Nupas-Cadmatic V5.3 is full of improvements that ease the work of designers and administrators. The software can now also be used on Microsoft Vista platforms. Some of the most significant new features are highlighted below:

Hull library

In V5.3 inserted items in the hull library will now have 'knowledge' of their surroundings. Items can be placed with topologic relations to their new surroundings in the hull library. A new approach Clone Entity will be extended in the future.

Rule-based Engineering

Rule-based engineering is further extended in V5.3 with engineering rules for endshapes of profiles. The set of rules can be defined by the user in the Hull’s System Management. The rules can be defined in relation with the surroundings or for a special position/area with all kind of shapes and material types. It is naturally possible to create endshapes of profiles without rules. 

Weld Manager

In V5.3 the Weld Manager can, based on rules, automatically determine the weld and bevel codes for panels and/or jumbo plates. The manager can quickly calculate weld length and weld type to production. This development has been realized so that this can be used in basic design as well. This means that cost calculations can be made quickly.

Hull viewer

In version 5.3 piping equipment will be visible in the 3D Hull Viewer and information can be retrieved. The viewer activities can be further controlled with the clipping option. In all dimensions the hull view can be adjusted with slide bars or by a drawing box. A ‘Notebook’ function has been added. It has the ability to store several views of the model in the Hull Viewer and comment on each. This information can be sent directly as an attachment by e-mail to other Nupas-Cadmatic users. The receiving party can in turn open the attachment and view/ annotate in his Hull Viewer. In this way users can comfortably exchange their project information without using drawing software.

Work Breakdown Manager

It is now possible to graphically select all parts that belong to the same WBD-hierarchy level (blocks, panels, etc.) with one mouse click, make the centre of gravity visible, the smallest enclosed rectangle can be made visible, animated sketches can be created and the viewing angle for the top level is adjustable for different branches.

2D Drafting functions

The modernization of the 2D features in version 5.2 has been very well received. The experiences of customers have been incorporated into V5.3. The V5.2 line of development is further implemented in creating and modifying dimensions and text.The property feature is also very effective. It has been further expanded with the possibility to align existing dimensions. The new arrow types are properly exported to DXF or DWG. 

FEM

A new FEM export feature has been added to Nupas-Cadmatic export functions. The FEM-export feature provides the ability to export hull data in standard format to FEM packages.

System Management

The interface of the System Management application is extended with an easilly maneuverable Tree-view, with which, in a well organized way, the system settings can be shown and altered. A new integrity function - “Project Setting” Check - has been added to check all logistic fields in the Norms settings. If the Administrator makes some changes in the logistic layout, these changes are automatically checked. Printers and plotters defined in Windows can now directly be used from Nupas-Cadmatic. Plotter settings (fonts, colours, thickness) are furthermore no longer part of a plotter definition. A set of plotter settings can now be attached to one or more plotters. 

Automated pipe isometric splitting and isometric annotation

In version 5.3 the splitting of geometries into isometric sheets has been automated and the process can be configured with splitting rules. Version 5.3 will also see improvements in the automated annotation of isometrics with regards measuring and labeling.

Point-cloud handling made easier 

Version 5.3 of Plant Modeller sees the introduction of better tools for locating, orientating and moving point-clouds. These include a better tool to handle outside view loaded point-clouds and better intensity visualization. Commands can apply to multiple clouds and the rotation operation works like the general set operation. 

Pipe Stress analysis

A new interface to the Caesar II pipe stress application has also been introduced. 

Copying drawings from sister ship project

It is now possible to copy Plant Modeller drawings from other projects. The functionality copies the definitions and positions of views on drawing sheets to a new project and generates new drawings with matching views. It is also possible to change drawing sheets. This functionality makes it much easier to make drawings in sister ship projects.

Document management software interfaces

New features have been added into the software to make it easier to interface with different document management software packages. This provides a good foundation for interfacing with third party document management packages. An interface with Kronodoc document management software was recently created in cooperation with Kronodoc Ltd.

Diagram

Several new functionalities have been added to the Diagram module, thereby enhancing the use of the software. When inserting a new fitting symbol into a diagram, the pipeline or connection point is automatically selected and highlighted when moving the cursor on top of such an item and the fitting is automatically inserted into the right position by a simple click of the mouse. A new intelligent object has been added into the software. It is now possible to select for example the body and the actuator for a valve in the database card and the symbol will automatically be changed to match the selections. There is a new function in the Set Operations to select the previous active set by a single command. The user can define different types of lines, which define the way the line cutting is automatically done. It is for example possible to define that instrument lines will always be cut when they cross primary pipelines.

Data management

The COS database system and CoDesigner, the module for distributed design, add more functionality to managing concurrent and distributed work. Users can now easily see what is being locked by other users or project sites and can, with the appropriate rights, unlock the data to allow uninterrupted operation. CX export/import, a central mechanism in version 5 architecture, has enhancements that smoothen the data transfer between Nupas-Cadmatic projects and libraries.

eXchanger batch mode

Multiple 3DC files from Nupas-Cadmatic Piping can now be converted into DWGs or DXFs with a single command using eXchanger’s new batch mode. This saves much time when there are many files to be converted e.g. to AutoCad.

eBrowser

In version 5.3 the Nupas-Cadmatic eBrowser interface has received a facelift and more user-friendly tools have been introduced. Searching for and handling objects and systems have been made easier and the search function now applies to any object, pipeline, system or combination thereof in the model. A new “sidebar” hierarchy view has been introduced. In version 5.3 the user is able to define his own set of viewing hierarchies to best suit the way of working. Some shipyards for example prefer to use a hierarchy that progresses from the system to isometrics and then spools as opposed to the traditional system-pipeline-object hierarchy. This flexibility makes it much easier to check individual isometrics or spools that can be composed of several pipelines.