Piping Lesson

CADWorx Video Training Series
Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Lesson Four
3D Modeling
In this lesson you will learn how to:
Easily Rotate the UCS to model in different planes
Model lines in a method similar to drawing isometrics
Create 3D Router Lines
Automatically place elbows and pipe segments
Generate Clipped Views using the CADWorx Viewbox command
Annotate and Dimension in Paper Space on a Layout
Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CAD Training Technologies, LLC Houston, TX USA
60

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
In this lesson you will construct three lines that are connected to
exchangers and a vessel. Youll see a couple of ways these can
be modeled: manual placement and using router lines. Both
methods are effective, and the choice depends upon the geometry
and information you have to work with. Generally speaking, a
Router line is going to give you the fastest tool for constructing
lines in 3D compared to other methods.
First youll model the return lines, from the top of the
exchangers going back into the vessel.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Start a new drawing, using a template: Metric.

Click File, Click Save As
Browse to the C:\CADWorx_Video_Training\Lessons
folder.
Save the drawing as 12-CPRA_B-1004-150_M.
Click Insert, from the pull down menus in both 2009 and
earlier versions. In AutoCAD 2009 there is also a button
along the bottom of the screen, if you prefer.
Click External References

61
Starting the drawing
Inserting External
Reference Files
(XRefs)

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Click Attach
Browse to your C:\CADWorx_Training\Examples folder
and click on the 35-450 drawing and the Exchangers_Pair
drawing (hold down the Control Key as you select them.
Insert them in as Overlays and inserted at the 0,0,0 point,
Scaled 1:1, and Rotated 0 as shown.
You should have them in your attached drawings list as

shown.
Close the XRef dialog box (click the X at the top).

62
List of attached
XRefs

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
11.
You will see your two XRefs now appearing on the drawing.
12.
Depending upon your AutoCAD version, you can use the

2009 3D Workspace and work your 3D views directly off
that. For this lesson, bring up the AutoCAD View tool bar, if
it is not already on your screen (this method works with all
versions of AutoCAD). To do this, you can move the mouse
pointed over any AutoCAD tool button, and Right Click on
the Mouse. A list of tool bars will appear, and then you
select the View Tool bar (2008 version illustrated).
13. Dock the View tool bar at the top area on your screen.
14. Click on the South West Isometric View.

63
Opening the View

Tool bar
Viewing from a 3D
skewed view SW
Isometric Viewpoint

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
15.
16.
Zoom into the lower left area of the drawing.
Zooming closer to
the exchangers
Getting an overview
of whats to follow
In this lesson, you will be modeling the two lines that return
from the top of the exchangers into the vertical tower.

64

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
17.
This will be a valuable lesson for you, because you will see a
couple of different approaches to modeling these lines: placing
fittings one by one, and also how to use a Router Line.
The first thing to emphasize in the lesson is that modeling in
3D using CADWorx is easy. The developers of CADWorx
have made 3D modeling as easy as doing a 2D Isometric
drawing.
Do you remember how, in doing an isometric, you flip the
crosshairs from one plane to another using the F5 key on the
keyboard?
Isometrics the
traditional way to
work
Its a short step from

Isometrics to
working in 3D when
using CADWorx
When you pressed the F5 key your crosshairs would rotate into
the top plane, or vertical left hand plane, or vertical right hand
plane.
Do you remember how easy that is? Its a fast and easy way to
do a pictorial drawing.
Pressing the F5 Key flips the crosshairs in Isometric.
Well working with CADWorx in 3D is very similar! Modeling

in 3D in CADWorx has the same look and feel as creating a
2D Isometric drawing! If you think of it like this, then 3D
modeling in CADWorx is a breeze!

65

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Instead of the F5 key to rotate your crosshairs, CADWorx

uses their own UCS Toolbar, which does a similar
function.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
Now youll bring up the CADWorx (not AutoCADs) UCS

tool bar (2008 version illustrated)
Click Plant (at the top of the screen)

Click Tool Bars
Click UCS
The UCS tool bar will appear. Dock it in the top area of
your screen.
Notice how your crosshairs are oriented.
Click the UCS Next button a few times, and notice how
your crosshairs rotate. It looks very similar to how
crosshairs rotate when you do isometrics!
Now youll test this to get a feel of how this works.

25.
Click the UCS Next button until your crosshairs are in the
top plane. In 3D, you call this the Flat plane.

66
Switching planes in
3D seems similar to
flipping the
crosshairs in
isometric
In 3D, you click the

UCS Next button to
rotate the crosshairs
(similar to hitting the
F5 key on the
keyboard when you
did isometrics)

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Next youll set up your system to draw some test lines to

see how this works.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Click Plant
Click Setup
Set the Main Size to 6.
Set the Specification to 150_M.
Set the Drawing Mode to 3D.
31.
Pan the screen to the side, so that you are in a clear area.
You will now draw a few fittings to get a good look at
this.
32.
Make sure you have ORTHO turned on.
33.
34.
35.
36.
Practicing some 3D
Make sure you

have ORTHO on
Drawing a 3D pipe
Click Pipe
Click a point for the start point of your pipe.
Drag the mouse to the lower right direction and
Type: 2500 <Enter> to draw a 2500mm length of pipe.

67

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
37.
38.
39.
40.
Click Elbow
Placing a 3D elbow
Modeling in the
horizontal plane
Press <Enter> on the keyboard to have the elbow connect

automatically to the pipe you just drew.
Drag down and click (for the corner).
Drag to the right and click (for the elbow direction).
41.
Draw a 1800mm piece of pipe from the elbow toward the

upper right direction.
42.
Now youll turn draw another elbow turning up in the

vertical plane.

68

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
43.
44.
Click on the UCS Next button on the UCS tool bar.
Now youll draw some components in vertical.
47.
48.
Rotating the UCS

easily into the
vertical right hand
plane
Modeling in 3D has
a similar look and
feel to creating
Isometric drawings
Your cross hairs should look as shown. If not, keep

clicking the UCS Next button to get them set.
Do you see how this is going to let you draw in the

vertical plane? You can see how the X Y Plane is
oriented in the vertical right hand plane (its on edge
going up and down, instead of flat like you normally
see it). When you draw with the UCS tilted like this,
your components will be drawn in the vertical XY
Plane.
45.
46.
Click Elbow
Press <Enter> on the keyboard, to have the elbow
connect automatically to the last piece of pipe.
Drag the mouse toward the upper right direction and
click.
Drag the mouse straight up and click. Youve just
drawn an elbow going up.

69

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
49.
50.
Click Pipe and press <Enter> on the keyboard.

Drag the mouse straight up and Type: 1800mm <Enter>.
Do you see how this is just like drawing a 2D isometric,

but its really in 3D? Modeling in CADWorx Plant Pro can
get really fast and easy, once you get used to it.
51.
52.
Click the UCS Next tool button on the UCS tool bar.
Set it as shown.
53.
54.
55.
56.
Click Elbow
Press <Enter>
Drag up for the corner and click.
Drag to the lower right and click.

70
Showing how 3D is
similar in approach
to producing a 2D
isometric

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
57.
58.
59.
60.
Click Pipe
Press <Enter> on the keyboard to connect automatically
to the last elbow.
Drag to the lower right and
Type: 2500 <Enter>.
Now lets say you wanted to draw a valve with flanges in

the second horizontal line, where it touches the elbow
thats turned up.
Youll draw a gate valve and
flanges here.
First you need to get your crosshairs (UCS) reset.

61.
Click the UCS Next tool button.

71
Illustrating how to
model in 3D

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
62.
Click the Weld Neck Flange on the tool palette.
63.
64.
Click on the end of the elbow thats turning up.

Drag toward the lower left area of the drawing and click.
65.
Click the Gate Valve on the tool palette.
66.
Press <Enter> on the keyboard to connect it to the flange

automatically.
Drag the mouse toward the lower left area of the screen
and click.
Click on the Weld Neck Flange in the tool palette.
Press <Enter> on the keyboard, to connect it
automatically to the valve.
Drag to the lower left area of the screen (using Polar or
Ortho) and click.
67.
68.
69.
70.

72
Inserting
components into a
line and having the
system break out
the line as they are
inserted

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
So you can see that modeling in 3D in CADWorx is a

matter of setting your crosshairs (UCS) in the plane you
want to work, then simply placing components.
Theres also a great tool which youll do soon called a
ROUTER LINE, which together with the method you
just practiced, will have you creating 3D CADWorx
models very fast and efficiently.
71.
Erase the lines you just drew. It was just to illustrate

how to model in 3D. Zoom back into the area near the
top of the exchangers.
Now youll model lines coming out of the top of the far
exchanger.

73
Getting set for

modeling

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
72.
73.
Set the Main Size to 12. The spec should be set to

150_M.
Click the Line Number setup button in the top area of the
CADWorx tool palette.
74. You need to set the line number to include Size, Service,
Count, Spec, and Insulate. You can see the video or
lesson one if you need to review how to set this up.
75. Your line number will look as shown. You will use
CPRB for the Service, and 1004 for the count. The
Insulate value will be nothing, since we dont want to
show insulation for this line.

74
Setting up the line

number

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
76.
Click the UCS Next button as needed to orient your

crosshairs in the vertical left hand plane. Note: The Z
direction is not important here unless you want to place
some text in 3D in the model. The X and Y are whats
important to us here.
77.
Click Gasket from the CADWorx tool palette.
78.
Place a gasket on the top of a nozzle (use OSNAP

CENTER), and drag the mouse toward the top of the
screen and click.
79.
80.
Click Flange, RFWN from the CADWorx tool palette.

Press <Enter> on the keyboard to connect automatically,
drag the mouse up toward the top of the screen, and click.
Click Pipe.
Press <Enter> on the keyboard.
Drag the mouse up, and Type: 1027 <Enter>.
Click Elbow and press <Enter> on the keyboard.
81.
82.
83.
84.

75
Rotating the UCS

(User Coordinate
System)

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
85. Drag the mouse up and click.

86. Drag the mouse toward the upper left area of the screen
and click.
87.
Repeat the steps you just did on the other nozzle. Have
the elbow at the top pointing toward the first elbow.

Placing components
in 3D
Copying
components in 3D
76

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
88.
89.
Draw a piece of pipe connecting the two elbows.

Then click on the Tee, in the CADWorx tool palette.
90.
91.
Right click on the mouse and click Center.

Pause on the end of the elbow, on the right side (dont
click).
Track down the pipe (drag the mouse down the pipe
and you will see the system tracking), and type: 1738
<Enter>.
Click down the pipe for the Main Run direction.
Click Straight Up for the Branch direction.
Press <Enter> to accept the 1738mm distance from the
end of the pipe.
Your drawing should appear similar to whats shown.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
Modeling 3D
components
Inserting a Tee into

the middle of a 3D
pipe
Save the drawing at this point.

Now youll need to rotate your UCS (your crosshairs) to
model in vertical, and also in the right hand plane.
Click the UCS Next
button to rotate them as
shown.

77

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
99.
Zoom into the area around the two nozzles on the side of
the vessel.
100. Place a Gasket, Flange, and Elbow as shown.
The following figure shows what you will be

constructing.
Youll soon be modeling a line that comes up out of the

Tee, and connects into the bottom of the Elbow.

78
Modeling in vertical

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
The bottom of this new line will be at an elevation of 7000.
Evaluating the setup
Inquiring about a
needed distance
Youll need to determine how far it is from the center of

the Tee to the end of the Elbow on the vessel (you can
just follow the steps in the video).
First, youll determine the distance from the Tee to the
Elbow. Again, watch the video and this will be easy to
follow. The video shows the following steps.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
Click Tools
Click Inquiry
Click Distance
Click the Endpoint or Center of the Tee.
Click the Endpoint or Center of the bottom of the Elbow.
Note the distance between them (see video) its
4845mm.
Youll key in this distance shortly when you run a router
line between them.
Now youre ready to construct the Router Line.

79

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
107. Type: RT <Enter> to start the

Router Line command. If it
doesnt work on your system,
you can always click Plant,
Accessory, Auto Route,
Router.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
Click the Endpoint of the top of the Tee.

Right click and click Position.
Right click and click BOP.
Press <Enter> (if prompted for size: 12).
Right click and click Elevation.
Right click and click World.
Type: 7000 <Enter>.
Drag the mouse toward the vessel (with Ortho on).
Type: 4845 <Enter>.
Click the Endpoint of the Elbow.
Right click and click Current.
Press <Enter> to exit.
You should have a figure similar to the following.

80
Using the 3D Router

command
Routing a line in 3D
space, connecting to
components as
needed

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
To add piping to the line,
120.
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
Click Plant
Click Accessory
Click Auto Route
Click Buttweld LR
Press <Enter> to select Polyline, and
Click the router line you just drew.
The system will place pipe and elbows for you along the
router line.

81
Having the system

automatically
connect pipe and
elbows along the
routed line

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
126. Save the drawing at this point.

127. Zoom into the area around the elbow thats above the
Tee.
128. Make sure your UCS

(your crosshairs) set to
work in vertical, and
place a Flange, Gate
Valve, and Flange.
Checking the UCS
Placing the flanges

and gate valve in
vertical, and
breaking out the
existing pipe
Note: The valve top works will be changed shortly to

standard measurements. The next video
discusses this.

82

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
129. Click the UCS Next tool button to

rotate your crosshairs. They will be
oriented like a vertical left
orientation, if you were doing an
isometric. Again, modeling in
CADWorx is very similar.
Rotating the UCS
Placing a valve
operator manually
(2008 and earlier
versions)
Shading, and saving

the file
130. If you are running 2008 and earlier, and you dont have
the Operators tool bar open, Click Plant, Tool bars,
Operators (skip this step if youre using CADWorx
2009).
131. Add a hand wheel for the valve as shown. It will be 450
in diameter, and 1500 long.
132. Click Save, to save the drawing.
133. Click View, Visual Styles, Conceptual to look at your
work.

83

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
The next line will also be drawn using a Router

command. Using the Router, youll route the centerline
of the piping, and let the system fill in the elbows and
piping for you. Also, when using the Router, there are
many options you can use to adjust the centerline as
you go. Youll actually explore all the Router
command options in the lesson that follows this one.
For now, just put in the values as given in the following
section. It will be another good introduction to the
command, so you will get more familiar with how it
works.
134. Click View, Visual Styles, 2D Wireframe.
135. Click the Line Number Setup button.
Setting up the new

line number
Rotating the UCS as

needed
Placing some
gaskets and flanges
136. Change the Service to CPRA.

137. Zoom in around the nozzles on top of the nearest
exchanger.
138. Rotate the crosshairs (UCS) as shown.
139. Place a Gasket and RFWN Flange on each nozzle.

84

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Now youll start the Router Line Command.

140. Type RT <Enter>. This starts the Router. IF IT
DOESNT START, click Plant, Accessory, Auto
Route, Router. This will also start the command.
Note: When you start the Router command, the
system will rotate the UCS back to the World
Coordinate System automatically. This is normal.
141. Using OSNAP CENTER, Click on the top of the
flange on the right.
142. Right click on the mouse and click Position.
143. Right click on the mouse and click BOP (for Bottom
of Pipe).
144. If the system echoes back 12, press <Enter> to
accept. If it doesnt echo back 12 go on to the next
step.
Using the Router

command to route
the 3D line
145. Right click on the mouse and click Elevation.

146. Right click on the mouse and click World.
147. Type: 4800 <Enter>. This sets the bottom of pipe
elevation you will be drawing to 4800.
148. Zoom in close around the other flange.

85

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
149. Using OSNAP, click the CENTER (at the top) of the
flange.
150. Press <Enter> on the keyboard for Last
151. Click on the same ENDPOINT of the flange.
152. Right click on the mouse and click Current.
153. Press <Enter> to exit the Router command.
This just routed a line for your piping. Next youll tell
the system to automatically place pipe and elbows.
154.
155.
156.
157.
Save the drawing.

Click Plant, Accessory, Auto Route, Buttweld LR.
Press <Enter>.
Click on the polyline router line you just drew.
Having the system

automatically run
pipe and elbows
along the routed line
Placing the Tee in

the middle of the 3D
pipe
The system will place the elbows and pipe automatically.

Now youll place a Tee in the line, then continue routing
it using the Router command.
158. Verify your UCS (crosshairs) is as shown. If not, rotate
them as needed.
159. Verify the Otrack, Osnap, and Ortho buttons are pushed
in.
160. Click Tee

86

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
161. Right click and click Center.
162. Move the crosshairs over the end of the pipe on the left
(where the pipe and elbow joint).
163. Dont Click, just hover directly over that point.
164. Drag the mouse toward the lower right (you should see
it tracking), and
165. Type: 1738 <Enter>.
166. Drag the mouse toward the lower right and click (for
Main direction).
167. Drag the mouse straight up toward the top of the
drawing and click (for the Branch direction).
168. Press <Enter> on the keyboard to accept the distance
the system prompts (its verifying you want to place the
center of the tee at a distance of 1738).
The tee will appear in your drawing, in the correct

position.
Now youll continue with the line.
170. Zoom in around the flange on the vertical tower where
this line is going. Its the flange right next to the
previous line you finished.

87
Having the system

break out the pipe
and place the tee

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
171. Rotate your crosshairs (rotate the UCS) as shown.
Placing the gasket,

flange, and elbow
Generating another
3D routed line
172. Place a gasket (using OSNAP Center), WNRF Flange,

and Elbow (turning down) as shown.
Now you can finish the line using a Router.

Zoom back so you can see both ends of the line (the
elbow you just placed, and also the tee).
Now youll use a Router Line to finish the line.
Routers let you lay out the path you would like the line
to follow. Youll see more of how this works as you
proceed.
173. Type: RT <Enter> (to start the Router Command). If
RT doesnt work, or if you prefer, you can also click
Plant, Accessory, Auto Route. This does the same
thing.
174. Click the top end point of the Tee you just placed.
175. Right click and click Position.
176. Right click and click BOP.
177. If the system echoes back 12, press <Enter>. If it
doesnt echo back 12 go on to the next step.
178. Right click and Click Elevation.
179. Press <Enter> for World.
180. Type: 7000 <Enter> (this will be the elevation of the
bottom of the pipe.)

88

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
181. Drag the mouse to the right and

182. Click on the bottom of the elbow, coming down off the
nozzle above.
183. Right click and click Last
184. Click on the bottom of the elbow, coming down off the
nozzle above again.
185. Right click and click Current.
186. Press <Enter> to exit.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
192.
Click Plant
Click Accessory
Click Auto Route
Click Buttweld LR
Press <Enter> (to select the polyline)
Click the polyline you just routed.

89
Having the system

generate pipe and
elbows along the
routed line

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Next youll set the gate valves to use a standard top works file
for the valve operators, and adjust the existing gate valves top
works.
193. Type: Topworksadd <Enter>
194. Following the video, change the gate valves top works
(operator) to a standard size.
195. After youve completed that, Click the Spec Editor button on
the CADWorx SpecView tool palette (see illustration). If
instead, youre running CADWorx 2008 and earlier, youll
need to:
196. Type: SPED <Enter> to start the Spec Editor.
Starting the Spec

Editor
Editing the Gate

Valves in the
specification
197. Select the 150_M Spec.

198. Click on Valves, Gate in the left section of the dialog box.
199. Highlight the 2-24 inch, 150 LB Flg and click the Edit
button.

90

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
200. In the Top Works section of the dialog box, click the Select
Button.
Selecting the proper

Top Works
measurement file.
Now the system will

draw valve operators
to standard
measurements
201. Click on the Wheel_Gate_150_F_M.top data file, and
202. Click Select, OK, and OK to exit.

This will set the system up to draw the valve operators (Top
Works) to standard dimensions.
Now the system will draw this.instead of this.

91

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
203. Adjust the crosshairs (UCS) as needed (click the UCS

Next button) and
204. Place the Flanges, Gate Valve, and Valve Operator in
this line, like you did in the previous line.
205. Click View
206. Click Visual Styles
207. Click Conceptual
208. Save your work.

Viewing the model
Saving the file
92

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Running Continuity Checks and Generating Isometrics

209. Click View
210. Click Visual Styles.
211. Click 2D Wireframe.
You can Isolate a line (view only that line) a couple of
ways. One way (demoed in the video dont do at this
time) is to
212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
217.
218.
219.
Click Plant
Click Utility
Click Line Isolate
Right click and click Isolate
Right click and click Line Number
Right click and click List
Click on the line with the service of CPRA and
Click OK, and the line will be shown alone on the screen.
The way youll isolate the line is using the Lineview tool
palette.

93
Isolating the line

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
220. Type: LINEVIEW <Enter>

The Line View tool palette will appear.
221. Click on the line with the service of CPRA and

222. Click OK, and the line will be shown alone on the screen.
223.
224.
225.
226.
Click Plant
Click Utility
Click Continuity
Window the line and press <Enter>

94
Isolating the line

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
227. Type: 1000 <Enter> (for the marker diameter).

228. Press <Enter> (for the precision).
229. You should see three circles, one on each end of the piping.
Viewing the
continuity checking
results
Generating an
Isogen isometric
drawing
If you have more than three circles, that indicates that you
have bad connectivity between your components. You may
have a gap, or an overlapping of components, or a gasket
placed improperly. If so, you should zoom in closely to the
trouble area and correct it. The first lesson has a good
section on what to look for with continuity errors.
230. Erase the circles.
Running an Isogen Isometric
231.
232.
233.
234.
235.
236.
237.
Click Plant
Click Accessory
Click Isogen
Click Isogen Out
Choose the Metric_Inch_A2 Style and
Click OK
Press <Enter> (to select objects).

95

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
238. Window the line and press <Enter>.

239. When the Isogen Results dialog box appears,
240. Click Open Plot Files
You should see a result similar to the following figure.
241. Save the drawing in the Lessons folder.

242. Plot the drawing for your portfolio.
Run isometrics of the other line and save it. If you have any
errors, correct them before proceeding.
Now youll model the supply line.
For clarity and ease, youll model it in its own file.

96
Modeling the supply

line
Inserting the
reference files
(Xrefs)

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
243. Start a new drawing, using a TEMPLATE (remember

you always use a template in this system).
244. Click Insert (from the pull down menus at the top)
245. Click External References (second from the bottom in
the pull down list).
246. Click Attach
247. Browse to your C:\CADWorx VideoTraining\Examples
folder and click on the
248. 35-450 drawing and the Exchangers_Pair drawing
(hold down the Control Key as you select them.
249. Insert them in as Overlays and inserted at the 0,0,0

point, Scaled 1:1, and Rotated 0 as shown.
250. You should have them in your attached drawings list as
shown.
251. Close the XRef dialog box (click the X at the top).

97
Viewing from a 3D
viewpoint

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
252. You will see your two XRefs now appearing on the drawing.
253. Click on the South West Isometric View from the View toolbar (it should already
be docked in the top area of your screen).

98

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
254. Zoom into the lower left area of the drawing.
In this section of the lesson, you will be modeling the

supply line that flows from the nozzle in the bottom area
of the vessel into the bottom of the exchangers.
This product is then heated up in the exchangers and
piped out the top of the exchangers and back into the top
of the vertical vessel.
255.
256.
257.
258.
Set your size to 16 for the Main size.

Set the specification to 150_M.
Click the Line Number Setup button.
Set the line number as shown. It will be set to 16-CPS1050-150_M-2H.
259. Save the drawing as 16-CPS-1050-150_M-2H.

99
Setting up the Line

Number

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
260. Rotate the crosshair (UCS) as shown (click the UCS

Next tool button on the CADWorx Plant UCS tool bar).
Rotating the UCS
Modeling
components
261. Place a gasket, flange, and elbow on the nozzle coming

out of the bottom of the exchanger as shown.
262. Place a 300 long piece of pipe, a flange, gate valve,

flange, and elbow as shown.
Note: If youre in CADWorx 2009 you will have also
placed a valve operator as shown in the video at
135 degrees.

100

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
263. Click the SE Isometric tool button on the View tool

bar.
264. Repeat the previous steps on the lower nozzle on the

other exchanger. Add a gasket, flange, elbow,
300mm piece of pipe.
265. Then add a flange, gate valve, flange, and elbow.

266. Save the drawing at this point as 16-CPS-1050-1502H.
Changing the
viewing direction
Continuing to model
components in 3D
267. Click the SW Isometric tool button from the View

tool bar.
Next youll draw a router line and automate some
pipes and an elbow.

101

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
268. Type: RT <Enter>

269. Click the end point on the elbow.
270. Right click and click Position.
271. Right click and click BOP.
272. If the systems prompts 16, press <Enter>. If not, go
on to the next step.
273. Right click and click Elevation.
274. Right click and click World (to set the BOP elevation
to a world value).
275. Type: 3650 Enter>.
276. Drag the mouse to the right and click on the center of
the nozzle on the vertical vessel.
Running a routing
line
Having the system

generate pipe and
elbows
automatically along
the routed centerline
277. Click Plant, Accessory, Auto Route, Buttweld LR.

278. Press <Enter>, and
279. Click on the router line you just drew.
The system will place pipe and an elbow for you.

102

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Draw a line from the end of the elbow (the elbow

with nothing connected to it), perpendicular to the
pipe above it.
280. Rotate the UCS (crosshairs) as shown.
281. Pick Tee (from the tool palette).

282. Right click and click Center.
283. Click the point where the line you just drew meets
the centerline of the pipe.
284. Click along the pipe (for the run direction). Have
Ortho on, and dont Osnap off the centerline.
285. Click the lower endpoint of the line (where it meets
the elbow) for the branch direction.
286. When prompted for the round off, press <Enter>.
The tee should appear on your model as shown.

Rotating the UCS
Inserting a Tee
103

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
287.
Erase the construction line and draw a piece of pipe

between the elbow and the tee.
288.
In a later video, youll add a couple of connection
Flanges, RFWN, next to the Tee, but for now leave
them off.
289. Place a Gasket and a Flange (RFWN) on the end of

the pipe where it joins the nozzle on the vessel.
290.
Save your drawing at this point.
Attaching in the
other lines
Creating some Orthographic Views

291. Go to UCS World. (Type: UCS <Enter> <Enter>).
292. Click Insert, External References.
293.
From the C:\CADWorx_Video_Training\Lessons
folder:
294. Click Attach.
295. Click on the drawing named 12-CPRA_B-1004150_M, and click OK.
296. Click Attach again.
297. From the C:\CADWorx_Video_Training\Examples
folder:
298. Click on the drawings named the drawing Skid2
299. Click OK.
300. Click on the Plan View (from the View tool bar).

104

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
301.
302.
Viewing from the

top
Setting up some
clipped views
Zoom in around the area of the skid and the vertical

vessel.
Save the drawing at this point.
Generating some Clipping Planes

303.
304.
305.
306.
Click Plant
Click Utility
Click View
Click Box
Youll see the View

Creation dialog box.

105

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
307. Click the Specify On-Screen button (where it says First

Corner).
308. Click a point in your drawing as shown in the figure which
follows.
309. Click the Specify On-Screen button (where it says Second
Corner).
310. Click a point in your drawing for the second point as
shown in the figure which follows.
Using the View Box

command to
generate some
clipped views
Filling out the View

Box dialog box
Change the View Set Name to Skid_2.

311. Change the Z
Value in the
dialog box for
the Second
Corner to be
15000
312. The X,Y
locations will
not match
whats shown,
but will be
fairly close.

106

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
313. Set the View Type to Front.

314. Click the Add button.
See the video for a good look at how this gets set up.
315. Click OK.
The system will create a clipped front view.
Bringing the Clipped View into Paper Space
316.
317.
318.
319.
320.
321.
322.
323.
324.
Click Plant
Click Setup
Click Border
Click Predefined
Click the ISO A0 (1189 x 841MM) border.
Click the Paper Space check box.
Click OK (to exit the Border dialog box).
Click OK (to exit the Setup dialog box).
Click OK as needed (twice) to exit the Attributes Dialog box
for the border (you can also fill out some attribute
information if you would like to do so, before OKing out).
Setting up a border
Viewing the layout
You will now have your drawing border inserted into Paper
Space.

107

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Setting up some Views in Paper Space

When using AutoCAD 2009, you can set up View Ports
easily using the View tab of the 3D Work Space.
The other option, that works for all versions of AutoCAD

is as follows.
325. Set your layer to Viewl
(no matter which version
of AutoCAD you are
using).
Setting the layer for

a viewport
326. Open the Viewports tool

bar (see instructions
which follow).
327. Move the pointer over
any AutoCAD tool
button and Right Click
on the mouse.
Creating a viewport
(options vary
depending upon the
AutoCAD version
used)
328. Click on Viewports.

108

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
329. Dock the Viewports tool bar at the top of the screen (do not dock
it on the side of the screen).
330. Click the Single Viewport tool button (the second button on the
Viewports toolbar).
331. Click two points to make a viewport on the screen, similar to
whats shown.

109
Setting the layer for

a viewport
Creating a viewport

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
332. Double click the mouse inside the viewport area.

333. This takes you into Model Space. Youll see your
crosshairs are active within the viewport.
334. Pan the drawing to the middle of the viewport.
335. Click the arrow on the side of the Viewports toolbar, and
336. Set the Scale to 1:50.
If you are using AutoCAD 2009 you

can easily set the viewport scaling
directly off the bottom area of the
screen.

110
Scaling the view in

the viewport

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
337. Double click the mouse outside the viewport area. This
returns you to Paper Space.
338. Cross through the edge of the viewport with the mouse, which
will light up the Grips on the viewport.
339. Right click, and click Display Locked, Yes.
This locks the viewport and the zoom (scaling) stays locked.
You can unlock it later if you want to, but this keeps the
scaling fixed.

111
Locking the
viewport, to keeps
its scale always set

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Creating a Second Viewport

340. Click on the Single Viewport button again, and create a
second viewport as shown.
Creating a second
viewport
Bringing the clipped

view into the
viewport
341. Double click the mouse inside the border of the second
viewport (this makes it current and enters Model Space).
342. Click on the arrow on the View tool bar, and
343. Click on the View named Skid_2-Front.

112

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
344. Pan the drawing to the middle of the viewport, and

345. Click the down arrow on the Viewports toolbar and
346. Set the Scale (zooming) to 1:50.
347.
348.
349.
350.
Pan the drawing as shown and

Double click outside the viewport to return to Paper Space.
Cross through the viewport to light up the Grips,
Right click and lock the viewport as you did previously
(Display Locked, Yes).
351. Set your current layer to Text (or any other layer except
layer Viewl).
352. Turn off layer Viewl and the layer Dim2.

113
Scaling the clipped

view
Locking the
viewport

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Adding Annotation to the Drawing in Paper Space

Live Views or Flattened Views?
In this lesson you will annotate the orthographic views in
Paper Space. This is the recommended method for
producing drawings from a model.
There are two options you can choose from when you
create your drawings in a Layout (in Paper Space).
One option is to have viewports with views of the model in
them, as you have just created. These are live views,
because if you change the model, your views will update.
Also you will see how to dimension them so that the
dimensions update as well, if the model changes.

114
Viewing the results

to this point

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
The other option is to flatten the views. This is the option

you would choose if the client only wants flat 2D drawings
as their deliverable. You will see how this option works in a
later section of this chapter.
354.
355.
356.
357.
358.
Zoom into the area around the top view.

Make layer CL the current layer.
Type: LTScale <Enter>.
Type: 10 <Enter>.
Draw some centerlines as shown. Use OSNAP Center,
Quadrant, Midpoint, etc. as needed.

115
Drawing some
centerlines that will
be used in
annotation

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
Zoom into the area around the vertical tower, 34-450 in the
plan view.
359.
360.
361.
362.
Click Plant
Click Text
Click Iso Text
Click 0 Deg Text
363.
364.
365.
366.
367.
368.
Click a point to start the text.

Type: 3 <Enter> (for the text height).
Press <Enter> (for 0 degrees rotation).
Type: C EQUIPMENT <Enter>.
Press the spacebar three times and
Type: N.0+01-0 <Enter> <Enter>.

116
Annotating the
drawing

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
369. Set layer Text as the current layer.

370. Type: L <Enter> (to start the line command).
371. Draw a small L shaped line as shown to indicate a centerline
symbol.
372. Label the other centerlines with text as shown.

117
Labeling the
centerline annotation

Lesson Four
3D Modeling

118
Annotating the
center lines

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
373. Using the videos as a guide, label the elevations as shown

in the following figure.
Labeling the
elevations
Setting the
dimensioning
variable for
associated
dimensions in paper
space
Adding Dimensions in Paper Space

You can use Associative Dimensions in Paper Space
easily. These dimensions will all have the same height
and give the proper distances, no matter what scale or
zoom factor youve set the viewport for.
374. Type: Dimassoc <Enter>.
375. Type: 2 <Enter>.
This sets the Dimension Associate system variable to 2.
AutoCAD will know to dimension distances properly in
Paper Space with this setting.
You must use OSNAP on Model Objects (objects
within the viewports in Model Space) for this to work
properly.

119

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
376. Using the video as a guide, add the dimensions and labels as shown.

120

Lesson Four
3D Modeling
You can also make a 2D Representation of a 3D view. This allows you to flatten a
3D view into a 2D view. Sometimes clients only want to receive 2D deliverables.
Experiment with this command, following the prompts if you need to utilize this feature.
Congratulations! This completes this section. You are well on your way to learning the
many modeling and drawing production features in CADWorx Plant Professional!

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CADWorx Video Training Series

Easily Rotate the UCS to model in different planes

Model lines in a method similar to drawing isometrics

Create 3D Router Lines

Automatically place elbows and pipe segments

Generate Clipped Views using the CADWorx Viewbox command

Annotate and Dimension in Paper Space on a Layout

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Start a new drawing, using a template: Metric.

Click External References

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

Starting the drawing

CADWorx Video Training Series

You should have them in your attached drawings list as

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Depending upon your AutoCAD version, you can use the

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

Opening the View

CADWorx Video Training Series

Zoom into the lower left area of the drawing.

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Its a short step from

Well working with CADWorx in 3D is very similar! Modeling

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Instead of the F5 key to rotate your crosshairs, CADWorx

Now youll bring up the CADWorx (not AutoCADs) UCS

Click Plant (at the top of the screen)

Now youll test this to get a feel of how this works.

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

In 3D, you click the

CADWorx Video Training Series

Next youll set up your system to draw some test lines to

Make sure you have ORTHO turned on.

Make sure you

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Press <Enter> on the keyboard to have the elbow connect

Draw a 1800mm piece of pipe from the elbow toward the

Now youll turn draw another elbow turning up in the

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Click on the UCS Next button on the UCS tool bar.

Now youll draw some components in vertical.

Rotating the UCS

Your cross hairs should look as shown. If not, keep

Do you see how this is going to let you draw in the

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Click Pipe and press <Enter> on the keyboard.

Do you see how this is just like drawing a 2D isometric,

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Now lets say you wanted to draw a valve with flanges in

First you need to get your crosshairs (UCS) reset.

Click the UCS Next tool button.

Written by Anthony W. Horn 2011

CADWorx Video Training Series

Click the Weld Neck Flange on the tool palette.

Click on the end of the elbow thats turning up.

Click the Gate Valve on the tool palette.