manual specxpert [en]

Contact & Informa on:

CAXperts GmbH

Carl-Zeiss-Ring 4

85737 Ismaning – Germany

P.: +49 89 96 97 72 0

F.: +49 89 96 97 72 11

E.: [email protected]

CAXperts Global Solu0ons PTE LTD

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Singapore 609966 – Singapore

P.: +65 65 62 79 80

F.: +65 65 62 79 79

E.: [email protected]

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SpecXpert Manual

CAXperts SpecXpert – Manual

2

Copyright

Copyright © 2002 CAXperts GmbH. All Rights Reserved.

Including so>ware, file formats, and audiovisual displays; may be used pursuant to applicable so>ware licence

agree-ment; contains confiden0al and proprietary informa0on of CAXperts and/or third par0es which is protected

by copy-right law, trade secret law, and interna0onal treaty, and may not be provided or otherwise made available

without proper authoriza0on.

Restricted Rights Legend

Rights reserved under the copyright laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Warran es and Liabili es

All warran0es given by CAXperts about equipment or so>ware are set forth in your purchase contract, and nothing

stated in, or implied by, this document or its contents shall be considered or deemed a modifica0on or amendment

of such warran0es. CAXperts believes the informa0on in this publica0on is accurate as of its publica0on date.

The informa0on and the so>ware discussed in this document are subject to change without no0ce and are subject

to applicable technical product descrip0ons. CAXperts is not responsible for any error that may appear in this docu-

ment.

The so>ware discussed in this document is furnished under a licence and may be used or copied only in accordance

with the terms of this licence. THE USER OF THE SOFTWARE IS EXPECTED TO MAKE THE FINAL EVALUATION AS TO

THE USEFULNESS OF THE SOFTWARE IN HIS OWN ENVIRONMENT.

Trademarks

CAXperts is a registered trademark of CAXperts GmbH. Intergraph, the Intergraph logo, SmartSketch, FrameWorks,

SmartPlant, INtools, MARIAN, PDS, IGDS, RIS and IntelliShip are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corpora0on.

IGDS file formats ©1987-1994 Intergraph Corpora0on. Microso> and Windows are registered trademarks of Mi-

croso> Corpora0on. Bentley, the Bentley logo “B,” and MicroSta0on are registered trademarks of Bentley Systems,

Inc. ISOGEN is a registered trademark of Alias Limited. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their re-

spec0ve owners.

Introduc�on

3

Contents

1 Introduc on ................................................................................................................. 4

1.1 List of parts to be tested manually ............................................................................ 4

1.2 To-do-list entries for automa0cally placed parts ....................................................... 4

1.3 Reasons for to-do-list entries .................................................................................... 5

1.4 General conven0ons .................................................................................................. 5

Typefaces ................................................................................................................... 5

Symbols ..................................................................................................................... 6

2 Installa on ................................................................................................................... 6

Uninstall ..................................................................................................................... 6

Setup command line (for administrators) ................................................................. 6

2.1 Licence ....................................................................................................................... 7

3 Usage .......................................................................................................................... 8

3.1 Test specifica0ons ...................................................................................................... 8

Report output ............................................................................................................ 9

To-do list item interpreta0on .................................................................................... 9

3.2 Export specifica0ons ................................................................................................ 11

3.3 Compare specifica0ons ........................................................................................... 13

3.4 Units ........................................................................................................................ 13

3.5 Status bar ................................................................................................................. 14

4 Templates .................................................................................................................. 15

5 Command line mode .................................................................................................. 15

5.1 Examples .................................................................................................................. 17

SpecTester func0onality .......................................................................................... 17

BulkLoadGenerator func0onality ............................................................................ 17

CompareTool func0onality ...................................................................................... 17

6 Technical support ....................................................................................................... 18


4

1 Introduc on

• SpecXpert places all components in user-selected Intergraph Smart 3D piping

specifications and reports errors via Smart 3D to-do list entries and additional

reports.

• SpecXpert recreates bulkload files (Microsoft Excel format) for Smart 3D from

the Smart 3D database.

Note: In the current itera0on of SpecXpert, only exis0ng catalogue parts are tested.

SpecXpert does NOT provide detailed informa0on about what went wrong during placement,

just that placement was not successful. To find the exact reason for why an error occurred,

the complete spec would be needed for analysis.

Note: If custom naming rules are installed on the plant, SpecXpert might face some prob-

lems during placement, if the naming rules either slow down the placement of components

or the resul0ng name cannot created by the rule due to e.g. missing system names.

Note: Ideally the SpecXpert placement test is run a>er problems with the spec that could

be detected with the Intergraph Verify Consistency Check were already fixed.

Here are some hints on how to interpret the SpecXpert test results:

1.1 List of parts to be tested manually

SpecXpert is able to place most parts of a spec. However, there are some parts that cannot be

placed automa0cally. The reasons could be:

• The scenario for placing the part is not yet implemented in SpecXpert

• The part has incompatible end preparations and there is no mating part with an

end-preparation compatible with the pipe or mating flanges.

For either of these scenarios:

• Parts are added to the list of parts that have to be tested manually.

• The parts then have to be tested by placing them manually in Smart 3D.

1.2 To-do-list entries for automa cally placed parts

Standard placement behaviour:

• End components (like end caps or blind flanges) are placed at the end of a

branch

• All in-line parts are placed where the end preparations of the part are compati-

ble with the pipe or mating flanges.

• Parts with non-compatible end preparations are placed at the end of a branch,

providing that there is a mating part that can be connected to the pipe or mat-

ing flanges.

For all placed parts, to-do-list entries are created by Smart 3D whenever something goes

wrong during placement.

• SpecXpert does not create the to-do-list entries. It only summarizes them in the

provided reports.

• The same to-do-list entries would be created if the part was placed manually

under the same conditions.

Introduc�on

5

• Under different conditions it might be possible to place the part without an er-

ror.

• Depending on the conditions the part may be OK.

1.3 Reasons for to-do-list entries

There are many reasons for to-do-list-entries being created within Smart 3D, and SpecXpert

does not provide analysis for the possible causes. It only lists all parts that caused problems. An

expert in wri0ng pipe specs needs to check these parts under the placement condi0ons the

part was intended for. In many cases the complete spec has to be considered and reviewed to

iden0fy and rec0fy the problem.

Some common reasons for to-do-list entries are:

• Non-compatible end preparations

• Missing or broken symbol DLL

• Missing generic data

• Missing mating flange (selection basis = 5)

It should be noted that analysis and rec0fica0on of problems with the pipe specs is not covered

with SpecXpert and nor is this service covered under the maintenance agreement for the

product. CAXperts can offer an analysis service for any problema0c parts, but this would be

charged for separately. If there is a desire to use this service, please contact CAXperts to re-

quest a pricing proposal.

1.4 General conven ons

This document contains many visual cues to help you understand the meaning of certain words

or phrases. The use of different fonts for different types of informa0on allows you to scan the

document for key concepts or commands. Symbols help abbreviate and iden0fy commonly

used words, phrases, or groups of related informa0on

Typefaces

Italic Indicates a system response, which is an explana0on

of what the so>ware is doing. For example,

The text is placed in the viewing plane.

Bold Indicates a command name, parameter name, or dia-

log box 0tle. Command paths are shown using an ar-

row between command names. For example,

Choose File → Open to load a new file.

Normal

typewriter

Indicates an actual file or directory name. For exam-

ple,

The ASCII report is stored in the layout.rpt file.

Bold type-

writer Indicates what you literally type in. For example,


6

Key in original.dat to load the ASCII file.

Symbols

This document uses the following symbols to iden0fy special informa0on:

Note – important supplemental informa0on.

Map or path – shows you how to get to a specific command or form.

More informa0on – indicates there is addi0onal or related informa0on.

2 Installa on Requirements:

• Supported operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows XP

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003

• Microsoft Windows Vista

• Microsoft Windows 7

• Intergraph Smart 3D 2009.1 or later

• Microsoft Office 2003 or later

Administrator rights are required on each computer to install CAXperts SpecXpert. “Run as” is

not supported.

Uninstall

To uninstall the so>ware, select Control panel from the start menu. Then on

• Windows 7: in large or small icon view, click Programs and features. If you're

using category view, under Programs, click Uninstall a program.

• Windows Vista: in classic view, double-click Programs and features. In control

panel home view, under Programs, click Uninstall a program.

• Windows XP/2000: (Double) click the Add or remove programs icon.

Select the program you want to remove, and click Uninstall/Remove. Alterna0vely, right-click

the program and select Uninstall.

Setup command line (for administrators)

The following command line op0ons are supported by the installer:

/S:<<op onal ini file>>

Allow an install to be run in silent mode. As a result, no screens or dialogs will be shown.

This command line op0on also has an op0onal INI file that can be passed containing session

variable values. For example:

"C:\output\setup.exe" "/S:C:\setupvars.ini"

Installa�on

7

This will cause the session variables in the INI file to be used for the setup. The INI file should

be in the format:

[SetupValues]

%AppFolder%=C:\Program Files\MyProduct

/U:<<XML config file>>

This command line op0on must be used when calling the uninstall program from the command

line. This command also has an op0onal XML file that can be passed containing session variable

values. For example:

"C:\Program Files\MyProduct\uninstall.exe" "/U:C:\Program Files\MyProduct\iru

nin.xml"

2.1 Licence

Once the setup has been completed and the program is started, a licence key will be requested

as shown below.

CAXperts will need your Current domain name to issue a licence file (.lic).

Please place this licence file into the folder where Path to licence files points to, then press Re-

load.

You can also set the Path to licence files to a different folder (e.g. a shared folder on a file serv-

er) using Select path.

Note: Without a valid licence file the so>ware will run in demo mode.


8

3 Usage When you run the so>ware, the main window will show you a dropdown list of available plants

on your current Smart 3D site.

A>er you select a plant on this list, please select a permission group that is allowed to place

piping components. SpecXpert will show the piping specifica0ons of this plant:

3.1 Test specifica ons

Check the checkboxes of the specifica0ons (and nominal piping diameters) that you wish to

test.

Note: If you want to exclude certain parts from the test, add them to an Excel exclusion list

and select the Excel in Exclusion list ( ). An example file is included in the Templates folder

of SpecXpert. Wildcards are currently not possible (i.e. all columns have to be filled).

In the Export folder ( ) field you can enter manually, or use the "..." buTon to select, an out-

put path and filename for the resultant report database.

Press the Run buTon to ini0ate the placement of the piping specifica0on parts (if you use the

Run for median NPD buTon, only the median NPD size of the selected specifica0ons will be

placed).

Usage

9

Note: Please use Intergraph’s “Modify Site and Schema Loca0on” tool to change the Smart

3D site.

For larger specifica0ons, the placement process will typically take several hours. The placed

components from the selected specifica0on(s) will resemble the following:

Each spec is placed in the "SpecXpert" piping system under a pipeline named a>er the specifi-

ca0on.

Parts are placed on pipe runs according to their Nominal Piping Diameter. There is one main

pipe run per NPD along with a separate pipe run per branch. The main pipe runs are ver0cally

aligned from smallest to largest diameter.

Report output

The final output of SpecXpert is a Microso> Access database (*.mdb) file. This file contains

three objects:

• “ToDoList_Entries” queries and reports, presenting a user friendly and printable

view of the erroneous parts.

• A “PartsPlaced/NotPlaced” query and reports

Addi0onally, an Excel file will be created with the plain table content of the database, the Excel

file will have the name of the database plus the suffix “.xls”.

To-do list item interpreta on

When the SpecXpert has finished placing the parts from the selected Specs, the next task is the

interpreta0on of the to-do list items. These can either be found by looking at the SpecXpert

Report database or by using the to-do list itself inside Smart 3D. The report database presents

similar errors only once making it easier to see the actual number of spec issues.


10

While there are numerous rules in Smart specifica0on wri0ng that must be followed, this sec-

0on will serve as a guideline for interpre0ng certain classes of errors that can abnormally occur

when using SpecXpert.

Please refer to the Intergraph Smart 3D trouble shoo0ng guide for in-depth lis0ngs of all possi-

ble to-do list items.

False posi ves

While every effort has been made to limit the number of 'false posi0ve' to-do list entries re-

ported by SpecXpert, it is possible that under certain condi0ons these false errors may occur.

One example of this case is with plug or end cap components where the end prepara0on of the

connec0on port is not compa0ble with the pipe stock. This can arise when e.g. a plug was in-

cluded for use with an instrument valve with a dis0nct end prepara0on.

While SpecXpert can save countless hours of repe00ve work, the interpreta0on of the results

s0ll requires the understanding and domain-knowledge of a trained spec writer.

Duplicate to-do list items

For many errors, a to-do list item will be created for each of the parts involved. For instance if a

required flange size does not exist, a "No ma0ng flange found" item will be created for both

the pipe stock feature as well as the component feature. In these situa0ons, fixing one issue

will typically resolve mul0ple errors.

No part found

To-do list items that begin with "No part found" indicate that the required part was not found

in the catalogue.

This will o>en occur when SpecXpert aTempts to place parts of a certain NPD on a pipe run

whose pipe stock NPD is not included in the spec. For instance, SpecXpert places an olet part

with a connec0on port of NPD 1.5 in. The specifica0on only consists of stock from 2 inches up-

wards. The branch from the olet will indicate that "No part found in catalogue data". This can

be interpreted as either an error or a false posi0ve if the part is understood to require a spec-

break.

No <End Prepara on> x <End Prepara on> ma ng part found

This error indicates that the end prepara0on of the part is not compa0ble with the allowed end

prepara0ons of the pipe stock. The above "<End Prepara�on>" will be replaced with the name

of the incompa0ble end prepara0on.

Usage

11

3.2 Export specifica ons

Check the specifica0ons that you want to export on the treeview and selected which type of

bulkload files to export from the BulkLoadGenerator tab, then press the Create from catalogue

buTon (to avoid empty sheets, select Delete empty sheets):

This process will typically take several minutes, the resul0ng bulkload sheets go to the folder

specified in Export folder ( ):

• Specification data workbooks. One Excel workbook per selected piping specifi-

cation with specification-dependant data sheets (e.g. “PipingCommodityFilter”,

“ServiceLimits”, “NominalDiameters” etc.)

• Piping catalog data. One Excel workbook per selected piping specification with

specification-independent data sheets (e.g. parts, valves, etc.)


12

• Material control data. One Excel workbook for all selected piping specifications

with specification-independent data sheets (e.g. parts, valves, etc.)

• Symbol icons. Symbol icons for all part classes.

Usage

13

3.3 Compare specifica ons

SpecXpert enables the user to compare specifica0ons against each other. Select the type of

bulkload sheets to compare first (e.g. “Codelists”, “Plant rules”, “Generic data” etc.).

Ensure that the correct Smart 3D version is selected, then choose a folder with the requested

files, a folder with the current files and the output folder and press Compare.

Note: The exported file is formaTed with the unit se\ngs as defined in Configure units.

Warning: All sheet names have to be unique for all files in the selected folder and have to ap-

pear in both folders to compare; otherwise they won’t get compared at all.

3.4 Units

Click on Configure units to define the output format of units of measure in newly created

bulkload files.


14

• Unit Type: the quantity name of the unit

• Unit: the symbol of the unit (in Smart 3D notation)

• Decimal Precision: the number of decimal places

3.5 Status bar

The status bar shows informa0on about the current state of the so>ware (e.g. progress bars). If

you double click on it, the log file opens:

Templates

15

4 Templates The resul0ng Access database can be configured using a template. The template file is usually

located in

C:\Program Files\CAXperts\SpecXpert\Templates

ReportTemplate.mdb is the template file for the Access database report.

5 Command line mode SpecXpert also works in command line mode.

specxpert -? shows the available command line parameters.

-plant:exampleplant - Smart 3D plant name.

- Alias: -p

- Required.

-permgroup:examplepermgr – Permission group for SpecTester.

- Alias: -pg

- If not defined, last used.

- Optional.

-mode:mode - Execution modes:

ST - SpecTester

BLG - BulkloadGenerator

CT - CompareTool

- Alias: -m


- Optional.

-s3dversion:version - Valid values for CompareTool (Templates):

2009.1

2011 SP1


16

2011 R1

2014

- Alias: -v


- Optional.

-output:outputpath - Path of result/report for SpecTester,

BulkloadGenerator or CompareTool.

- Alias: -out


- Optional.

-current:currentpath - Directory contaning current data for

CompareTool.

- Alias: -curr


- Optional.

-requested:requestedpath - Directory contaning requested data for

CompareTool.

- Alias: -requ


- Optional.

-exclusions:filename.xls – Exclusion list for SpecTester.

- Alias: -excl

- Optional.

-config:filename.ini - Configuration file containing all

settings except parameters in command

line.

- Alias: -cfg

- If not defined then configuration file of

plant is used.

- Optional.

-continue - Continue last run if SpecTester was not

completed.

- Alias: -cont

- Optional.

-sheet:sheetcategory - Sheet categories for BulkloadGenerator or

CompareTool. Option can be used more than

once in command line.

- Valid values:

SP – Pipe spec with parts

CL - Codelists

GD – Generic data

PO – Plant options

PR – Plant rules

ID – Insulation data

PB – Pipe bending data

- Alias: -sh


- Optional.

Command line mode

17

-spec:”name|2 in|6 in” - Specname for SpecTester and

BulkloadGenerator. NPDs for SpecTester,

if defined. Option can be used more than

once in command line.

- Alias: -s


- Optional.

5.1 Examples

SpecTester func onality

1)

"C:\Program Files\CAXperts\SpecXpert\SpecXpert.exe" -p:SP3DTrain

-pg:Piping -m:ST -out:"c:\data\st 001" -s:1C0031 -s:2L1670 -s:1S3977

2)


-pg:Piping -m:ST -out:"c:\data\st 002"

-excl:"c:\data\st 002\exclude.xls" -s:"2L1670|3 in|4 in"

-s:"1S3977|4 in|8 in"

3)

"C:\Program Files\CAXperts\SpecXpert\SpecXpert.exe" -p:SPECXPERT_REV

-pg:"Permission Group1" -m:ST -out:"c:\data\st 003"

-s:"1C0031 - Revision A" -s:"2L1670MM - Revision A"

BulkLoadGenerator func onality

1)


-m:BLG -out:"c:\data\blg 001" -sh:CL -sh:GD -sh:PO -sh:PR -sh:ID

-sh:PB

2)


-m:BLG -out:"c:\data\blg 002" -sh:SP -s:1C0031 -s:1S3977 -s:2L1670

3)

"C:\Program Files\CAXperts\SpecXpert\SpecXpert.exe" -p:SPECXPERT_REV

-m:BLG -out:"c:\data\blg 003" -sh:SP -sh:CL -sh:GD -sh:PR

-s:"1C0031 - Revision A" -s:"1C0031 - Revision B"

-s:"2L1670MM - Revision A"

4)


-m:BLG -out:"c:\data\blg 004" -cfg:"c:\data\blg 004\settings001.ini"

-sh:SP -s:1S3977

CompareTool func onality

1)


-m:CT -v:"2011 R1" -out:"c:\data\ct 001\result"

-curr:"c:\data\ct 001\curr" -requ:"c:\data\ct 001\requ" -sh:GD

2)


-m:CT -v:2009.1 -out:"c:\data\ct 002\result"

-curr:"c:\data\ct 002\curr" -requ:"c:\data\ct 002\requ" -sh:SP

-sh:CL -sh:GD -sh:PO -sh:PR -sh:ID -sh:PB


18

6 Technical support Need more help? Contact CAXperts support by email, online, or phone:

mailto:[email protected]

hTp://www.caxperts.com/contact/

manual specxpert [en]

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