AutoCAD P&ID

[#1]

My company is converting over from standard autocad to the P&ID version for our plant drawings. We have many pieces of equipment that we have done custom drawings for. What I am trying to do it is convert them into blocks that can be inserted into the new P&ID drawings and be fitted with nozzles (automatically inserted or manual), etc. The process I am following is as follows.

1. Copy the object from the original drawing into a blank standard autocad drawing.

2. Select the set of lines that form the object and use the BLOCK command to convert it into a block.

3. Save the new autocad file that contains only the single block.

4. Open AutoCAD P&ID and the project I am working on.

5. Right click the project name in the "Project" are of the Project Manager and select Properties

6. Expand "P&ID DWG Setting>P&ID Class Definitions>Engineering Items>Equipment>(ex. Heat Exchangers)"

7. Right click the class (ex. Heat Exchangers) and select "New"

8. Enter class name and class display name (ex. FallingFilmEvaporator, Falling Film Evaporator)

9. Click "Add Symbols ..." to the newly created class

10. Open the drawing and move the Available Block to the Selected Block section

11. Edit the properties box that comes up and change all of the layer to "Equipment" and the other style properties to "By Layer" where applicable

12. Set Scale=1; Scale on Insert=No; Scale Mode=Uniform; Rotate=No; Mirror=No; Tagging=Prompt; Join=Endline; Auto Nozzle=yes or No depending on block

The problem is when I finish, the preview window is either blank or shows the image of another block. I can click edit block and the editor is blank also. I am using AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD P&ID 2013.

I don't know what I am doing wrong so if anyone could help it would be most appreciated.