Maximizing Productivity with CADWorx Plant Design Suite version 24: Key Updates and Benefits

Hexagon’s Asset Lifecycle Intelligence division has announced the release of CADWorx® Plant Design Suite version 24, a complete solution suite for the next generation of plant design. This release includes various new features and updates, including compatibility with the latest CAD platforms, AutoCAD® 2025 and BricsCAD® v24.

With seamless integration, intelligent drawing tools and advanced piping rules, CADWorx Plant Design Suite empowers engineers and designers to work with greater accuracy and improved efficiency in design projects.

Starting with the Catalog Editor, a new find and replace option has been introduced to quickly locate items and then update entire selection sets as needed. This provides significant time savings, especially when catalogs contain data from multiple vendors.

Certain pipe support components can now include a minimum and maximum length – this helps to ensure that any pipe supports placed in the model match the manufacturer's catalogs.

New buttons have been included for commands such as ConvertEnhanced, ConvertfromPRJData, Generic, EnGeneric while other buttons have been reinstated, including ChangeSize and ChangeSpec.

Insulation is now modifiable on piping components. If the insulation does not cover the full length of the pipe, it’s simple to select the new insulation grip and adjust the length accordingly. Additionally, the insulation can now be reported using the Bill of Materials (BOM) commands. In seconds, an insulation BOM can be added to a layout, or it can be exported to a text, Excel, HTML, or Access file.

A new Sloped Router piping rule allows for a predefined slope to be set in the configuration, and the new Sloped Autoroute icon allows users to place piping with this slope set automatically. This increases both modeling speed and accuracy.

Custom data can now be mapped to Pipeline-Reference, which allows isometrics to be generated using selection sets based on the custom data values. The line number can still be exported for use but is otherwise completely replaced with the mapped custom data value.

The new ViewBox dialog now has isometric views available, which enable efficient layout drawings to be generated, even using scripts if required.  

Other features include:  

• Global Isogen Edit: Isogen data for multiple components can be globally edited  

• Configuration files can be loaded from a relative path 

• Importing rectangular vessels from PV Elite® 

• BOMs for structural plates now consider the whole layout, to assist in component tagging 

• Additional Navisworks property exports 

• Export HTML from CADWorx Design Review Professional 

The program is simple to learn and quick to use, making it a perfect choice for projects that require fast start-up and provide confidence in the models you design.

Chris Parkin, Senior Product Owner – CADWorx, said: “In the current fast-paced environment, customers encounter multiple challenges in design, engineering and integration. The release of CADWorx Plant Design Suite version 24 seeks to provide an improved CAD environment, tackling these challenges and equipping engineers with enhanced compatibility, stability and optimized workflow capabilities. Numerous, high-value features have been added based on customer feedback, ensuring the suite meets the evolving needs of users.”

Discover how you can optimize your workflows and reduce engineering design time on your projects with intelligent piping design capabilities found in the new modern and intuitive interface of CADWorx Plant Design Suite.

For a deeper dive into the functionalities and innovations packed in CADWorx Plant Design Suite version 24, Hexagon invites all to join the "What's New in CADWorx® Plant 24 - Ensuring Quality and Efficiency in Design Projects” webinar.