoCAD skills

Type of piping systems

• INTERRUPTIONS

• NETWORKING

• LOST RESOURCE

Training will provide a faster payback on your investment, whether that payback is in increased revenues or reduced costs. The value of training is never exhausted.


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Licensing and Installation

If you haven’t purchased the software, your first decision is how you will license your software. I am speaking of protection from piracy. COADE and its resellers have been discussing alternate forms of software locking but presently hardware locks work best for the COADE line of software. Soft locks are presently being investigated on the Steel and Datasheets modules. Your decision will then be whether to use a Network lock or Stand Alone locks.

There is no additional charge for Network locks and they work well with Wide Area Networks (WAN), allowing licenses to be shared among any number of locations. If you have situations where designers need to use the program and don’t have access to your network, then you should consider Stand Alone locks. I advise all of my clients to consider having at least one or two Stand Alone locks for use if the occasion arises. There is a fee to change your locking scheme, so put some thought into this! Also, make sure that your locks are insured for the full value of the software. The physical lock is your license and if lost or stolen, it will not be replaced.

Installation of the software, whether Network or Stand Alone, is a snap! For Stand Alone, just run the CD, select which product you wish to install, provide the CD Serial Number from the sleeve, specify locking scheme, and location of installation.

For a Network installation, only the lock manager needs to be loaded on the server. COADE will also provide you with software to monitor and manage your licenses on your server.

Software may be loaded on as many PCs as required and in the same manner as Stand Alone. Since all AutoCAD applications are profile driven, a command is available in the CADWorx menu group to create profiles for any number of users. This is especially helpful for those users who don’t have the administrative rights to install the software.

You should also register your software on-line using the link in the CADWorx “Help” menu area. This will ensure you will receive information on the latest builds and updates.


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Configuration

Configuration files are the means that CADWorx uses to store default settings, locations of important files as specifications, and other customer or project related information.

The actual configuration file is plain ASCII text file that is shared by Plant, P&ID, Steel, and Equipment.

Each module can have its own “Config File” or share one. To create a new configuration for Plant, Equipment, or Steel, we can edit one of the prototype configurations (Imperial or Metric) using the “Edit Config File” feature in Setup and save it as a new name. This new configuration can be stored in the project folder structure to be shared by all designers.

P&ID automates the process of configuration creation. When a project is created, a copy of either the Imperial or Metric configuration is copied into the project folder and renamed “Project” as shown on the right. Configurations for Plant, Steel, and Equipment can be written into this same configuration by using the “Restore” button on the “Configuration File” dialog and select “Project.cfg” in the P&ID project folder. This will also facilitate the sharing information between Plant and P&ID.

Besides the start-up variables, paths to specifications, libraries, associated files, and menu symbols sets, there are other project variables that are stored in the configuration file.


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Project layers are stored in the configuration file. Notice the path just below the dialog headers? Unlike templates, the configuration file can be protected from changes and enforce a layer scheme.

P&ID Loop and Line numbering are not only stored in the configuration file but can be shared with Plant if they use the same configuration file. BOM schemes and Live Project Database location are also stored in the configuration file.

Once in place, the configuration file will reduce set up time and keep projects consistent.

Specifications CADWorx Plant is specification driven! Did you know that CADWorx P&ID can also be specification driven? What is the importance of specifications in regards to graphics and information? From a graphics stand point, a designer is only interested that a shape drawn is dimensionally correct. However, we agreed that we are not purchasing CADWorx as just another drafting application. So, at some time, we need correct descriptions, material data, tags, etc.


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The use of the piping specifications by P&ID is limited; the most important aspect is the name. However, if you plan to share information between Plant and P&ID, it is important that they both point to the same specifications.

Most piping applications come with a series of component libraries or catalogs. What is unique about CADWorx is that its libraries play an active part in the creation of components. CADWorx does not store the geometric information for a component in its piping specifications but rather references the data in the libraries. The piping specifications remain small and robust and give users far more global control over component geometry.

“Lib_I” (Imperial), “Lib_M” (Metric-Imperial), and “Lib_MM” (Metric) can be found in the root of CADWorx Plant 2005. These folders will need to be moved to a network location. Be sure to set the new location in your configuration file! The library folders

are organized by pressure class, schedule, material, or even application.

Inside these folders you will find data files. These are highly structured ASCII text files which have a default description and the geometric values for the creation of component. Notice that the file extensions are the same as the folder name. This is the only rule for the naming and organization of folder and data files. Users can add any number of different folders and add as many data files as needed as long as the extension rule is observed.

SW Conventional Port Gate Valve

Default description

Material density

Parametric Fields

Values


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To add a new component to the library, just copy and rename the file. Change the description and the lengths and weight.

Adding new resources to your library is just that easy. There are blank data files which are supplied with CADWorx but I prefer to copy and change existing files whenever I can. Next we will look at how specifications are created.

CADWorx provides a Specification Editor which runs at the desktop level of your computer or inside a CADWorx session. Also included are over sixty example production specifications. I rarely ever create a specification from scratch but just as with data files I create new ones from existing specifications using the example specs or one I previously created.

When executing the editor from inside a CADWorx session that is configured for a project, you are offered the specifications for that project.

B1 is common 300# class carbon steel piping specification. I need a second 300# class specification, B11, so I will use B1 as seed for the new specification.

Use the “Save As…” button to name your new piping spec, B1.

Select the “Info” button and change the Piping material to A-53-B.

You can globally change the spec using the “Replace” button on the editor.

To complete the new specification, delete all the components that are not required for the new spec and add whatever is missing!


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The Spec Editor uses Component groups, left side of dialog, to facilitate the management of the specification.

The Modify spec buttons add, delete, edit, and copy components.

To add the new Smith 800 SW gate valve to B11, highlight the “Valves, Gate” component group, find the 800# SW valves, and select the “Edit” button in the “Modify Spec” group.

The Edit Component dialog provides a means to select which data file to use.

Pick the “Select…” button.

Highlight “GAT_S_C_S800”

Change size range, tag, and descriptions as required.

Need components with different end conditions? Check out “Sanitary (Special End Types)” components.


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Sanitary components allows for eight different end types which can be applied to twenty-nine different component shapes.

These are a few examples of how easy it is to create and change specifications using CADWorx. Specs can be redefined during the project. Using the Specification “Change” command the drawing can be updated with the new information as long as there is no physical size change as a result of these changes.

AutoCAD and 2D Deliverables The last point is the implementation of 2D orthographic production drawings standards. CADWorx has earned a strong following in part for its use of powerful AutoCAD features. Over the last few years, CADWorx has matured as a strong 3D modeling software and now we are seeing new tools to assist in 2D deliverable drawings from the model. When you couple the CADWorx “Box” command for creating named views and the “2DRepresentation” command along with the AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager, you have a great start for automating the drawing process.

The Sheet Set Manager provides a means of organizing and managing drawings within a project. If you have a project organization scheme in place, your decision will be to create all your design drawings as sheets or maybe just your production drawings.

I try never to produce layouts in any of my model drawings. I use these as resource drawings only as shown on the left. In the right figure, I am using only layout or production drawings as sheets. You may find that organizing all of your drawings as sheets will work best for your company or circumstance.

On the Resource Drawing tab, I have set the location for my Resource Drawings. Notice that I have a folder for my model, “M1.” “M1” is an assembly of referenced drawings attached to create the complete model. It also contains my views that I plan to use for my orthographic drawings.


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Before we produce a new sheet, we need to set an appropriate template, a label block, and callout blocks with added fields.

The Sheet Set Properties dialog has settings for Label and Callout blocks in the Sheet Set area and Templates in the Sheet Creation area.

I have selected blocks that have had appropriate fields added to the attributes in the blocks.

For those who are looking for an insight into the Sheet Set Manager and the creation of blocks to automate the drawing process, I highly recommend the “Best Practices Series” which is available on the Autodesk website.

The template that I’m using is a variation of the CADWorx “Imperial.dwt”

In the model, “M1,” I have created several named views using the “Box” command.

I have defined the box to encompass the entire model and selected a plan and four elevation views.

The views are saved as AutoCAD Named Views.

The named views will appear in the Resource area under M1.

Create a new sheet, D2, and add a border in paper space.


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From the Resource tab, select “M1-Front” and drag into the border. Use the right-click to select the viewport scale and place the view.

You will be prompted for the view name and number. The scale will default to the scale set on insertion.

Use CADWorx “Text Annotate” to extract elevations, descriptions, and tags and “Line Number Annotate” for line numbers.

Do you have one of those clients that insist on a flat 2D deliverables? Maybe you just want better control over images that you can’t get from a 3D clip with hidden line removal.

Try CADWorx new “2DRepresentation” command. The image is created in paper space using your layer scheme. Even the centerlines are now just 2D entities that can be used for presentation!


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If you follow the key points of this class, you will have a confident well trained crew, the software is locked and loaded, projects that are configured for productivity, specifications that will give you the kind of data you need, and quality 2D orthographic drawings. Good implementation is a formula for real success and the key to a quick return on your software investment!

how to implement cadworx - welcome | augi to implement cadworx 3 licensing and installation if you...

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