If You Build It! You Can Pipe It in AutoCAD Plant 3D!

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: All right, I think it's time to get started. So welcome. Thank you for coming. I think I saw some of you this morning in the class I had on Plant as well. So thank you for tolerating me yet once again.

So just to kind of give you some just background of what we're going to be doing here. Actually, do have two lab assistants that are in the back. Waving right now is Vinod. Waving right now is David. And they're going to be helping today if you run into any problems as you're going through the lesson that we're going to be doing here. So if you have any questions, raise your hand. They'll come help you as fast as they can.

Some things come up sometimes in going through these labs. I've done one before and it totally crashed. So we'll see how this one goes.

But anyways, so just to give you a background on myself. Some of you have already heard this. Some of you that haven't been here, my name is Quentin Contreras. I am a technical support specialist for Plant 3D P&ID and electrical. I've been with Autodesk come next year eight years. So basically, all that's been mostly helping customers with support issues.

I worked on the EP side with some of the EBA customers. I'm not sure if some of y'all are in here today or not. But I've helped with some of those as well. Mainly plant, that's where I focus most of my support on.

Back in the back-- these two gentlemen do support plants as well. David's on the EP side. And Vinod's on technical support side, just like me. So that's a little bit about myself. I came from working in the field before coming here. I work out of our Portland, Oregon office. Before moving up there, I was born and raised in Texas. So I grew up in the oil and gas industry. So that's kind of where my background is related to this.

All right, so I'm not sure if any of you all were here last year. But last year, I did do this same class, and it was mainly just kind of presentation style. But I had a lot of people just kind of giving that puzzled look like, OK, this is-- what do I do with this? So I wanted to come back this year and try to present it as a lab. That way some of you could get hands-on experience. And especially if any of you all are new users that haven't been using Plant for too long, hopefully we can go through some of the workflows on how I generally do this in setting up some of this content to refine the process and just to give you a step-by-step method. That way you know, you just have that cadence that goes through in creating these.

So like I said, you know, we're going to learn how to create them initially from the solids. And then use PlantPartConvert, that's the tool that converts them. Then we're going to go into-- after we do that process-- you're going to go through and you're going to push those to a catalog. And then once in the catalog, you're going create the spec.

And then we're going to open up a plant project that's going to pull those specs that you created. And then we're going to try to see if it works. Hopefully it does, fingers crossed. So let's go ahead and get started.

Oh, and somebody else stepped in. Dave Wolfe, he's one of my counterparts as well today. So if you have any questions, he'll be helping too.

All right, so like I said you know, you're going to run into situations to where you're going to need additional components that you're not going to find with the normal install of Plant. You're going to have unique items that just aren't there. You're not going to find it in the app store if you go look for those additional catalogs that are there.

You just need your own content to do this. So this is kind of what we're doing here. So before we start, let's make sure that you have everything you need to get started here. So if you want, you can go ahead and start Plant 3D 2020. It should be on your computers.

We're going to be using the Spec Editor 2020. So you'll need to start that as well. The other thing is there is one drawing file. Switch over-- so there'll be one drawing file in the data set. And that's going to be located-- should be on your desktop. It's this one here.

Once you go into here, you're looking for the class that you're in right now. If you open that one, then open that folder. So there's two folders here. The first one is going to be the shapes that you're using. This is what we're going to start the drawing with.

And then this other folder that's located here-- this is the Excel file. The Excel file-- you can go and start this one and pull this one up-- but this Excel file, what I basically did was pull the information that associated with these blocks that we're going to be using. So kind of what I like to do with this-- and as we go through the lesson here-- I like to get all my information first. That way I can cut and paste if I need to. That way I can do it more quickly than typing in everything.

Like I said, if you're running into any problems, you're not finding anything, raise your hand and somebody will come help you. And if I need to slow down, everybody raise your hands all at once.

AUDIENCE: What's the path [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: The path?

AUDIENCE: Yeah, [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: There shouldn't be a path. It should be on your desktop.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: To the Excel file?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: No, no, no, it should be-- let's see. So you should have this folder on your desktop.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: And-- well let me just start. I'll do it myself. And it should come up like this. You scroll down-- it's kind of near the bottom. I passed it. There it is right there. There it is.

I have to admit, when I first got in here and tried it, I couldn't find it either. I kept going past it.

AUDIENCE: Where was the Spec Editor?

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: The spec editor? So it's probably not on the desktop. If you go over here to your windows, and go to down here to plant, you'll see it right there-- Spec Editor. You can just click on that and that'll start it.

So you should have the Excel file. You can have that one open now. You can have Plant open now. And you should have Spec Editor up right now. Is there anybody who doesn't have all that? If you do, raise your hand. Just one guy-- OK, so I think we're good to go.

OK, so like I said, you know, we're going to go through and open that first drawing from Plant. So basically what we're doing is in this file, what I've done is I found these valves that I needed to use. And they're from Apollo. And I didn't have these in my content already. But I wanted these to come up in my models.

So I downloaded the files. They had BWGs, so I was able to pull those in. They came into shapes, which I need. So then I pulled the sizes that I needed, and I put them into this drawing.

So when you open up this drawing, what you're going to be seeing is a couple of sizes. You should see eight of them. They're going to be solids. And then we're going to go through the process of the next step on getting these to a place to where we can use the PlantPartConvert.

So I'm going to go ahead and switch over. And I'm just going to do this like a normal AutoCAD drawing. It's not associated to the project yet. So I'm going to go to Open, Drawing and then find that location. And it's going to show up there. There.

So I'm going to my desktop. I should be able to see that folder there. And then you're going to search for the class again. There it is. And then I can open that drawing.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Yes. Or you could create your own shapes as well if you're wanting to do that. Or you can engineer it yourself. You can pull it from different areas and combine what you need. I mean, there's different ways of doing it.

OK does anybody not have this drawing up yet? Anybody else need any help? We good to go? Oh.

So like I said, you should have these eight drawings up. Basically, what we're seeing right now is just the 3D shapes. So if I select on one of these items right now, you can tell that-- see how they're all individual items? I can go to Properties. And I can see that these are just surfaces and so forth. I got bad display here.

All right, try to get through it the best I can. So like I said, you're going to have all these-- and we're going to be converting all these. So the first thing that we need to do is we're going to convert these to blocks.

So with the block command-- and we'll start off with the first one here. So I'm going to start with the smallest size first and then build my way up and go through the corresponding sizes as they're going up. So I can go ahead and zoom into this. Like I said, I'm just going to create a block.

And then the naming convention that I want to give to this is going to be what I have here in the Excel file. So this is what I'm going to call the first one here. This is the name of the block that I'm going to give it. So I'm just going to come in here, copy that, and then just paste that in there.

I'm going to pick my point. So my point needs to be in the center point of that valve. And that's because when you place it on the pipeline, it needs to fall in that pipe to where it's going to be routed correctly, and it's going to align with the flanges and everything else, or the welds, however you have this valve configured.

So you know I can go into-- and what I've done here with this as well, for this example-- and you might not want to do this-- but for this-- let me back out of this-- for this particular item, I went ahead and included the construction line to call it. So this gives me the exact center location of this valve. So when I'm going to create the block and give it the name, and then I can pick my point as the midpoint of that line that I drew in here.

And then I can go ahead and select the objects. So I'll go ahead and select it all. But if I didn't want that construction line, I can deselect it. I'll just do it this way.

So I got it selected then I just hit Enter. Everything should be good to go on that one. I can see the preview up here, and then I can go ahead and OK that. So now I have a block reference, instead of just shape items. And also, it does have the name down here.

So that's what you're going to go through with all of these. So go ahead. I'm sure some of you probably already gone ahead and started doing this. But you can go ahead and do these to the rest of the valves. But basically that's the premise behind it is to select the items, make sure you're selecting the right insertion point, and then go and create them for all of them. So let me go through this as well.

If you're running into problems please raise your hand and one of the assistants will be able to come help you This part is pretty much cut and dry. It's more the time consuming part of just kind of going through it initially

AUDIENCE: I have a question.

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Yes?

AUDIENCE: Is this the kind of process that can be [INAUDIBLE]?

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: I'm not sure. I haven't played around with that much. Any of y'all in the back have any comment?

AUDIENCE: Is this the kind of process that [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: I'm almost there, for those of you all that are faster than me.

Last one. OK, is there anybody still working on that? So everybody got that? So I think we're good to go.

So just to verify, I did go back through. I went to my Insert command, that way I could see to make sure that all of them-- I had gone through and included all of them. So you should have your shapes converted over the blocks now. Hopefully you used the naming convection that I had there, because that's kind of the process as we're going through.

The other thing that I forgot to say that I do sometimes with mine-- just to keep kind of a maintenance thing-- is typically what I should have done is-- the way I have this laid out with the text there and 3D shapes-- I would have taken a copy of that and pulled it off to the side. That way if I needed to revert back to the shapes for some reason if something went wrong, then I didn't have to go through the whole process and exploded and go back. So that's kind of something you would want to do as well.

That way you're going through the process. You have your 3D shapes. And then we would have our blocks. And then we're going to do with the PlantPartConvert side of it too. So that's always a good workflow, that way you have that backup to go back to if you need to redo one of those parts if it's not coming back up correctly.

OK, so we got that part down. Let's switch back over here. And I'm sorry, I'm getting over a cold, so I apologize. So PlantPartConvert. So now, we got the blocks set up, so now we're going to use the functionality tool of PlantPartConvert.

So basically you know, what this is going to do is it's going to create the information that's going to be needed when we start to put this in a catalog as well, because as you're converting it, you're adding the ports. It's creating some other information that the catalog is going to use. And you'll see that as we go through this process.

So once again, not an automated process. This is a manual process that we're going to have to go through with this. So the first thing that we're going to do is you're going to start with the first item again, the smallest one, and then you're going to invoke the PlantPartConvert command. So that's going to allow you to add the ports.

So it's going to ask you for one port, then you're going to do the other port, and then exit out of it. And it should give you that. And I'll go through the process here, but I wanted to give you the slideshow here on how this is done.

So like I said, you're going to pick that port. Make sure when you're picking the port, you're picking the furthest most outside of that flange, because some flanges have the little lip on it. Just be careful when you're picking the center points of those. And then when it's putting the glyph in there to give you the direction, make sure you're pulling it away from the valve.

And then you're going to accept it. And then you're going to move to the opposite side of the valve, because you're going to at the other side. That's going to allow it to mate up. And then once you're done doing both sides, then you can exit out of it. And that should get you what you need.

So you're going to repeat that process for all the valves. So I'll go through it too as well on this side. Once again, if you run into any problems, raise your hand. They'll come help you. So let me see how fast I can get through this.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Oh, thank you. David's always looking out for me. Both Davids are always looking out for me.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

AUDIENCE: Does it matter which one we do first?

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Does it? I don't really think it--

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] With simple 3D, the pressure networks it matters.

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: I don't think it really does, because there's no--

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Now, if you're dealing with other parts like, you know, like unions and stuff like that, then it's kind of a little different because of how it's actually inserting on the pipeline. But for the valves, it should make too much of a difference.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: And make sure you're taking your time with this part. Don't get too ahead of yourself, because I've gone through these sometimes, and I just get ahead of myself, forget to put something in. And then once I get to the part to where I actually need to insert a part, that's where I can run into problems sometimes.

[SIDE CONVERSATION]

Are you seeing the video issues that I'm seeing when I [INAUDIBLE]?

AUDIENCE: Yes.

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: OK.

AUDIENCE: Might want to point out that they use the exit commands the arrows go away. That's normal.

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: OK. OK, I'm almost there. These video issues are giving me fits. All right.

Like I said, it wouldn't be a lab of everything went perfect.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Indeed. Come on. And the other thing that David was reminding me to point out is that once you get these arrows in there, it is normal once you accept the last one and you exit out that they do disappear. That's normal.

Two more. I'm almost there. I apologize. Hopefully, you all aren't seen the video issues like I am to where it's dragging. One more, yeah.

Is there anybody else I need to hold up for? I think you all are way ahead of me. OK, I'm going to go ahead and push forward.

All right, so we created blocks. We went through PlantPartConvert, converted those. So what we should see now is, if you go back to that folder where that drawing was created-- and let me jump back over as well. Catch up there-- so if I go back in here, should see this.

So as we were going through that process with PlantPartConvert, this is what it was doing in the background. So it was creating these image files that are going to be used. And then it's also creating that XML file. So that these are essential with the PlantPartConvert where it goes through and it creates these for you. That way when we move on to the next step here on actually putting together this catalog, it's going to refer to this information.

So that's why I said, it's really important that you can get to point to where it's repetitive, and you kind of get ahead of yourself sometimes. Just be careful, because if you mess up the first time, you have to go back and do another part again. So hopefully you not have to do that.

But I'm guilty. I still do it myself sometimes. I just get in a rush and get the wrong thing. All right, so just wanted to show you that to make you aware of that.

I'm going to switch over here. OK, so the next thing we're going to do is we're going to add these components to an actual catalog. So go ahead and move over to the Spec Editor. You can go ahead and leave Plant open. That's fine.

So as you're going over the Spec Editor, and if you're having any problems again, once again, raise your hand if you can't get that open. It should've been open already. So with it open, what we're going to do is we're going to create a brand new catalog.

Now, unfortunately you know, the Spec Editor doesn't allow you to create a brand new one just by going to File and New. I mean, the only thing you can do is create a spec. You can create a spec from existing, or you can create a catalog from existing.

So what we're going to do is we're going to create a catalog from existing. So what we're going to do is we're going to open-- go to catalog from existing. You should see this window here. Once you see that window, you're going to navigate to the C drive, where you should be able to see-- what you're looking for is the ASME Valve's catalog. We're going to use that one to create from existing.

So when you pick it, it should say the source catalog name of it being the ASME Valve's Catalog, PAT. And then the new catalog we're going to create is going to be called ASME Valve's Catalog-AU2019, because that's going to be the unique name of the catalog that we're going to create. So let me switch over and I'll go through that process to show you what I mean.

So I'm going to File. I'm going to go to New, Create from Existing. I'm going to navigate to where those are located. This one came up by default. But I want the ASME. And I'm going to use the ASME Valve's Catalog.

I'm going to pick that one. It should populate up there. I can expand this, that way I can see the whole name. And when you do this by default, it's going to put this dash copy at the end, just so it doesn't overwrite the existing. So that's one thing you need to be careful with as well is that you're not messing up the one that comes out of the box.

And kind of just a bonus tip, you know, one thing that I like to do is whenever I do a new install of Plant, and once those catalogs get populated on the C drive, I make a backup of those things and just hide it to myself where nobody else can touch it, just in case you screw it up and you need to go back to it. You know, it's just kind of a rule of thumb that I have. So go ahead and rename this. And I believe I said-- what did I say that was going to be-- AU2019.

OK, and I'm just going to go ahead and let it create in the default here. It's going to be located in the ASME with the other ASME catalog. So I'm going to go ahead and create that. So as it's going through that process, all it's doing is it's taking the existing one, pulling all that information from that catalog, and populating it into the one that I've created.

So I'm not going necessarily need all of that information in there. I'm just going to want what I'm going to be working with, just for this example. This is just what we're going to do here. It might be different for you. You might want some of these parts included, and you can omit them as you want to.

But for our purposes in just getting through this, what we're going to do with this is everything that's in here already, we're just going to get rid of. We're going to nuke it all. So I'm going to switch over here. You got your tabs up here in your Spec Editor-- I mean, in your Spec Editor. So you got Spec Editor, your Branch Table editor, and then your Catalog Editor.

So I'm going to switch over here to my Catalog Editor. The other thing that I want to make sure is that I'm in the catalog that I just created, not in one of the other catalogs. Like I said, you might make the mistake of deleting information from the original. Try not to do that.

So this is mine. So I'm going to select. And I can go select the first one. And I select the first one and hold down my shift, select the rest. See how fast this virtual machine is. It might take forever. It's a little bit faster on my computer.

OK, all of them selected. And then I can just go ahead and delete those. I'm going to remove from catalog. So I can right click on it-- come on. And there they go.

So that'll take a little bit. Like I said, it's going to vary just on the computer that your on or so forth. So I'll let it go through that process. Anybody else need help? Are we all on the same page? Got one over here.

While that's doing that, I'm going to take a little drink. I think I need to find me a beer this evening for my sore throat. Oh, yeah, poof. It's all gone. All right, so should be blank. You should have a blank catalog now.

So moving on. Is there anybody else I need to hold up for? Are we good? Speak now, or forever hold your peace. I got one gentleman over there I believe. Oh, he's just waiting. We good? OK, I'm moving forward.

All right, so the next thing we're going to do is now that we have this blank catalog, we're going to go in and start creating parts to build into this to have these in order to use them. So the first thing that you need to do with the blank catalog open is we're still in that Catalog Editor tab. That one's the active one. And then if you notice-- let me switch over.

So we're going to select this first button here that says Create Component. You should get that window that comes up. All right, so with this window, what we're going to do is we're going to put a general range on the type of valve and everything that we're going to be using.

Now, when you're dealing with the Spec Editor, you can go in there and create some content that's already included in Plants. So it does have some geometry for like valves and stuff by default that you could use and you could set your own settings in here. But like I said, we're dealing with a custom valve, so we're going to do this a little bit differently.

So in the graphic section on that lower part, what you should be seeing-- let's see. So I'm going to switch this over to custom. It's going to make it switch over to that. Did you all get it to that particular window? This one there-- that's what you should be seeing. Let me switch back.

OK, so these are the fields that you're going to fill out for this. So we should switch over to custom in that graphic section as well. Make sure that you've changed the number of ports to two. And then for the top part, the basic part family information, we're going to make sure that the component category is set to valves, the component is valve body.

And the short description we're going to give on this is just ball valve. This could be whatever you need it to be. The primary end that we're going to be using is FL. And then we're just going to have a size range from an inch and a half to 10 inch. Now, that's going to throw in some other sizes in there, but we'll get to that a little bit further down here. But this just gives us a general area of what we're going to shoot for.

We could have had more larger sizes. And that could have been included as well.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: And then we're going to go out with that. So let me do that here on my side. So we're going to switch over to valves. There, let me switch over. What did I say? Inch and a half to 10-- I think I got everything there matching up.

OK, so once I get all that in there, you can just go ahead and click Create. And that's just going to give me a general. Down there at the bottom, you can see that there's a size range now of those particular valves that we're going to be pushing into there. So let me jump over.

OK, so now that we've got that populated down there in that lower portion of the Spec Editor, what we're going to do now is we're going to go to the General Properties tab, which should be already selected that should be active right now. And we're going to go fill in the information for the connection port properties that are going to be associated with this valve.

So the end type is going to be FL. The facing is going to be raised face. Pressure class is going to be 150. And then the other thing to make notice of is there is a setting there to where you can either set individual ports as different types, different sizes, different end connections, but for this particular valve, it's all going to be the same. So we just need to verify that we're selecting the right one, or you can select that box to where it's going to assign all of what you're inputting first of both ports at that valve.

So let me switch over and. Let me do this on my side. OK, so end type, FL, facing, RF. Oops, wrong one. And what else should I put in there? Pressure class, 150-- and you can go in here and fill out other fields as well. But just for our purposes here, just wanted to give you some information of getting used to going through this process.

And you know, like I said, I didn't select this. So if I click this arrow here to look at the other port, which is going to be part two, that information didn't get put in. So to save you some time, just make sure you're selecting this before you do that. And I'm going to go change this. And 150.

OK, so you should have those values put in. So the next thing we're going to look at inputting on this page-- let me switch over again. All right, so now we're going to move over to the right-hand side of the Spec Editor there for the catalog, and we're going to input the information for the piping component properties.

So for the long description, and this can vary, this just depends on what you need to put in there, but for this example, we're going to put in SS ASME class 150, flange standard port ball valve, compatible standard, ASME B 16.5, material, stainless steel, weight units, LB, valve alignment, inline, valves body type, ball, and then the ISO symbol type, valve, and then the ISO symbol, SKEY VBFL. And I'll get to the-- I wanted to give you some more information on the ISO symbols. But get that information, and Let me do that here on my side as well first.

OK, I think I got everything. OK, anybody need help? I think we're all good. All right, just let me switch back over.

So there's my information. OK, so what I wanted to kind of put in as a bonus here is that some of these S keys when you're creating custom components, you don't know what you're going to get sometimes. But you can. You know, you can create your own ISO symbols as well.

There is a document that we have out that's on the web that's called Demystifying AutoCAD Plant 3D Isometrics. And there is a section in there that actually goes through and gives you the coding of the S Keys and and example of what they're going to look like. It's a good reference to go to if you get to this part of the catalog and you're not sure what you want to put in there and how you want that symbolized when you produce your ISOs. So that's a good one to go to. But I wanted to point that went out kind of as we go through this process.

OK, so we got that part. So next thing we're going to do is we're going to go to the Sizing tab. So you fill out all the information on the General Properties. The tab next to that is your Size tab. So go ahead and select that tab.

So this is what you should see. So when we went through initially and selected that size range, as I was pointing out, it was going to put additional sizes in there. We don't need all those sizes. We just need the sizes specific to the ones that we created with the PlantPartConvert. So we need to go and remove the ones that aren't going to be used.

So you can go through-- but the only disadvantage, which still kind of annoys me is you can't multiple select them and delete them. So you have to go through each one-- select, delete, select, delete, select, delete. Because I love this automated process. I love step-by-step clicks.

So go through that. Remove the sizes that you don't need. The ones in blue right there are the ones that aren't necessary. So let me do that on my side. 3 and 1/2, 4 and 1/2, so 3 and 1/2, 4 and 1/2, and then 5 and 7, and [INAUDIBLE] and 9. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-- so you should have eight. We did eight parts, and we should have eight sizes there. So that all should match up.

OK, moving on. I think we're good. So the next thing we're going to do is we're going to select that first size. So we're going to select that inch and a half, and then we're going to select the little button there that selects model. And hopefully we did this right, and everything is going to come up the way it should.

So remember, we're going to point to the actual drawing file that we were working in. So you'll have to track back to there, find the location of it, and click on that drawing that we converted those parts in. And then you should see a list of all the parts that we did. And it should have the naming convention of what I had you put in for each one of those sizes.

So this is kind of where you have to slow down as well. You know, you have to step back and remember, OK, I'm working on inch and a half right now. I need to match up that one with that one and so forth. And just make sure you're following that workflow as you're going through this.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: OK, so let me go through this on my side and get those as well. If you have any questions, raise your hands.

AUDIENCE: That drawing file needs to be saved after we created all [INAUDIBLE].

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Is it not letting you in?

AUDIENCE: I mean, after--

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Yeah, I mean--

AUDIENCE: --have to be saved in order to do this part?

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: I don't know. Have you tried it yet? Let me see. I can't remember for sure. Let me see.

AUDIENCE: Did it work?

QUENTIN CONTRERAS: Yeah, it should. Nope-- no, I didn't save mine and it still comes up. Because remember, it's referencing back to those PNG files, those image files. That's what it's actually looking at. It's not looking so much at the drawing. It's looking at the path on how we did that in those other files that are residing in that folder as well.

So there's the first one. Select that one. OK that. And then I'm just going to go through the process with the rest of them.

I think I skipped one. Let's go back here. So like I said, sometimes it's important to take your time, because obviously, I missed one. I missed one of my PlantPartConvert. So I'm missing my 2 inch somehow. So I think I know what happened. So I'd have to go back to the process and create the other one for a 2 inch, but I'm not going to do that.

So I'm going to cancel out of that. So I'm not going to have a 2 inch. So I'm just going to remove it. So select that.

And that's why it's important you know-- the way that I've kind of set this up is that with my block names, I'm making sure that I'm pretty descriptive on what they're going to be. That way, when I have to get to this point, I know exactly what to look for. When I seen in the past what some people do is just give it a name, not give it a size, and then they're wondering OK, which one one's the right one? I mean, you can go through visually and see how it grows and stuff, but you're not sure sometimes.

OK, there, all right. Anybody still need help? Good to move on? I'm going to switch over and go next thing.

OK, so for each one of these now, on the right-hand side of the Sizes tab, you have your connection port properties. So this is the important part that you're going to have to go through and fill out, because this is what's going to allow you to place it on the line for whatever your settings are set up for the project in order for it to attach to everything correctly. So this is where I created that Excel file. So I inputted all my information in there, that way I knew exactly what my sizes were going to be, what needed to be inputted in here.

Another way that you can do this if you're not sure-- what I have done in the past if I'm not sure of what sizes go on here, I'll open up another catalog and I'll do it compare. You know, what is mine supposed to look like size wise to something else that might already be there. Then I could look at what's set up already and then pull those values in. So that's another way that you can do it.

So go ahead and you can pull from this sheet and put in the information for all of these fields. So I'll let you go through that. There's just a couple of things for each item. I'll go through it here myself and get that part done. And we're getting closer. I promise.

And once again, just remember, you know, save you some time, select the all ports. That way you're filling in information for both sides, because these are going to be the same.

[SIDE CONVERSATION]

OK, I just got one more. All right, OK, so if you've got all that completed, make sure you go ahead and save. Save it to the catalog down here.

OK, so we've got all the information needed for those associated valves in the catalog. So now that we have it in the catalog, now we can pull that valve to use in specific specs that we're going to be wanting to use it in. So you know, it's a catalog item now, so we can create it in multiple specs if we need to.

So now we're going to add this particular part to a spec. We'll kind of go through the same process again, like we did with the catalog. We're going to create a spec from an existing spec.

So go to your Spec Editor. Go to File. And then you're going to go to New and Create from Existing. From there, you're going to select the CS 150 spec. And then you're going to rename it with the dash AU 2019.

And then you can also go into the bottom and add a description if you want to. It's not necessary, but if you wanted some additional notes you know, to go along with the spec just so you have for reference that would be a place that you can insert that. So let me do that on my side. Switch over here.

So we created this spec from an existing. So that spec is going to pull all the other items that might already be associated with that particular spec. So you have some additional content in there. So basically, what you're going to be doing is let's say you have the CS 150 spec that you've been using, but you wanted to incorporate this valve into that spec. So you could have done that with an existing spec and just added that part to it, or you can create your own spec like we did here. And we're just adding the valve that we did to this one.

So next thing we need to do-- let me switch over here-- is you're going to go back in, make sure your tab is selected for the Spec Editor, and then what happened is when we opened that CS 150 and created that new one, it's going to find the catalogs that are associated to those parts. So it's going to open those catalogs.

So what you'll see initially is you'll see the ASME Valve Catalog as the default there. So we'll need to click on that pull down to see the catalog that we just created. So once you find the catalog, you should only see the one spec, one part that's associated with that catalog. So let me switch over.

OK, so there's the catalog that we've created. I'm going to access that one. Wait for this to catch up-- oh, there it goes. And then I'm going to add this catalog-- I mean, that part to this spec by selecting the Add the Spec.

So it's a valve, so it's going to place it in the valve section. So if I scroll down here, I should be able to see the SS [INAUDIBLE]. So it's placing it here at the bottom. So everybody have that? Let me switch back over to here.

So now that it's in the spec that we want to use, we're going to force it to use this file by default. So we're going to change the part use priority. So when you're adding new components to a particular area like we added to the valves, it's going to give us the warning that something has changed in the past use priority. So we have the option here to go and change these to be the default valve that's going to be associated to that.

So what you need to do is if you double click on one of those icons-- let me switch over again-- so this is the window you should see. You should see the part use priority window. And then if we pick for the valves here, we can see what sizes and what valves are associated with this particular size.

Now remember, we only included some specific sizes that were associated with the valve. So we're not going to see ours in this half inch right here. So the first place that we would see it is in the inch and a half. So if we select the one that's an inch and a half here, there's our valve down there.

So another click-happy function. So we want this one to be the first. So we click on this one to make it active, and then we're going to have to click and click and click till we get it to number one. So go ahead and go through and do that for the remaining sizes that we have. So you should have the inch and a half, the 2 inch, 2 and 1/2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 and 10. So I need to do it for mine.