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AutoCAD Plant 3D 2021

3D Piping Workspace Issue

The basic install of Plant 3D 2021 did not seem to have the 3D Piping Workspace properly configured. As a result, selecting that workspace did not change the palette group leaving the P&ID palettes from the previous workspace active.

This is a simple fix.

Right clicking on any tool palette will display a dialog box that allows you to select Customize Palettes.

Select the Customize Palettes… option to open the Customize dialog for tool palettes and groups.

As you can see the specification palettes at the top of the left-hand column are not associated with the AutoCAD Plant 3D – Piping Components tool palette group.

Drag and drop the tool palettes from the column on the left to the tool palette group on the right as shown.

Click the Close button to exit the customize dialog box and save the changes.  Now when you switch workspaces the 3D Piping workspace will display the correct tool palettes

Taking it a step further you save these changes and then import them to another Plant 3D installation.  Open the AutoCAD Options dialog box and select the profiles tab.  Clicking the Export… button on the right side of the dialog allows you to save the AutoCAD profile (options) settings to an external (.arg) file.

After exporting the corrected configuration, you can import it to other Plant 3D installations.  Saving the configuration over the existing (you must type the name in) is the preferred method.

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Place Custom ISO Border in ISO Style in AutoCAD Plant 3D

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

In this video we go over inserting a custom border in a new Isometric Styles as well as talk about some of the Isometric modifications that are available within the Project Setup. Adding a custom company border is a key piece of tailoring a Isometric Style.

 

  

Create new Isometric Styles in AutoCAD Plant 3D

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

In this video we go over the different ways of creating a new Isometric style using the new tools available in 2016 Autocad Plant 3D. Creating new Isometric Styles is one of the first steps in creating tailored deliverables within Plant 3D.

 

Editing Plant 3D Isometric BOM Tables

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

Editing the column layout and reported fields in Isometric Tables is a big part of customizing Isometric deliverables. This post walks through some of that customization.

Start by opening the Project Setup either by right clicking on the project name in the Project Manager and then selecting Properties or Project Setup can be located in the Home ribbon tab under the Project Manager Panel drop-down.

Once the Project Setup is open in the selection tree on the left hand side expand “Isometric DWG Settings” and select “Title Block and Display”. Ensure that the correct iso style is selected in the drop-down at the top of the screen and the press “Setup Title Block”.

That will open up the iso.dwt file which is the template file of the iso border. In the Ribbon you will see the option for “Table Setup”.

That option will open the Table Setup dialogue box. Here you can make changes to any of tables either placed or not placed in the BOM (Bill of Materials).

Notice the Table type drop-down list where you can flip between the various table categories.

Here you can re-arrange the order of the already placed columns with a simple left click hold, then dragging it to the desired location. If there is a field in your class definitions that is not currently shown but you would like to add it, press the “Add Column...” button to bring up a dialogue box where you can select the desired property. Once you have selected the property and pressed ok it will be added to the Table Layout.

The newly added field will not show up until you check the box below it. This is also a good opportunity to move the column to the desired location within the Table.

Note: Once placed, it may be necessary to adjust the column widths so that the header can be read and so that there is enough room in the field for the data being reported.

Clean up Hand Rails in Plant 3D

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

If you want to miter your Plant 3D hand rails you first need to use the “Structure Explode” tool in order to un-group the members. If not done you will get a warning in your command line stating “Unsupported object: structural member expected”.

The Structure Explode tool is located in the ribbon on the Structure tab on the Modify Panel. It is important to use this option rather the AutoCAD Explode command.  The Structure Explode is more similar to an “Ungroup” command and will retain the object’s identity. The regular AutoCAD explode will strip all of the properties out, removing intelligence.

Once done to both sides you can see the rail members are no longer grouped and you are able to apply the Structure Miter tool to the corners.

When cleaning up the vertical rail members you can use either the Structure Cut Back tool which is next to the Miter tool or the AutoCAD Trim command. The Cut Back Member tool cuts the vertical member to the bottom of the rail but the Trim command cuts the rail to the center giving the appearance of a coped finish.

When using the Trim command in 2015, your tool tips will indicate a red “x” before you make your selection indicating that the vertical piece is not a supported object. Even though this appears before your selection you are still able to select the member and complete the task with the Trim command.

 

Detaching a Plant 3D Project from Autodesk Vault

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

There has long been a need to take Plant 3D projects whose databases reside in Vault and convert them to local projects. Now available in the Project Manager under Vault (which is only available if you have the Vault client installed) there is an option called “Detach from Vault”.

If you use this tool, a copy of the Vault project will be saved in the Vault user workspace which by default is located at %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Plant Vault Projects. After selecting this tool from the opened project you want to detach from Vault, you will get this message.

The original Vault-SQL project still exists and the new copied project database is now SQLite and independent from the Vault and its updates will no longer be sync’d with the Vault database. After you confirm the detach, remove the file from your local workspace.

 

Edit Isometric Bill of Material (BOM) Text Format in Plant 3D

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

Something I hear often is “Why can’t I change the text format in the data fields of my Isometric table?” As an introduction to the solution, by default the data fields come in as cyan and are locked. Let’s walk through how to change this.

Start by opening the Project Setup either by right clicking on the project name in the Project Manager and then selecting Properties, or the Project Setup can be located in the Home ribbon tab under the Project Manager Panel drop-down.

Once the Project Setup is open in the selection tree on the left hand side, expand “Isometric DWG Settings” and select “Title Block and Display”. Ensure that the correct iso style is selected in the drop-down at the top of the screen and then press “Setup Title Block…”

 

That will open the iso.dwt file which is the template file of the iso border. Select the BOM data cells, then in the ribbon, click “Cell Locking” and select “Unlocked”.

Now that these cells are unlocked you can now make color and format changes through the Properties Panel.

Important: Once you are done making changes select Cell Locking from the ribbon again and change the cells back to “Content and Format Locked”.

Revit Origin and Exporting to AutoCAD

This week our own Jordan Mussett explains using the Project Base Point in Revit to export AutoCAD background drawings.

Many Revit users get themselves in hot water when it comes to providing consultants and sub consultants with AutoCAD Backgrounds. In the images below, the Project Base Point does represent the 0,0 point in AutoCAD.

At its simplest, Revit has a point that it doesn't tell you about. There is the Project Base Point, the Survey Point, and what I like to call the original origin. The original origin reveals itself in the following way. When the Project Base point is unclipped and moved, the 0,0 point in AutoCAD is now where the Project Base Point was. Another way to look at is, if the Project Base Point is unclipped and moved, the 0,0 point in the AutoCAD export is now different than where the Project Base Point is in Revit. This is going to be something that more likely than not, the consultants are going to point out to you by asking, why is 0,0 over here? In the pictures below, the Project Base Point was unclipped and moved. In AutoCAD, the 0,0 point stayed where it was.

So what is the safe practice? At the outset of a project, turn the Project Base Point on and use this point as your intersection of two grids preferably at the corner of the building and go from there. That way everyone linking origin to origin will be good to go and everyone receiving AutoCAD exports will be seeing a 0,0 point at the intersection of two grid lines.