AutoPLANT to AutoPIPE Translator

Rev 0.0

Bentley Systems Inc 1600 Riviera Ave., Suite 300 Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Autoplant
Launch Autoplant 3D piping and from the Import/Export menu select Plant Exchange (PXF) which is file exchange format used by Autoplant and Autopipe. This process will generate a PXF file which can be sent to the Stress Engineer to open in Autopipe.

3 options are available for selecting the CAD model for export to a PXF file, i.e All complete model ManualEnables manual selection model so objects can be selected using normal Autocad selection methods e.g. by clicking on them or drawing a window around part of the model. Advanced Query selection window as shown below to select based on e.g. linenumber , tag number , pipe size, schedule etc.

Autopipe
Open Autopipe and select File/open autoplant (*.pxf ) from the menu

The following screen will appear: Enter project details , select the piping code, unit, etc then click ok will display an Import Autoplant screen shown below.

Under the import Autoplant screen below options include using Autopipe naming convention A01, A02 etc , add rigid anchor at all free ends in the model etc click on the help button on this dialog for additional help.

MAPPING
Use Material Map option if checked the program will use the material mapping defined in the mapping file which has the original units defined for the CAD model i.e English.map, metric.map or mmetric.map located in the Autopipe program directory. At the bottom of this file is the section [MATERIAL] Which shows the Autoplant spec is mapped to a code material in Autopipe for different pipe sizes. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /////////// // DEFAULT MATERIAL TABLE // // Default material is given as a function of pipe spec // and pipe nominal diameter as in AutoPLANT. // // COLUMN 1: Pipe Spec (first 12 characters) // COLUMN 2: Starting Nominal Size (In AutoPLANT Units) // COLUMN 3: Ending Nominal Size (In AutoPLANT Units) // COLUMN 4: AutoPIPE Material Name (As listed in APPENDIX X2 // of AutoPIPE Workbook) (12 characters) // /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /////////// [MATERIAL] 7 'Mmcs150' 0.00 6.01 'A53-A' 'Mmcs150' 6.02 12.01 'A53-A' 'Mmcs150' 12.02 36.01 'A53-A' '_Mmcs150' 0.00 36.01 'A53-A' //off spec ' ' 0.00 36.01 'A53-A' //off spec 'Mmcs16 ' 0.00 36.01 'A53-A' 'Cs150' 0.00 36.01 'A53-A' The other important mapping file also located in the Autopipe program directory is called CADAP.MAP. At the top of this mapping file are further PXF options for controlling the PXF translation as described below.

PXF Import Options The [OPTIONS] section is placed at the beginning of the CADAP.MAP for easy access. The following options are implemented:
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // PXF IMPORT OPTIONS // // COLUMN 1 : OPTION DESCIPTION (DO NOT UPDATE) // COLUMN 2 : OPTION VALUE TO SET 'Y'=YES, 'N'=NO // ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// [OPTIONS] 'SHIFT ORIGIN (0,0,0) TO FIRST POINT IN MODEL ' 'Y' 'INVERT X,Z WHEN Y IS VERTICAL ' 'N' 'PLACE ONE SUPPORT PER LOCATION ' 'N' 'SET VSTP TO INCL IF VSTP IS NOT VERTICAL ' 'Y' 'CONVERT ALL SUPPORTS TO VERTICAL SUPPORTS ' 'N' 'IMPORT ALL POINTS OF TEES AND CROSSES ' 'Y' 'IMPORT BASE ELBOW SUPPORT AS PIPE ' 'Y' 'GET TAG FROM OTHER SUPPORT AT POINT IF BLANK ' 'Y' 'IGNORE OUTER DIAMETER (inches) LESS THAN ' '1.40' //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

AutoPIPE will look for the option description in column 1 and sets its value to the setting in column 2. The different options do not have to be in a certain order. If a certain option(s) is missing the above default values are assumed. The program will check for repeated options, missing options and for invalid option values. It will also show a message if the [OPTIONS] section in CADAP.MAP file is missing. If an option is repeated, the last option will be used.

The options are read until an end of file, a blank line, or a line filled with '/////' is read. 'SHIFT ORIGIN (0,0,0) TO FIRST POINT IN MODEL ' The default value is Y and that will set point A00 coordinates to zero. This is done to avoid having numerical inaccuracy if the coordinates are large. AutoPIPE uses single precision for coordinates (6-7 digits of precision). After PXF import, the user can view the A00 shift using View/AutoPLANT PXF Data and may be able to edit A00 to shift the coordinates. To shift coordinates to coincide with AutoPLANT after import, use Modify/Point/A00 and enter the new coordinates. Make sure to select the option Apply offsets to following points. The coordinates shift can be read from View/AutoPLANT PXF Data. For better reference between AutoPLANT and AutoPIPE, it is recommended that the SHIFT ORIGIN option be set to N and the vertical axis set to Z upon import. This causes AutoPIPE and AutoPLANT coordinates to be the same. This should be avoided when AutoPLANT coordinates exceeds 7 digits in ft. (xxxxx.xx ft). 'INVERT X,Z WHEN Y IS VERTICAL ' When set to YES, this option scales all X and Z coordinates by -1, if Y is the vertical axis. Otherwise it has no effect. 'PLACE ONE SUPPORT PER LOCATION ' By default (N), AutoPIPE will place multiple supports, if present, at the same location. AutoPIPE will avoid duplicate supports. For example if two VSTPs are placed at same location, only one is imported. Also if a guide and a VSTP are placed at the same node the VSTP is ignored. The same applies to INCL supports. This option if Y, will ignore all supports at the same node, except for one. 'SET VSTP TO INCL IF VSTP IS NOT VERTICAL '

AutoPIPE will, by default (YES), check the support orientation for VSTP supports. If the support is not vertical, an INCL support is used instead. The user has an option to keep the VSTP vertical by setting this option to N. 'CONVERT ALL SUPPORTS TO VERTICAL SUPPORTS ' This option will make all supports as vertical supports if set to Y. This will force one support per location to avoid duplicate supports. The default is N. 'IMPORT ALL POINTS OF TEES AND CROSSES ' The option to import all points of tees and crosses, will override the component mapping options for items types 3 and 4. The use of all nodes is useful, when the tee/cross has a different schedule or material. Since the material is size dependent, as per CADAP.MAP material table, the tee material would need to be updated in AutoPIPE. If this option is set to N, only the tee/cross intersection point is imported. 'IMPORT BASE ELBOW SUPPORT AS PIPE ' The option to import base elbows as pipes will make the support mapping option for BES (Base Elbow Support) obsolete. When base elbows are imported as pipes, a VSTOP is placed at the ground point. The pipe support connects at a point very close to the bend near or far points, depending on BES orientation thru a tee junction. The pipe schedule for the BES support is assumed STD. The pipe size is specified by the field mapping name in the class mapping table. The class mapping to BES 2135, specifies PXF code 2135 as the outside diameter for the support. When N is selected, a VSTOP is placed at bend midpoint. If BES is normal to bend plane, a VSTOP is placed at bend mid point, regardless of this option value. The user is advised to check and update the pipe properties of the Base Elbow Support after import. 'GET TAG FROM OTHER SUPPORT AT POINT IF BLANK '

The option will set support tag number, if blank, to the non-blank tag number of another support at the same location. The default is Y. If N, blank support tags will remain blank. 'IGNORE OUTER DIAMETER (inches) LESS THAN ' This option if 1.40, by default, will cause AutoPIPE to ignore pipes with outside diameters less than 1.40 inches (i.e. all 1 nominal and smaller pipes. This is useful as the smaller pipes very often do not require stress analysis. Set to 0.00 to import all pipe sizes.

ADDITIONAL PXF CONVERSION HELP

Refer to Autopipe help topic under Help/Contents Autopipe reference information\ Mapping conversion files\AutoPLANT to AutoPIPE Mapping Files

Autoplant PXF Viewer

Select View /Autoplant PXF viewer to examine the Autoplant CAD data at any point in the Autopipe model.