Plant and piping software: vendors strengthen links between P&ID and physical plant model

CADalyst, Oct, 2004 by H. Edward Goldberg

A large segment of the CAD industry is dedicated to plant piping software. Designers and engineers in any industry that moves or manufactures liquids use this genre of software. Piping systems are found in locations as diverse as oil platforms, atomic energy plants, and food and beverage industries. Two general types of software are associated with piping design: logical (P&ID--piping and instrument diagram--in 2D, single-line diagrams) and physical (in 2D and 3D).

P&ID drawings fall into two categories: dumb, which are basically CAD-centric 2D diagrams, and intelligent data-centric diagrams that range from simple database connectivity to a full-blown data model that includes engineering rules, automatic design validation, standards compliance, integration with design and calculation packages, and the like. The P&ID stage of design is generally considered engineering, and the physical stage is considered design or layout.

Physical 3D piping design is based on the engineering performed during the logical phase. It involves the arrangement of the specified pipes, vessels, valves, pipe supports, and instruments in virtual 3D space. Isometric drawings and BOMs (bills of materials) are extracted for fabrication and construction from this 3D design. Interference detection, in which the 3D model is interrogated and any clashes between components detected and flagged, occurs at this stage. Piping software is also used by engineering, procurement, and construction companies to design and construct new plants and structures, as well as to refurbish, retrofit, and expand existing plants. It's also used by plant owners to maintain, revamp, modify, and retrofit facilities. Many plant and piping applications also include basic structural packages for the design of support structures for piping.

AVEVA * VANTAGE Plant Engineering, Plant Design Management System www.aveva.com

According to the company, 80% of the North Sea oil sector uses AVEVA's PDMS (Plant Design Management System). In addition, 18 of the 26 power design institutes in China and seven of the top ten shipbuilders use AVEVA solutions (www.aveva.com).

The AVEVA and Autodesk alliance, announced last October, promises to provide a comprehensive 3D design and drawing delivery solution for the process and energy marketplace. The solution will be launched in October, with product shipment before the end of 2004.

VANTAGE PDMS integrated with Autodesk's drafting and documentation solutions should be beneficial. AutoCAD is the mostused software in the AVEVA customer base. The integration will provide PDMS users with an AutoCAD-based drafting interface for editing postproduction drawings. PDMS has always been completely data-centric, but users have asked for better drawing completion using industry drafting tools. AVEVA PDMS will control and automate the drawing production process from the 3D design, as before, but the new solution will let users accomplish drawing tasks such as annotation, labels, and layout using the AutoCAD user interface, ensuring that integrity is maintained.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

VANTAGE Plant Engineering (VPE) P&ID is an AutoCAD-based, intelligent P&ID system with full change and workflow management. VPE P&ID fully supports offline (sheet-based) and online operation with a full project database configuration, enabling integration and change management of interconnected project P&IDs. VPE P&ID supports engineering design in a distributed environment by reducing time spent in P&ID production, managing information quality and integrity, and monitoring, controlling, and propagating project changes. It also provides intelligent engineering data that integrates with 3D design and project resources.

P&IDs created using VPE P&ID are produced as individual drawings that you can save to the database to produce an overall plant connectivity model that represents the interconnected set of project P&IDs. This approach supports two modes of operation during P&ID production: online, where VPE P&ID initiates and maintains a connection to the database foundation so that design information held in the database can be dynamically retrieved and displayed on the P&ID or used for validation purposes during the drafting process; and offline, where VPE P&ID functions as a stand-alone application with no connection to the database foundation. This mode is particularly useful to subcontractors who work on remote sites.

AVEVA is developing new P&IDs, due for release in early 2005, that will allow its applications to use Microsoft's .NET technology.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Bentley Systems

* Bentley P&ID

www.bentley.com/plant

Bentley Systems offers a P&ID solution that uses one license to interface with either MicroStation or AutoCAD. Bentley P&ID integrates with the Bentley Plant project database so that project team members can leverage the work done generating the P&ID for use in other disciplines. The packages include options for symbol libraries, including ANSI, ISA, DIN, and PIP configurations.