In the Pipes

Changes to the Plant In-the-Pipes Blog

Hi everyone.

I’d like to announce some changes to the In-The-Pipes blog. We launched this blog in November 2006, and we’ve no intention of ending it. But it’s time for a change.

We’re morphing into a group blog where you will get different perspectives from several of my colleagues here at Autodesk. You might have noticed that we’ve been trying out this format over the past few months, and we think it will serve well.

Why the change? As you may have noticed, my blogging has fallen off in the last year. Turns out raising a child takes a lot of time and energy. Who knew? ;-) Plus I moved into a new position here at Autodesk. I’m now in Industry Strategy, meaning I’m not as close to product development as I once was; I’m more about solution direction. And while my solutions will primarily be around plant design, my focus will be on whatever product/partner/service can address the workflows instead of before, where I was focused on AutoCAD Plant 3D and AutoCAD P&ID.

So from now on, there will be a set of us blogging on this site. I’ll still write occasionally, but you will be hearing from several voices from here on out.

We’d also like to get your feedback on the kinds of things you’d like to hear about. Please comment on this post with some ideas. Thanks everyone!

BIM and Intelligent 3D Modeling for Infrastructure and Plant

A new McGraw Hill Smart Market Report on the business value of BIM for Infrastructure shows that nearly half of the firms responding to the survey are currently using BIM on infrastructure projects. Even more exciting results are that 67% of all users are reporting a positive ROI on their BIM investment. 

Do you agree?  We’d like to hear from you on this topic.  Take this survey and we will send you a copy of the McGraw Hill BIM for Infrastructure Smart Market Report.

Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ADSKBIM

 

Help us help you! Join Autodesk’s Customer Involvement Program (CIP)

Pat Jenakanandhini here.

I know it’s been a while since my last blog post. We have been busy getting the 2013 release out the door. By now, you should be getting the latest release in your hands or downloading it from our subscription center. Go check it out!

Today, I'd like to talk about Autodesk’s customer involvement program or CIP in Autodesk lingo.

What is the CIP program?

It’s a small component integrated with applications like AutoCAD Plant 3D that allows customers to provide us with information that helps us better understand how the product is being used.

What kind of information is collected?

CIP collects information like your operating system, system specs, what version of the software you are running, error conditions and frequency of commands. Autodesk values your privacy and any data we collect is covered by the Autodesk privacy policy accessible here: http://usa.autodesk.com/privacy/. You can even preview your CIP data (directions below). We don’t collect any model data or any other data that would identify what you are working on.

How is this data useful?

As a product manager, I talk to customers to understand how they use the product. I learn about product issues and prioritize the issues and features we need to work on for future releases.

This approach is great but as you can imagine, every company has slightly different processes and ways of doing things. This is where CIP comes in. It allows us to take a look at generalized data and identify patterns of how a majority of users use the product.

An example of CIP data being used is Autodesk’s decision to drop Vista support. We found that a vast majority of our customers were not using Windows Vista and by dropping support for it, we were able to free up resources to tackle problems that we would have otherwise not gotten to.

So, as you can see we need you to help us help you! Participate in the CIP program. It doesn’t affect performance and you will be helping making the product better.

How do I participate in the Customer Involvement Program?

Simply launch AutoCAD Plant 3D, click on the button next the help button as shown below and select “Customer Involvement Program…”

A dialog will display your current setting preference. If it is set to Yes, a big thank you for participating. If it is set to No, switch the option to Yes and that’s it!

As I mentioned earlier, you can preview your CIP data by clicking on the link just above the OK button. Here’s a snapshot of my CIP data.

I hope you found this post useful and informative. Please consider participating in CIP as it truly does help us help you.

 

 

Plant Round-up (no pun intended)

Hi there, it's me Eileen again.

There's been a lot of new Plant  information, tools, news, etc. that I've posted lately to the AutoCAD Plant Exchange Twitter account, Facebook page, and LinkedIn group. In case you aren't following any of those social media options, you're not getting updates right when they happen. So, I'm posting some of those items here.

Following is a summary of the recent posts and relevant links:

• NEW! ACAD Plant 3D 2013 Object Enablers - Now Navisworks users can retrieve property data when reviewing Plant 3D models:. (April 18)
• View the Autodesk Plant Quarterly eNewsletter to see and participate in the latest Plant happenings!  (April 16)
• Join us on May 1, 2012 for this Piping the Point Cloud with AutoCAD Plant 3D live webcast. Register now. (April 16)
• 3 new Plant hotfixes are available for AutoCAD Plant 3D 2012 with SP1 and AutoCAD P&ID 2012 with SP1. Find out more! (April 6)
• You asked for it, we listened. RSS FEED (beta) for Ask the Plant Expert. Give us your feedback! (April 2)
• An Easier Way To Do Plant Design--Watch Ian Matthew in this session from Autodesk’s Lead the Way Virtual Event. (April 2)
• April brings a new Plant Expert. This month's expert is Qasim Khan, Sr Software QA Engineer at Autodesk. Welcome!  (April 2)
• Watch Autodesk Software Engineer Richard Frank demo the NEW AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013 Catalog Builder (12 minutes): (March 30)
• Watch Ian Matthew demo the AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013 new features, and let us know what you think! (March 29)
• Hey developers, AutoCAD Plant 3D SDK 2013 is available now! Head to the Developer Center to learn more and download:  (March 29)

If you find this type of post useful/helpful, please let me know so I continue to do post about these sorts of things. Also, please consider joining/following those social media options I mentioned at the beginning of this post. You can set up your accounts to get immediate notifications (or not), if you want to stay in-the-know on all things Plant.

Thanks,

Eileen

What's new in AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013 and AutoCAD P&ID 2013?

Hi there. It's Eileen again.

Now that the launch of the new Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2013 (along with a whole lot of other Autodesk products) is public, I thought you'd find it helpful to get a high-level overview of the new features in both AutoCAD P&ID 2013 and AutoCAD Plant 3D 2013.

P&ID Features

Improved how P&ID components move and stretch to meet a designers expectations. You now have a live preview reporting results before you finalize a stretch or move command

Plant 3D Features

3D Modeling Features

• Pipe Supports
• Pipe Bends
• Valve Operators
• Stub-Ins, Tapping, and Reinforcement Pads
• Instrumentation and Custom Parts
• Isometrics
• Plant SDK

Specs and Catalogs

• Valve Operators
• Catalog Builder
• Component Creation
• Bolt Mapping

NOTE: You can also find out more details about the new features, including some nice graphics, right here: http://autocad.autodesk.com/?nd=plant2013newfeatures

Announcing the AutoCAD Plant 3D Design Suite 2013!

Hi all:

This is Eileen Foran, Community Manager for Autodesk Plant. Today, I'm pleased to announce the launch of the AutoCAD Plant 3D Design Suite 2013!

There are three editions of the Suite. Below, you'll see high-level descriptions about each edition. You can find out more details by visiting www.autodesk.com/plantdesignsuite. 

Autodesk Plant Design Suite Standard
The Standard edition supports 2D drafting, general design, and piping and instrumentation diagrams. Use it to create, modify, and manage P&IDs. More clearly communicate design intent to clients and colleagues with Autodesk® Showcase® and Autodesk® SketchBook® Designer software. This edition includes:

• AutoCAD®   
• AutoCAD® P&ID
• Autodesk® Sketchbook® Designer   
• Autodesk® Showcase®

Autodesk Plant Design Suite Premium
The Premium edition builds on products found in the Standard edition to support modern 3D modeling, structural design, and visualization. Using Premium products, firms can design, model, and document process plants; draft, design, and analyze plant structures in 3D; aggregate multiple models; and create steel and concrete reinforcement detailing and fabrication shop drawings. This edition includes:

• AutoCAD®   
• AutoCAD® P&ID   
• AutoCAD® Plant 3D    
• AutoCAD® Structural Detailing    
• Autodesk® Revit® Structure    
• Autodesk® Navisworks® Simulate        
• Autodesk® Sketchbook® Designer   
• Autodesk® Showcase®

Autodesk Plant Design Suite Ultimate
For multidisciplinary plant design, choose the Ultimate edition. It includes everything from the Premium edition, plus specialized software to support 3D equipment and skid design. Use it to aggregate models from multiple design packages, visualize and share combined models, and help identify clashes early in the process.

• AutoCAD®   
• AutoCAD® P&ID   
• AutoCAD® Plant 3D    
• AutoCAD® Structural Detailing    
• Autodesk® Revit® Structure         
• Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage     
• Autodesk® Inventor®     
• Autodesk® Sketchbook® Designer   
• Autodesk® Showcase®

I hope you find this information helpful--please feel free to comment with your thoughts.

My next blog (coming soon) will be about all of the new features you'll find in the AutoCAD P&ID 2013 and AutoCAD Plant 3d 2013 software. Stay tuned!

Another content pack is available on Plant Exchange! The Victaulic content pack contains the Victaulic Pipes, fittings and Valves compatible with the AWWA, IPS and Victaulic manufacturer catalog. Suitable for Chemical, Oil/gas, Industrial and Water/Waste Water projects in North America.

Find it in the Americas section: http://autocad.autodesk.com/?nd=plant_content_packs

And if you're not finding the content pack you need, please request one here: http://autocad.autodesk.com/?nd=form__105

AutoCAD Plant 3D Courseware, and other useful links

I get asked regularly for AutoCAD Plant 3D training materials. Just today I got a message from Pakistan asking about it.

If you are looking for AutoCAD Plant 3D courseware (which includes content on AutoCAD P&ID), you can download it here: http://autocad.autodesk.com/ama/orig/plant/Autodesk_Plant_2012_Courseware_Update.zip

Or you can order a printed copy here: http://ascented.com/courseware-solutions/autodesk/courseware/Autodesk-Plant-Design.aspx

These links were posted 2 weeks ago on the Autodesk Plant Solutions facebook group by Eileen Foran, our community program manager. This facebook group is a good way to keep informed. It’s an open group that you can join at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/groups/autodeskplantsolutions/.  There is also a facebook page http://www.facebook.com/autocadplantexchange which I like.  (get it? "like" on facebook? haha)

There are also videos showing AutoCAD Plant 3D that many are using for self paced training – you can find them on AutoCAD Plant Exchange  or on youtube AutoCAD Plant 3D playlist  (same videos both places)

AutoCAD Plant Exchange is also an excellent stop for Autodesk Plant news, discussions, content packs and other resources.

That’s all I have – I know there is demand for Advanced training too. I’ll let you know when something materializes on that side. Also, if you’d like videos on other topics, please let me know. We continue to add to the library throughout the years.

Happy Holidays!

Hello from Autodesk University 2011

Yay!  I'm back at Autodesk University here in lovely Las Vegas, Nevada!  :-)

I missed it last year, since 8+ months pregnant is not a good look for Vegas.  But I'm back!!!  I just got here, and already feel like I've missed a lot - my twitter feed had been blowing up with reports from the Innovation Forums, Grey Matter Smackdown, and the buzz around the Autodesk's 123D line.

This year I'm speaking in just one class "Meet the Plant Team". I plan to do a quick retrospective and overview of our Plant Solutions plans, then roll into open audience Q/A session.  I will have a couple fellow Autodeskers on the Panel, and we are honored to be moderated by none other than Dave Tyner from davetyner.com. If you are here at AU2011, I do hope you'll come - PD5258 Wednesday 3PM in Marcello 4506. Come with your hard questions!

Ok, I'm off to the first reception of the night. AEC Mixer, here I come.

In the Field with AutoCAD WS

I’m lucky enough to have a second a guest blog - This time from my colleague Jason Drew.  Jason is a Product Support Specialist with Autodesk. He provides support to customers using AutoCAD Plant 3D and AutoCAD P&ID and was featured on the AutoCAD Plant Exchange “Ask the Expert” for February 2011.  He is also a member of the “Krusty Krew”, a team of Plant Design professionals from around the globe. Before working with AutoCAD Plant products Jason worked for three years as an administrator/designer using Intergraph SmartPlant P&ID. His background is in Information Technology where he worked for six years providing computer support for an engineering company in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Hope you enjoy his first post!

Ursula

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AutoCAD WS is one of the many new cloud services offered by Autodesk. It allows users to upload and share drawings with anyone around the globe. No need to send large email attachments or upload to FTP sites. AutoCAD WS works with the following devices:

• iPhone & iPad
• Mac
• Android phones and tablets
• AutoCAD (Plug-in)

Have you ever gone out to the field with a stack of paper drawings and wondered if there was a better way to perform a walk-down?

While there currently is not an AutoCAD WS plug-in for AutoCAD Plant 3D and AutoCAD P&ID (meaning you cannot upload to AutoCAD WS directly) there is a simple workaround.

From the office:

1. From Project Manager use the ‘Export to AutoCAD’ feature
2. Upload the drawings to AutoCAD WS

Before heading to the field site:

1. Login to AutoCAD WS with your mobile device or tablet
2. Select the drawings and use ‘Download to local’
3. Head out to the field

In the Field:

1. Mark-up and redline drawings
2. Connect to the Internet
3. Upload and share drawings
4. Home office users launch AutoCAD WS
5. Download the drawings and open in Design Review

You internal customers back at the home office won’t have to wait for the drawings to be mailed back, scanned in, etc.

Go green… Keep it in the cloud, keep it simple!