Specification Constructor
- Last UpdatedFeb 11, 2025
- 2 minute read
Specon, the Specification Constructor, is used to create or modify the Specification (SPEC) elements in Catalog Databases.
These Specifications govern the choice of components from the Catalog. They must have been set up, together with the rest of the Catalog Database (DB), before design work takes place. In principle, therefore, SPECONMODE within Paragon will be one of the first modules to be used when a new AVEVA E3D Design project is initiated, although in practice it is likely that a company-wide library of Catalogs and Specifications will be created independently of any individual design project and accessed by subsequent users to make sure overall standardization and quality control.
SPECON enables you to input new Specifications, to modify existing Specifications, and to output Specifications to your terminal or to a file (to be printed or input again at a later date).
A facility is provided so that you can make changes to a Specification without losing compatibility between existing design data and earlier versions of that Specification. This is achieved by maintaining valid references to obsolescent components in the Specification while preventing their selection in new designs.
The part of the hierarchy below a Catalog(CATA) element which is relevant when considering Specifications is shown in the Part of the structure of a CATA element image. (The options CATE, STCAT and TEXT have been omitted; refer to Catalog Database Structure for further explanation.)
Part of the structure of a CATA element
The functions of the individual types of element are as follows:
|
SECT |
Piping Section and Structural Section elements are administrative STSECT subdivisions of the owning CATA element. |
|---|---|
|
COMP |
Component elements hold the definitions of piping components. These definitions comprise pointers to Geomset (GMSET) and Pointset (PTSET) elements, plus lists of parameters which specify the exact type, size and geometry of each component (that is, the component’s Attributes, including its Generic Type (GTYPE). |
|
PROF |
Profile, Joint and Fitting elements hold the definitions of corresponding |
|
JOIN |
Structural components. These definitions comprise pointers to GMSET, Fiiting (FITT) GMSSET, PTSET and PTSSET elements, plus lists of specific attributes, in a similar way to COMP elements. |
|
DTEXT |
Detailing Text elements hold text which may be used to describe components in schedules and on isometrics. (They also hold the SKEYs which define the symbols used to represent components in isometric drawings; refer to Symbol Keys.) |
|
MTEXT |
Material Text elements hold text which may be used to describe the materials of construction of the components. |