ESApro Supports is dedicated to the design of supports of pipes made with ESApro 3D Piping or other plant software excracting automatically drawings and material lists. The tool contains a large library of parametrical parts typically used for the design of piping supports, like:

• connectors (U-Bolt, Collars, Reinforcement plates etc.)
• holders (Shoes, Saddles, Pedestals, Guides, Springs etc.)
• fasteners (Bolts, Threaded rods, Clevises, Turnbuckles etc.)
• steelworks (beams, plates, shelves, poles etc.)

Each part is provided with descriptions in different languages and an additional field is provided for the part number.
Beside the standard parts, the user can create special parts directly modeled in CAD 3D or imported from mechanical modeling software.

ESApro Supports makes the assembling of a 3D support very simple by putting together the basic parts:

• snaps to reference points (for already inserted parts, piping objects, beams, etc.)
• automatic alignment to existing objects
• plan inversion and overturning
• 3D rotation
• objects alignment and faces matching

The program also provides basic commands for creation and editing of holes, and also for the insertion of fastening elements (nuts and bolts, nuts and washers, etc.).

SApro Supports contains a module for the fast creation of steel structures. Thanks to quick and intuitive interfaces it is possible to create beams (IPN, UPN, IPE, HE, LEQ etc.) by taking them from a customizable database and by adapting them to your needs simple shaping and editing commands.
Commands for the automatic creation of the following are also available:

• pipe-racks
• columns
• shelves
• poles
• base plates
• railings
• ladders
• spiral staircase

The program provides automatically the computation of the many beams and the structure total weight.

Once the parts are assembled it is possible to gather them into an assembly (support object), whom proprieties are given to define:

• typology
• identifying tag
• standard part (primary)
• not standard part (secondary)

From the “Supports Assembly” window it is possible to keep under control the defined supports and highlight their position in the plant. The materials list can be obtained directly within the model, or either exported to external files for the creation of the detail drawings.
A simple procedure allows the user to add his own supports to the library of standards provided by ESApro Supports.

ESApro Supports supplies 2D detail drawings of the supports modeled in the 3D piping environment: during the generation process it is possible to set the layout and the format of the material lists. The layout can be completed with the position of balloons and dimensions through simple graphic tools. The synchronization between the detail drawings and the 3D model is bi-directional.

ESApro Supports creates the overall layout table showing the position of the supports in the plant. The supports can be represented either in a realistic way or conventional one identifying their specific function (fixed point, support, axial stop, side guide etc.).
Each supports can be represented through an automatic or manual procedure.

Once the insertion of all the supports is ended within the 3D model, the program is ready to automatically provide:

• support Material List with total weight
• support Tags List with composition and weight
• list of the Standards (primaries) used in the model and related composition

The material lists format can be customized by choosing which fields to visualize, their order and possible filters. The lists can be directly printed or exported in TXT or Excel files for further processing or interfacing with external software.

All the ESApro files are simple dwg file with standard AutoCAD entities only (lines, circles, blocks, etc.) included: no additional object enablers or conversion tools are therefore required to open or view such files.
The interchange of files with other software is then very straightforward as all types of software can read the DWG/DXF format or any other format exportable from AutoCAD (DGN, DWF, PDF).