Transforming Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) drawings into inspection circuits has never been easier with DIAGRAMS and LINKWorx. Together, these ECE Worx Plugins integrate to import P&ID drawings files, transfer them into Smart DIAGRAMS, and automate the generation of inspection circuits. They provide a seamless path toward repurposing P&ID drawing files for inspection circuitization or any other P&ID tracing requirements.
The pipe routes between process equipment require inspection plans to satisfy voluntary and Plant Safety Management (PSM) regulatory requirements. Deploying Worx Plugins for AutoCAD enables companies to repurpose their P&ID drawing files effortlessly and ensure that inspection circuit drawings remain evergreen as part of routine P&ID drawing maintenance.
LINKWorx can add hyperlinks to the tracing, which makes Inspection Circuit PFD files interactive within SOCKETWorx. This allows connections with other digital assets like inspection points, inspection ISOs, API 570 Inspection datasheets, and other Mechanical integrity program content
This guide walks you through the steps of automating two types of inspection circuit deliverables: Composite and Isolated. As you'll see in the video below, DIAGRAMS and LINKWorx will generate Inspection circuit diagrams efficiently and offer features to identify Dead Legs (DL), add annotations, insert legend tables, and insert hyperlinks that integrate with SOCKETWorx.
Repurpose P&ID drawing files for Inspection Circuits
Step 1 - Draft or Import AutoCAD Drawings into DIAGRAMS' projects:
Draft New
Utilize DIAGRAMS' routing tools to draft P&ID drawings. Generally, industrial P&IDs are assigned LineTags to identify them within process systems. LineTags usually contain piping properties separated by a delimiter like hyphens. Sizes, Pipe Classes, Process Services, Insulation Specifications, and unique numerical identifiers are some typical properties.
Default pipe table fields include these properties as piping table fields. DIAGRAMS includes the field MI_InspectionCircuit. It is located within the Piping table and is set as a string-type field, so you can enter names with up to 255 characters. so that
Import AutoCAD Drawing Files
DIAGRAMS' import utility targets routes and symbols that are autocad blocks. This article focuses on converting lines and polylines into DIAGRAMS' P&ID piping routes. After conversion, Inspection Circuits names can be set, viewed, and published as PDF files.
Populating LineTags concurrently is natural and highly recommended.
ProTip: Use PEDIT>Multiple>Join to close outside corners where two polyline segments are transformed into one.
Step 2 - Enter Inspection Circuit names on pipe route segments:
Add inspection circuit names to piping routes line segments one by one or in bulk using the multi-edit command; 
ECEROUTEMULTIDATAEDIT.
ProTips: DIAGRAMS' symbols and utilities have an AutoCAD COMMAND. Update your AutoCAD PGP file with 'RME' for RouteMultiEdit and 'SME' for Symbol Multi-Edit because they are powerful utilities.
Optionally, DIAGRAMS' concatenation field types can be used to build Inspection Circuit names from other table fields and a selection of separators.
Dead Leg Feature
Dead Leg (DL) or stagnant zone pipe routes are at higher risk, so identifying them is important for mechanical integrity. DIAGRAMS honors circuit names ending with DL and publishes them as PDF files with their line segments set to HIDDEN or any other linetype, which distinctly identifies them graphically.
Step 3 - Trace Inspection Circuits and Set Colors using LINKWorx
Harness DIAGRAMS' automation capabilities to automatically trace inspection circuits onto P&ID drawings using LINKWorx, which has been integrated into the Control Center palette. Select the Piping table and then the Inspection Circuit group. Once active, a list of Inspection Circuit names is listed in the node tree. Under each branch is the System Route Name. It is common for Inspection Circiuts to include multiple System Route Names, or for P&IDs, LineTags.It is common for Inspection Circuits to include multiple System Route Names or, for P&IDs, LineTags.
Click on the top node to trace everyone. Click on the Inspection Circuits individually, and their assigned style color will mask the names. Right-click on any node to change tracing styles.
Step 4 - Add Inspection Circuit Legends and Annotate them
Legends have a header equal to the DIAGRAMS field being traced. The default table has two columns: Name and Color. Improve Inspection Circuits by adding colorized legends and text annotations. These annotations are overlays that automatically hide when tracing is turned off. The ON/OFF feature enables P&IDs to be easily repurposed for inspection circuits and eliminates the need to maintain them as separate files.
Enable direct publishing of inspection circuit drawings from P&IDs to PDF files for seamless sharing and documentation.
Step 5 - Publish Overall and Isolated Inspection Circuits to PDF
Simultaneously produce Overall and Isolated inspection circuit drawings for one or more P&ID drawings. LINKWorx is designed to generate one PDF file named equal to the P&ID that shows all Inspection Circuits, and one PDF file for each name, including dead legs. If names cross multiple P&ID drawing files, those PDF Files will contain multiple pages, including each drawing circuit cross. Ensure accururate representation and directly memorilized versions. Ensure accurate representation and directly memorized versions.
Direct publishing of inspection circuit drawings from P&IDs to PDF streamlines the maintenance of these critical documents.
Integration with SOCKETWorx starts where PDF files can be published with tracing hyperlinked to make them interactive with associated digital assets and work orders.
Creating Inspection Circuit Video
Automation Benefits:
Efficiency:
Automating the tracing process for any P&ID in AutoCAD file format saves time and effort, allowing for quick generation of inspection circuit drawings. Direct input by Subject Matter Experts streamlines data entry and bypasses the laborious process of manually highlighting paper copies that CAD resources must then transfer into drawing files.
Accuracy:
Ensure the accuracy and consistency of inspection circuit drawings by leveraging DIAGRAMS' features that enable circuit names to be set and Dead Leg segments to be graphically identified using LINKWorx automation capabilities.
Evergreen Documentation:
Keep inspection circuit drawings up-to-date by repurposing P&ID drawings to create them as part of standard drawing maintenance against change events.
By following these steps and utilizing DIAGRAMS' and LINKWorx automation features, you can efficiently produce evergreen inspection circuit drawings directly from Smart P&ID drawings, streamlining your processes and reducing costs associated with manual maintenance.