Enhancing AutoCAD Plant 3D: How Autodesk's Custom Plug-in Transformed Artelia's Design Process

French engineering firm Artelia faced a challenge in generating secondary supports assembly drawings from AutoCAD Plant 3D software. The default AutoCAD Plant 3D settings were time consuming, and the competitor's solution was costly. Autodesk Consulting developed a new AutoCAD Plant 3D plug-in, leading to a 75% time reduction across Artelia projects, potentially saving approximately 208 days in the first year alone. The plug-in offers a variety of features. It automatically generates orientations and position views in a drawing, which streamlines the design process. It includes auto-annotation of views, making documentation more efficient. The addition of a bill of materials (BOM) and a new graphical user interface further improves user friendliness and functionality. The solution currently works with secondary supports and is beneficial for all AutoCAD Plant 3D users who use orthographic drawings. It can potentially be scaled up to include support for all objects and drawings, and for drawings with auto-dimensioning capabilities.