Good day everyone,

Does anyone know how to adjust the way caesar calculates the weight for a RFxRF valve?

BACKSTORY:
I have been fiddling with the Caesar specs in order to update the valve weights and sizes recently. I work for on large diameter pipelines and needed to include up to 48" pipe in my database. While I was at it, I began to look into the FLG vs NO FLG end types in the valve & flange database and noticed that the way caesar determines the weight of a valve when using FLG end type only works for RFxRF valves.

Caesar simply takes the weight of two flanges and adds them to the weight of the valve. This is not the same as a RFxRF valve, neither the weight nor the length. I have tried looking into setting up the database to input a WExWE valve when selecting the NO FLG end type, and inputing a RFxRF valve when selecting the FLG end type, but have thus far been unsuccessful.

Does anyone know a way to edit where caesar takes the values for FLG end type from? I thought you could edit the BAL_F file in LIB_I to have different flange sizes to tweak the lengths and weight, but caesar doesn't take the weight for flanges from that file, it takes it from the FLG_F file, which is raised face flanges.

My goal for all of this is to set up a database which includes all pipe and valve sizes and configurations so that our office will be using the same set of information for every project instead of manually inputting every value for every rigid body.

Assuming you are using the default CADWorx data set (this is a configuration setting).
These length and weight data are held in files in the C:\ProgramData\Intergraph CAS\CAESAR II\7.00\LIB_I folder. Data files are grouped by class in individual folders there e.g., 150. Take a look.
150 pound flange data is listed in FLG_W.150 and the related gasket info is listed in GAS_F_2.150. Columns "Y" and "WGT" control flange length and weight, respectively and Columns "THK" & "WGT" do the same for gaskets. this is where you make your change.

I changed the length and weight of a single flange in the proper file and CAESAR II provided the updated data the next time I used the V/F database.

At a higher level:
You can control which files you point to in the ...\7.00\Spec folder. In that folder you will see 150.SPC which identifies those data files.

A related point:
CAESAR II V/F database contains only flanged components. If you wish to use welded components you will have to replace the files listed in that .SPC file.

Also:
Changes here will not be recognized by CADWorx should you wish to move from CAESAR II to CADWorx.

Finally:
Check your work.

Thank you for the information. I knew of the LIB_I folder, but could not figure out how to change the total weight that CAESAR inputs into the model. Thank you.

I was hoping to be able to somehow adjust the database to be able to input weldxweld valves, because we use them so often. Making extra SPC files to swap out was something I was hoping to avoid because it will get rather difficult to keep track of what each file contains without going in and changing a lot of titles and directories so everything reads correctly.

With regards to the new data not being recognized in CADWorx, can you only export from CAESAR to CADWorx Plant?
We have several CADWorx seats here, but we have yet to be able to get a clean export from CAESAR to CADWorx. We can do it in the reverse though.

Yes, the data in the V/F database is all flanged. The middle column, for the most part, adds a pair of weld neck flanges and gaskets to the overall weight and length of the rigid element. You should be able to see that as you change your selection. Gaskets add 1/8 inch and 1 lbf when used.
If you wish to include welded components, you could either pull the appropriate data files from CADWorx or build them by hand. To get started, I would suggest hijacking one of the existing rigid types and replace the flanged data with welded data. For example, replace the Control valve data with welded gate valve data - if you want to add a welded gate valve, select a control valve. Once you get that working the way you want, you can change the title in the V/F database selection window.

I was thinking that maybe substituting out a pressure class would work for swapping out weld end valves, but I think we use too many different classes to make it work. I will see about swapping out specific rigid types. Thanks again for your help.

SO I have replaced my 2500 class spec with all the information for WExWE valves. This works great and can be easily manipulated if I need to use the 2500 class, then I will simply adjust the spec to replace another class.

The problem I am having now is I want to create a blind flange database, and was thinking, since I never use socket weld flanges, I would replace it with blind flanges.

I changed VALVE.HED to show "Blind" where it used to show "Socket". This works. I went into the FLG_S file and updated the information to have lengths, thicknesses, and weights for up to 42" all with the same formatting. I also updated the Spec file "600.600" to have an "EndSize" equal to 42".

Now when I go into CAESAR and try to insert a "Blind" flange it will only insert up to 4", which is the original default value used. It is not recognizing that I have included new data. Is this a CAESAR default to where it will not recognize socket weld flanges any larger than a certain size?