Autodesk AUTOCAD MEP User manual

Autodesk®
MEP Engineering Solution
See inside the walls.
AutoCAD®
MEP

Draft. Design. Deliver
Benefit from greater drafting productivity, better
accuracy, and design coordination opportunities.
MEP designers and drafters are spending too much
time on repetitive tasks. Autodesk oers a broad
suite of solutions to help MEP professionals stay
ahead of the competition and remain competitive.
With AutoCAD MEP, production of construction
documents is automated, helping to save time and
allowing for the creation of single-line and double-
line systems in addition to schematics. Whether
you are working on a building project led by an
architect or partnering with professionals from other
disciplines such as structural and civil engineering
for the design of water/wastewater facilities,
AutoCAD MEP allows you to work in the familiar
AutoCAD environment while implementing new
systems and documentation tools at your own pace.
Better Design Accuracy
With constant requests to accommodate last
minute changes, MEP professionals need to
eciently create and edit designs. Using AutoCAD
MEP, you can more easily assess designs, sizing, and
system balances with integrated calculators that
help ensure accuracy. Errors are minimized with
automated drafting tasks and built in calculators.
One of the major benefits
of AutoCAD MEP was the
improved coordination
with the architectural
and structural designs.
By using DWG files from
the extended design
team, we could better
coordinate our design
and significantly reduce
the number of design
interferences.
—Jim Paul, PE
Project Principal on Southshore
Medical Center
Kharafi National
AutoCAD MEP software helps to enhance drafting
productivity and allows you to more smoothly integrate
discipline-specific design and documentation tools.
Coordinate Design Information
With continuous pressure to reduce costs, you
can help reduce requests for information (RFIs)
and costly design changes in the field with more
accurate and consistent construction documents
produced with AutoCAD MEP. Design systems using
real-world parts and equipment, which can be used
throughout the fabrication and construction of the
building helping to save time and money.
Collaborate More Eectively
Since most projects require collaboration with
professionals from other disciplines, take advantage
of architectural and structural plans developed
using AutoCAD-based software applications to
better coordinate with your extended team.
AutoCAD MEP software helps you to minimize
interferences prior to construction, allowing greater
coordination and collaboration.
AutoCAD MEP helps to provide increased drafting productivity, better accuracy and design coordination opportunities for
MEP designers and drafters.

Fast. Faster. Fastest workflow
Help improve design accuracy by automating repetitive
drafting tasks, reviewing and checking your designs,
and simulating sizing and system balances.
Familiar AutoCAD Environment
AutoCAD MEP is built on AutoCAD®, providing
you with access to all of the commands you expect.
Protect your investment in training whilst accessing
discipline specific tools at your own pace.
Industry-Based or Task-Based Workspaces
If you work in a multidisciplinary firm and perform
several dierent design tasks, such as the design
of HVAC and piping systems, workspaces are
particularly useful. You can use them to save user
interface configurations that are tailored to specific
tasks. Once the workspaces are created, you can
quickly switch between them as needed.
Schematic Design
More easily create riser diagrams and schematic
plans with enhanced schematic tool palettes
that logically group commonly used tools. The
Properties palette provides easier schematic object
configurations. Convert existing AutoCAD blocks to
schematic symbols for quick use in schematic design.
Fabrication for MEP Contractors
With smoother integration of fabrication partner
tools into AutoCAD MEP software, MEP designers,
drafters and contractors can leverage their
AutoCAD MEP design for the fabrication of sheet
metal, plumbing, and piping making it easier to
create shop drawings.
Single/Double-Line Design
Automate your worflow by creating construction
documents more eciently with single line for
design development and convert automatically to
double line for construction documents. Lay out
mechanical systems in single line with unsized
parts early in the design process, and then use
duct-sizing tools and convert the layout to double
line. Enhanced sizing tools help to increase drafting
productivity when moving from design development
to construction documentation.
Smart Annotation of Objects
Annotate once for all scales. Annotative text
and symbols automatically change for each view
based on the scale. You can annotate objects with
labels that consist of text or block definitions.
The information in the label comes from object
properties, such as connection size.
Single-line duct design Double-line duct design

Design, decide and draw the system
Assess your vision and enhance your eciency with
purpose-built software for MEP designers and drafters.
Engineering Display Themes
Typically, manual properties of an object—such as
a duct’s friction loss or velocity—are not visible in
a drawing. Display themes let you incorporate such
nongraphical data by using colors, fills, or hatches
to highlight objects that meet criteria you establish
in a display theme style. For example, check your
HVAC design calculations based on friction loss or
velocity to assess performance for a particular area
or room. Also use the display theme By Pressure
Class to visually show the high, medium, and low
pressure per piping class to more easily identify
potential design flaws.
Synchronized Schedules
Designers and drafters can schedule engineering
system data, calculate values, and use new table
styles to lay out room and analysis schedules.
Schedules are automatically updated as the design
changes, assisting in the reduction of errors. Create
schedules as you lay out your design, and see the
schedule populate automatically, helping to save
time. You can create schedules with varying levels
of detail by defining and attaching sets of properties
to object styles or to individual objects and then
extracting and displaying the data in a schedule table.
Seamless Sections and Elevations
No longer wait until the end of your design process
to create sections and elevations, instead, quickly
create them at any time. You can control the size
and shape of the section you generate and assign
materials to the section for an optimal visual
representation of the sectioned objects.
Drawing Management
The Drawing Management feature formalizes and
automates the processes related to building system
design and documentation. The feature provides
automated tools that aid in the management,
viewing, and construction of your building systems.
When your project files are managed with this
feature, you have greater consistency in all aspects
of the project, and everyone on the design team has
a centralized project environment for accessing the
most current documents. Powerful linking features
help enable that source files can be distributed
over many dierent locations on your computer
or on a network, enabling dierent people to work
simultaneously on the same project.
Using AutoCAD MEP with
its powerful visual design
coordination capabilities,
we were able to lay out
these extremely complex
mechanical rooms—
easily—knowing ahead of
time whether there was an
interference.
—Jean Abi Aad
Corporate Engineering Manager
Kharafi National

Choose your Gear
AutoCAD MEP software is an essential element in a
complementary, comprehensive Autodesk engineering
solution for MEP professionals.
AutoCAD
Drive your projects from concept to completion with
the powerful AutoCAD-based documentation tools.
Work more eciently with automation, management,
and editing tools that minimize repetitive tasks and
speed your time to completion. AutoCAD®software
is interoperable with AutoCAD MEP software.
Collaboration
Autodesk Navisworks Manage
Autodesk®Navisworks®software solutions help
enable project design and building professionals to
unite their contributions into a single, synchronized
building information model. By helping enable team
members to more reliably share, combine, review,
and correct detailed 3D design models of any size or
format, Autodesk Navisworks solutions are at the
heart of your design workflow.
Autodesk Design Review
Accelerate your reviews with Autodesk®Design
Review software, the free*, integrated, all-digital
way to view, print, mark up, and compare versions of
drawings, maps, and models—without the original
design-creation software. For everyone in the
review chain, sharing and collaborating on designs
has never been this easy.
Design and Documentation
AutoCAD MEP
AutoCAD®MEP software is the AutoCAD®
software for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
designers and drafters. Creation and coordination
of construction documents is more ecient with
AutoCAD MEP’s more intuitive systems drawing
and design tools.
AutoCAD P&ID
Create, modify, and manage piping and
instrumentation diagrams with AutoCAD P&ID
software. Built on the latest AutoCAD®platform,
AutoCAD P&ID software is easy to use and familiar
to designers and engineers, so design teams can
start immediately with minimal training. Common
tasks performed every day are streamlined and
automated to boost productivity, while component
and line information is easily accessed by designers
as they work.
Autodesk Seek
Powerful, dynamic Autodesk®Seek web service
replaces bulky paper catalogs and static online
directories. Connect architects and engineers with
building product manufacturers. Enhance design
eciency. Streamline project workflows by reducing
the hassle of time-consuming searches or the need to
design a product or component for each new project.
Autodesk Buzzsaw
The Autodesk®Buzzsaw®on-demand collaborative
project management solution helps your organization
centralize building design and construction-
related documents, simplify communication, and
make collaboration smoother so you can execute
projects more successfully based on more accurate
information and timely decisions.

Learn More or Purchase
Access specialists worldwide who can provide product expertise, a deep
understanding of your industry, and value that extends beyond your software
purchase. To purchase AutoCAD MEP software contact an Autodesk Premier
Solutions Provider or Autodesk Authorized Reseller. Locate a reseller near you
at www.autodesk.com/reseller.
To learn more about Autodesk MEP engineering solutions, visit
www.autodesk.com/mep.
Autodesk Learning and Education
From instructor-led or self-paced classes to online training or education
resources, Autodesk oers learning solutions to fit your needs. Get expert
guidance at an Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC®) site, access learning
tools online or at your local bookstore, and validate your experience with
Autodesk certifications. Learn more at www.autodesk.com/learning.
Autodesk Services and Support
Accelerate return on investment and optimize productivity with innovative
purchase methods, companion products, consulting services, and
support from Autodesk and Autodesk authorized partners. Designed
to get you up to speed and keep you ahead of the competition, these
tools help you make the most of your software purchase. Learn more at
www.autodesk.com/servicesandsupport.
Autodesk Subscription
Get the benefits of increased productivity, predictable budgeting, and simplified
license management with Autodesk®Subscription. You get any new upgrades
of your Autodesk software and any incremental product enhancements,
if these are released during your Subscription term. In addition, you get
exclusive license terms available only to Subscription members. A range of
community resources, including web support direct from Autodesk technical
experts, self-paced training, and e-Learning, help extend your skills and make
Autodesk Subscription the best way to optimize your investment. Learn more at
www.autodesk.com/subscription.
*Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies
download of this software.
Autodesk, AutoCAD, ATC, Buzzsaw and Navisworks are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.,
and/or its subsidiaries and/or aliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names,
or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product oerings and
specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may
appear in this document. © 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. BR0A1-000000-MZ50
With AutoCAD MEP we’re able to make changes much
faster, helping to minimize the financial impact, and we
can make those changes in almost real time.”
—Tony Bouchard
Senior Vice President and Operations Manager
Consoer Townsend Envirodyne Engineers