spec setup and project setup

[mnoventa]

Hello.

I am a newbie and I am tryingt to understand how Plant 3d works. I (with other colleagues) had a small training and I read "Autocad Plant 3d" by Sham Tickoo, but still I am pretty confused about the interconnections between specs and project setup.

For instance: if I want to create a new kind of nozzle for the equipments, I open the Spec editor, thus Catalog -> Open -> Nozzle catalog.acat

Now by default I am on the spec tab. If I go to the Catalog editor I can choose "Create new component" and create it with its measures (length, engagement length...).

Now the nozzle is available on Plant3d and I can insert it on an equipment but here I can set whatever length I choose. However, the nozzle won't have the shape I desidered when creating it on the spec editor.

Moreover, I seem to understand that the material is not important for the nozzle: materials for equipment and nozzles are just "labels" but do not have a particular importance (I created an AISI304 nozzle and put it with no difficulty on a PVC equipment). Is it so?

Another strange thing is that if I go back to the Spec editor,  thus Catalog -> Open -> Nozzle catalog.acat, if I do not open any spec (i.e. Aisi304) and I click on the Catalog editor tab I cannot go back to the Spec editor tab. Even so, if I search for the nozzle I previously created, I can find it on the list.

Nevertheless, if, after opening Nozzle catalog.acat, I open a spec (i.e. Aisi304) and then I go to the tab Catalog editor I cannot find the nozzle I created on the list, even if I inserted Aisi304 as the material of the nozzle. Quite strange in my opinion.

Anyway, once I am on Plant 3d and I open a drawing of a project if I select Project manager -> Project setup -> Plant 3d DWG settings -> Piping connection settings, in this list I do not see my nozzle. Nozzles are not part of the piping? Ok, if so, I could agree. Anyway, in this list I do not find everything I need so I can choose "Add" on simple joint and on compound joints. But what is the difference from the plant3d point of view? If I want a new joint how can I choose between them?

Moreover I found that I could define a new kind of end for the connections using PLANTENDCODES. But in this way it seems to me that here I just can insert waterver string I want and have it available on the list. But how can I tell Plant3d how it is really made my new connection?

I am sorry I am pretty confused, I hope I explained my doubts clearly.

[mikeshr2]

Nozzles are part of an equipment. If you want to design your own nozzles, make a complete piece of equipment with nozzles in 3D, convert it to Plant 3D and then define nozzle locations at the CP of FOF of your nozzles.