StressISO Troubleshooting Guide

Table of Contents
Section A: Troubleshooting
A.1. A.2. A.3. A.4. A.5. A.6. A.7. A.8. A.9. A.10. A.11. A.12. A.13. A.14. Disconnected Pipeline Pipeline Maybe dotted Instead of Solid Direction Change without a bend Flanges at bend Midpoint How can I find more ISOGEN troubleshooting messages? Where can I find Personal ISOGEN error codes? Can I manually change some of the ISOGEN option switches? How can I systematically find the cause of ISOGEN errors? What format can I create my custom drawing border? How can I change the color and size of the Pipeline plotted? The nozzle flexibility element does not appear on my ISO The dimensioning of the bend with a midpoint is skewed Why are the flanges drawn incorrectly on the flanged valve? One table data record is missing if it continues in the next drawing

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A.15.

Can ISOGEN create isometrics with continuous dimensioning? Can the StressISO options be saved for use by the entire engineering team? Is it possible to only print data associated with the isometric plot sheet shown? Currently some of the data for the 1st iso drawing overflows to the next drawing sheet. My stacked dimensions are shown with strange characters Why is there no dimension across my Valve? Why is there no isometric generated? Why does my isometric take so long to generate? Why are there no messages in my ISOGEN message file? How can I fit more of the isometric onto the plot with or without the data tables? How can I suppress the North Arrow? My Isometric shows Disconnection Detected at this point near a Flange. StressISO table only shows the Model Info & Pipe Data sections, and the dimensions are XXXX.XX. Error Incorrect Entries for the Following Mandatory Item SKEY.

A.16.

A.17.

A.18. A.19. A.20. A.21. A.22. A.23.

A.24. A.25.

A.26.

A.27.

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Troubleshooting

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A.1.

Disconnected Pipeline

ISOGEN Limitation
Disconnected segments or ranges of piping are not supported by ISOGEN Examples: Two disconnected piping systems or two different selected ranges

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Troubleshooting

Isometric is not drawn inside the Border No Dimensioning on the isometric Only one isometric is created Break Points do not work correctly Data Tables are printed on blank drawing sheets Reference items not plotted correctly

In Final.MES error message file will show the following message:

ERROR - COMPONENTS NOT CONNECTED; PASS 1

Workaround One workaround is to select small desired ranges or hide segments and generate ISO's with "use select range" option which will only print data on the isometric for the selected range. 5 Rev 6.0

Before creating a stress isometric either:

1. Select only segments or ranges which are continuously connected. View / Segments to selectively view segments. Note: Do not have disconnected segments visible in the model.

A.2.

Pipeline Maybe dotted Instead of Solid

ISOGEN known problem 08/2006

Part of the isometric plotted pipeline maybe dotted instead of solid No Workaround

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A.3.

Direction Change without a bend

ISOGEN Limitation
Dimensioning is disturbed if direction changes without a bend elbow or miter.

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Section C: Troubleshooting

A.4.

Flanges at bend Midpoint

ISOGEN Limitation
Flanges at bend or elbow midpoints are not supported by ISOGEN. Flanges must be placed near or far point of the bend.

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Troubleshooting

A.5.

How can I find more troubleshooting messaging information?

ISOGEN Messaging
ISOGEN problems can be variable with many combinations of option switches and settings therefore sometimes difficult to diagnose. When troubleshooting, the ISOGEN message file FINAL.MES found in folder \PISOGEN\PROJECTS\APIPEPROJ\FINAL\OUTPUT\ provides increased message reporting using Option Switch 55=9 (Default = 1) for additional clues such as disconnections.
55 9 ! Program Running Messages

A.6.

Where can I find Personal ISOGEN error codes?

ISOGEN Messaging
The file personal ISOGEN error codes.pdf is found in the default folder C:\Program

Files\Bentley\Plant 2004\AutoISOGEN\isoutils

A.7.

Can I manually change some of the ISOGEN option switches?

ISOGEN Switches
Yes open the apipe.opl file located in the AutoPIPE program folder with notepad.exe or Alias opted.exe program found in C:\Program Files\Bentley\Plant

2004\AutoISOGEN\isoutils.
Refer to the PDF files option switches.pdf, pcf component guide.pdf, in this folder. Note: Many of the switches are set automatically from the StressISO options and ISOGEN options dialogs in AutoPIPE. See the AutoPIPE online help topics ISOGEN Options General, ISOGEN Options OverFlow, ISOGEN Options Dimensioning/Text and Stress Isometric Options Plot. Please contact Bentley for additional information on customizing ISOGEN.

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Section C: Troubleshooting

A.8.
1.

How can I systematically find the cause of ISOGEN errors?

First, what is the error?

ISOGEN will usually tell the error code in the ISOGEN progress dialog. Sometimes, a limited amount of information is given. Here are some examples of the types of messages you might receive when ISOGEN did not process the components correctly. a. ISOGEN errors: 0 Components exported. b. ISOGEN FAILED c. ISOGEN Iso: C:\Bentley Plant Project\PROJECT1\CONFIG\ISOGEN\FINAL\DRAWINGS\L100-1.PASS.DXF d. ISOGEN ERROR -13 Errors A and B are generic. Error C indicates there is a disconnect in the original AutoPLANT model. See question A.1 for details. Error D can be determined from the following PDF file: ..\PLANT 2004\AUTOISOGEN\ISOUTILS\PERSONAL ISOGEN ERROR CODES.PDF. But further investigation is usually required. In most other circumstances, the error information can be found in the following file \PISOGEN\PROJECTS\APIPEPROJ\FINAL\OUTPUT\FINAL>MES) The component(s) causing the error will have *** to the right of the component. Please see the example below (an excerpt of the FINAL.MES): PIPE END-POINT 44.004 84.000 END-POINT 0.000 84.000 SUPPORT CO-ORDS 0.000 84.000 SKEY 01IN SUPPORT-DIRECTION WEST MESSAGE-SQUARE TEXT (A10 1) SUPPORT CO-ORDS 0.000 84.000 SKEY 01AN SUPPORT-DIRECTION UP

0.000 0.000 0.000

8.000 8.000 8.000

***

0.000

8.000

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Troubleshooting MESSAGE-SQUARE By finding the corrupted component using the specified coordinates in the affected model and replacing or correcting it, ISOGEN will usually successfully run. 2. Where and when does the problem occur?

Evaluate the sub-questions. a. Within the current model, does the problem happen on more than one pipeline segment? b. Does the problem happen on sections of that segment if components are manually selected for running StressISO? c. Does the problem happen in more than one model? As you will notice from the above questions, the problem can be narrowed down quickly and different avenues of trouble shooting can be pursued. Lets discuss each of these in depth. Questions A and B are related to each other based on whether or not ISOGEN is running at all. Most ISOGEN issues are model specific. In other words, the components in the model have been created or connected in such a way that the PCF file is generated but not recognized as valid by ISOGEN. Thus, the following questions will determine if that is the case. Can we get StressISO to run successfully in the model? If at some point it does work correctly, then the affected components can be narrowed down by using manual selection for ISOGEN processing. Hint: Run sections of the model to see which parts work and which ones don't. It's usually possible to narrow down the problem just by trial and error. Run one section. If it works, then try another. If that one fails, then run a smaller part of that section. Keep doing this until the problem is narrowed down to a few components. Sometimes an IDFGEN error or PASS_DXF file can be caused by an invalid component. By replacing this component, ISOGEN can run successfully. If ISOGEN doesnt run at all on any pipelines or ranges of pipelines, then please contact Bentley Support. c. Does the problem happen in more than one model? If the answer is no, the cause of the problem is within this model and further trouble shooting is recommended. Here are several suggestions which typically resolve ISOGEN errors. Repair possible disconnects by refering to question A.1 11 Rev 6.0

Section C: Troubleshooting

Contact Bentley Support if the ISOGEN issue cannot be resolved.

A.9.

What format can I create my custom drawing border?

ISOGEN Drawing Borders

It is recommended to create the custom border file in Autocad R12 DXF or R2000 DWG formats and use a fixed spaced (e.g. monospaced) font for the text. The default borders can be modified which contain all the colors and fonts for table data and plot text as well as symbols, pipeline etc. It is recommended to start with the default border which has all the colors assigned to all the pipe, dimensioning, text, fitting and support layers etc already defined, then modify these layers if required. Delete the default border elements then copy/paste the custom border into the drawing and save.

A.10.

How can I change the color and size of the Pipeline plotted?

ISOGEN DDF File

Modify the THE DRAWING-DEFINITION FILE as shown below and change the color for the pipe, pipe1, pipe2 layers in the border drawing file then re-generate the stress isometric. (\PISOGEN\PROJECTS\APIPEPROJ\FINAL\OUTPUT\FINAL.DDF) Below is a default Final.ddf file. The bottom is cut off, but it continues with the layers
PIPELINE-ATTRIBUTES N.S. INCH N.S.RANGE 0 2 THICKNESS 2 1.50 LAYER 7 N.S.RANGE 2.5 6 THICKNESS 3 1.50 LAYER 29 N.S.RANGE 8 * THICKNESS 4 1.50 LAYER 30 N.S. MM N.S.RANGE 0 50 THICKNESS 2 1.50 LAYER 7 N.S.RANGE 65 150 THICKNESS 3 1.50 LAYER 29 N.S.RANGE 200 * THICKNESS 4 1.50 LAYER 30 PIPELINE-ATTRIBUTES-DOTTED DRAWING-SPLIT-POINTS THICKNESS 2 0.35 LAYER 19 SPECIAL-STATUS THICKNESS 2 0.90 LAYER 8 PIPELINE-CONTINUATION THICKNESS 2 0.35 LAYER 9

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Troubleshooting

A.11.

The nozzle flexibility element does not appear on my ISO

ISOGEN Components
Vessel Nozzle flexibility element is not a CAD supported component so this AutoPIPE FE component is mapped to a ISOGEN pipeline component.

A.12.

The dimensioning of the bend with a midpoint is skewed

ISOGEN Components
Bends with midpoints may be plotted with the dimensioning skewed because of the round-off errors in the field display format in the Bend dialog particularly when the digits after decimal is set to 2 (Tools/model options/Edit > Digits after decimal for coordinates = 2). In other words, after opening the bend dialog at A01 and pressing OK without making any changes, results in a round-off error in the DZ offset, i.e. 4.67 ft compared to the actual value of -4.666667 ft. This round-off error can be significant when calculating the coordinates of the bend tangent points.

Bend Midpoint

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Section C: Troubleshooting

Changing from 2 to 3 significant digits shows small DZ offset = 0.003

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Troubleshooting

Stress Isometric

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Section C: Troubleshooting

Workaround
Set Tools/model options/Edit > Digits after decimal for coordinates = 3

Edit offset to -4.667 , with Apply offset = unchecked

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Troubleshooting

A.13.

Why are the flanges drawn incorrectly on the flanged valve?

Flange is shown in the wrong orientation with respect to the valve

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Section C: Troubleshooting

Workaround
The Valve has been defined incorrectly as a Butt-weld instead of a flanged valve. ISOGEN can only plot a flanged valve correctly with correction pipe flange orientation if the valve is a flange type i.e. the Joint End type must be Weld-neck or Slip-on

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Troubleshooting

A.14. One table data record is missing if it continues in the next drawing
If tables in an isometric cannot be fitted in one drawing then some tables are shifted to the next drawing sheet. However, this causes one record to be lost from the data table which continues onto the next sheet. The lost record may be the last record in the current drawing or it may be the first record in the next drawing, e.g. if FLANGE table contains 11 records, out of which 5 are to display in the current drawing and the remaining 6 are to display in the next drawing sheet, then the 6th record will be lost resulting in the display of 5 flange records in the current drawing and 5 flange records in the next drawing. This problem exists with any table which continues in the next drawing sheet and is an know ISOGEN defect to be fixed in October 2006 timeframe.

1 record missing in the data table

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Section C: Troubleshooting

Workaround
1. Use a small table font size to fit all the table data onto one sheet. 2. Use Selected Range and generate an isometric with table data to fit on one sheet. Note: Enhancement logged to generate a isometric using either a user-defined PCF or STS or both for AutoPIPE XM SR2. This will allow the user to edit the STS or PCF files then manually generate the stress isometric.

A.15. Can ISOGEN create isometrics with continuous dimensioning?

ISOGEN Limitation
Currently ISOGEN can create isometrics with continuous string dimensioning as shown below but supports are not included in this dimensioning format. The dimensioning below can be achieved by first setting the dimensioning options similar to the dialog below then editing the APIPE.OPL file to set OPL Switch 9 = 100 and OPL Switch 40 = 10 as below: 9 40 100 10 ! Type of Dimensions on isometric ! Pipe Support information control 20 Rev 6.0

Troubleshooting

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Section C: Troubleshooting

A.16. Can StressISO options be saved for use of engineering team?

Yes all Stress Isometric options are saved to stressiso.ini file and ISOGEN options are saved to apipe.opl. Both these files can copied to other workstations to achieve same isometric settings e.g. default border drawing size, dimensioning, overflow etc. Note: The stressiso.ini file does store the absolute path to the apipe.opl and border files which may vary from machine to machine depending if Autopipe has been installed to different folders on different machines. Note: If the user changes any of the stressISO or ISOGEN options before generating the stress isometric these will be updated to the stressiso.ini and apipe.opl files which will be different to the original settings.

A.17. Is it possible to only print data associated with the isometric plot sheet shown? Currently some of the data for the 1st iso drawing overflows to the next drawing sheet.
Yes this would be useful but currently ISOGEN does not have smart logic to know beforehand which drawing sheet has which table data associated with it. The overflow of Table data is only continuous and not synchronised with the plot. Workaround One workaround is to select small desired ranges or hide segments and generate ISO's with "use select range" option which will only print data on the isometric for the selected range.

Before creating a stress isometric either:

1. Select only segments or ranges which are continuously connected. 2. View / Segments to selectively view segments. Note: Do not have disconnected segments visible in the mode.

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Troubleshooting

A.18. My stacked dimensions are shown with strange characters

Using the following dimensioning formats shows the linear dimension and elevation with '?' after the decimal instead of digits. Stacked format with dash Stacked format without dash

Workaround Yes, this is a font issue - you need to be using a true type proportional type font (eg. Arial) which will contain these stacked fraction type characters.

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Section C: Troubleshooting The program sets the font in Option Switches 4 & 27 and also call in our 'Fontstd.fif' file in the 'isogen.fls' file (FONT-INFORMATION-FILE Fontstd.fif) which is located in the \pisogen\projects\apipeproj\final folder ISOGEN limitation - The Table User Font is only used if a drawing border is defined. And a Autocad R12 DXF drawing border is defined with the embedded fonts defined as shown from the drop down list which want to be used.

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Troubleshooting

A.19.
ISOGEN

Why is there no dimension across my Valve?

Isogen only shows valve dimensioning if it is a butt weld or flanged valve (with mating pipe flanges attached).

Flanged valve with pipe flanges

Flanged valve with no pipe flanges

No valve dimensioning

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Section C: Troubleshooting

A.20.

Why is there no isometric generated?

This can be due to many reasons but one common reason is the drawing size is too small for the table and plot font size (ISOGEN Dimensioning TAB) and the drawing content to fit onto the selected drawing sheet. The ISOGEN message file may show the following:

Also see FAQ A8 for Isogen messages

Personal ISOGEN : VERSION 5.5.3 (Full) *** IDFGEN VERSION 6.5.6 *** START OF ISOGEN.PCF

PROCESSING PIPELINE-REFERENCE CLOSEDLOOP_BRANCH ALL COMPONENTS CONNECTED

SOFTWARE KEY ID NO. = 0 NO. OF AUTHORISED PLOTS = 0 NO. OF UNUSED PLOTS = 0 ISOGEN VERSION 8.12.6 (Build 16) **** ISODAT **** START OF DRAWING CLOSEDLOOP_BRANCH TRYING TO SPLIT LINE CLOSEDLOOP_BRANCH INTO PIPELINE SPLIT INTO 2 DRAWINGS OUTPUT STAGE OF DRAWING CLOSEDLOOP_BRANCH

2 DRAWINGS

Workaround Select a larger drawing size and also check the Split control, no of drawings required = 0 or a small number. Sometimes ISOGEN process may hang with the ISOGEN process dialog remaining open then this process should be killed and the program should be closed and restarted.

A.21.

Why does my isometric take so long to generate?

This can be due to several reasons but one common one is the amount of drawing content to be plotted. If the model is large, the ISOGEN engine must split the content onto multiple sheets which can take up to 5-10 mins for very large models. Other performance issues plotting an isometric with a border can take 2-3 times longer than without a border. Note: Viewing the first isometric in Redline takes longer to load than the 2nd and subsequent isometrics since memory caching is used. Loading isometrics into AutoCAD can take even longer to display. 26 Rev 6.0

Troubleshooting

A.22.

Why are there no messages in my ISOGEN message file?

The ISOGEN process may not have finished from the previous isometric generation. Either: a. b.

Re-run File/save as StressISO If a) is not successful, close and re-start the program then re-run a).

A.23.

How can I fit more of the isometric onto the plot with or without the data tables?

Using the AutoPIPE model create an Stress isometric for the complete model

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Section C: Troubleshooting

Using no drawings required = 0 [Default and usually recommended]

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Troubleshooting However the resulting plot looks as follows split into 2 sheets on a B size drawing.

Using no drawings required = 1, and all the system piping appears on the plot. This may only work if limited drawing content.

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Section C: Troubleshooting Other Useful Hints: Try plotting with a different drawing viewport (Isogen Settings dialog > General Tab). Use a large drawing size (Isogen Settings dialog > General Tab) if permitted. Reduce the plot font (Isogen Settings dialog > Dimensioning Tab) Edit the OPL file switch 34 to a number > 100 to scale the plotted iso. If plotting without the data tables, reduce the left or right margin size depending which side the data table set to e.g. if Data table printed on right side then reduce the right margin to a small value. (Isogen Settings dialog > General Tab).

A.24.

How can I suppress the North Arrow?

Edit the Final.pos file located in the folder \pisogen\projects\apipeproj\final and add the -700 line as shown below.
Text ID No -----6 -8 -9 -10 -11 -600 -601 -602 -603 -604 -605 -606 -607 -608 -609 -700 X Pos --0 0 41300 41300 31300 41300 41300 41300 31300 31300 31300 31300 31300 31300 31300 0 Y Pos --0 0 4300 1550 4300 3850 3400 2950 3850 3400 2950 2400 2000 1550 1100 0 Char Width ----0 0 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 0 Char Height -----0 0 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 0 Table Offset in X -----0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Table Offset in Y -----0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Numb of Cols ---0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Numb of Lines ----Table Dir ----0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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Troubleshooting

A.25.

My Isometric shows Disconnection Detected at this point near a Flange.

The isometric error message may look like below

Workaround Edit the Flange factor to a small value e.g. 0.02 in the PCFOUT.map file (located in the AutoPIPE program folder)
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// [NODE_FACTOR] 0.75 tee 0.02 flange 1.50 support

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A.26.

StressISO table only shows the Model Info & Pipe Data sections, and the dimensions are XXXX.XX.

You are operating in StressISO demo mode. Additional features require an additional StressISO Add-on license available on your Tools > Settings > License Tool Management > License Checkout tab screen. Please contact your account manager for additional information and pricing for this feature.

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A.27.

Error Incorrect Entries for the Following Mandatory Item SKEY.

An issue exists in the mapping for connection end types. During the export to PCF it skips SKEY for some components as it did not find a matching connection end type. Some mappings need to be added in pcfout.map. For example:

The numeric on the left side is directly mapped to the value in the database. Some more descriptions are as follows: 0: User-Defined 1: Butt Weld 2: Slip On 3: Socket Weld 4: Lap Joint 5: Threaded Joint 6: Weld Neck 7: Butt Weld Transition 8: Socket Weld (No Under Cut)

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