Importing PCF Files
PipeFEA imports .pcf files (the ISOGEN Piping Component File format exported by AutoCAD Plant 3D and most plant-design tools) and builds a complete, solve-ready stress model — geometry, fittings, pipe sections, specifications, materials, component weights and supports.
How to import
Files 💾 tab → Import CAD Model → Upload .PCF File.
- If the model is empty, the file imports immediately as a new model.
- If a model is open, a dialog asks:
- Add to current model — the piping is appended at its absolute plant coordinates. Lines that connect to already-imported piping are welded together automatically at their tie-in points — import a system's PCFs one after another to assemble it.
- Start a new model — replaces the current model (settings kept; Undo restores the old model).
Every import ends with a summary report — read it. It lists what was created and, critically, every assumption made.
What is extracted
| PCF data | Becomes |
|---|---|
| PIPE / END-POINT geometry | Nodes + pipe elements (mm or inch files both handled) |
| Bore + schedule (from the MATERIALS table / BOM attributes) | A section per DN + schedule, wall thickness from the built-in ASME B36.10M/19M tables (e.g. DN80 SCH 80 → 88.9 × 7.62 mm) |
| PIPING-SPEC + flange pressure class | A specification per line spec (e.g. SPEC-600 (CL600)) with design pressure pre-filled from the B16.5 class rating at ambient — review it and set the design temperature |
| BOM material family | A material with generic carbon/stainless properties — review the allowables |
| BEND (centre point, angle, radius) | Bend node with the radius derived from the file's geometry (handles LR elbows and 5D/10D field bends correctly), auto-SIF on |
| TEE / OLET (+ branch point) | Tee component with run length and branch fitting height from the fitting geometry; olets are modelled as unreinforced branches (conservative) |
| FLANGE / FLANGE-BLIND | In-series rigid flange elements with catalogue weight + rating; blinds cap their line ends |
| GASKET / BOLT sets | Bolted joints merged into single nodes; gasket + bolt weights added to the flange mass |
| VALVE | Rigid valve element with catalogue weight; flanged valves flagged for leakage assessment |
| COUPLING / MISC components | Rigid elements with their weight (or point masses when zero-length) |
| SUPPORT records | ANCH → anchor; everything else → vertical resting support (μ = 0.3). All supports are listed in the summary for review — set guides/stops/springs to their real types afterwards |
| END-CONNECTION-PIPELINE | Tie-in points: auto-welded in merge mode, otherwise reported with the advice to import that line or anchor the point |
Welds are merged (zero-length), and rigid components welded directly onto tees or bends are joined through exact fitting leg stubs — no manual clean-up needed.
After importing — the review checklist
- Assumptions list — every auto-filled value (design pressures from flange class, material properties, fallback schedules) is listed. Fix the spec design temperatures at minimum.
- Support table — imported supports are anchors or plain vertical rests; convert guides/line-stops/springs to their true types (click each node in 3D).
- Tie-ins — dangling connections to lines you didn't import need a boundary: import that PCF too, or place an anchor/restraint there (nozzle movements via imposed displacements).
- Run Check Model, then solve.
Multi-line assembly
Because coordinates are absolute plant coordinates, importing the PCFs of connected lines in sequence (each with Add to current model) reassembles the system: shared flanged joints and tie-in welds connect automatically (within 10 mm at declared tie-ins). Sections, specs and materials are deduplicated by name across imports, so re-importing is safe.
Limits
- Instrument/tap items without structural relevance are skipped and counted in the summary.
- The PCF's own support types are coarse — PipeFEA imports their positions faithfully but you own the restraint types.
- Files exported in inches (UNITS-BORE/CO-ORDS INCH) are converted automatically.