Automatically Place Parts on Guidelines (PE)

Plant Engineering > Guideline Tools > AutoPlace parts on guidelines

This function enables you to automatically place the following part types on guidelines:

• Counter-flanges at guideline start and end points, if the guideline begins or ends with a flange and the respective flange has the same nominal diameter and pipe class assignment as the active pipeline,
• Elbows; these can only be placed on guideline corners if a corresponding record with the appropriate angle value exists in the database,
• T-pieces,
• Straight pipes,
• Knees (with selectable insertion direction),
• Reducers,
• Flanges on free ends,
• Blank flanges on free ends,
• Bolted flange connections.

The procedure of the function depends on the parameters you specified via Settings: Place parts on guidelines. By default, the Guidelines dialogue window will be displayed. Specify, by activating the appropriate checkboxes, which parts you want to place on the guidelines.

Settings: AutoPlace parts on guidelines

After successful part insertion, HiCAD automatically starts a collision check. This checks whether the pipeline collides with other parts in the drawing, it does not check whether the parts within the pipeline interfere with each other.

If several guidelines can be assigned to an active pipeline, and you do not want to place parts on all of them, you can select one particular guideline and place parts only on this guideline. Activate the Select guideline checkbox. After exiting the dialogue window with OK, HiCAD prompts you to identify the guideline.

Please note:

• If HiCAD issues an error message ("Invalid edge…" or similar), please make sure that the pipeline associated with the guideline is active. If this is not the case, please activate it. If HiCAD re-issues the message, the selected composite edge is not a guideline.
• If several guidelines can be assigned to an active pipeline, and you do not want to place parts on all of them, you can select a specific guideline and place parts only on this guideline. Proceed as follows:

• On the Plant Engineering tab, select Settings > Others > Guideline Tools and activate the Settings: Place parts function.
• Activate the Always display this dialogue checkbox. If required, define further settings and exit the window with OK.
• Call the AutoPlace parts on guidelines function again. The settings window is displayed and you can proceed as described above.
• The insertion type Connect automatically applies when placing straight pipes onto guidelines, filling the gaps between already inserted parts.
  
• If a composite edge includes a succession of edges containing one or several circular arcs, but no corners, a bent pipe will be placed onto this composite edge.
• When placing parts on pipelines with the AutoPlace parts on guidelines function, you have the option to automatically consider weld gaps. These will be visible as gaps between the parts in the layout plan. On the Weld gap tab of the Plant Engineering Settings dialogue window you can choose whether or not to consider weld gaps, and select the procedure for weld gap width calculation.
• We also recommend reading the information given in the chapter Automatic Adjustment of Nominal Diameter Condition.
• If the Use presettings for placing of parts on branching points checkbox on the Part placing on branching points tab of the Plant Engineering Settings dialogue is active, and nominal diameters have been assigned to all guidelines, the selection of the part type, connection type (and, if required, the standard designation) for the corresponding branching point will take place automatically. lf not all nominal diameters havebeen preset yet, they will be queried.

Counter-flanges

When connecting flanges, the search criteria for the flange to be fitted always refer to the flange connection to which the flange is to be attached. This means that the nominal diameter assigned to the pipeline or the guideline is always ignored, i.e. even if the Ignore nominal diameter option has not been activated. If the flange connection to which the part is to be fitted belongs to a flange, the same flange is inserted as a counter-flange; this applies even if a pipe class not containing this flange has been assigned to the pipeline.

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Reducers

If a nominal diameter has been assigned to the active pipeline, or if at least to the guidelines of this pipeline, HiCAD inserts an appropriate reducer in each part connection whose nominal diameter differs from the nominal diameter at its insertion position. If a pipe class has been assigned to the pipeline, this pipe class needs to contain the appropriate reducers.

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Flanges on free ends

Use this function to automatically place flanges on free guideline ends ("ends" meaning start points and end points of guidelines). A guideline end is "free" if no part is attached to it and if the end is not located on the connection of a part that does not belong to the active pipeline.

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Blank flanges on free ends

Use this function to attach a blank flange to a flange which is located at the end of a guideline. In this case the blank flange will not be placed on a guideline. The search criteria for the blank flange to be fitted always refer to the flange connection to which the flange is to be attached. This means that the nominal diameter assigned to the pipeline or the guideline is always ignored, i.e. even if the Ignore nominal diameter option has not been activated.

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Guideline Tools (PE) • Plant Engineering Functions • Part Selection - Catalogue or Database • Close Gaps