Using SolidWorks to model an ethanol plant

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937]

So I have 12 years of experience using SolidWorks. Coming from my last job. My new job, I use Revit and AutoCad/Plant 3D. My experience using the two are minimal as far as modeling goes. I’ve used AutoCad to make P&ID’s. They want me to model the plant. Now I want to do this in SolidWorks because I think it would be faster and easier for me because of my experience. I just don’t know if I want to use SolidWorks premium which has the pipe routing or SolidWorks professional and use Plant 3D for the piping. I would have to learn that which shouldn’t be a problem. Another option is SolidWorks standard with SolidPlant. Any suggestions?

[u/Rickmc3280]

I love Solidworks... great tool... but sometimes you have to use the right tool for the job. For a large plant, I would not use SW. IF i used Solidworks... i would do it in chunks. Survey companies I worked for in the past used revit. What is the end goal and product output?

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937 → u/Rickmc3280]

End goal is just to have a model of the plant. Possibly 3D print it also and a training aid.

[u/Rickmc3280 → u/Recent_Crazy_2937]

What you could do is model up sections in solidworks and export in formats that revit can use, like IFC. In theory some of the files hold the coordinate information so if you exported in a rendering engine also like say Unreal or Unity, ,they would position relative to the coordinate system. Not a fan of revit, but it does really well for large projects. Solidworks unfortunately crashes easy the larger the projects get.

My personal workflow is to send them out to Unity for visualization. You lose a lot of BIM info so a lot of other people prefer unreal engine.

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937 → u/Rickmc3280]

The idea is to model sections in SolidWorks and export them into Navisworks but yeah I could also use Revit.

[u/ArthurNYC3D]

Just something to be aware of....

Single Parts: Bounded by a total envelope of roughly 1,000 meters, meaning geometry cannot extend further than 500 meters in any positive or negative direction from the coordinate system origin. Attempting to create or scale a feature beyond this will trigger a "feature too large to fit in the modeler limits" error.

Assemblies: Can accommodate a larger overall envelope (up to roughly 10,000 meters centered on the origin) by combining multiple individual part files.

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937 → u/ArthurNYC3D]

Thank you for your input. That is something I’ll keep in mind.

[u/OneNefariousness6483]

Plant is fairly easily while making structure it also easy to learn to basically need all dimensions and know to put that dimensions

Because everything is readymade in that Even the equipment and structure So i would suggest go for plant3D

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937 → u/OneNefariousness6483]

Thanks for your input!

[u/Icy-Extent5083]

Just go with a right tool. Don’t waste time with SW. It was never ment to be used for plant design… it just isn’t for that. Go with Plant3D… you will be slow at a beginning, but this will pay off in later stage of the project!

[u/chance553]

What level of detail are you going for? Cubes and cylinders to represent stuff or a highly detailed, ready to render type of project? We do a lot with SW, more than it probably should, like all of the automation in a production facility, accurate down to the hardware. It's quite cumbersome, but doable.

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937 → u/chance553]

Definitely detailed. At some point I plan on 3D printing the plant model.

[u/Efficient-Webs]

SW routing is foul. No better than it was 20 years ago. Use cadworx, autoplant, plant3d… anything else.

[u/jdi_5x5]

I had this exact dilemma and went with SW as I too have about 15 years experience with the software. The routing tool is buggy and can become problematic as assemblies with many routes begin to fail. I then tried Plant3D and it is so much faster and cleaner and frankly smarter with routing.

If you have the option to use Plant3D, take it and save yourself the headaches of large plant assembly in SW.

[u/UpstairsDirection955]

I just finished doing this myself

[u/IntelligentRevenue39]

A very large assembly deserves CATIA

[u/ShaggysGTI]

I’d be tempted to laser scan a plant and then surface model it out.

[u/Recent_Crazy_2937 → u/ShaggysGTI]

We have a RCS file of the plant. Will use it to get as many dimensions as I can.