The Piping Specification Utility (PipeSpec) works with PDS 3D, Smart 3D, or Smart Reference Data to validate the piping materials class with the temperatures, pressures, and diameters assigned to the pipe run and to search commodity codes (in all product databases) and fabrication categories (in PDS 3D databases only) for inline piping components. The database tables and library files in the products provide source information for the validation and search. The service limits validation and automatic commodity code look-up can be disabled simultaneously using a switch in Options Manager. See Configure Piping Specification Settings in the Options Manager Help..
For more information about using the Piping Specification Utility with Smart 3D, refer to the Smart P&ID Installation and Upgrade Help for details about installing Smart 3D Piping Specification Remote Access Client.
In Data Dictionary Manager, the ValidateNomDiam.ForeignCalc program ID, which is assigned to the Nominal Diameter property, starts the Piping Specification Utility and triggers the commodity code and fabrication category look-ups when a nominal diameter is changed. See Enter Required ProgIDs.
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To use the Piping Specification Utility with Smart 3D, you must install the Smart 3D Piping Specification Remote Access Client, which is available on the Smart P&ID product media under Prerequisite Software.
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To use the Piping Specification Utility with Smart Reference Data, you must first enable .NET Framework 3.5 under Windows Features.
PDS 3D Files Used for PipeSpec
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pd schema — pdtable_102 table
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ra schema — pdtable_201 and pdtable_202 tables
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library files — us_pjstb.l, us_pjstb.l.r, and us_pjstb.l.t (The library file locations are listed in pdtable_102.)
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.dll files — PipeSpec.dll, pdpjs.dll, pdpjsx.dll, and ValidateServiceLimits.dll
The Piping Specification utility allows separate logon for the ra and pd schemas in the PDS 3D database.
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All of the displayed text strings are maintained as Visual Basic resources in the PipeSpec.dll file. These strings can be translated or modified as required using a resource file editor.
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When performing piping materials class validations, commodity code lookup, or validation of nominal diameter for Smart 3D or Smart Reference Data, the Piping Specification Utility assigns the highest revision number from the Smart 3D or Smart Reference Data piping materials class to the Pipe Spec Revision property.
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Error messages are placed in the PipeSpecError.log file in the folder assigned to the TEMP environment variable. Error messages help you identify the cause of failure when the utility does not complete the tasks as expected. For example, if minimum requirements are not met for the look-up, the missing properties are listed in the log file.
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The ServiceLimits.log file contains any errors encountered during the Service Limit Validation process, which runs as part of the Piping Specification Utility.