MPDS4
MPDS, (since 2006 MPDS4 ) is a software package for the 2 - and 3-dimensional planning and construction of large plants and factories. The software is developed and distributed by the company CAD Schroer. The current version 5.2.1 was released in February 2014 for the operating systems Windows, and Solaris.
History
In 1977 the British computer scientists Dick Newell co-founded the company Tom Sancha Cambridge Interactive Systems (CIS ), the first primarily devoted to the development of a 2D CAD system. CABLOS was a CAD solution for the design of electrical cable systems, which was inserted first in 1979 by the company Dowty Engineering. The first person in Germany was BMW, who used CABLOS for the planning of car electronics. Soon CABLOS was marketed under the name MEDUSA and known worldwide. During this period, the development of a proprietary 3D modeling core for MEDUSA began.
In 1980, CIS partnered with Prime Computer, a US-based manufacturer of computer hardware. Prime got access to the source code MEDUSA, the success of CIS should fail. In 1983, CIS was taken over by computer vision.
With the acquisition of CIS Computer Vision launched the development of the MEDUSA Plant Design System ( MPDS ), the first plant software that was based on a relational database. The developers knew from their previous experience with the systems previously available file - based and macro - controlled, that the next generation of plant systems should be based on a relational database to manage the enormous volume of data and the complex relationships between the components can. Had it in the mechanical CAD usually with machinery to do with a few thousand items, hundreds of thousands of components were typical in plant construction. In order to implement this new approach, object-oriented programming language Bacis2 and the native relational database MDB were developed. For the generation of 2D and 3D geometry data for plant design was decided upon existing MEDUSA technology. This new approach resulted in a completely data-centric approach, which separates the representation of a system from the underlying database, facilitating the planning of very large systems was made possible in a system.
In 1988 MPDS reached the market and was the first customer NEI Parsons ( Northern Engineering Industries, later taken over by Rolls Royce Industrial Power Group ) delivered. Another was the launch customer Courtaulds Engineering, who had already MEDUSA in use. In the same year, Prime Computer took over the competitors computer vision and gave his CAD field the name Prime Computer Vision, as the future direction of both companies was software development. The marketing of own super minicomputer was still several years in parallel continue to do so. The development of MEDUSA and MPDS was advanced in the 1990s in Cambridge.
In 1993, the next version of MEDUSA and MPDS has been published. The version 13 was released under MEDUSA NG ( Next Generation) and MPDS NG. In this version, the change from the tray operation was completed on the graphic surface. In addition, there was a re- porting to Windows.
In 1994, the branch of computer vision in Cambridge was closed and moved to Natick in Boston, where the company headquarters was. As a result, five of the Computer Vision staff and MEDUSA specialists founded the company Quintic Ltd in Cambridge. This company is now working as a service provider for computer vision and supported the development of MEDUSA and MPDS.
In 1998, the American CAD vendors Parametric Technology Corporation took over ( PTC), the company computer vision to (today windchill ) to gain the rights to the data management system Optegra. The development partnership MEDUSA and MPDS between Quintic and computer vision was thus transferred to the PTC.
One of the biggest MEDUSA and MPDS user groups was in Germany. CAD Schroer GmbH, which was founded as an engineering service provider in 1986, a German company, was founded in 1992 to a MEDUSA and MDPS providers and developed in the following years a close partnership with computer vision. In 2001, CAD Schroer took over all rights to MEDUSA and MPDS of PTC. As a development partner worked together CAD Schroer and Quintic, to promote the development of the fourth generation of MEDUSA and MPDS. This included a complete revision of the functional scope, developing a new user interface ( GUI) on QT - based, the possibility of data exchange with other systems and to port it to Linux.
In 2005, CAD Schroer took over the development partners Quintic and thus ensured the development know- how for MPDS, that goes up to the early days of CIS and Prime Computer.
In 2006 published CAD Schroer MPDS4, the fourth generation of MPDS. The company since expanded the functionality of the software, for example, the 3D factory design based on 2D drawings ( FACTORY LAYOUT ).
Description
MPDS ( MEDUSA Plant Design System ) was originally developed for the design of equipment and piping systems. Today, the software also includes modules for 2D/3D factory planning, production of P & ID flow diagrams (P & ID), planning of material handling systems, steel structures, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems, cable trays or fixing systems.
Database Architecture
The planning and construction in MPDS is based on a database. This can be applied centrally or project- specific, and includes a component catalog and all the components assigned attributes. This controls both the representation and the user management in the MPDS and allows connection of the software to other database- based systems (ERP).
Representation
The representation of the loaded components MPDs catalog is based on the respective components of the assigned attributes. Through this model-independent 3D display very large plants and factories can be displayed and edited completely. The system supports different levels of detail, as its components may be shown as only the space required to Kollisionskonrolle room detail, simplistic or.
User Management
By using the user administration different users can be created and managed in MPDS. These users can be assigned different privileges that allow access to a specific area of a facility or on a specific module. Is supported by the integrated user management version and Änderrungsmanagement.
Quality Management
MPDS4 includes a hard and soft collision check. This can be done either for the whole project, between systems or between selected components. A consistency check allows the monitoring of compliance with established design guidelines. The tests may be issued in the form of a customizable report. The built-in components may be issued in the form of parts lists.
Modules
MPDS forms the base of the plant and factory planning system and can be expanded to different modules.
Supported Operating Systems
MPDS4 supported in version 5.2.1, the operating system Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 3), Professional 7, 8 and 8.1 Pro. In addition, the software supports the Sun Solaris operating system 10