I'm tired of the way Pressure Networks work. They are cumbersome, difficult to lay out, difficult to edit, and difficult all around. Here is what I would like.
I would like a pressure pipe to behave similar to the way a featureline works. I draw the pipe in horizontally and then come back and edit it vertically. As I'm laying out this one pipe, I would be able to place angles in the pipe and the network would apply the fitting that most closely matches the angle in the pipe. In other words, if I place an angle in the pipe that is 30 degrees, it should automatically place a 22.5 degree bend. Additionally, it should distribute the error at both ends of the bend instead of just one end. If I adjust the pipe so the angle is now 35 degrees, the 22.5 degree bend should automatically be removed and replaced with a 45 degree bend. If the allowable deflection of the joints are exceeded, a warning of some sort should be displayed in the drawing.
If I need to add another pipe branching off this pipe that's already drawn, it should automatically place in the appropriate fitting (tee, cross, wye, etc). If I'm drawing a 6" pipe that's connected to a through 8" pipe, it should automatically place in the 8"x6" tee. If I change the size of the pipe, all fittings and appurtenances that are a part of this pipe should update as well. The way I envision this is that the only time I should ever need to deal with fittings is at the ends of the pipes where I'm connecting into the existing/future/"By others" that I'm not modeling. If I need to change the size of the pipe midstream (not putting in a new pipe), there should be an option to put in a size transition and it would automatically place in the appropriate size reducer. Additionally, this transition point should have an option for where to place the transition vertically, i.e. match crown, center, or invert (provided the appropriate fittings are available in the parts list).
Same thing goes for vertical. If I make adjustments to the profile, bends should be automatically added to the network in exactly the same as editing in plan. Following a surface should be seamless and the default. When creating the pipe, it should use the default cover and should follow the surface continuously (not sure about cut lengths being applied, I'll have to consider that one a bit more). If I need a section of the pipe to no longer follow the surface, I would then apply a manual override to that section of the pipe and a distance to transition back to the "Follow Surface" section. Likewise, if I need to alter the bury depth, I would apply that as a new region and provide a transition distance between the two regions.
A new command needs to be added to the network "Add Lowering". This lowering would be applied to the pressure network and another pipe. At the crossing, the pressure network would automatically deflect under the reference pipe. The lowering should have options for bends (45 degrees, 90 degrees, sweeps, etc.), depth below the crossing pipe, slope at the crossing (specific slope or match parent pipe), horizontal distance, etc. If the reference pipe changes elevation or location, the lowering should automatically update. If the lowering no longer works, a message should be displayed to the user.
