株式会社Arent has obtained a patent for automating weld-type determination and spool numbering for plant piping. The technology is used in ASPO Spool Manager, providing a function that allows weld types to be edited in 3D.
In piping construction for large-scale plants, spool drawings must be prepared by distinguishing between shop welds and field welds. However, the criteria for determining weld types vary by company, and changes can require spool numbers to be reassigned. This patent covers design support technology that assigns a weld type to each connection point and allows the weld type to be edited on a 3D screen.
The key features of the patent are managing the rules for assigning weld types based on whether they can be changed, and determining the starting point for numbering by narrowing down endpoints hierarchically. This is intended to ensure consistent assignment of spool and weld numbers, even for piping with complex branches.
The patent number is 7922896, and the title of the invention is Piping design support apparatus and piping design support method. The filing date is 28 May 2026, the registration date is 8 September 2026, and the rights holder is 株式会社Arent.
ASPO Spool Manager is an add-in for AutoCAD Plant 3D that manages spool splitting, numbering and weld information. It uses the patented technology to determine weld types and automatically assign spool and weld numbers.