Multi Discipline Supports

Has anyone successfully implemented MDS?  How much editing is involved in the "finished" draft drawings?

I personally have implemented MDS and it took about 3 weeks to get everything working right.  Units are the biggest bugger, you actually have to modify the pml files to get it to work right.  but once it's working it's a breeze to put in supports and especially to generate the pipe support detail drawings.

How much editing is required on the drawings before they are sent to the client?

Has anyone used the new MDS w/ the Witch Hanger Interface.  How difficult is it to get setup & configured and also generate pipe support detail drawings?

I've used the MDS - WH interface and it is probably the easiest thing in MDS to set-up, a brief explanation of set-up.

1. Under you project directory XXX create a new directory XXXCPL (where XXX is your project code) then create sub-directories CPO, CPI and DAT
2. Open WH and create you database for your project as usual and store under the DAT directory.
3. In your DES-SUPP-DEFS file comment out the following:

#MDSHANGIF\LISEGA
#MDSHANGIF\PSL
MDSHANGIF\CPL

MDS now knows that you are using the CPL catalogue.
4. Then add to your PDMS/MDS .bat file the following:

REM WH Software Location
set cplmdsexe=C:\Program Files\WH4\WH4win.exe
REM Interface input files location
set lublif=C:\Project\XXX\XXXCPL\CPI
REM Interface output files location
set lublof=C:\Project\XXX\XXXCPL\CPO
REM Witch Hanger’s database location
set lubdat=C:\Project\XXX\XXXCPL\DAT

And I think that is about it (obviously off memory), the only thing to remember that you have got all the recent patches from Aveva.

On a seperate note I have set-up MDS in three companies now and I have had set-up times of about 1 - 1 1/2 months, this obviously depends on amount of support standards that need to be configured. Obviously if you have over 400 supports like I have on my project, the shear time of going through the DES-SUPP-PARS file and modify the design parameters is very time consumming. Then modifying the support frameworks to the correct steel sizes as per your companies support standards. Then setting up draft with the tag rules, border file, views etc. takes some time.  However, in saying that I personnally think that this is the best improvement to PDMS design in a long time and is well written and very user friendly (big up Neale Morris and his development team). And once set-up is a breeze for the designers, obviously adds more support for the admin guy as some users are not use to MDS yet, and also when you start creating unique special supports a bit of artistic license is needed and how MDS works.

The only recommendation I would give is keep your support standards simple, if something in your companies support standard can't be done in MDS then change the support standard not MDS to suit. Easier said than done I hear you say, I have the same trouble convincing engineers to do this, but beleive me, once you have made the modification to MDS, macros, added in the catalogue, changed the mdsallancil and mdsaliaslist pmlfnc etc. I takes longer than to change a support standard, or use another standard.

Anyway, that's my penny's worth thought I'd pass a bit of my experience on, hope it helps.

Also one thing that would be great for Aveva to do, is craate a interface to the DES-SUPP-PARS file, modifying 14730 lines with upto 23 columns is a complete headache.

Thanks

Simon

I personally have implemented MDS and it took about 3 weeks to get everything working right.  Units are the biggest bugger, you actually have to modify the pml files to get it to work right.  but once it's working it's a breeze to put in supports and especially to generate the pipe support detail drawings.

If you wont mind, Could you tell us whichl PML files we have to correct?

Thanks in advance!