Autodesk Inventor for Plant Kimberley Hendrix, Solutions Consultant D3 Technologies, LLC Tulsa, OK

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1 Kimberley Hendrix, Solutions Consultant D3 Technologies, LLC Tulsa, OK PD2681 I have all of our equipment modeled already for fabrication in Autodesk Inventor. Do I have to recreate that for my AutoCAD Plant 3D models? The short answer is NO. Learn the process, along with some tips and tricks, to use your existing 3D models inside your AutoCAD Plant 3D models. This class will cover getting your existing 3D models into your Plant 3D environment without crippling your model and without recreating your work. Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to: Manipulate your full fabrication models from Inventor so they are useful in Plant 3D Use the features of the AEC Exchange, including the BIM information Set up connection points so that you can correctly pipe up to your equipment Use the step-by-step instructions to facilitate the process in your work environment About the Speaker Based in Tulsa, OK, Kimberley provides custom solutions for lean engineering, using Autodesk products and industry knowledge to streamline design and engineering departments. Kimberley has worked in the manufacturing/plant industry for 24 years and specialized in automated solutions for the Heat Exchanger industry. She has worked with Autodesk products since Kimberley is associated with D3 Technologies, LLC, as a Solutions Consultant, focusing on Plant, Automation, and Mechanical issues. Kim.Hendrix@d3tech.net

2 Overview As with all things Autodesk there are many ways to accomplish the same task. Today we are going to manipulate a full fabrication model of a Heat Exchanger to be used in the plant environment, without destroying the operability of your plant model. We will explore the different ways that files may come to you from a vendor and how to manipulate those for your plant environment. We will also take a full in-house fabrication model and accomplish the same task. The secret to a successful import from a full fabrication model is to simplify! Let s explore some common steps to simplify a rather complicated Model, for use in our Plant. Different file types received from Vendors Many manufactures have content online, these can be downloaded from the web, and you would usually receive them in a.step or.iges file. This same process works for AutoCAD 3D models. When you download these types of files, they are usually pretty simple, remember the more surfaces the more complicated, and thus the more drag on plant it takes. This illustration is a Horizontal pump downloaded from a vendor site online. It is relatively simple. However even this pump should be simplified in Inventor prior to exporting via BIM Exchange. Notice the exposed internal components. This Model will be modified to look like the next illustration. 2

3 Steps to complete this conversion without affecting the original model. Download the.step or the.iges file from web Save the original.ipt file Insert the.ipt file into a NEW assembly Create a Phantom part in place o Fill parts with Extrusion A, and Loft B Save the assembly file Run Shrinkwrap we will dissect this command later. The resulting.ipt file that comes from the Shrinkwrap is what we run the AEC Exchange utility on we will dissect his command as well later. 3

4 Full fabrication models from Inventor so they are useful in Plant 3D Let s start with a full in-house fabrication model, for this example, I am using a Heat exchanger designed by Chart Cooler Service Company out of Tulsa, they have their units fully automated using ilogic. This Model was stripped of ilogic and sent to me in full detail. For plant the only thing that is important, is the size of the footprint and the nozzle locations. We also will need a general ideal of the look of the equipment. While Shrinkwrap will reduce the complexity of an assembly, it really doesn t simplify it enough to make it work well in Plant. We will place a completed model in a new assembly so that we can create some solid extrusions to simplify the model as much as possible. The goal, is to take a model that has all of this detail To a model that has the exact external dimensions, but without all of the faces and complexities that slow down Plant3D and are not required. 4

5 To do this we need to digress into the Shrinkwrap command. The shrinkwrap command was introduced a few years back in the Labs, and has been an integral part of Inventor for the past couple of releases. Definition: The Shrinkwrap command creates a part from an existing assembly. The shrinkwrap part is a simplified version of the source assembly that can provide a significant reduction in file size in consuming assemblies or applications. Use the hole and geometry removal tools to help protect intellectual property. The default method creates a single surface composite. A surface composite is the fastest method and creates the smallest file of the three options. For the simplification to use in Plant 3D, I actually use Shrinkwrap twice. So using the substitute is not necessary Create the first Shrinkwrap using options that reduce as much detail as possible. 5

6 Steps for fabrication model 1. Open fabrication Model 2. Create a Shrinkwrap.ipt file from the full model a. This reduces the size of the model so that you can easily manipulate it in Inventor. 3. Create a NEW assembly file 4. Insert the.ipt file from step 2 in the assembly. 6

7 5. Create a part in place a. This allows you to make modifications without effecting the original model b. While in that part, begin to place simple shape extrusions through the model, to simplify and reduce the number of faces. The extrusions used to simply the heat exchanger are shown in Gold in the following illustration. 6. After you have created extrusions to reduce all faces, change the entire model to a single color. Turn visibility off of any work features, be at the top level of the assembly. 7. Run the Shrinkwrap command again, with the same options as described previously. The output (.ipt) from this last Shrinkwrap is what we will use for the ADSK exchange to Plant. 7

8 BIM Exchange creating the ADSK file for Plant 3D With the newly simplified model you are now ready to begin the BIM Exchange to create the ADSK file. While it appears that the Pipe Connector in the BIM Exchange ribbon would be useful in identifying connections for Plant 3D it is not. This are is set up for MEP and the connections and such are different, and not suitable for most Plant 3D installations. 8

9 At this point you should run the Check Design command as it will tell you if your model is ready to be exported to ADKS, you are looking for a Model Complexity of LOW Save your new Assembly, and execute the Export Bulding Components command. 9

10 Fill in all aplicable data, Description, Manufacturer, Model as required, these properties will carry over to Plant 3D when you import your file. Depending on the size of your model, this may take a minute or two but a progress bar should appear. 10

11 With this newly created.adsk file we can now add to Plant and identify the nozzles. Plant 3D Convert Equipment from inventor Execute the command Convert Inventor equipment 11

12 Browse to you.adsk file you created, it will appear in the model space and the following dialog box will open For this example select Heat Exchanger Notice the Properties import with the ADSK file from Inventor. All that we have left to do now is identify the Nozzles. Select the Heat Exchanger, and click on the nozzle icon. add Use the Object Snaps to select the center of the nozzle, Move mouse using the ORTHO mode, so that the nozzle is pointing up in the Z direction, identify the nozzle in the Plant 3D nozzle dialog box. You can now successfully pipe up to your new equpment. 12