Additional pressure pipe catalogues for district heating and gas industry

[constantinmüller6996]

Hi there,

the pressure pipe functionality could be a great thing if one would not be left stranded with customization. The water catalogue is nice, but does not fulfil individual regional needs but at least can be adjusted within certain limits.

As soon as you want to define own catalogues, you fail. No documentation, no tools at all, nobody capable (as far as I found out). This is really poor.

I want to create multiple catalogues in order to have a "multi utility" pressure pipe design tool, including gas and district heating.

• Is there anybody who has been successful in creating ones own catalogue?
• Has anybody at least an idea how to approach?
• Does anybody know someone who could do this job?
• Can anybody provide a documentation about how the structure of this catalogue is built? (Autodesk does not seem to have anything at all)

Any help or idea is welcome. I just wonder if nobody has ever had the need for such customization.

[Jeff_M]

Have you seen the UsersGuide Word document in the C3D API Samples?

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2015\C3D\Sample\Civil 3D API\Part Publishing Wizard

It is in a similar location in both 2013 & 2014.

[constantinmüller6996]

Jeff, thank you for that information. Well, I already had this. I know that I can create with this new catalogue parts, but any part is just a new part of the water pressure pipe. No chance to create a new industry branch. Everything becomes water parts.

I also tried to create a new catalogue from the scratch with the Content.Catalog.Editor. Even an empty catalogue includes already the structure of the water network, part groups and so on. Creation of pipes with the part publishing wizard is only possible for water pipes. This should not be.

What I need is a basic pressure pipe structure, divided into water, gas, district heating and underneath the specific pipes and fittings. But when I look into the database I am horrified - any table is solely related to water. Has not anybody thought about to build this model as an open structure?

By modifying the table IM_LOGICAL_PART_TYPE, column INDUSTRY and INDUSTRY_CAPTION, the Content.Catalog.Editor shows different industries, anyway the content is all the same.

Any additional idea?

[Shtirlits]

I am a beginning user of AC3D and am also interested in, especially, district heating.

But it seems that nobody are using AC3D to model district heating networks, so no information is available on the internet and the documentation on that part is overwhelmengly underdeveloped.

[Civil3DReminders_com]

I'd probably use Plant 3D to model heating networks. It is way more developed for piping. The only issue i could see would be trying to show it on a profile view if that is what you need. 

[constantinmüller6996]

Thank's for your suggestion. I already considered this approach. But it is exact the issue of profile view that we need importantly. So there is no way with Plant3d. Anyway I am still eager to find solutions in Civil and will continue with this approach. And monitoring what Bentley offers...