metric to imperial conversion

[andersun]

We received a smart P&ID that was created in metric. however the line numbers for the project were entered in inches. The project should be in inches. is there a way to convert the smart P&ID from metric to imperial?

[Aplant Monkey]

not too sure if this will work or not but you can try running the Convert Project Utility under the Tools section, if you have the proper licenses. It sounds like the drawings were done in what we call Mixed Metric which shows all items in imperial but draws them in metric. I don't know if the converter will work for this, I have only used it to convert catalogs in the past

[andersun]

The IT group attempted the convert project utility with no success last night. But I might have them give it another try just to see if they missed something the first time.

[HybridAWD]

I brought this topic up with the Bentley guys a loooong time ago. They told me no, I asked more people, they said no.... so I will follow through with what they said.

I really think it could be done, it's just that it will take so much effort to change everything and the room for error could leave you with a bunch of wasted time and a screwed up project.

Anything is possible.....

[PeterJ]

looks you didn't ask the right people ...

if you want to change the unit selection in a p&id, follow next steps :
-erase the border
-thaw layer mc-att
-regen
-zoom into the area above 0,0
-spot the 3 blocks with only attributes, they hold the preferences you entered when creating the drawing.
-erase the 2 top ones (pidset1 and pidset2)
-save and close the drawing
-reopen the drawing, you will have the option to enter all preferences like in a new drawing. Select imperial. Say No to the 'update' question
-You will need to scale the existing symbols according to the symbol size you selected. (A1 metric is 12, C imperial is 0.5, so you would scale down 24x)

[andersun]

PeterJ,
I read what you said but I’m unclear if this will correct (update) the metric data base to a imperial data base for the smart P&ID or does this only change the P&ID drawing?
Right now if we place a piece of equipment or pipe component is only shows metric components. We need imperial components for this project.

[dave]

So the short answer is to create a new project and then customize it much like whatever your standard project units are? I have to create a new mixed metric project. Can I copy across my project.mdb and schema.mbd?

[PeterJ]

The project standards are not relevants for P&ID. You can select metric/mixed metric/imperial for each drawing individually. If you are using 3D in the same project, the project parameters are important for selecting the correct specs etc..

[PeterJ]

switching a drawing from metric to imperial or vice versa will not change the existing data in projdata, it will only be important when placing new lines.

FYI :
I have built something for a client that allows the projdata database to switch between metric and imperial. All size fields have been duplicated to hold metric and imperial values. a parameter in project.ini defines the current state. In the background the system always works metric (easier for sorting sizes ...) but can display both values through a new lookup table.

[dave]

Thanks Peter. Lets say I created a new mixed metric project, could I replace the project and schema.mdb files and cutom directory from the imperial projects we normally do? Is the mixed metric unit data contained inside the project and schema?

[PeterJ]

For P&ID, the projdata, schema and project mdb files are the same for metric,imperial and mixed metric. The only difference is inside the drawings. You make the selection for each drawing. And the only difference is the subfolder from C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bentley\Plant 2004\P&ID (or from the custom dir if you copied them there) that is selected (metric, imperial or mmetric). These folders hold a file (nsize.txt) that lists the possible diameters. You could even put metric and imperial sizes in the same file.
Mind that for the piping drawings, the unit setting is project-wide

[dave]

awesome, great news there thanks Peter.

What we are running into however is that when we create a new Mixed Metric drawing, the valve specs are not pulling from the spec db (showing in the command line: Filter: 1"mm) When we create a new drawing with imperial settings, valves are placed from the DB. Both drawings are using the same spec path for the valves. Bentley has asked us to send them our spec DB. Any thoughts?

[Aplant Monkey]

I suppose a fast solution to all this is that you (Americans) catch up with the rest of us and start using metric all the time... :P just kidding... ? :D

[dave]

I suppose a fast solution to all this is that you (Americans) catch up with the rest of us and start using metric all the time... :P just kidding... ? :D

I totally agree!

[Aplant Monkey]

oh man... I was hoping to stir the pot a bit... c'mon give me something

B

[Packin31]

I agree also. Since we have been doing more and more Metric jobs I finding out that system of measurement is much easier to use and understand. Come on America lets get on board with the rest of them. And I have been American for 41 almost 42 years.

[PeterJ]

awesome, great news there thanks Peter.

What we are running into however is that when we create a new Mixed Metric drawing, the valve specs are not pulling from the spec db (showing in the command line: Filter: 1"mm) When we create a new drawing with imperial settings, valves are placed from the DB. Both drawings are using the same spec path for the valves. Bentley has asked us to send them our spec DB. Any thoughts?

You'll need to set the spec path according to the units you are using in the drawing. The path doesn't automatically follow the drawing setting.