PV design software 5

[safriot]

Our company are interested in buying pressure vessel design software. We are currently looking at Compress and PV Elite. For Compress you need to buy an extra add on for heat exchangers, but not for PV Elite. Which one would you recommend for general cost effective applications? Or would you recommend another software solution?

 

[Goahead]

Did you consider the products offered by

http://www.computereng.com

?


Regards,

http://www.welding-advisers.com/

 

[waskillywabbit]

I've used both PV Elite and Compress and they both work well and both support their products well. It just depends on which suits your needs better. While they are alike in many ways, they both offer things the other does not. I'd suggest getting "sample" copies of each and just testing them out with different folks in your company. As far as "cost effective", if you are only going to design a couple vessels a year then you should just source it out and not waste your money on the software as it is only "cost effective" if you use it on a daily basis.

Brian

 

[SnTMan]

I am fairly new to PVElite, but have used CodeCalc for years, and to echo waskillywabbit it works well and is well supported. I don't often use the features of PVElite and just go straight to CodeCalc which is built in. However I have lately discovered that the PVElite and CodeCalc parts of the program apparently don't "talk" to each other. After creating and analyzing a vessel in PVElite I had to re-enter all the data to do an analysis in CodeCalc. Seems odd.

By far most of what I do is heat exchangers and CodeCalc handles most of the common features reasonably well, however there are limitations in ALL software and hand calcs or my own spreadsheets are required at times.

My main gripe(s) about CodeCalc is the amount of data you have to input (not very automated for design) and the great amount of output you get, which is sometimes useful, but really more than I like to send to a customer. However rather than spend a lot of time editing the output, I just live with it.

If you are going to do primarily shell and tube heat exchangers it's hard to beat RCS, very automated, very flexible (within what it does, for example it is very light on structural type stuff), produces brief but complete calculations, simple but usable shop drawings, BOM's with "one click" almost. Just give it the most basic data and it does the rest. Has a very flexible tube layout module, which, so far as I know is completely missing in PVElite / CodecCalc.

Regards,

Mike

 

[chaulklate]

I've worked with both Advanced Pressure Vessel as endorsed by GoAhead above and also with Compress. Both are well supported. I've been able to get APV on the phone several times to discuss issues. Compress has a separate forum here at Eng Tips which I believe is closely monitored by Tom at Compress which is helpful. I think my preference lies with Advanced Pressure Vessel for usability, very user friendly.

Waskillywabitt's advice is best, test drive them all and see which one has the features you require.

Keep in mind, no software is a replacement for know-how. If the person using the software does not fully understand the inputs, it will be hard to rely on the outputs.

 

[interpass]

My company has been using the Advanced pressure vessel program from computer engineering of about a year now and have been pleased with the ease of operation and output information for the design of Div I vessel design. We have yet to get into the exchanger segment of the program due to the call for standard vessels, but I hear from other users that it is fairly simple to use as well. We are a small company, so the support of an engineering department is not always readily availible for help! Give Computer engineering a call!!!

Respectfully,

Ryan Wood
Interpass Industrial

 

[docentos13]

Hi everybody. My company use OhmTech Visual Vessel Design. It's quite good program especially if you design according to European codes (EN 13445, EN 1591, AD Mrkblat and other) but ASME BPV is also included.

I also heard about MicroProtol from EuResearch. Does enybody know this software? What do you think about it?

Regards,
--
Doc

 

[dig1]

Doc,

I have reviewed OhmTech because I have several EN 13445 vessels to design. While PVElite, which I own, has EN13445 in it, there are some errors (material data base in a few spots). The errors are on the conservative side and tech support has been excellent.

However, OhmTech has neither responded to my phone calls or e-mails for information (pricing, delivery, etc). This concerns me because if they won't make contact when I'm trying to purchase I fear what tech support and upgrades for the new issues will be like.

How is there tech support?

I like PVElite and selected it over Compress because of the ability to to rectangular vessels, Div 2, and EN13445, and the ability to perform dynamic seismic analysis for vessels. Compress would have been my choice however, if I did only Div 1 vessels because it is much easier to use.

 

[docentos13]

dig1,

We buy VVD through local reseler so I don't know how good or bad is OhmTech support.

But few times I ask directly OhmTech through their website form. Once it was pricing list, once my vision of VVD improvements and lastly I lost password to download. Their reply was quite fast (from one day to one week). I don't know why they didn't respond you.

BTW. One year license per EN13445 + ASME VIII code is about EUR 3000. License fee per next year is about EUR 1000.

--
Doc

 

[dig1]

Thanks Doc,

I just received a quote (after several e-mails) and it was for EUR6200 with a license fee of EUR1200.

Do you mind giving me the contact for the local re-seller?

Thanks,

Patrick

 

[docentos13]

I'm from Poland and my resseler also. I don't think that you want contact with him. But if you want, here's contact information:

Cim-MES projekt
ul Grzybowska 87
00-844 Warsaw
POLAND
tel +48 22 6312244
fax +48 22 6312245
cim-mes@cim-mes.com.pl

--
Doc

 

[Seeker88]

Hi folks,

A lot of good information supplied by many people across the forum. Chaulklate is spot on for the relationship between user knowledge and trusting input/output data. I run S&T design courses for our new employees and still struggle to get across the message that the software is a tool and the old addage still remains. Rubbish input = Rubbish Output.

We manufacture s&t exchangers and pressure vessels and have tried five different software programmes in the last seven years. OhmTech was weak at first but is improving, is used now by some of the more respected Notified Bodies and a number of manufacturers in the UK - a lot more throughtout Northern Europe. The reports back to us a re good and it does have the advantage of doing EN13445, AD MErkblatt, ASME and PD5500.

We have been usng Finglow software for more than 6 years and have in the meanwhile tried to change over to PV Elite and Compress etc. Still reviewing the many other type of software available but yet to find one that will meet all our requirements.

SntMan - can you give me some details about the RCS software you mentioned in your reply to this posting.

At the end of the day, we are still going to have to use papers, self designed programmes and utility software to get the whole vessel or exchanger designed as no single piece of software can yet do the whole job - or at least we have not seen one.

A good post and an interesting topic.

many thanks

Charles