The H-Factor

Reducing Entropy

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Category: HydraCAD

  • Aligning Heads When Using a Head Guide

    From a customer a little while back: Q: I would like the head guide to have an option to spot the head based on the last one (with Ortho on so they line up). Kind of like the insert multiple sprinklers  Or add the option to the “insert multiple” where you can access the head…

  • Pointing HydraCALC (or HydraCAD/HydraLIST) to Look in Other Job Folders

    ustomer from Sweden asked the following this week: "I have a question about HydraCALC, is there a way to change the default path for where the program initially finds its projects to open? For instance, now when I press OPEN, it always open “C:\HES\HydraCALC\Ver50\Data\Jobs”, we have our projects in a different location, so for me…

  • Creating Sprinkler Head Symbols in HydraCAD

    Want to make your own symbols? EasyWant to use the same symbol for two different temperature heads? Easy The answers all come down to the same thing. The second one albeit a little differently. And…a trick concerning the word 'same' The answer is to start with an existing HydraCAD head, making changes to it (or…

  • Using a Bell Reducer in HydraCAD

    A customer asked last week: How do I properly use a 4×3 Bell Reducer so that it lists correctly? The answer, according to my co-worker Bill McKenna: 1. A coupling should already be on the pipe intersection where the diameters are changing 2. Select the coupling type required for the Bell Reducer being used: The Diameter…

  • Listing Vic 001 / 009 Ells and Coupling

    From a Customer, via a co-worker: I have a quick question. How to I list 001 Victaulic 90’s and 009 Victaulic Couplings? Is there an equivalent? I cannot seem to locate them in HydraLIST The answer depends on which program is being used: For AutoList in HydraCAD: Change your fitting mapping to one of the available…

  • Giving Users Authorization to Use Autodesk Products

    You buy an Autodesk Subscription, but are stymied when trying to install it on a user's machine? Yeah, so are a lot of people. Autodesk does not do a good job of explaining how user access works, IMHO. Here is a typical scenario: ABC Sprinkler Company buys two AEC Industry Collections. Johnny B. is the…

  • New Updates for AutoCAD and Revit Released

    In the last month or so Autodesk has released updates for AutoCAD 2017 and 2018, as well as Revit 2017 and 2018. These areavailable for download in your Autodesk Account or Autodesk Desktop App. The following links direct you to the instructions for the updates and the new features added/problems fixed  for each update. I…

  • AutoListing Loose Material, Kits and Assemblies Part 1 – Add Loose Material Command

    There are many ways of adding loose material and kits to a HydraCAD drawing in order to get them listed. Some are old(er) and many are newer. All of these are on the Listing Toolbar. These do not need to be attached to pipes or sprinkler heads in order to have them list. They simply…

  • Hardware Recommendations for Revit, AutoCAD and Navis

    We often get asked about hardware requirements for Hydratec software. We generally follow the Autodesk requirements because AutoCAD, Navis and Revit put the most demands on the computer. For Revit: Here is the Autodesk page for Revit requirements: System Requirements for Revit 2021. Other Revit versions can be looked up as well. Notes: We recommend…

  • Hanger Text Options

    From a customer: "I have a question about modifying hanger symbols. Here’s the issue, many times the Lister's complain that our plans are too busy, because pipe diameters lay over hanger numbers, etc. I know we can use the auto cleanup but I really want to eliminate the hanger # & either modify an existing…