Pipe Network Part dimension issues for 2" and 3" PVC

[Anonymous]

Hey all,

I was curious if it is even possible to have a 2" and 3" in Civil 3D 2017. We (as an office) have had problems with 2" PVC water lines showing up in profiles closer to 8", and labels not working out. Until now we've just worked around it and done text over rides, selected the pipe to not show, and manually drew in the proper 2". Obviously labels get more complicated than they need to when none of the dimensions match up.

Today I finally decided to try to edit the parts and see what was going on. I'm not sure if our 2" and 3" PVC pipes were from Autodesk, or if someone in our company had made them at some point in time. I haven't tried to figure out the part builder just yet, so all I've done so far is go into the toolspace--> Settings--> Pipe Network--> Parts Lists--> (Our water line list). I chose to edit the list and found the 2" pipe in the pipe list and selected to edit that. That opened up showing a .16" wall thickness and a 3.6" inside diameter. Each of those dimensions are a pull down list, and each of those options are the smallest available in Autocad. That ultimately makes my questions "Is it possible to make a pipe smaller than 3.6" ID?". 

Since I found that I cannot set the inside diameter for a 2" pipe, I put that on hold for now and figured that I would ask the community if Civil 3D pipe network supports 2 and 3" pipes. If Civil 3D does support 2" pipes, then if anyone could provide any resources for properly creating one, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Dan

[sirjoelsph]

Yes it's definitely possible to have the 2" and 3" sizes that you are looking for.  I have a totally customized part catalog and I have 1/2" PVC in it (not that I ever use it).  It is going to require you to either get into Part Builder or to manually edit the .xml files that make up the part catalog.

If you're not familiar or comfortable with either of those, there is some good material out there that explains it, but most of it can be tricky to find.  I did present a class at AU a few years ago that got into some of that customization.  Check out my handout for some info, plus at the end of the handout is a big list of links to other sources that get into parts customization.  http://au.autodesk.com/au-online/classes-on-demand/class-catalog/2014/autocad-civil-3d/cv5088.

Let us know how it goes or if you need any help along the way.