PDMS TIPS & TRICKS

1. If you want to invert the HEAD and Tail of a particular branch then select the branch and modify –> Hierarchy –> Reverse



2. Normally in PDMS the precision set to 0 decimals. If you want to increase the Decimal points enter the following in the command prompt.


PREC 4 DP ( where 4 is the no. of decimal points)





3. If you want to change only few values of a desparam you can use the following command


DESP n5 200 n8 500



This will change only the 5th and 8th parameter of a desparam





4. If you are working in any modules (Equipment, Structures) and you want to use piping components creation form then use the following command in the PDMS command prompt.



Show _CDCOMP





5. To Zoom in of the CE, type Auto CE.



6. Put some items in the graphic view and use the following command


show !!gphmotion



(Auto rotation..Auto Zoom, Auto Whoble effects)





7. Distance Measuring command





CONST DIST IDP@ TO IDP@









CONST DIST P0 TO P0 OF ID@







CONST DIST PA TO PA OF NEX














8. Want help on your syntax (PDMS Commands) then type

show !!syntaxhelp

What does the Piping Designer need to know?

This is a Blog article on by James O. Pennock
Piping design is more than just knowing how to turn on the computer, how to find the piping menus and the difference between paper space and model space.

Full Article: http://pipingdesigners.com/contents/blog/30-blog-1e-what-does-a-piping-designer-need-to-know.html
So, appropriately, what else does the designer need to know about piping design besides how to operate a keyboard and a mouse or connect a piece of pipe to a fitting?







Here is a list of the most basic of things that a good piping designer should know.
Thinking about every one of these items should become as natural as breathing for a good piping designer.

• Pipe, Fittings, Flanges and Valves – All designers need to know and understand the broad spectrum of items that make up the "vocabulary" of the piping language.

• Relationship of other Engineering groups – All designers need to know and understand the relationship, activities and contribution of all the other engineering and design groups on the project.

• Piping Execution – All designers must understand how piping design progress is linked to P&IDs, equipment vendor drawings, instrument vendor drawings, stress analysis and structural support design.

• Process Documents – All designers need to be able to read, understand and know how to use the two major documents produced by the Process Engineering team -the PFD and the P&ID.

• Process Variables – All designers must know and understand the four basic process variables: pressure, temperature, flow and level.

• Process Plant Equipment – All designers need to know and understand what the different types of equipment are.

• Equipment Operation and Internals – All piping designers need to understand the equipment process function and the equipment internals.

• Equipment piping – All piping designers need to know the right and the wrong way to pipe up
different kinds of equipment and for maintenance/disassembly space requirements.

• Allowable pipe spans – All designers need to know and understand the span capabilities of pipe in the different schedules for a wide variety of common piping materials.

• Expansion of pipe – All piping designers must understand that they need to treat a piping system as though it is alive.

• Routing for flexibility – All piping designers must understand how to route pipe for flexibility.

• Weight and loads (live loads and dead loads) – All piping designers need to understand the effects of weight and loading.

• Standards and specifications – All piping designers need to understand the content and application of the client and engineering company standards and specifications used on the project.

• Vessel piping – All piping designers also need to understand about the connecting, supporting and guiding of piping attached to vessels (horizontal or vertical) and tanks.

• Rack piping – All piping designers need to understand that there is a logical approach to the placement of piping in (or on) a pipe rack and the setting of rack elevations.

• Expansion loops – All designer need to understand and be able to use simple rules and methods for sizing loops in rack piping.

• Cold spring/Pre-spring – All piping designers should understand the basics rules of cold spring and pre-spring.

• Design production methods – All piping designers need to be able to make all types of piping documents (sketches, layouts, detail piping plans, isometrics, etc) using different methods. These methods include first and most important, manually.

• Fabrication and Construction methods – All piping designers need to understand shop spool fabrication, modularization and field erection construction methods.

• Heat Tracing – All piping designers need to understand the purpose of process heat conservation, know the different methods.

• Deliverables – All piping designers need to understand the purposes of each of the piping deliverables, such as plot plans, key plans, piping plans and sections, and isometrics.

• Drawing Content – All piping designers must understand how to present their designs.

• Economics – All piping designers must be aware of economics.


Full Article: http://pipingdesigners.com/contents/blog/30-blog-1e-what-does-a-piping-designer-need-to-know.html

What is PIPING ENGINEER?

  
Broadly speaking, there are two types of Piping engineers - Layout engineers and Stress Engineers.

1.  Layout Engineers- As the name suggests, they are responsible for proposal and finalization of the layout of the entire area. Though they are piping engineers to start with, since pipes are ubiquitous in a plant, they ultimately become responsible for layout of the entire plant including the civil, electrical and other items. For this reason, a major part of their job involves coordination with other departments and resolution of conflicts as and when they occur. They decide the routing of the pipes, the requirement of items such as manholes and vents as per requirement or standard practice and almost anything else you can imagine to do with pipes. However deciding the size and material of the pipe is done by a Process Engineer and not by a Piping Engineer. Depending on the size of the project, some layout engineers might be required to do specialist jobs like that of a Material Engineer or a Support Engineer. A Material Engineer is required for creation of datasheets, BOQ (Bill of Quantities) etc for respective materials. He may also be the one responsible for selection of material for certain piping items such as supports and springs. A Support Engineer designs supports and creates support standards which contain information about the type of supports required, their respective designs, the acceptable support span etc. If a project is comparatively smaller, you might find Layout Engineer, Material Engineer and Support Engineer all rolled into one.

2. Stress Engineers- Stress Engineers are responsible for checking whether the proposed pipe routing is safe from a stress point of view or not. A pipe must not fail i.e burst, bend or go out of shape beyond acceptable limits due to pressure, temperature or any other ambient conditions. A stress engineer is responsible to ensure that. The analysis is usually done by software such as CAESAR or Autopipe. In case of failure of the pipes, the stress engineers is also required to suggest alternative routing and measures which will ensure the safety of the pipes. Apart from pipes, stress engineer also analyses piping associated with equipment such as pumps, compressors , pressure vessels , storage tanks to ensure that the pipes at the interface (usually nozzles) do not fail while in operation or on standby.

PIPING ENGINEERING

                                                   Piping engineering is an emerging engineering science, although it has been there for years. Pipes are crucial for any plants, so are the individuals who help in creating plans and designs to make the sufficient piping system for a facility. The article draws light on the importance of piping engineering and piping engineers.

A piping system is crucial to any process plant; hence it needs to be designed with precision and care. The efficiency of a plant highly depends on its ability to transport fluid through the pipes to various equipment that function collectively. In order to create a piping system, it requires a systematic analysis of various engineering methods. In the past years, many standard practices for piping system has emerged, and today piping system is considered to be one of the major engineering sciences. As a result there is a continuous need for trained piping engineers to design piping system in every engineering and construction company.

As an academic discipline, piping engineering is rarely taught in universities. However, it is extremely important for the safety of plant, safety of the personnel, public, and also for maintaining the level of consistency in a facility.

Pipes on the surface are simple to comprehend; they are a cylindrical bar with a hole in it to allow the flow of fluid or gaseous substance. Pipes in a plant are subjected to numerous loading conditions in their life span. Piping systems can fail, hence it is important for the engineers to consider possible outcomes and work their way out to prevent the failure of the piping system and other hazards.

The Role of a piping engineer in an engineering company:-

Pipes do fail, and sometimes with disastrous outcomes. A piping engineer at the plant understands the potential risks, can aid in troubleshooting the issues.

A piping engineer is a mechanical engineer whose expertise lies in disciplines which deal with planning, design and implementation of various piping systems (including plumbing system) for broad spectrum of industrial plants. Industries such as: manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, agriculture and food, residential and commercial construction, chemical, etc. are the major industries which take the help of piping engineering consultants and professionals to implement the apt piping system for better functioning of their plants. The piping engineer's duties and responsibilities vary depending on the position in a specific industry. The companies prefer piping engineers who have a degree in mechanical engineering, civil engineering, or pipe engineering. Pipe engineers are expected to have excellent drafting and analytical skills, in order to ensure that the planned piping projects are documented and designed well, and built to meet the desired functions. These professionals are expected to have strong management skills for both supervising the team and executing specific tasks. The main responsibility of a piping engineer is to create fundamental drawings that define the functions of a piping system and to decide what materials should be used to create them. They help in choosing the appropriate materials to be used for pipes. Also, engineers conduct huge amount of research and development activities while creating the piping systems.

As we have seen that pipes are an inevitable part of any process plants, hence it is equally important to have the right piping engineer or piping engineering consultant before setting up a facility.