LuaCAD Help

Quick start: your first pipe

This page shows the shortest way to a finished pipe in 3D and the three most common changes afterwards. Every step has a picture; the details are in the linked tasks.

1. Open the palette and choose the values

Ribbon › LuaCAD tab › Piping 3D. The palette opens at the edge of the drawing on the Pipe page.

The Pipe page: system and catalog (1), Insert as (2), system elevation (3), Insert (4)
The Pipe page: system and catalog (1), Insert as (2), system elevation (3), Insert (4)
  1. Choose the system, for example cold water – it sets the color and the layer. Below it the catalog, product line and nominal size (DN), for example DN 20.
  2. Leave Insert as on "Routing Line" – that is the easiest way to start.
  3. System elevation: "from level", reference level FF (finished floor), value 1000 – the pipe lies 1 m above the finished floor. Confirm with Enter or the check mark.
  4. Click Insert.

2. Draw the pipe

A routing line with start (1), two corners (2, 3) and end (4); plus a branch (5)
A routing line with start (1), two corners (2, 3) and end (4); plus a branch (5)
  1. Click the start in the drawing.
  2. Click the corners. The Space key switches between "snap to angle" (right angles, 45°) and "free".
  3. Finish with Enter. The routing line is created – the axis of the pipe in the color of the system.

3. Generate 3D

After Generate 3D: pipes (1) and elbows (2) in 3D, a tee at the branch (3); the insulation is hidden for the picture
After Generate 3D: pipes (1) and elbows (2) in 3D, a tee at the branch (3); the insulation is hidden for the picture
  1. Click Generate 3D (Pipe page).
  2. Click the pipe or drag a selection window over it; Enter.
  3. Pipes, elbows and tees are created from the catalog – with insulation if one is chosen.

The routing line stays hidden underneath the pipes: it is what you change later. The Basic concepts explain the difference between routing line, 3D and fitting.

4. Change it with a grip

A pipe clicked: grips at start (1), middle (2) and end (3); on the left a valve (4)
A pipe clicked: grips at start (1), middle (2) and end (3); on the left a valve (4)
  1. Click the pipe (line or pipe) – grips appear at the start, middle and end.
  2. Click a grip, drag it to the new position and click. A free end moves only along the pipe, a corner moves freely, the middle grip moves the whole segment.
  3. The adjacent pipes and the 3D follow at the end of the command.

5. Move

Click a pipe (1) and click the new position (2)
Click a pipe (1) and click the new position (2)
  1. Click Move (Pipe page) and click the pipe (1); Enter.
  2. Click the new position (2) – or press A and type a distance, for example 50.
  3. Connected pipes are shortened or extended, in-line valves move along.

If the pipe already has 3D, "Move" removes it when you select the pipe (the routing lines become visible again); afterwards click Generate 3D again. The grip from step 4 and the CAD command MOVE, on the other hand, update the 3D themselves. More under Moving pipes.

6. Change the elevation

Elevation changed: the middle pipe is now at 2700 mm (1); the vertical connecting pieces were created automatically (2, 3)
Elevation changed: the middle pipe is now at 2700 mm (1); the vertical connecting pieces were created automatically (2, 3)
  1. Click Change elevation (Pipe page) and select the pipe; Enter.
  2. In the dialog box choose the new elevation, for example "from level", FF, 2400, and click OK.
  3. Vertical neighbors grow along. If the pipe had 3D, it is gone afterwards – Generate 3D creates it again at the new elevation.

More under Change elevation.

What next?

Video coming soon: Quick start Piping 3D