AutoCAD® P&ID 2010 – Creating a Custom Dynamic Component

One of the first things AutoCAD® P&ID users want to address once they are “up and running” is implementing their own custom blocks or symbols into one of the “out-of-the-box” standard libraries.

As we all know, most companies designing P&IDs have a mixture of an industry standard; such as PIP; and their own custom symbols they have developed over the years. This post will walk you through how to accomplish adding your own company symbols into an ACAD P&ID Project Template.

The scenario:
You have an equipment block from your company standards that you want to add and use in an AutoCAD P&ID project. This happens to be a Diaphragm pump shown above. The symbol on the right is an AutoCAD block and the symbol on the left is an intelligent AutoCAD P&ID component.

The first thing you want to do is make the block and name it so that it is easily identified. Once you have created the block, you will enter the project setup by right-clicking (RC) on the project name in the project manager. In the RC shortcut menu, choose Properties.

This will open the project setup dialog box. The left side of the project setup dialog box is similar to a tree view in Windows Explorer. You want to expand (hit the plus) beside the P&ID Drawing Settings. Then, you will expand the P&ID Class Definitions.

Next, you will expand the Equipment Items Definitions. This is where you are able to “classify” your symbols into classes and sub-classes. Since you are dealing with a pump, this will be a piece of equipment. Now you will expand the equipment class revealing all of the defined sub-classes within the equipment class. In the list below, you will find and expand the pumps sub-class.

This is where you will find a definition for the Diaphragm Pump, select it in the tree list view on the left and notice the change made to the right side of the project setup dialog box.

If you do not have this definition, simply RC on the Pumps sub-class and choose New from the shortcut menu. Here you can give a name and display name to the class definition of your choice.

NOTE – Class Name (shown above) cannot contain special characters or spaces, however, the Display name can, this is what will appear in the tree view.

Since you already have a Diaphragm Pump (DP) defined, you will select it in the tree view; then you will begin adding additional information in the top right side of the project setup dialog box shown below.

You will now click the “Add Symbol” button; the Symbol settings dialog box appears.

You will now enter the name in the Symbol Name field; then, you will click in the Block field and click on the button on the right to browse to the drawing that contains the block you named earlier. Once you have selected the drawing, you will then select the block and click OK.

Once you have selected the block, you will be taken back to the Symbol Settings dialog box where you will finish the component settings. Under the General Style Properties setion, I recommend choosing the layer you want the symbol to be inserted on, then selecting ByLayer for the rest of the options such as color. The only field you will not be able to change is the Linetype Scale, which remain as “Use Current”.

Next, you will finish the settings, choosing options under the Other Options group. The Symbol Scale factor allows you to set the scale if you made the block too big or small in comparison to other P&ID components. Scale on Insert allows you to scale the object in a uniform manner OR in the X or Y direction (based on your selection if Yes is chosen. You also have the ability to Rotate or Mirror upon insertion if you choose these options.

The Tagging prompt field allows you to choose whether or not to automatically assign a tag upon insert, or you can have the program prompt you for a tag upon insert, or set the class as an item that does not receive a tag (shown below).

The next field is Join Type which is one of the most important in the dialog box. This defines how the symbol will behave in the project. Since this is equipment and a process line will attach itself to it, you will set this field to End Line. Most PIP equipment symbols are End Line types.

The last two settings are Auto Nozzle and Auto Nozzle Style. You can have a nozzle automatically inserted when a process line ends into that piece of equipment. The style is the type of nozzle to default to if you have selected yes.

To finish your component settings, see dialog box below:

Click OK, you will now see your symbol in the preview box under the symbol name at the top. You will also notice buttons to the right are now activated and available to use.

The last thing you want to do is click on the button “Add to Tool Palette.” This will add the symbol to the tool palette for use in all future P&ID drawings. You want to make sure the Equipment tool palette is active prior to clicking on this button. If not, you will need to drag and drop the symbol to the proper tool palette in the location of your choice.

It is also important to note that the substitution grip when a pump is selected will include the new symbol you just added. Thanks for your time and happy component creating!

This page last edited on Monday, February 14, 2011