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Catia Piping Design workbench vs Catia Part pipe design 1
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I don't have direct experience with the Piping Design app, but nobody else spoke up yet, so here's what I know about that may be helpful even if it's needing some additions or corrections. I have some experience with the Structures Design app and the Piping & Tubing app in 3DExperience, which may be a little different than the same tools in V5. Some of what I'll say is extrapolated from having more experience with Structures.
Classical tools basically do mechanical design where you can define a pipe profile and sweep it along a path. Repeat as much as needed. It's super flexible to make the details, but very difficult to make big changes that involve many parts simultaneously. You don't need all that flexibility anyway when really you're selecting and placing items from supplier catalogs.
The Piping app however is built to automate this task, and works with deep ties to catalogs. The default function is not to draw a sketch along a path, but rather to instantiate a pipeline along a path, or point to point, or whatever. (The sketches are still there, but handled automatically) It will create new parts continually, rather than reuse, which is more reflective of the real world in a way.
Sketches come from catalogs, and then get instantiated in the part files, following the design inputs you tell it for the path. Then there's lots of opportunity for including lots of design rules, like for example minimum bend radii for tubing depending on materials and wall thicknesses. Catalogs also will contain libraries of fittings. Fittings can be configured with attachment points (as publications) which take into account the length and direction of engagement between the fitting and the bare pipe. If memory serves, there's also the concept of a piping run, where you can select everything involved and change up the parameters like nominal size or wall thickness in one shot. Pretty slick, but it requires a lot of setup.
The general workflow can then take advantage of all this setup. For example, you could first place the fittings where they go in space. Then string pipes along from fitting point to fitting point, while putting bends and corners in the piping run. Then cut the pipe and put fittings at more points where needed. The automated tools will facilitate cutting the pipes up and joining things together.
Last step, this is tied in somehow with a different, more specialized drafting workbench that is tailored to making P&ID diagrams. These are things I don't know about personally, but I'm aware of from a distance. This stuff lives in the systems design realm.
Probably the sales videos on youtube etc. will have decent demonstrations of all this, but for sure won't tell about the setup that's needed first. In the end, our company's assessment has been that we don't model enough piping to justify the cost and effort yet, so the piping work we do model is all done in Part Design.
Classical tools basically do mechanical design where you can define a pipe profile and sweep it along a path. Repeat as much as needed. It's super flexible to make the details, but very difficult to make big changes that involve many parts simultaneously. You don't need all that flexibility anyway when really you're selecting and placing items from supplier catalogs.
The Piping app however is built to automate this task, and works with deep ties to catalogs. The default function is not to draw a sketch along a path, but rather to instantiate a pipeline along a path, or point to point, or whatever. (The sketches are still there, but handled automatically) It will create new parts continually, rather than reuse, which is more reflective of the real world in a way.
Sketches come from catalogs, and then get instantiated in the part files, following the design inputs you tell it for the path. Then there's lots of opportunity for including lots of design rules, like for example minimum bend radii for tubing depending on materials and wall thicknesses. Catalogs also will contain libraries of fittings. Fittings can be configured with attachment points (as publications) which take into account the length and direction of engagement between the fitting and the bare pipe. If memory serves, there's also the concept of a piping run, where you can select everything involved and change up the parameters like nominal size or wall thickness in one shot. Pretty slick, but it requires a lot of setup.
The general workflow can then take advantage of all this setup. For example, you could first place the fittings where they go in space. Then string pipes along from fitting point to fitting point, while putting bends and corners in the piping run. Then cut the pipe and put fittings at more points where needed. The automated tools will facilitate cutting the pipes up and joining things together.
Last step, this is tied in somehow with a different, more specialized drafting workbench that is tailored to making P&ID diagrams. These are things I don't know about personally, but I'm aware of from a distance. This stuff lives in the systems design realm.
Probably the sales videos on youtube etc. will have decent demonstrations of all this, but for sure won't tell about the setup that's needed first. In the end, our company's assessment has been that we don't model enough piping to justify the cost and effort yet, so the piping work we do model is all done in Part Design.
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