Thanks for the info all.
I work in an oil refinery so I design to 31.3
I have been condisering COADE CADWorx as opposed to Autoplant (Rebis) because of it's compatability with Cesar II. Any pros and cons of this software will be appriciated
We looked at piping design software for our office. Rebis is becoming obsolete since they are no longer autodesk authorized. try Plant4D from CEA. A friend at BP recommended it. It links to Caesar and we found it to be more user friendly. Go to
Jagessar,
I have used Cad worx for two yrs. I think it is good enough. besides, it is cheapest software for piping and compatible with piping analyis software (caser II, same company products). I already suggest my new employor purching this one for us.
Depends on if you are more concerned with the "cheapest" software, or the one that produces the best results for you.
Our company has been using PDS for several years and PDMS for the last 3 years. BOTH produce good results. Both have good features and both have their drawbacks. In the end,...if you ask the users who have used both, PDMS comes out on top. Project results and maintenace seem to be better with PDMS. Training is easier with PDMS.
However, BOTH are quite expensive. We use it on major pulp and paper projects around the world. Even with the substantial intitial investments, the results are worth it.
These are just a few observations from our designers.
for more details. The product is copmatible with AutoCAD 2000 and other recent issues. I am told that it costs reasonable. Give a try and evaluate if you wish to work with lower budget.
Other softwares are PDS, PDMS, CADWorkx, AutoPLANT. Who says that AutoPLANT is phased. It is now being taken care of by Bentley. All Rebis products are in their kitty.
Narendra K. Roy
Gramya Research Analysis Institute,
PO box 4016, Vadodara 390015, India
Website:
I would agree that PDS & PDMS are good but they are overpriced. I would put the results from Plant 4D P&ID and PIPE up against them anytime. A fraction of the cost, more user friendly and easier to customise. Try all the options before you buy is the only sensible solution.
Gramya,
In the UK autodesk dealers are saying Autoplant is dying, Autoplant users are saying it and they are losing users hand over fist. The only people who say Rebis products are still worth buying are REBIS dealers and from your website it would seem that you deal in REBIS products.
I have been using CADWorx for 3 years now, with AUTOCAD 2000, and I am really very pleased with it, since the Tech. support is "EXCELLENT". Can anybody out there using Piping Software shout about that as much.
I recommend it to any piping designer, it incorporates it's own Isometric program at no additional cost, even though for another sum, you can buy the more professional ISOGEN Isometric program which allows start to finish print outs of the 11X17 sheets automatically.
The data base is well endowed including Copper fittings for washroom layouts and Isometrics.
Go to
I agree with all your calculations. I suppose your real question was whether you should use a 4" pipe or a 2" one. That can only be answered knowing what the duty is.
The major difference between using the two different sizes would be the pressure drop. If you could get a 1.9" pipe, the pressure drop would be about 125 PSI/100ft. A standard 2" NB pipe would of course give a pressure drop quite a bit less than this.
By the way, these calculations are all based on the "new" condition pipe roughness. If you are designing for a life span of 5 to 10 years you can expect the roughness to double or treble over that period.
The 4" pipe would be the usual "economic" diameter to use. There wouldn't be much point in compressing the air to the high pressures you mention, only to lose it in the piping. But if it was to be vented anyway then losing the pressure in the piping is no problem.
An air velocity of Mach 0.3 is a good guideline for vents. In a compressed air distribution system your velocity of 100 ft/s would be more realistic. When considering these velocities you need to know the condition of the air. If it is wet or dirty you will get erosion with high velocities.
Intergraph PDS is actually on the way out and being replaced by Intergraph's new Smartplant 3D package. A fully 3D rendered user interface. Depends on how big your company is and what you expect out of the software. I work for a large oil and gas company and we use PDS. For links to instrumentation, we use INTools and in the near future we will probably be using SmartPlant P&ID (intelligent process and instrumentatíon diagrams) which all have links to PDS. As noted in this thread, both PDS and PDMS are expensive, but when i have asked people who have worked with both they say that PDMS is quicker initially to use, but PDS wins hands down when it comes to editing and changing line size for stuff already modelled. Just what i've heard.