PV design software
PV design software
(OP)
Our company are interested in buying pressure vessel design software. We are currently looking at Compress and PV Elite. For Compress you need to buy an extra add on for heat exchangers, but not for PV Elite. Which one would you recommend for general cost effective applications? Or would you recommend another software solution?





RE: PV design software
www.computereng.com ?
Regards,
http://www.welding-advisers.com/
RE: PV design software
Brian
RE: PV design software
By far most of what I do is heat exchangers and CodeCalc handles most of the common features reasonably well, however there are limitations in ALL software and hand calcs or my own spreadsheets are required at times.
My main gripe(s) about CodeCalc is the amount of data you have to input (not very automated for design) and the great amount of output you get, which is sometimes useful, but really more than I like to send to a customer. However rather than spend a lot of time editing the output, I just live with it.
If you are going to do primarily shell and tube heat exchangers it's hard to beat RCS, very automated, very flexible (within what it does, for example it is very light on structural type stuff), produces brief but complete calculations, simple but usable shop drawings, BOM's with "one click" almost. Just give it the most basic data and it does the rest. Has a very flexible tube layout module, which, so far as I know is completely missing in PVElite / CodecCalc.
Regards,
Mike
RE: PV design software
Waskillywabitt's advice is best, test drive them all and see which one has the features you require.
Keep in mind, no software is a replacement for know-how. If the person using the software does not fully understand the inputs, it will be hard to rely on the outputs.
RE: PV design software
Respectfully,
Ryan Wood
Interpass Industrial
RE: PV design software
I also heard about MicroProtol from EuResearch. Does enybody know this software? What do you think about it?
Regards,
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Doc
RE: PV design software
I have reviewed OhmTech because I have several EN 13445 vessels to design. While PVElite, which I own, has EN13445 in it, there are some errors (material data base in a few spots). The errors are on the conservative side and tech support has been excellent.
However, OhmTech has neither responded to my phone calls or e-mails for information (pricing, delivery, etc). This concerns me because if they won't make contact when I'm trying to purchase I fear what tech support and upgrades for the new issues will be like.
How is there tech support?
I like PVElite and selected it over Compress because of the ability to to rectangular vessels, Div 2, and EN13445, and the ability to perform dynamic seismic analysis for vessels. Compress would have been my choice however, if I did only Div 1 vessels because it is much easier to use.
RE: PV design software
We buy VVD through local reseler so I don't know how good or bad is OhmTech support.
But few times I ask directly OhmTech through their website form. Once it was pricing list, once my vision of VVD improvements and lastly I lost password to download. Their reply was quite fast (from one day to one week). I don't know why they didn't respond you.
BTW. One year license per EN13445 + ASME VIII code is about EUR 3000. License fee per next year is about EUR 1000.
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Doc
RE: PV design software
I just received a quote (after several e-mails) and it was for EUR6200 with a license fee of EUR1200.
Do you mind giving me the contact for the local re-seller?
Thanks,
Patrick
RE: PV design software
I'm from Poland and my resseler also. I don't think that you want contact with him. But if you want, here's contact information:
Cim-MES projekt
ul Grzybowska 87
00-844 Warsaw
POLAND
tel +48 22 6312244
fax +48 22 6312245
cim-mes@cim-mes.com.pl
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Doc
RE: PV design software
A lot of good information supplied by many people across the forum. Chaulklate is spot on for the relationship between user knowledge and trusting input/output data. I run S&T design courses for our new employees and still struggle to get across the message that the software is a tool and the old addage still remains. Rubbish input = Rubbish Output.
We manufacture s&t exchangers and pressure vessels and have tried five different software programmes in the last seven years. OhmTech was weak at first but is improving, is used now by some of the more respected Notified Bodies and a number of manufacturers in the UK - a lot more throughtout Northern Europe. The reports back to us a re good and it does have the advantage of doing EN13445, AD MErkblatt, ASME and PD5500.
We have been usng Finglow software for more than 6 years and have in the meanwhile tried to change over to PV Elite and Compress etc. Still reviewing the many other type of software available but yet to find one that will meet all our requirements.
SntMan - can you give me some details about the RCS software you mentioned in your reply to this posting.
At the end of the day, we are still going to have to use papers, self designed programmes and utility software to get the whole vessel or exchanger designed as no single piece of software can yet do the whole job - or at least we have not seen one.
A good post and an interesting topic.
many thanks
Charles