Release Highlights 2021T2

Read 2021T2 release notes and download latest version in customer portal.

  • Outfitting/3D Plant Design
    • Improved document editor and ribbon interface for 2D drafting
    • Hierarchical model tree
    • New beam profiles support instance parameters
    • Multiple integration objects to 3D model at one go
    • Beam routing with insert tool
    • LISEGA support integration for LICAD V11
    • Improved hole management
    • More insulation specifications per line
  • Piping Isometrics and Spools
    • New label type
    • Improved PCF export
    • Improved PCF import
  • Hull
    • Integrated Product Offering
    • General Improvements
    • Improvements in Import and Export Functions
    • Improvements in Shell and Shape Features
    • Improvements in Construction Features
    • Improvements in Production Features
  • Information Management
    • Support for Navisworks models
    • Model hierarchies in eShare
    • External data source attributes to Excel report
    • Extraction of metadata from documents for linking
    • Improved Markups and Smart Points
    • Expanded eGo features
  • CADMATIC Draw
    • New floating visualization window to boost working on several screens
  • CADMATIC Electrical
    • Editing dialogs now allow discarding changes
    • New user interface for queue printing
    • Modular generation – versatile and flexible CAD drawing generation
    • Improved cable marking usability

Outfitting/3D Plant Design

Improved document editor and ribbon interface for 2D drafting

CADMATIC has collected plenty of good feedback from the users in regard to how the drawing generation and 2D drafting could be renewed. Now we are responding to that feedback by introducing the first part of major improvements in this area. In the 2021T2 release, the biggest change for Plant Modeller users is the improved usability of the document editor and the completely new ribbon-based user interface for 2D drafting. The new drafting tools allow, for example, dimensions and hatches to be much easier to insert than they used to be. The new version also brings a set of improved administrative tools for managing document quality and exports to DWG format.

Plant - New 2D drafting

Hierarchical model tree

The new Model Tree pane shows the 3D model as a hierarchical tree that allows the user to navigate from the highest levels of Systems and Groups all the way down to individual model objects. The quickest way to find a specific entity from the tree is the search function that accepts, for example, the name, the position ID, or the COS object ID of the entity to be found. Once the required item has been located from the tree, it is easy to zoom to the entity in the 3D model, and from a model object it is equally easy to jump to its location in the model tree.

Plant - Model tree

New beam profiles support instance parameters

There are two new beam profiles and they can use instance parameters.

Double-web I-profile

Plant - Beam profile double-web

Unequal I-profile

Plant - Beam profile unequal i

The use of instance parameters allows the designer to flexibly edit the beam profile’s dimensions, instead of having to use fixed dimensions defined in the Dimension Table of the beam part. This feature should mainly be used with beams that are welded from plates, and there should be no need to use instance parameters with regular beams whose dimensions are defined in beam standards.

Multiple integration objects to 3D model at one go

Multiple integration objects can be inserted to the 3D model at the same time if they have coordinate information. In addition, Electrical Devices from CADMATIC Electrical get the correct transformation when an electrical template is in use. When integration objects from P&ID or from Electrical are drawn on a diagram using a top layout, the coordinate data can be utilized in the integration. This can greatly speed up the work of a Plant Modeller designer when inserting equipment to the model.

The CADMATIC example project includes new electrical templates that allow the transformation of the part, allowing the equipment to be automatically rotated in place.

Plant - Insert integration objects

Beam routing with insert tool

When inserting beams, there is an improved user interface for selecting the beam and its System.

Plant - Beam properties

While inserting the beam, the bounding box is shown in the active work view, the routing point can be changed, and the beam can be rotated using the rotation assistance tool.

Plant - Beam insert

There is also improved visualization when relocating beams.

Plant - Beam move

LISEGA support integration for LICAD V11

CADMATIC has developed a link into LICAD version 11. This interface supports

  • Instance parameters
  • Design parameters from the CADMATIC model into LICAD
  • 3D model and BOM of primary support from LICAD

Supported LICAD primary types:

  • Simple suspension for horizontal pipes
  • Clamp base / pipe shoe for horizontal pipes
  • Single beam trapeze for horizontal pipes
  • Double beam trapeze for horizontal pipes

Improved hole management

  • Hole management has a large number of improvements, including the following.
  • Ability to define a tolerance for the "Target has moved" problem category.
  • Ability to define minimum dimensions for hole requests.
  • Improvements to retargeting of hole requests.
  • Manual status control supports multi-selection in modifying status comments and allows modifying response attributes.
  • Manual status control can be enabled for hole requests for NAPA Hull plates.
  • Ability to activate multiple hole requests at the same time.
  • The column “Plate_DNA2” (_PN) can be shown in Hole Manager.
  • Hole Manager visualizes all plates that collide with the hole request object.
  • Hole Manager allows the user to change the target plate of hole requests.
  • New shape type for holes.
  • Improved support for solving situations where auto-targeting of hole requests finds multiple possible targets.
  • Improved the handling of how hole request responses are read from COS.
  • Manual status control’s list view remembers the user-defined sorting order and column layout.
  • Inserting multi-pipe penetrations checks the existence of isometric groups.
  • Hole Manager command for resetting a request is only available to administrators.
  • Hole Manger dialog stays on top and has better support for using the dialog with keys only.
  • Hole Manager and Component Modeller show the dimensions of the hole shapes.
  • There is a limit to how many hole requests are visualized at the same time.
  • Hole Manager allows hole requests to be activated for piping parts.
  • Locked by Hull application [.FQ] can be found under the Hole Request category.

More insulation specifications per line

Now it’s possible to use five different insulation specifications in pipelines and duct lines.

Piping Isometrics and Spools

New label type

Onto-line labels without reference lines for cut numbers.

Improved PCF export

Support for several new SKEYs. The 28 supported SKEYs are:
BEND, CAP, COUPLING, CROSS, FILTER, FILTER-ANGLE, FILTER-OFFSET, FLANGE, FLANGE-BLIND, GASKET, INSTRUMENT, INSTRUMENT-3WAY, INSTRUMENT-4WAY, INSTRUMENT-ANGLE, INSTRUMENT-OFFSET, OLET, PIPE, REDUCER-CONCENTRIC, REDUCER-ECCENTRIC, SUPPORT, TEE, TEE-SET-ON, TRAP, TRAP-OFFSET, VALVE, VALVE-3WAY, VALVE-4WAY, VALVE-ANGLE.

Weld numbering from CADMATIC isometric drawings to PCF.

Continuity info shows continuing equipment or pipeline name.

Improved PCF import

Part mapping from the specifications of a mapped pipeline.

Hull

Integrated Product Offering

During the last years one of CADMATIC’s main goals has been an integrated product offering, a complete package of software applications that communicate seamlessly in order to engineer in a most simplified manner, from basic design all the way through production. With this purpose in mind the CADMATIC Hull system has now fully been integrated into our common COS (Common Object Storage) platform together with the CADMATIC Outfitting and Piping Design software.

The main benefits of the new system are:

  • One common project administration and data exchange system
  • Data protection by means of partial area replication
  • A completely renewed and simplified request for hole mechanism
  • Hull documents publication to CADMATIC eShare

We are confident that the great benefits of the new system will empower you to further enhance the design process inside your company.

With this in mind, we would like to remind that 2021T2 is the last release offering two versions of the CADMATIC Hull software, the Classic version and the COS version. Future main releases of CADMATIC Hull will be the COS version. Support for the 2021T2 Classic version will continue in daily helpdesk issues.

Improvements in the COS Version

In 2021T2, more Hull document types can be published to CADMATIC eShare: profile sketches and profile list sketches. Furthermore, it is now possible to create custom attributes for welds so that all data that is available to Weld Manager can be published to COS.

All the new features and improvements described below are present in the Classic version and the COS version.

General Improvements

Centralized Weld and Beveling Settings

The norms and rules related to welds and beveling have been relocated and centralized. This way, they can be managed from a single location and used throughout the whole project. For existing projects, the system automatically copies the settings and norms from the old location to the new location when the project is opened.

To support logistics in situations where blocks for the same ship are produced at different facilities using different settings and norms, it is possible to compose rules that apply to parts in blocks that belong to a specific block group. This way all the rule files can be stored in the same location.

Slow Zooming

It is now possible to slow down the zooming speed in the graphical window by holding down the Shift key while zooming with the wheel button of the mouse.

Improved Text Presentation

Displaying the fonts in the Hull application's graphical window has been improved in such a way that the size and aspect ratio of the texts now fully match with the texts that are exported to other systems and formats like DXF, DWG and PDF. Font rendering is faster and text presentation more accurate than previously.

There is also a new stand-alone tool available for fixing non-Latin standard texts, Cyrillic and Chinese for example, that appear garbled in existing drawings. The tool is available upon request from Hull Support.

New eBrowser Model Format Supported in Hull Viewer

Hull Viewer now supports the new eBrowser Model format .ebmx for saving Hull models. The new format is compatible with CADMATIC eBrowser version 2021T2 and later. The option to save to the previously existing .ebm format is still available as eBrowser Compatibility Mode. The new format has smaller file size and faster decompression than the old one.

Improvements in Import and Export Functions

Corrugated Plates in NAPA Steel Import

NAPA main objects (plates) with a corrugated curves are now included in the import. They will be imported either as plates with corrugation or as plates with corrugated profiles.

Hull - import-export Napasteel

The Import NAPA Steel function has also been upgraded to use the latest NAPA API, v2020.2. The new API is backward compatible, so older NAPA versions can be used.

Improved Topology in OCX Export

The topological relation information of plate-to-plate relations has been improved in the exported OCX models. Preserving plate-to-plate relations is particularly important when OCX models are used in FEM (Finite Element Modeling) software.

Improvements in Shell and Shape Features

As an overall improvement, updating of the shell views has been improved and it works faster than previously.

Boundary Lines in Hull Shape Import

There is a new type of hull lines: boundary lines, which are the outer edges of hull groups. The system automatically creates boundary lines from the hull shape when it is imported or updated with the Shape Import function, or when a new project is created. These lines can be used to create shell plates.

Hull - Shellshape boundary line

2D Shell Expansion Views

It is now possible to create a 2D shell expansion view instead of a standard one when creating a side or top shell view. In a 2D shell expansion view, the length of the contour that touches the shell is measured along the shell from the center line to the top.

Hull - Shellshape 2D shell expansion

This is the first implementation of the feature and it has limited functionality, and it is not advisable to create any construction in these views. This feature will be developed further in future releases.

Improvements in Construction Features

Automatic Beveling for Plates Connected to Profiles

The functionality to automatically add bevels to plates according to plate beveling rules has been extended to include plate-to-profile relations. Bevels can be created automatically for plates related to profiles, pillars, face plates, and shell frames in the same way as for plate-to-plate relations.

It is also possible to make the system reduce the bevel text size according to the weld length.

Hull - Construction automatic beveling

Improvements in Production Features

Template Markings as Cutouts

It is now possible to choose to use cutout symbols for template positioning and sight line markings instead of using marking lines in the template DXF. Because the cutout symbols are smaller than the marking lines, using cutout symbols saves space in the template DXF. When cutout symbols are chosen, the positioning and sight line markings will be cut on the template contour.

Hull - Shellshape template cutout

Profile Nesting in Profile Sheets

The nesting list can be complemented with the new nesting sketch, a graphical representation of the nesting.

When this feature is enabled, the system creates a nesting sketch for each profile type and material combination and adds it to the profile sheet as a separate page, followed by pages containing the profile sketches that belong to that nesting.

Hull - Production profile nesting sketch

Information Management

Support for Navisworks models

eShare and eBrowser now offer support also for models in Navisworks format. Project administrator can import Navisworks models directly to eShare project. The models can be combined with other models, moved, rotated, and scaled, if needed, and published together as one 3D model for the project.

The added support extends the possibilities of collaboration with different stakeholders and in a number of occasions by allowing the continued use of various engineering applications, yet keeping the project up-to-date in eShare. Existing Navisworks models could also be used as a basis for a digital twin combining different models and file formats.

Model hierarchies in eShare

Administrator can now add, modify, or remove model hierarchies also in eShare. This functionality previously available only in Plant Modeller has now been introduced to eShare, enabling creating and modifying model hierarchies also for imported and combined 3D models by selecting suitable attributes. The potential and flexible functionality of model hierarchies can be now be fully utilized in eShare, when the model objects can be arranged in the model tree in a variety of ways, for example according to systems, compartments, blocks, type of equipment, and floors, to just name a few.

External data source attributes to Excel report

User can select to include attributes from external data sources to the Excel export of search results in eShare. The ability to include such attributes opens up endless possibilities when data from several different sources can be collected to one report, starting from creating validations between model data and external data sources, producing summary reports, and offering better support for use cases, where 3D model has only few attributes and most of the attributes come from other data sources.

eShare - export external attributes

Extraction of metadata from documents for linking

Now administrator can extract metadata for linking purposes directly from the documents, and more specifically, by determining the exact locations for the metadata within the document. Often the header or the title block of the document might contain data, which could be used for creating links, because the text in the drawing area may not unique enough, when all of the project and its documents are taken into account. For example, an area code can be extracted from the title block, and combined with a suitable label text from the drawing to create a unique ID, which has also been used in the 3D model.

eShare - extract metadata

Improved Markups and Smart Points

Markups and Smart Points have had a thorough polishing in both eShare and eGo. Markups can now be linked to model objects or model groups. These connections from model objects or model groups to Markups or Smart Points are distinctively visible in the properties pane for both the model objects or model groups, and the Markups or Smart Points are presented in their own collapsed category.

eShare - Linked smartPoints markups

This option enables a long awaited possibility to focus comments in the model to an even more specified target, which makes it easier to locate the comments in the model, and to allocate the tasks to stakeholders effortlessly.

With these improvements, the user could easily find, for example, all the Smart Points of instruments related to a specific pipeline, and take a look at their readings coming from the process historian system.

Expanded eGo features

eGo now supports a wide variety of features, which were previously available only to eShare users. eGo can now move from a diagram to another using connectors. Also Smart Points act as links between documents and 3D models allowing for a more visual perspective on the project, the linked Smart Points are also shown in the properties pane of the model object or model group. Data sources with multiple attributes are now supported by showing the details in the properties pane for the related object or group. The visibility of cable attributes in the properties pane previously available in eBrowser and eShare users has now been extended also to eGo. Even visual graphs created with data from external data sources are now available at a click. This way eGo continues to evolve even closer to eShare, allowing a growing number of users to have a more complete view of all the available and necessary data, regardless of the application they are using.

CADMATIC Draw

New floating visualization window to boost working on several screens

In addition to traditional viewports, you can use a floating window in CADMATIC Draw, the position of which is not limited to the drawing area but can be used on another screen, for example. The window is meant for visualizing 3D geometry in particular, and for this reason its functionality is more limited compared to a normal viewport, but the functions are easy to find in a new type of toolbar in the upper right corner of the window.

CADMATIC Electrical

In the new CADMATIC Electrical 2021T2 version (19.0.2), we have focused on refining the existing features and improving usability, taking into account our customers’ feedback, among other things. Moreover, the version includes several small improvements and fixes. As usual for a version release, the structure of the databases has not changed.

Editing dialogs now allow discarding changes

The usability of the DB-Edit tool is on a completely new level now that its editing dialogs allow discard. Pressing the Cancel or the ESC button, or closing the dialog by clicking the X icon, now prompts the user to either approve or reject the changes. You can stop entering false values and exit the dialog without saving any of the changes in the database.

Electrical - DB edit tool

New user interface for queue printing

The popular sheet printing queue now has a new UI that makes this function more user-friendly. You now see more information about the sheets to be printed, and thereby it is easier to select the desired sheets.

Electrical - queue printing

Modular generation – versatile and flexible CAD drawing generation

Several small changes and improvements have been made to the modular generation, making it possible and easier to use the function in a more versatile way. It is now more flexible to use because it can be driven from the command line if necessary.

Previously it was possible to specify equipment according to a certain product model. After the latest reforms, product information can be attributed directly to the piece of equipment or a location without using the product model.

Modular generation is a function to automatically produce a certain number of project documents based on template drawing and an Excel sheet. The template drawings may be old DWG files or smart modules that contain database data in addition to drawings. This functionality replaces the old Excel generation and offers, in addition to easy use, a possibility to extend generation from template drawings to smart template modules.

Improved cable marking usability

We have improved the creation and placement of cable markings with some great features. It is now easier than before to create your own cable markings which you can save in a menu of your own.

Cable marking placement has also been renewed, and it is easy to add markings for new cables in the drawing. Markings can be placed on the cables by continuously pointing on the drawing, or by using a cutting/sectional trajectory, in which case the markings are automatically placed in the intersections of the pointed trajectory/line.