Shopping for low-cost piping schematic and design software

[jdunfee5]

I am seeking a low-cost CAD design solution for creating P&ID drawings. In the past, the company has created isometric DWG's using an AutoCAD clone, BricsCAD using basic 2d blocks. Note that this is for medium-sized refrigeration systems (10-20 evaporators, 2 or 2 compressors).

I want to upgrade what they are doing, but need to keep costs under $1,000. I can see two possible levels to jump in,
[ul]
[li]CAD tools that aid in creating P&ID's and provide BOM's.[/li]
[li]Flow Simulation.[/li]
[/ul]

Thanks for the advice,
Joe

 

[jbeckhou]

You can buy autocad LT for around $900 bucks.

Petrotrim Services, LLC

http://www.petrotrim.com

 

[jdunfee5]

Is there a particular AutoCAD LT add-on that you would recommend? Does it have P&ID symbols built in?

Otherwise, it is much more limited, and higher priced than BricsCAD.

-Joe

 

[trashcanman]

Get Draftsight. It is free.

 

[jdunfee5]

Thanks for the replies, but I now realize that I was not as specific as I should have been in regards to my CAD search.

I was not looking for a general CAD program (since we already have that), but rather I was looking for something specific for P&ID drawing with features to aid the design or drawing of P&ID.

For others reading this thread, yes, Draftsight seems to be a great deal, since is free and seems roughly equivalent to AutoCAD LT. I have some across some piping libraries that coule be used with it in the $100 to $200 range. There are also a few free libraries around, but the quality seems lacking.

For my own use, I was hoping for something more than a simple block library, since I already have that.

-Joe

 

[MortenA]

I down know the cost of Vision, but i think you might be able to make P&IDs using Vision. But a lot of the "normal" CAD functionalities will not be there. But for simple P&IDs or maybe for an engineer to scetch out preliminary it will work? I alway struggle a little with the grid - but i thknk thats just (lack of) practise.

 

[jdunfee5]

MortenA, I tried looking up Vision, but since the word "vision" is used as a normal word, the software itself is buried somewhere in the 5.4 million hits I got even when I tried to combine it with other words.

Can you provide a link or the vendor's name?

-Joe

 

[MortenA]

Bummer spelling error: Visio (from MS). Sorry about the confusion