Plant 3D Piping Spec Workshop

Yes. The component type determines the insertion behavior when drawing and the group in which the component appears in bills of materials and isometrics. A measuring device should therefore be created as an instrument, and a connecting piece as a fitting. Define the type, graphics and end types right at the start, because if you change them later, values already entered must be re-entered. Components for vessel nozzles belong in the nozzle catalog, all others in the pipe, valve or instrument catalogs.

Right-click the spec in the Project Manager > "Spec Viewer". At the top, only the smallest and largest nominal size is shown for each component type – you cannot see there whether sizes in between are missing. Select a component: the lower area lists every size actually contained individually. The viewer also shows when several components are assigned to one nominal size.

Always keep the system specs supplied with the software: Custom Parts (for user-defined components, e.g. via the tool palette), Instrumentation (instruments), Pipe Support (pipe supports) and Placeholder (placeholders, in case a component is not found in a spec). Functions and tool palettes access these directly. You can remove supplied sample specs that you don't use. To add your own specs, right-click "Pipe Specs" in the Project Manager > "Copy Spec to Project".

In the Project Manager, right-click the Pipe Specs node and choose Copy Spec to Project. Select the file with the .pspx extension from your spec folder. Plant 3D copies the .pspx file and the associated .pspc file to the project's Spec Sheets folder. The spec is then available for selection when drawing; you may need to restart Plant 3D once.

Usually a change to the current component in the catalog has not been saved yet. Read the message carefully: save the changes to the component (do not cancel or discard), after which the component can be added to the spec. Save the spec regularly as you work, e.g. before editing the branch table – otherwise some new components may not appear there.

A catalog is a .pcat file; next to it is a folder of the same name with preview images and, if applicable, a DWG subfolder for block-based components – the two must always stay together. A spec consists of two files: .pspx (a ZIP with XML, including a reference to the catalogs used) and .pspc (contains a copy of all catalog data used). You always work in the catalog; the spec is compiled from it. Tip: in Windows Explorer, turn on file name extensions under "View".

If the spec contains both concentric and eccentric reducers, the program uses the component with priority 1. If the eccentric reducer is at the top, routing often cannot resolve the resulting elevation offset. In the part priority for reducers, therefore always put the concentric version first. You can specifically select the eccentric reducer when needed while drawing via Substitute Part.

First check whether the Excel file is still open, and close it. Another common cause is importing in the wrong place: a file exported in the Catalog Editor must also be imported there; a spec export file correspondingly in the Spec Editor. Also make sure that in Excel you only changed values and did not rename any columns or worksheets.