Automated engineering and design using personal computers

The authors present an overview of certain CAD (computer-aided design) and CAE (computer-aided engineering) programs and the software application packages developed for use within Fluor Daniel, Inc. The application packages are based on point-of-entry data capture and use a relational database to share data for many different applications. Two application packages are discussed. The first, ILG (instrument loop generation), encompasses the full range of instruments, control systems, and associated wiring. It consists of a family of compiled dBASE III programs, and its purpose is to manipulate engineering data. ILG readily accepts changes throughout the design cycle. The second package, the master application software package, is similar to ILG, except that it interfaces directly with AutoCAD and transfers data between drawings and databases. Whereas ILG handles only data related to instrumentation the master application package handles data related to all aspects of the plant.