The H-Factor

A customer asked if there was a way to change the color of HydraPipes to red for the Navis coordination drawing. There are two ways to do this:

Option 1: After you go to 3D, select everything in your model (yes, everything) and right-click and pick Properties. Then, pick the top drop down list and select HYDRAPIPE (below). Now pick the edit box in the TrueColor line and set it to Red

Option 2: Open the piping model in Navis (assuming you have Navis) and then pick the Selection Tree. Next, right click on the file name and for to Override Item. Override Color and pick Red.

Double riser nipples were a long asked for improvement that was included in HydraCAD Version 50 when it was first released.The dialog associated with this command does not generate too many questions, probably since the graphic helps make sense of the options available:

Once thing that does generate questions is how to go up one riser while going down to the other. I got this question twice in the last week:

Customer #1:

"How do we show this in plan view so that we have riser
nipple text indicating pipe going down from the feed pipe and riser nipple text
indicating pipe going up from the feed pipe. When I use the stacked command it only give me either 2 up
texts or 2 down.  I can’t get one of each."

Customer #2:

"I need this drawing in 3d and I don’t know how do a pipe up
and down at the same time. See attach dwg as a reference. Could you help me,
please."

Here is how this is done (click to enlarge). It relies on the riser nipple editor featured in this post.

This sample drawing will be included in a future update and will be accessible by picking HydraTools->Tools->Training Drawings

One often overlooked feature of the PERPendicular object snap is the ability to line up an object (such as a head) with other objects (other heads). To wit – the two heads below in the Dispatch Office are not lined up with the head plan north of it already piped. How to line up these two heads? Use PERP

Pick the two heads and activate the MOVE command. Then choose the insert or center of the heads as the base point. Then click the PERP osnap and select the pipe already drawn, and the heads will be move to line up with them:

 

Using a drawing scale other than 1/8"=1' or 1-100, you may notice your riser circle or text is too large or too small. This is how you correct that:

1.Type in 3MO or pick the 3D Modeling Options button from the 3D Modeling toolbar.

2. Pick the Restore HydraCAD Defaults button. This usually does it. If you want a different size than that, then specify that in the Global Riser Diameter Settings fields to the left.

-But-

Sometimes you just don't like the height or width of our riser nipples. Well, this can be resolved fairly easily:

1. Pick one riser nipple and right-click

2. Pick Select Similar from the menu that appears

3. Open up the properties box (Ctrl+1) if not already open

4. Scroll down to the text section and adjust the height and width as needed.

-Or-

If you want a more permanent fix, try this:

A few customers point out that the riser nipple text takes up too much room. They would like move the text closer to the clamshell and minimize the empty gap. This is easy to do:

1. Open up the VP and VPRJ drawings in the \HES\HydraCAD\Ver50\Programs\Version57 folder. Cancel any dialogs that may come up.

2. Using grips, move the white text as close to the circle as you like. Do not move the circle closer to the text!

3. Save the edited drawings.

AutoCAD 2013 introduced a new feature – Select Similar. It does just what it sounds like:

1. Pick an object (line, head, riser nipple, whatever) and right-click

2. Pick Select Similar from the menu that appears

You can now do whatever you like with this selection set. You could Move it, Copy it or change its Properties by opening up the properties box (Ctrl+1) if not already open!

If you want to control which characteristics are applied, then type in SELECTSIMILAR at the command prompt and type in SE (SEttings) to bring up the box of choices.

A customer called yesterday and asked how to get rid of the little window that pops up when you hover over an item in AutoCAD:

 

After some Googling, I came across the subject as a post in Ellen Finkelstein's great blog.

1. Type rollovertips on the command line and press Enter.
2. Type 0 and press Enter again.

This entry outlines a little-known feature of AutoLine.

Let's say you have large bays with irregular spacing and you have spaced heads throughout those bays, and now need to connect them. Like this:

Draw the branch lines from the nearest head, to the furthest head, without stopping at the heads in between.

Do this for each line:

When complete use AutoLine, without riser nipples. It will connect the heads within the Longest Armover length, even if the heads are right on the pipe!. If you are superstitious, use 1" as your arm length. Either way, the pipes will be broken at each head location.

This entry combines a little-known frature of a very common command (BaySpace).

Let's say you want to insert heads and branch lines, and these heads want to be on armovers:

1. Use BaySpace to set parameters and pick you bay points as usual, but this time, select One pipe from the Draw: drop down list.

This will give you exactly that, one pipe from end head to end head

2. Use Locate Lines tool inside AutoLine to move the pipes from their current position right atop the heads off to the side and distance you want as armovers. Then, use AutoLine to connect the heads and draw the armovers

Next, how to use AutoLine to connect heads that are right on the pipe

This entry combines one little-known command (Smart Array) with a little-known feature of a more common command (AutoLine).

Inserting Heads using Smart Array

Let's say you have a large room with a suspended ceiling like this, and you want to space heads throughout that room, but do not want to calculate how many rows and colunms you will need. This is where Smart Array comes in. See below:

And you want to add heads to it, center of tile or otherwise.

1. Set up your head like usual

2. Insert that head in the center of the first tile you want a head in, like this:

PS – You should be using the Align Crosshairs with Ceiling command for situations like this!

3. Start the Smart Array command from the Sprinkler toolbar

4. Pick that first head. You will be asked if this is the location of the next head. The idea of this command is to 'steer' over to the location of the next head in both the X and Y directions. Since it is not where the next head goes, pick No

5. Make sure SNAP is on (F9) and drag your crosshairs to the right 12' and pick that point. This is the X spacing for these heads. This is still not where the next item goes, so again answer No

6. Again, drag your crosshairs up 10'' and pick that point. This is
the Y spacing for these heads. This is  where the next item
goes, so answer Yes and the spacing will be set

7. Now, pick the extreme upper right corner to show the entire space to be filled with these heads. I usually pick beyond the wall of the room itself, and without an object snap, to be sure I have enough heads. You can always erase extra ones

8. You will be given the calculated results concerning this room, and given a chance to proceed or bail

This will insert heads thusly:

You can now simply move the rightmost heads into the ceiling grid and be done with heads

Using AutoLine to Connect Heads

9. The next step is to draw the branch lines wherever you want them, and then offset them as need and connect the heads using armovers. The good news is that AutoLine does this for you, so use AutoLine to Draw Lines and Locate Lines and then fill out the dialog box and you have your system:

Next, I will review using Bayspace and AutoLine to achieve a similar result.