Release Highlights 2019T2

Template configuration and exporting object information to Microsoft Excel

The new Diagram listing configuration tool makes it possible to considerably save design hours in the project, as designers do not need to spend time on creating documents and ensuring that their formatting is consistent and correct.

When the project administrator has created suitable listing configurations for a project, designers can generate diagram object documentation anytime, either from the active diagram or from the whole project, using a single button. For example, designers can generate data sheets for all equipment in the active project, or a list of all valves in the whole project.

In the Project Environment window, Diagram > Diagram Listing Configuration allows the project administrator to create the required configurations for exporting diagram listings to Microsoft Excel files. The user interface enables complex data queries to be made without using SQL query language. The data request part of the configuration is familiar from defining data requests for diagram labels, and the administrator can combine data fields, add a prefix or suffix to a value, and define the format of the values.

Move and Break Connections

The Move and Break Connections tool allows moving a set of objects so that connection lines are broken off from the objects that are not included in the selection box. This is useful, for example, when needing to relocate branches in P&I diagrams or organize cables in electric diagrams. The tool automatically breaks off the connection lines, either from the side of the object itself or from the end of the connection lines, depending on what the user has selected.

Different node types for pipes, instruments and cables

Node Properties has a new setting, Node Type, which allows the designer to select whether the node is a generic node or specific to pipes, instruments or electric cables. This is a first step toward allowing future Diagram versions to perform consistency checks for nodes and to report topology more precisely.

File import enhancements

The Import objects tool has new features for redesign and using parts of diagrams in other diagrams or the same diagram.

The user can select which data columns to display so that it is easier and faster to select objects for modification. The tool displays the old position IDs of the imported objects, allowing them to be preserved if needed, and new position IDs can be generated with a script that defines how to replace old IDs with new ones.

More file format support and enhancements in Laser Scan Modeller

Support for more file formats
In addition to previously supported file formats, Laser Scan Modeller can import E57 files (vendor-neutral, binary format), PTX files (ASCII format of Leica Cyclone software), and CPX files (binary format produced by eShare Server).

Enhanced point cloud manager
In the Point Cloud Manager tool, the new Rescale tool allows both active and inactive point clouds to be rescaled, and now also the Relocate tool can be used on point clouds that are not active.
When an imported file contains multiple point clouds, they are now stored as separate CPD files, and the original file name is used as a prefix for the new files. Clicking Select All Related selects all files with a name prefix that is the same as that of the currently selected file.

Bubble views shown as 3D images
Opening a bubble view generates a 3D panorama image from the point cloud data, instead of showing it as points. Optimized image increases the quality of the view, providing a better user experience. As before, the user can rotate the view around the scanner position, zoom the view, and jump from one bubble view to another. If needed, it is possible to switch back to using traditional point cloud views instead of panoramic pictures.

Action Center notifies user of outdated data

The status bar of Plant Modeller has been enhanced with a new Action Center tool that displays a red flashing icon to notify the user that project data needs to be updated. In 2019T2, the user is notified if reference drawings are outdated, and opening the Action Center drop-down list allows the user to select to update the reference drawings. Other similar notifications will be added to the Action Center in future releases.

New duct shapes and duct part numbering rules

Support for new duct shapes

• Rectangular to round angled transition
• Rectangular angled transition

Part numbering rules for duct spool documents
Duct spools that consist of more than one part can now get separate part numbers for each part. Duct spool numbering uses settings that allow the project administrator to define how part numbers are generated for duct spool parts and to choose whether publishing a new revision requires new/changed parts to get completely new part numbers.

There are three predefined part-numbering rules:

• Each part has its own part number
• Same geometric shape, same part number
• Same catalog part or component model, same part number

The administrator can also enhance the default rules with company-specific shared attributes, for example:

• Same geometric shape and attribute value, same part number

Moreover, if none of the default rules is suitable, the administrator can define a completely custom part-numbering rule

Developments in the Shell application

Pin Jig information

Shell plate corner position and angle plane information is now automatically available. This helps production to position shell plates on jig pins. The method to select hull line intersection points has been improved by introducing an additional hotkey V to make it easier to manually dimension the shell plate corner points.

Contour lengths in elongation reports

Contour lengths are now available in elongation reports as a table. The table contains the length of each shell plate contour relation and/or the total contour length. The system calculates the contour length in 2D and 3D for each relation. This information can be used for checking the contour length before and after deformation. Elongation totals along the contours are presented as “Diff” values. They are calculated by a formula in the Excel sheet cells.

Construction

Face plates

The face plate functionality has been improved so that the user now has more flexibility when inserting and modifying face plates.

With the new face plate function, the user can create a face plate on more than one plate contour, even when the plates do not have the same thickness. The system automatically makes a distinction between a straight and bent face plate. When the face plate is straight, the angle between the plate plane and the face plate can be adjusted.

Related plates, such as brackets, are automatically adjusted to the correct face plate plane.

Face plate relations are like the relations of bent profiles. In the example above, the face plate uses the crossover to jump from one plate corner to another.

Information

Plate labeling

Plate labeling has been improved. The system now automatically adds a new part number and always searches for the nearest part cross symbol. With the hotkey P, the user can force the system to create a new part number attribute. In case the plate contains a soft seam, the system prompts the user regarding which cross symbol should be used. It is now possible to use three-part label styles.

Production

Face plates

The production output for face plates is like in the older versions, except that the face plate’s angle to the plate is new data for production.

Optimization of text and symbol position on coded plates

In the last years we have developed many new texts and symbols that provide production personnel information on how items should be connected, and what action should be taken in production before assembling the block. A side effect of this development has been an increased number of texts and symbols in the DXF that contains cutting data for production. The correct placement of the texts and symbols has been a concern for production engineers.

With the “Optimize Text position” development project, we have improved the placement of text and symbols for all cutting parts. There is a new “Smart” setting option available for the “Rearrange texts automatically” coding script setting in the System Management application. The default parameters for the new “Smart” option for text and symbol placement are included in the Hull 2019T2 installation as a parameter file.

The Hull system manager can adjust the default parameters by using a special function which can be activated in the “My Functions” feature.

Other improvements

The following improvements were made to facilitate production:

• It is now possible to include extra length values for the marking line of a profile.
• It is now possible to add markings for bent pillars and pillar cross sections on shell plates.
• The placement of the orientation symbol for knuckled plates can be defined.
• It is possible to customize the bevel opening marker.

eShare

Infrastructural improvements allow eShare to operate more quickly than before. The server starts up faster, model publishing is faster, and because documents that the user opens are now cached, they are faster to re-open. There is also automatic handling for DWGs that do not have a proper print layout stored in the file so that even very large DWG documents get scaled down to more manageable paper size.

Enhancements in System Administration

The system administrator can disable projects to prevent access and enable the projects again if needed. The effect is immediate—no restarting is required. As the server does not run any background tasks on disabled projects, it starts up faster and needs to do less data synchronization.

The system administrator can easily see the status of model publishing, point cloud synchronization, and document indexing in each project.

Built-in Document Viewer

eShare is no longer dependent on third-party PDF viewers. By default, documents are viewed using a built-in document viewer that automatically zooms in to the correct object when the user clicks a document link in the 3D view or uses the search. The search tool of the document viewer allows finding a text string such as an object ID from any part of the links in the document, or the user can narrow the search to a specific tag such as an Equipment Position Id.

On the keyboard, pressing Home, End or Page Up/Page Down allows the user to quickly move around in a multi-page document.

Enhancements in 3D

In the main tool, the Visualization Control menu has new options that allow the user to select which Markup statuses and Smart Point types to show as points-of-interest in the 3D view.

In addition, Smart Points and Markups can now be added to the model when in a point cloud bubble view.

eShare and eBrowser

More Point Cloud Formats Supported

E57 and PTX point clouds can now also be added to the point cloud folder of eShare projects. The server automatically converts these into CPX files that have a much smaller file size and are therefore better for viewing in eShare and eGo clients. In eBrowser, the user can open E57, PTX, and CPX files.

Easier Object Selection

In eShare and eBrowser, the object tree and the 3D view allow objects to be multi-selected. Selecting objects highlights their node as well as their parent node(s) in the model tree, so that selections are indicated also when the tree is not fully expanded.

• In the model tree, holding down Alt or Ctrl allows selecting multiple objects by clicking.
• In the 3D view, holding down Ctrl allows selecting multiple objects by clicking. In addition, holding down Alt and left mouse button allows drawing a selection rectangle around a group of objects. Drawing from left to right selects the visible objects that are fully inside the rectangle; drawing from right to left selects the visible objects that intersect the rectangle or are fully inside it.

Accordingly, context-menu items that previously were object-specific can now target multiple objects, and their names have been changed accordingly. For example, “Examine Object” is now simply “Examine”.

It is therefore now much easier, for example, to set multiple groups of objects as transparent or to fit a clip box around multiple objects.

Improved Measuring Tool

In the main toolbar, the Measure menu allows selecting whether the measuring tool can show the distance to pipe surface also in situations where a third object is obstructing the line of sight between the measured objects.

eGo

Improved eShare Synchronization

eGo allows the user to define multiple eShare server addresses, which makes it easier to get projects from different servers. eShare synchronization is faster due to the new, more compact .ebmx format used by 3D models. In addition, eShare synchronization can be performed from the command line. This allows, for example, scheduling Windows to automatically synchronize projects at a time when eGo is normally connected to eShare and not being used.

Connection Points in 3D View

In Model Settings > Visualization / 3D, the Connection Points setting allows the user to select whether equipment nodes and pipe nodes are displayed in the 3D view. When connection points are displayed, the measuring tool can snap to them.

Improved Access to Documents

All document trees and document hierarchies are now synchronized from eShare, and the user can easily select which hierarchy to use to arrange the document tree in eGo. When opening a document, the built-in document viewer limits the total number of pages to ten, so that all documents open relatively quickly; documents that are longer than that should be opened in a separate viewer application. When using the search tool of the built-in document viewer, the user can see the number of search results, and jumping from one result to another automatically zooms in to the object in question. Using the mouse wheel for zooming a document is faster now.

When eGo is connected to eShare, documents show document metadata from eShare.