creating custom content for autodesk® plant design...

Creating Custom Content for

Autodesk® Plant Design Suite Kimberley Hendrix – D3 Technologies, Tulsa, OK Kevin Marchant – D3 Technologies, Kansas City, MO

PD1536: In this class, you will learn to create custom content for both Autodesk® P&ID and Autodesk® Plant 3D software. We will focus on using tools such as legacy AutoCAD® data, previously created AutoCAD 3D solids, and Autodesk® Inventor® to create the content. You will learn to create and modify custom symbols. We will also show you how to create and maintain project templates that contain custom content as well as how to copy custom content from one project to another.

Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to:

• Create and modify custom AutoCAD P&ID symbols

• Create and modify custom AutoCAD Plant 3D symbols

• Create and maintain project templates that include custom content

• Copy custom content from one project to another

About the Speaker Based in Tulsa, OK, Kimberley provides custom solutions for lean engineering, using Autodesk

products and industry knowledge to streamline design and engineering departments. Kimberley

has worked in the manufacturing/Plant industry for 24 years and specialized in automated

solutions for the Heat Exchanger industry. She has worked with Autodesk® products since

1984. Kimberley is associated with D3 Technologies, LLC, as a Solutions Consultant, focusing

on Plant, Automation, Data Management and Mechanical issues

[email protected]

Creating Custom Content for Autodesk® Plant Design Suite

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Introduction

Why custom content?

It is not possible for Autodesk or any software company to have a complete

set of parts and specs for every industry and market type. What they can do

is make it assessable for users to create custom content and propagate that

throughout their projects to allow for that newly created content to be

readily available.

We are going to take a part, designed for inline use and add it to P&ID, and

then we are going to add it to a Catalog for subsequent use in a Plant Spec,

then ultimately place it in a 3D model.

Create and modify custom AutoCAD P&ID symbols

Steps to create a custom part in P&ID:

1. Part drawn and edited using the block editor, adding the attachment points as

shown

2. In project setup, expand “P&ID DWG Settings”, then “P&ID Class Definitions”,

then “Engineering Items”, then “Inline Assets”, and for this example we are

going to use “Piping Fittings” right click and select New. Give your new simple

a Class name (no spaces) and then a description.

3. Use the Add Symbol, to load the block created earlier, set all layer, scaling and

tagging options


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4. When returned to the Project setup, add all properties and tagging information

to your part, be sure to click ‘add to tool palette”


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Note: Properties with an * are inherited from the level above.

5. Now that your Vacuum Canister has been added to the Project and to your tool

palette, what happens when you go to a new project? This new handy part will

not be there. P&ID is solely project orientated so in order for this new part to

be in a new Project. You would need to perform these steps on your “Template

Project” and copy those settings upon creation of any new projects.


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Autodesk® Plant 3D The process for creating a new custom part in 3D begins first in a Plant 3D model drawing if

your using the BLOCK option, or in the Spec Editor if you are using a standard parametric part.

Create New Catalog (from Existing)

1. Open the Spec Editor (note: this is not executed through Plant 3D)

2. Choose and existing catalog, or create one from existing. I prefer to leave the

catalogs that are supplied with the program intact, so I create a new one using

the standards as a base.

Catalogs are stored by default in “C:\AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013 Content\” if you

are using a shared environment it would be wise to store these on a network

share so that everyone is working off the same data.

Select the Source Catalog, and name your New Catalog

Now that you have a catalog to work with lets create some new components

to add to it.


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Creating a New Parametric Part, Using Standard Shapes

1. Inside Spec Editor 2013, select “Create New Component”

2. Pick family and closest preset part

We are going to create a Vacuum Coupling using a flanged coupling for our

preset part


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3. Fill out the General Properties TAB


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4. Fill out the Sizes, take special care to set accurate sizing on matching sizes so

that you pipe up properly – you can use the to make

editing the sizes easier.

5. Hit Save Catalog

6. To test your part you will have to add it to a spec in the current project in

order to use it in a model


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Creating a custom part using AutoCAD Blocks

1. A Block for each size created will be required

2. For each block, execute “PlantPartConvert”

a. Add Ports as required – Carefully select direction

3. Make note of what drawing the blocks are loaded and converted in.

4. Inside Spec Editor 2013, select “Create New Component” select the Custom-

AutoCAD DWG Block based graphics


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5. Once you hit “Create” the following dialog will be displayed, fill out all the

possible General tab items, then switch to the size tab. A separate model (or

block) will be required for each size in your range. The general size

information can be filled out in the Advanced Editing Table.

6. After each model for each size in your range is added, all information for

EACH port is filled out, Select “Save to Catalog”

7. Again this part will need to be added to a spec in a current project in order to

be used in a model.

Summary

While in P&ID any custom parts you add are Project specific, so for them to be used

across multiple projects the parts will need to be added to a template project and

the settings copied to new projects as they are completed.

While in Plant 3D parts are created in Catalogs which are NOT project specific.

These catalogs are like a library of books in the office, to create a spec for a project


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you take pages of these books and apply them to project specific specs.

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