08/12/2017 Create new Symbols for Isometrics in AutoCAD Plant 3DProcess Design, from the Outside | Process Design,

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CREATE NEW SYMBOLS FOR ISOMETRICS IN AUTOCAD PLANT 3D

Posted on OCTOBER 31, 2011 11:00 AM by DAVE WOLFE

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Custom Piping Components - Plant 3D

A while back we walked through creating a custom symbol for a Plant 3D model. Today we are going
to extend our customization to include a symbol for the iso. We will create a symbol that shows Custom Piping Components - Plant 3D
up in the bill of material and one that does not. Custom Components in AutoCAD Plant 3D
Symbol for the Isometric Generator in AutoCAD Plant 3D
Create new Symbols for Isometrics in AutoCAD Plant 3D
First a little bit about the way symbols work. AutoCAD Plant 3D has a list of prede ned symbols
Custom Parts Work ow
that are used in its isometrics. Each of these symbols belongs in a symbol category. P3D changes
information related to the symbol based on the category. So the trick will be to use di erent
categories for our symbol.

For those of you who are familiar with Isogen, pretty much everyone has a strong dislike for the symbol editor. Thankfully, symbols for the P3D package are
blocks, so they are easily editable through AutoCAD. Also, since symbols are stored in a drawing le, we are able to read them and create documentation.
Below is a link to download a pdf of the default symbols in P3D.

Creating Custom ISOGEN Symbols (399 downloads)

We are working on a tool to allow creating the html le automatically so you can easily document what symbols are used in a project.

Here are the steps we will use to create a new isometric symbol.

1. Create our block in the Isometric symbols drawing (IsoSymbolStyles.dwg).

2. Add our Symbol to the symbol key map le (IsoSkeyAcadBlockMap.xml).
3. Add our symbol information to the catalog information and/or components in the model.

Creating our Symbol Block

So, rst we will create a new symbol in our symbol library le. Our rst symbol is going to be a pressure indicator that will show up in the Bill of Material.
Open project setup and go to Isometric DWG Settings > Title Block and Display > Edit Isometric Symbol

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Enter PressureIndicator for the block name to create and click Ok.

Draw a line starting at 0,0 and going to the right 1 1/8.

Draw a circle with a 1 1/8 diameter with its right tangent at the origin.

We are going to be using the MISC-COMPONENT group for our Pressure Indicator. Currently, the dynamic points are not recognized in blocks for the
miscellaneous group, but we are going to add them anyways.

Click the point parameter insert button.

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Create a point parameter at the end of the indicator and call it Port1.

Create a point parameter at the end of the bubble and call it Port2. Add a point parameter at the origin and called it CP. I got the idea from looking at other
symbols and seeing how they were created.

Again, the block will be inserted correctly without these parameters; I recommended including them as a way of possibly future-proo ng the block.

Close the block editor, saving the changes.

That is all that is necessary to create our new symbol! The next steps will walk through modify the setup so that we can use the symbol in our isometrics.

Adding our Symbol Information to the Setup

In Windows Explorer, navigate to your project folder\Isometric and open the IsoSkeyAcadBlockMap.xml. You can open the SkeyMap in Notepad or a good
XML Editor. Right now I use TotalEdit or XML Notepad.

Add the line:

<SkeyMap SKEY=PI?? AcadBlock = PressureIndicator/>

I added it after the spacer, but order doesnt matter. Its just helpful to keep similar items grouped if you are looking for something.

A quick note about xml. A line surrounded <!- and -> indicates a comment.

You will notice that we used PI??. I chose to start our new key with PI because we are representing pressure indicators. The ?? means that the symbol will
have the appropriate end type symbol added to it based on the connection type.

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Quick shout out to Damian, who probably never realized this xml would get read in public!

Save the le and close it.

Now that we have added our symbol to the project setup, we can reference it in our catalog or models.

Add symbol information to the Catalog or Model

The best way to check out if our symbol works is to place a component in the model and change the information being assigned to it. I have a couple copies
of our pressure indicator from a previous exercise in a model already, so Ill use those.

Add the data in the Content Iso Symbol De nition through the properties palette. Enter TYPE=MISC-COMPONENT, SKEY=PISC

While we use PI?? for our SKEY de nition, the end type of the symbol should be screwed so, we are using PISC. The MISC-COMPONENT category is one that
gets placed in the bill of materials under ttings and doesnt get extra information like end location added to it on the iso.

The produced isometric should look something like the following:

Heres the symbol itself:

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and the bill of material entry:

Creating a symbol not in the Bill of Material

The other question we got was, How do I make a symbol that doesnt show up in the bill of material?

We will follow similar steps, but we are going to have to create the block in a di erent orientation due to using a di erent category.

Create a block called InstrumentDial. Because we are going to use the FLOOR-SYMBOL group, the insertion point has to be at the origin with the bubble o
to the right. My line is 1 1/8 long and the cirlce has a diameter of 1 1/8. Again, in the future, the program will probably be readying the dynamic point
parameters, so Im showing those.

To add your symbol key to the IsoSkeyAcadBlockMap.xml enter SKEY=ID?? for the symbol key and the block name, InstrumentDial.

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In the model set the Content Iso Symbol De nition to TYPE=FLOOR-SYMBOL, SKEY=IDSC.

Heres an iso showing both items:

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Per our setup, the left is in the bill of material and the right indicator is not.

Thanks for checking out our article, feel free to leave feedback or contact us if you have questions.

Series Navigation
Symbol for the Isometric Generator in AutoCAD Plant 3D Custom Parts Work ow

Related Posts:
Custom Spindle for use in from Group
Parts Relations Iso Specs in Data into
Work ow Plant 3D drawings Plant 3D my

AUTOCAD PLANT 3D, ISOMETRICS

Tags: AKN_INCLUDE, CUSTOM SYMBOLS, ISOGEN, ISOMETRICS, SYMBOLS EDITING

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Create new Symbols for Isometrics in AutoCAD Plant 3D

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