cloud Piping Designer (CPD)

Access & Permissions

• CPD files belong to a project. Anyone with access to the project who can edit it can create and modify CPD files.
• The file is locked while a review workflow is active — no edits are allowed until the workflow is approved or cancelled.
• Older revisions open in read-only mode; they can never be edited.
• Shared links (7-day expiry) open in a read-only viewer with all editing controls hidden.

Getting Started

1. Open your project and click Add CPD.
2. Enter a name, description, and optional client file number.
3. The 3D editor opens with an empty canvas.
4. Start adding elements (next section), then click Save — there is no auto-save.

This first screen establishes the document identity before you begin modelling. Use a descriptive name that your project team will recognise in the register.

A 400px-wide PNG thumbnail is captured on every save and appears in the project and CPD index, so you can tell designs apart at a glance.

Building Your Model

Adding elements

1. Click Add Element in the toolbar.
2. Select an element type: Pipe, Elbow, Flange, Valve, Reducer, Bellow, Coupling, Instrument, or Misc Component.
3. Specify the from node, to node, size (DN50–DN1050), schedule (B36.10, default STD), and the dx/dy/dz offsets in mm. The schedule list follows the size and shows the wall thickness, and drives the wall used in the PCF/CII exports.
4. The element appears in the 3D scene immediately.

Adding elbows

• Double-click any node to add or edit an elbow at that point.
• The system validates straight pipe length on both sides before allowing the bend, and automatically shortens the upstream/downstream elements.
• Choose a bend radius: 1D, 1.5D, 3D, 5D, or a custom value.

Inserting nodes mid-pipe

• Double-click any straight pipe element to insert an intermediate node — the element auto-splits into two segments.
• This is essential for adding support points or elbows part-way along a pipe.

Tees & Olets

A Tee is never picked from the Type list — it is created from a node that already has pipes meeting at it.

Inserting a Tee

1. Choose Tee in the Insert Tee or Olet prompt (offered when you add a branch at an existing node, or when you double-click a junction).
2. Enter C (run length, centre to centre), M (branch take-off) and the Branch size.
3. Confirm — the Tee, its centre node and the branch outlet are created and the neighbouring pipes are shortened to suit.
4. Choose Olet instead to keep the plain welded branch with no Tee fitting.

Editing a Tee

• Double-click the Tee to re-open the same dialog with C, M and Branch size filled in.
• The dialog also shows dX / dY / dZ — the branch connection’s vector from the Tee centre. Change them to re-aim the branch; the piping beyond it moves with it.
• A branch that starts with an elbow can’t be re-aimed this way.

Turning a junction into a Tee

• Pasting, or importing a PCF, onto a node can leave a branch welded without a Tee. Double-click that node and choose Tee to convert it — nothing moves.
• This works when exactly three elements meet, two straight pipes in line form the run, and the third (not an elbow or Tee) is the branch. Otherwise you are told why.
• Choose Node items in the prompt to open the usual support dialog for that node.

Selecting, Copying & Rotating

Selecting

• Click selects one node or element; Ctrl-click adds or removes items.
• Shift-click selects every item along the path from the last one you clicked.
• Right-click or long-press the selection for Delete, Edit, Copy, Rotate, Paste, Convert to Tee and Add Elbow, depending on what is selected. Use the rail Multi-select button to select several items on a touch screen.

Copy & Paste

1. Select one or more connected elements, then right-click or long-press and choose Copy.
2. Pick the reference node — the connection point that will land on each paste target.
3. Switch to nodes, select one or more target nodes (Ctrl-click, or use the rail Multi-select button on touch), then right-click or long-press and choose Paste.
4. The copy is welded onto each target by its reference node. Undo (Ctrl+Z) reverses the whole paste.

The copy is held in memory only — it is lost when you reload and can’t be pasted into another document. Pasting onto a node that already has two or more pipes makes a branch without a Tee; convert it afterwards (see Tees & Olets).

Rotating a section

1. Select a connected run of elements (a Tee with its branch is fine, but no gaps or closed loops), then right-click or long-press and choose Rotate….
2. Pivot node — an end of the selection. It never moves. If the choice would drag the piping system’s origin along, the dialog says so and you should pick the other end.
3. Axis — global X, Y or Z, or a direction through two nodes; either way the axis passes through the pivot.
4. Enter the angle (right-hand rule) and click Rotate. Undo restores the original.

• Piping beyond the far end of the section moves with it but is not turned, so the joint there keeps its old angle. Tick Also rotate everything beyond the section to keep that branch rigid (unticked by default).
• Rotating about a non-vertical axis warns you about supports (Rest, Hold Down and Spring assume a vertical support) and eccentric reducers (drawn flat relative to vertical). Rotate about Z to keep them valid, or review them afterwards.
• It is refused for a selection with gaps or loops, or a closed loop through the pivot.

Multiple Piping Systems

A single CPD file can contain more than one independent piping run. Each connected run has its own origin in the Piping Systems table on the Settings tab.

Starting a new system

1. Open Add Element.
2. Type a new From node and a new To node that are not yet in the model.
3. Confirm that you want to create a new piping system.
4. Set the origin position as an absolute (x,y,z) point, or attach it as an offset from an existing node in another system.

Reference offsets

• Choose an existing node in another system as the Reference node.
• Enter dx/dy/dz offsets; the new system's origin then moves with the reference node.

Splitting a system

• When an element delete splits a run into two disconnected parts, EngCoSuite automatically registers a fixed origin for the new part.
• Deleting an element from a loop does not create a new system because the run stays connected.
• You can change the origin node in the Piping Systems table any time.

Working with Elements

Supports & Labels

Pipe supports

• Select a node and open the Support tab.
• Choose from: Anchor, Rest, Guide, Line Stop, Spring Can, Spring Hanger.
• Up to 6 supports per node, each numbered 1–6.
• Direction vectors are computed automatically from the upstream/downstream pipe orientation.

Labels

• Toggle overlays for: Node ID, Element ID, Pipe Length, Diameter, Bend Radius.
• Labels render as 3D sprites at element centres and node positions.

Saving Your Work

• Click Save to write the model to disk and capture the screenshot thumbnail.
• Auto-save is not enabled — save manually and regularly to preserve your work.

Revisions

Alpha mode (default)

• New designs start at Rev A. Create the next revision (A → B → C → ... → Z → AA → AB) to snapshot the current file.

Promote to numeric

• When ready for formal issuance, promote the alpha revision to numeric mode to create Rev 0, then 1, 2, 3…
• This mirrors real engineering document control practice.

Viewing older revisions

• Click any revision link in the index to open it as read-only.
• A banner shows “Viewing Rev X. Latest Rev is Y” — older revisions cannot be edited.

Importing a PCF

Bring an existing IsoGen PCF file into CPD as editable geometry.

1. Click Import PCF on the left toolbar and choose the .pcf file. A summary of what was found is shown.
2. If the model isn’t empty, choose Replace (clear the model first) or Append (add to it).
3. Choose where it goes: connect its first node to an existing node, or place it at coordinates (the PCF’s own, or new ones).
4. Nothing is saved until you click Save.

• Tees, reducers, valves, flanges, supports and elbows are recognised, including Tee branches.
• A few component types CPD can’t draw yet (Cross, Cap, Bolt) are substituted with the nearest type and listed in the warnings.
• Anything skipped or substituted is listed under the red Import Warnings button, which stays on screen so you can come back to it.

Exporting

PCF (Piping Component File)

• Industry-standard format for IsoGen isometric drawing software.
• Includes pipes, bends, flanges, valves, reducers, Tees, supports, and a materials list with quantities. Items are grouped by type, size and schedule (e.g. CS900-PIPE-324-STD), so different schedules never merge into one row.
• Supports export with the standard SKEY mapping: Anchor → ANCH, Rest → SKID, Guide → GUID, Line Stop → SKID, Spring Can → SPRING-CAN, Spring Hanger → SPRING-HANGER.
• If your model contains multiple piping systems, the export emits the first system and shows a warning.

CII (Caesar II Input)

• Format for Caesar II pipe stress analysis software.
• Includes element geometry with wall thickness taken from each element’s schedule (B36.10), density data, type flags, and the standard pipe size database. CII has no branch concept, so a Tee is written as a run plus its separate branch pipe.

Sharing

• Click Share to generate a signed URL with a 7-day expiry.
• The link opens in a read-only viewer with all editing tools hidden — no account required for the recipient.
• Activity is logged whenever a shared link is viewed, so you can see who has seen your design.

Troubleshooting

FAQ

What pipe sizes are supported?

DN50 to DN1050 metric, using standard outside diameters (e.g. DN50 = 60.3 mm, DN300 = 323.9 mm).

Can clients view my design without an account?

Yes — use Share to generate a read-only signed link that expires after 7 days.

How do I hand my model to the isometric drafting team?

Export the PCF file — it is directly usable in IsoGen.

Where is the Tee in the element Type list?

It isn't listed — a Tee is created through the Insert Tee or Olet prompt (see Tees & Olets).

Can I copy part of a model and paste it elsewhere?

Yes — select elements, right-click or long-press → Copy, choose a reference node, then select target nodes and right-click or long-press → Paste.

How many supports can I put on a node?

Up to 6, numbered 1–6.