AutoCAD 2015 Panel Creation/Panel Duplication in EPD File/circuit manager

[oneperfectionist]

The issues: 

1.  Notable issues: Let's say I open up two drawings which are both linked to the same EPD file.  One file is a floor plan, the other a single line diagram.  If I first created a panel in my floor plan and then copied that panel (CTRL+C) into the single line drawing, and then look it the circuit manager of the single line drawing I see two panels there.  I find that every time I paste into the drawing that it makes two copies of the panel in circuit manager.  Is Autodesk aware of this?  If I then click on the visible panel and rename it under properties it will rename it for one of the panels and the other panel will be in circuit manager but nowhere else to be found; this duplicated can't be deleted as far as I know.  Sometimes I can get the same affect in the same drawing that I originally created the panel as well.  Do these smart objects dislike (CTRL+C)?

2.  Other notable issue:  Let's say I create a panel in one drawing and do a copy (CTRL+C) and then paste a couple in the drawing to later rename it paste each one separately, which is fine so far.  Next delete one, but then undo (CTRL+Z) that deletion.  If you then open up circuit manager you'll have more panels than there are shown on the drawing.  This came about because I was testing capabilities of autocad as being out panel schedule database.  The issue if other users do this would be that once this drawing is saved and later reopened that those extra panels can never be deleted as far as I know.  Is Autodesk aware of this?

3.  Is there a way to clean up the EPD file and get rid of the duplicate?

4.  I'm attempting to create a single line drawing that goes from a panel in a pdu up to the substation level to prove autocad capability to do some of the things they want to do here (2 panels in a PDU adds up to a certain load that can be seen further up).  I would like to still overall be able to place that panel on our floor plan drawings which are different files.  Is this doable?

[Hertz_Hound]

Normally I use "add selected" instead of copy paste. Some Devices and panels stick around in the background until you do an MEP purge.

I am not sure how the engineers and their draftsman do one lines, but I didn't think they used AEC objects. I would think that the panels would be in the power and lighting drawings, and the one line/riser drawings were just plain linework.

For your PDU I would make an MV part sized to your manufactures dimensions. Inside the PDU I would put your AEC panels. Your panel could be just three vertical buss bars for the 3D model view. You just need something selectable. It could just be a solid box.

Don't use any top view block for your panel, since you only want to see the top of the PDU. If/when you need to select your panel, you'll need to switch to a non plan view.

That's how I put panels inside integrated power centers. You may have multiple panels, sometimes different voltages with transformers, all inside one enclosure. The physical footprint with working clearances is an MV part. The panels go inside, and you never see them in Navis or plan view.

[VitalyF]

Hi,

Do you use the project and project manager?

Then:

The project is usually one EPD file.

You must refer to it in the file with circuits.

The panel should be in a separate file and nothing more should not be in it.

The panel should also refer to the EPD file.

Regards,

Vitaly

[oneperfectionist]

So yes, I have one EPD file.  We have multiple building that come together as one building.  So if you refer to the buildings as blocks, we have Block A, Block B, etc.  Each block has an upper level and lower level and all of them have there own individual drawings (A upper, A lower, B upper, etc).  So there are panels on upper level, panels on lower level, and those panels are sometimes fed by equipment on different levels.  I pathed all these files to the same EPD.  I say this to ask, are you saying I should have a separate file for each individual panel?   

Part of my exploration was first to prove I could create panel schedules with them, no prob.

Second part was to explore if this could serve as our panel schedule database, what would be your opinion of it being a panel schedule database?  At this site, things are frequently changing and we need to always be able to pull up the most recent information and change circuits.

Third part was whether the electrical data could be read upstream?  We wanted to be able to see the loads from a panel, to the PDU, to an MDP, to a Substation, the question becomes how to set that up.

[oneperfectionist]

Thanks, I thought I'd have to create something like that, I just haven't had a chance to dive into that. 

And true that using add selected or using the given ribbons/palettes helps reduce that risk, but given how fast copy/paste work I can see the inevitable case happening given there are many with access to our files.  I'd love to get your opinion in terms of whether you'd happily use this as a panel schedule database of over 700 panels that will frequently have changes? 

We currently have a database, but the thought of changing how we do things have come up.  It's convenient to be able to see a panel and click on it and see what's in it, but want to ensure that it can properly be maintained. 

[VitalyF]

Hi,

@oneperfectionist I say this to ask, are you saying I should have a separate file for each individual panel? 

Yes of course.

@oneperfectionist  Second part was to explore if this could serve as our panel schedule database, what would be your opinion of it being a panel schedule database?

Yes, you can create a shared EPD file for several buildings, If they are in the same MEP project!

I had to do this for several panels, about 10-20 and 6 buildings.

Vitaly

[PaulineP54QC]

Hi,

Can you please be more specific about having "a separate file for each individual panel "? Thanks in advance

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@VitalyF wrote:

Hi,

@oneperfectionist I say this to ask, are you saying I should have a separate file for each individual panel? 

Yes of course.

@oneperfectionist  Second part was to explore if this could serve as our panel schedule database, what would be your opinion of it being a panel schedule database?

Yes, you can create a shared EPD file for several buildings, If they are in the same MEP project!

I had to do this for several panels, about 10-20 and 6 buildings.

Vitaly

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@VitalyF wrote:

Hi,

@oneperfectionist I say this to ask, are you saying I should have a separate file for each individual panel? 

Yes of course.

@oneperfectionist  Second part was to explore if this could serve as our panel schedule database, what would be your opinion of it being a panel schedule database?

Yes, you can create a shared EPD file for several buildings, If they are in the same MEP project!

I had to do this for several panels, about 10-20 and 6 buildings.

Vitaly

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Thank you!