Description
What’s New in CADWorx Version 24?
- AutoCAD 2025 & BricsCAD v24 Compatibility: Seamless integration with the latest platforms for optimized project execution.
- Clash Detection & Structural Enhancements: Early detection of design issues reduces rework, with streamlined structural modeling for steel and concrete.
- Streamlined Material Takeoffs: Faster and more reliable, saving time and minimizing errors.
- Enhanced Piping Design: Advanced autorouting with optimized component selection.
- Hexagon PPM Integration: Unified project management across Hexagon solutions.
- Advanced Insulation Capabilities: Precise thermal analysis and BOM integration.
- Improved User Interface: Easier navigation for a better user experience
CADWorx Plant Professional 24, the latest iteration of Hexagon’s renowned plant design software, introduces a suite of new functions and bug fixes aimed at enhancing usability, improving performance, and addressing user feedback from previous versions. Built on the AutoCAD or BricsCAD platform, this release continues to empower engineers in industries like oil and gas, power generation, and chemical processing by streamlining workflows and boosting precision in 3D plant modeling. Below is a detailed exploration of the new features and resolved issues, reflecting advancements tailored to modern plant design demands as of March 25, 2025.
New Functions
- Enhanced Point Cloud Integration: Version 24 offers improved support for point cloud data, a critical upgrade for brownfield projects. Users can now import and manipulate larger point cloud datasets with greater efficiency, allowing for more accurate retrofitting and modifications of existing plants. This feature includes refined tools for aligning 3D models with scanned data, reducing manual adjustments and accelerating project timelines.
- Advanced Piping Rule Automation: The specification-driven design engine has been upgraded with more configurable piping rules. This allows for automated placement of components like fittings, valves, and supports based on project-specific standards, minimizing errors and ensuring compliance with updated industry codes. Users can now define more complex rule sets, enhancing flexibility for unique design requirements.
- Improved Isogen Customization: Isogen, the industry-standard tool for automated isometric drawing production, now includes expanded customization options. Version 24 introduces new sketch reference settings and enhanced line number tracking, enabling more detailed and project-specific isometric outputs. This reduces post-processing time and improves deliverable clarity for fabrication teams.
- Real-Time Collaboration Tools: A new feature set facilitates better multi-user collaboration within the live database environment. Users can track changes in real time, view percentage-linked components between P&IDs and 3D models, and export detailed synchronization reports. This is particularly useful for large-scale projects where multiple teams need to stay aligned.
- Weight and Center of Gravity Calculations: Building on shared functionalities with other Hexagon tools like CADWorx Structure and Equipment, version 24 introduces integrated weight and center of gravity calculations directly within Plant Professional. This aids in early-stage design validation and supports downstream analysis without requiring external software exports.
- Expanded Equipment Libraries: The software now includes updated and expanded libraries of parametrically driven equipment models, reflecting the latest industry standards. This reduces setup time for common components like pumps, heat exchangers, and vessels, allowing designers to focus on custom configurations rather than repetitive modeling tasks.
- User Shape Support in P&ID View: A notable addition is the ability to incorporate custom user shapes into the P&ID View palette. This ensures greater consistency between P&IDs and 3D models, as bespoke components can now be tracked and validated across both design stages, enhancing change management.
Bug Fixes
- P&ID Synchronization Stability: Previous versions occasionally experienced syncing issues between P&IDs and 3D models, especially with SQL Server databases. Version 24 resolves these inconsistencies, ensuring reliable linking of inline components and accurate reflection of design changes across platforms.
- Isometric Generation Accuracy: Users reported occasional discrepancies in isometric outputs, such as misaligned component counts or connectivity errors. This release fixes these issues by replacing legacy commands (like C2OUT) with the more robust C2PCF command and refining pipe end-type handling, ensuring accurate representation of threaded or socket-welded connections.
- Collision Detection Reliability: The clash detection tool has been stabilized to address intermittent failures in detecting conflicts with externally referenced files. The update ensures consistent reporting, whether run on-the-fly or as a scheduled check, improving model integrity.
- Performance with Large Models: Earlier versions sometimes lagged when handling complex assemblies or large DWG files. Version 24 optimizes memory usage and processing speed, reducing crashes and improving responsiveness during tasks like auto-routing or bill of materials generation.
- Pipe Support Positioning: A bug causing structural plates in pipe support assemblies to shift after edits has been corrected. Centerline alignment is now maintained during modifications, ensuring design accuracy and reducing rework.
- Batch Isogen Processing: The -ISOGENBATCH command previously struggled with filtering options on large projects. This has been fixed, allowing users to apply precise filters and process multiple isometric outputs efficiently, even across network locations.
- Legacy Drawing Conversion: Issues with converting older CADWorx drawings (e.g., under Windows 10/11 with AutoCAD 2025 compatibility) have been resolved. The CONVERTCADWORXLEGACYDWGS command now runs smoothly, preserving data integrity during upgrades.
Overall Impact
These updates in CADWorx Plant Professional 24 reflect Hexagon’s focus on practical efficiency and user-driven improvements. The new functions enhance automation, collaboration, and integration with real-world data like point clouds, while the bug fixes address long-standing pain points, ensuring a more reliable and fluid design experience. For engineers and designers, this translates to faster project execution, fewer errors, and better alignment with modern plant design challenges—whether tackling greenfield builds or complex brownfield retrofits.