CAD Drawing Blocks in Smart Instrumentation - Intergraph Smart Instrumentation - Help

In Smart Instrumentation, a block is considered as a template CAD drawing file (with or without macros) that is assigned to a loop or instrument. The software uses blocks in CAD loop drawing generation. You can use similar blocks to represent identical components in different drawing positions by defining several blocks that use the same drawing file.

A block is a term that is used in Smart Instrumentation. Depending on the CAD application that you use, the following equivalent terms apply.

There must be a correlation between the file formats supported by your CAD application and the file format in which you save a new drawing block. Standard drawing blocks exist for each of the following CAD applications (shown with the appropriate file extension):

• Intergraph SmartSketch — .sym

• AutoCAD — .dwg

• MicroStation — .cel

Smart Instrumentation is shipped with several examples of blocks that are used in the demonstration database (IN_DEMO.DDTI). The wiring methodology behind these blocks includes the use of an overall shield with single cables and multiple pair cables. After the installation, these blocks can be found in the path <Smart Instrumentation home folder>\CAD\Blocks. For details, see Shipped Block Files.

Block Organization and Management

Smart Instrumentation requires that each drawing block belongs to a particular block type. Therefore, after you define block files in your CAD application, you need to assign these blocks to the appropriate block types in Smart Instrumentation.

You define and manage blocks in the Drawing Block Types folder of the Domain Explorer. After you define blocks and organize them according to their block types, you can perform block association procedures, which depend on the block type of the source block. Blocks that are already associated with specific loops or instruments appear in the Loops folder of the Domain Explorer. For details of the available block types, see Block Types.

Block Assignment Methods

After defining the blocks and their macros, it is necessary to assign your instrument tag numbers to the drawing blocks that represent the instruments graphically. The following is the description of the available assignment methods:

Automatic block assignment method

In the Loops folder of the Domain Explorer, these blocks are shown under instruments as .
Also, you must use this method if you want to assign user-defined general blocks to your loop drawings. After assigning such a block to an instrument type, the software displays this block in every loop drawing whose source loop contains an instrument with the same instrument type. The assigned user-defined general blocks do not appear in the Domain Explorer.

Manual block assignment method

In the Loops folder of the Domain Explorer, these blocks are shown under instruments as . In the Domain Explorer, it is possible to change the block assignment method from automatic to manual.