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The broad adoption of three-dimensional Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) tools has
resulted in dramatic improvements in design engineering productivity and quality. Unfortunately, a
variety of obstacles have prevented universal adoption of 3D CADD tools for design engineering of
modifications to existing facilities. This page explains in detail how laser scanning technology is being
used to allow 3D CADD technologies to be used on facility modification or “revamp” projects.
3D CADD
The advantages of 3D CADD tools are numerous and well documented. Typical benefits include the
following:
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Design standards and best practices are typically ‘embedded in’ and ‘enforced by’ the system
with many international standards preloaded by the software vendor
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3D visual model representations are intuitive for user audiences ranging from novice to expert
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3D CADD tools typically support integrated, multidisciplinary design work processes
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3D CADD models are electronically transportable to engineering design teams anywhere in the
world
- Facility data for tagged equipment and instrumentation is easily associated with the visual model
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3D CADD tools support flexible, automated generation of legacy 2D documents such as
isometrics, plans, and elevations
- Construction phase rework from dimensional and interference busts are nearly eliminated
These benefits are so compelling that the use of 3D CADD tools for the design of new facilities is
nearly universal. As a result, there has been a great desire to apply these same tools to revamp
projects. This desire is often impractical for a number of reasons which can be summarized as
follows:
- 2D documentation for existing facilities is often missing, inaccurate, incomplete, obsolete, or
not electronic
- It is not possible to automatically generate a 3D model from traditional 2D CADD – manual
remodeling is the only available migration path
- The schedule time and project budget to implement the tool and re-model
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