This article describes the steps and settings that impact publishing CAMduct/ESTmep job files to Stratus and importing specific data back into the CAMduct/ESTmep job. The Stratus Addin is required to publish and import.

Note: The CAMduct/ESTmep Addin is a premium feature. To enable it for your company, request access through your GTP Sales Team.

Stratus Academy Course Video

To take publish related courses, login to Stratus Academy and locate the following courses:

ADM-500: Publishing Settings Revit and CAD
VDC-401: Stratus Addin Installation
VDC-407: CAMduct / ESTmep Publishing

CAMduct/ESTmep Publish Use Cases

The Stratus CAMduct/ESTmep Publisher is designed to bring fabrication content directly from Autodesk CAMduct and ESTmep into Stratus as fabrication ready .MAJs to allow streamlined shop management, status tracking and reporting alongside other Stratus fabrication packages.

There are two common workflows:

Import non-modeled (field ordered) fabrication requests to Stratus. Many sheet metal shops receive field orders and orders from outside customers on paper, PDFs, and other non-modeled input forms which are input to CAMduct for fabrication. With the Stratus CAMduct/ESTmep Publisher, these parts can be published directly into Stratus as .MAJ files where they can be tracked, managed and statused alongside other fabrication in the shop. As an added benefit, quantities can be handled within this workflow - so a single piece in CAMduct can be published with a manufacturing quantity greater than one for creating assemblies, reporting, percent complete tracking, and analytics.
Adjust modeled content in CAMduct and republish. Often, sheet metal content published from Revit to Stratus needs additional modification in CAMduct before it is ready for fabrication. In this case, the Revit to Stratus publish creates the initial .MAJ file in Stratus. This .MAJ can then opened and edited in CAMduct and then using the Stratus CAMduct/ESTmep Publisher - republished to Stratus. Note: In this case, the original .MAJ package still exists in Stratus and is not deleted or modified resulting in 2 packages in Stratus for the same part. The most common workflow here is to publish the new .MAJ file from CAMduct to a new Stratus model that collects the “as manufactured” MAJs. In this case, the original Revit .MAJs live in one model which is “as designed” and the modified .MAJs from CAMduct live in a new model which is as manufactured. Both models can than be used for reporting and even calculation of differences between design and manufactured.

Details on how this Publisher works in both CAMduct and ESTmep are included below.

CAMduct/ESTmep Publish and Import (General Steps)

The CAMduct/ESTmep Addin can be used to publish CAMduct/ESTmep models or packages.

Publish a MAJ Model

Before publishing, your Stratus administrator can configure publish settings.
Desktop installer includes Stratus Addin for CAMduct and ESTmep in versions 2021 or later.
Open CAMduct or ESTmep.
Select the Fabrication Database Configuration.
1. Note: Make sure the latest Fabrication database has been uploaded to Lightning (required for publishing as a package).
Under Actions, select Create Blank Job or Open Job (If MAJ file already exists).
1. Note: Users can open Fabrication REJ (Remote Entry Job) files and publish using CAMduct.
When opening each application, the GTP Stratus palette ribbon menu Add-Ins will display as follows:
1. CAMduct
2. ESTmep (Has two locations: In the top dropdown Add-Ins, and underneath Add-Ins ribbon.
  1. Dropdown.
  2. Ribbon.
Once parts are added to MAJ and Job is saved with filename to be used as model or package name.
Click Stratus Publish on the Add-Ins.
Login to Stratus and Autodesk.
1. Stratus Login - If a user attempts to publish but is not signed in to Stratus, a prompt similar to the following will display. The user will enter their credentials.
  1. If the model was previously published but has been deleted in Stratus, the following prompt "Model Not Found in Stratus" will display.
    1. Publish as New Model - Click Publish as New Model to proceed.
    2. Cancel Publish - Click Cancel Publish to stop the publish or to review the model.
The Publish dialog will display:
1. User - The user who is publishing the model.
2. Model - The Model name (the MAJ filename).
3. Company - Select a Company from a list of the logged-in user permitted Companies.
  1. Note: If CAM/EST publishing has not been enabled for the company, a message will appear and prevent publishing.
4. Project - Select a Project from a list of the logged-in user permitted Projects.
  1. Note: See the Configure BIM 360 Publish Folder Path section for more information on configuring the project's BIM 360 Publish Folder Path.
Click the Publish button and the following will occur:
1. Publish Activity.
2. Locked Model - For anyone working within Stratus on a project based on the model being published, the Parts and Assemblies will be locked and view only.
  1. Below is a summary of features that are "Locked" and "Not Locked".
    1. Locked Options
      1. Create New Assembly.
      2. Add/Remove Parts To/From and Assembly.
      3. Edit/Rename Assembly.
    2. Not Locked Options
      1. Packages – Parts and Assemblies can be added to or removed from a Package.
      2. Tracking Status – The Tracking Status of any item (Part, Assembly, Package) can be changed.
      3. Cut Lists – Cut lists can be created and processed.
      4. Reports – Reports can be used and edited.
      5. Categories – Categories can be used and edited.
      6. Filters – Filters can be used and edited.
      7. Part Templates – Part Templates can be edited.
      8. Attachments – Attachments can be used and edited.
  2. When a model is being published and the model is “Locked”, users will notice the following:
    1. The Models > Viewer canvas is highlighted in red and the lock icon displays next to the model name.
    2. The Assemblies > Viewer canvas is highlighted in red and the lock icon displays next to the model name.
    3. In the Models > Viewer, the Create Assembly and Add/Remove Parts To/From and Assembly buttons are disabled.
    4. The Assemblies > Dashboard buttons to Edit or Delete an assembly item are disabled.
3. BIM 360 - The model will be published to your BIM 360 project as a DWG file. Although this is just a placeholder empty DWG required by Stratus. In BIM 360 the published model file is automatically organized under Project Files > Model Name > Stratus > with the authoring tool abbreviation DWG.
4. Republish is not allowed - While a model is being published, a second publish of the same model cannot be started. A message similar to the following will display:
  If you believe you’ve reached this message in error, please contact GTP Software Help Desk for support.
Close button enabled - When the Stratus Addin completes the publishing process, the Close button is enabled and the elapsed time displays.
1. Close indicates that the model and related data files have been uploaded to Stratus and the BIM 360 folder.
2. The model cannot be viewed in Stratus until the Autodesk translation completes.
3. If an existing version of the model or drawing exists, the Stratus publish will overwrite the file with a new version of the file. Stratus always references the most recently published version of any file it displays, assuming it was published using Stratus. You can access older versions as needed.
4. Fabrication Extended Data will be extracted. See below for a list of Fabrication Extended Data.
Forge Translation - Behind the scenes, Autodesk will translate the file so that it can be viewed in the Autodesk Forge viewer (which is embedded in Stratus). The Models > Viewer page will display a message similar to the following until the Autodesk translation is complete. This step can take a few minutes to several hours depending on the size of the model.
Multiple Publishes - A model with the same name can be published multiple times to Stratus. Stratus operates on the most recent revision. Packages will be retained, as they reference unique CAD IDs that remain constant from one publish to the next.
Initial Tracking Status - After the initial publish to Stratus, the initial tracking status of all parts in the model will be set to Design or the #1 tracking status configured under Admin > Company > Tracking Statuses. Subsequent publishes will retain the Stratus tracking status.
Model Publish Notification - After a model is published, the person who published the model will receive an automated email notification similar to the following that indicates the publish completed or failed.
Republish Model - After a model is published, if the Publish is clicked, Stratus will determine if data needs to be imported. If so, the import will begin automatically. If there are import conflicts based on company or project settings (see the Settings (Admin) article for more information), the user will receive prompts to resolve issues. Once data is imported the publish process will continue. An import is required when a model in Stratus has new assemblies or packages, or parts have been moved from one assembly or package to another, or when a tracking status has changed. For CAMduct and ESTmep, it is assumed Stratus is Always Right when it comes to import data.

Publish a MAJ Package

Before publishing, your Stratus administrator must configure publish settings.
To enable publishing MAJ file packages:
1. Publish a placeholder model - Publish a placeholder model to Stratus using AutoCAD or Revit prior to publishing MAJ files as packages to a specific Project.
2. Publish Packages - Once the placeholder model is published, under Models > Dashboard, select the Project and then check the Publish Packages checkbox associated with the placeholder model (above).
3. Tooltip: Use Model only to Publish Packages from CAMduct, ESTmep, Field Orderz, and PypeServer.
4. Note: Only 1 model can be designated to publish packages.
  1. User will need to to uncheck the current selection, if they desire to select another model as a placeholder to publish a package.
Open CAMduct or ESTmep.
Select Fabrication Database Configuration.
Note: the Fabrication database MUST be uploaded to Stratus using Lightning, prior to publishing MAJ files as Packages.
Under Actions, select Create Blank Job or Open Job (if MAJ file already exists).
When opening each application, the GTP Stratus palette ribbon menu add-in will display as follows:
1. CAMduct.
2. ESTmep (Has two locations: In the top dropdown Add-Ins, and underneath Add-Ins ribbon.
  1. Dropdown.
  2. Ribbon.
Once parts are added to MAJ and job file is saved, click the Stratus Publish button on the Add-Ins.
Login to Stratus and Autodesk.
1. Stratus Login - If a user attempts to publish but is not signed in to Stratus, the following prompt will display. The user will enter their credentials.
  1. If the model has not been previously published, the following prompt "Model Not Found in Stratus" will display.
    1. Publish as New Model - Click Publish as New Model to proceed.
    2. Cancel Publish - Click Cancel Publish to stop the publish or to review the model.
The Publish dialog will display:
1. User - The user who is publishing the model.
2. Model - Only models that are checked for Publish Packages in the Models>Dashboard will be available.
3. Company - Select a Company from a list of the logged-in users permitted Companies.
  1. NOTE: If publishing from CAMduct and ESTmep has not been enabled for the company, this message will appear and prevent publishing.
4. Project - Select a Project from a list of the logged-in users permitted Projects.
  1. Note: See the Configure BIM 360 Publish Folder Path section for more information on configuring the project's BIM 360 Publish Folder Path.
5. Package - Check box to indicate user wants to publish MAJ file as a Package to Stratus.
6. Name - Package Name (Job filename).
7. Number - Manually input data for package number.
  1. Note: If kept empty, Stratus will assign package number per naming and numbering rules. Also, the package Number must be unique across all packages associated with this model. Publish will fail if Number is not unique or empty.
8. Category - set to Default. This aligns with the packages categories created from Admin>Company>Package Categories and may be specified prior to publish.
9. Description - Manually input data for package description.
Click the Publish button and the following will occur:
1. Publish Activity.
Final result in Stratus, Packages>Dashboard.

Import

Click on Add-Ins.
Select Stratus Import.
Initiate import data - The Initiating Stratus requests to generate import data dialog will display.
Click OK to begin the import generation and then wait.
Receive import data - After a minute, the Received Stratus import data dialog displays. This message indicates that the file generation has finished.
Click OK to complete the import and then wait.
Once done the Successfully imported data from Stratus message will display. Click OK.

AutoCAD Publish Considerations

Settings

Your Stratus administrator can configure settings that will impact the process and data synchronization of the publish and import process including the Assembly Conflict settings Stratus is always right or AutoCAD is always right. See the Settings article for more information.

Property Mapping Settings

Settings Specific to CAMduct, ESTmep, and MAJ are located under Admin > Company > Settings.

Property for Model Stamp (Required): The Model Stamp is the model’s unique id and Is created when published to Stratus.

Property for Project Number: Value is set from a specific project number on Project dashboard.

Property for Project Name: Value is set from a specific project name on Project dashboard.

Checkbox "Include Project Number Prefix with Name": Value is set from a specific project, Name Override value on Project dashboard.

Property for Project Description: Value is set from a specific project description on Project dashboard.

Checkbox "Set Project Color": This is set from Admin>Company>Projects, the specific color for the project the user is actively working in.

The below properties apply when dealing with a "Package" in Stratus, either import into CAM for published package OR exporting MAJ for package from Stratus for CAD/Revit model package.

Property for Package Number: Value is set from a specific package number on Packages dashboard.

Property for Package Name: Value is set from a specific package name on Packages dashboard.

Checkbox "Include Package Number Prefix with Name": Value is set from combining the specific package number and name on the Packages dashboard.

Property for Package Description: Value is set from a specific package description on Packages dashboard.

Set Package Required Date: Value is set from a specific package required date on Packages dashboard.

Note: The above Properties refer to MAJ Job Property mappings for Package Details.

Updating CAMduct/ESTmep/MAJ Settings

In Admin>Company>Settings>AUTOcad/Revit/CAMduct/ESTmep, set specific property mapping locations from the drop-down for each property to be saved in CAMduct/ESTmep.
1. Note: If "None" is selected, no specific property information will be added to the Job Information for the MAJ.
2. Note: Property for Model Stamp is the only property that is required to have a property mapping.
3. Note: Only ONE property mapping can be applied at a time. If user attempts to same mapping for multiple properties, an error modal will appear after saving.
Click Save button at bottom of page.

Property mapping locations in CAMduct/ESTmep

Select a part
Click on job Information Tab
The drop-down options from Admin>Company>Settings, will appear in the following fields on the standard form:
1. CustomerPONumber: Customer PO Number.
  1. Note: this field is not on the standard form.
2. Description: Job Description Field.
  1. Note: this field is not on the standard form.
3. DescriptionField1: General tab, Field 1.
4. DescriptionField2: General tab, Field 2.
5. Notes: Project tab, Notes.
6. Project: Job Project.
  1. Note: this field is not on the stand form.
7. ProjectInfo: Project tab, Job Project Information.
8. Reference: General tab, Job Reference.
9. Required: General tab, Job date.
10. Note: If properties don’t appear on the standard form, users will have to create a custom form and add those mappings to the form.

Property for Model Stamp

Property for Model Stamp- Maps the Stratus CompanyId, ProjectId, ModelId, and PackageId. This information is used to prevent duplicate publishes of same model and store the Stratus link within the MAJ file.
1. Example: If the setting is put to ProjectInfo. Once the publish is complete, the user can click on Job Information on the top context bar in CAMduct, then navigate to Project, then look at the text box Job Project Information, and see the Stratus Model Stamp Information. Note: do not edit or delete this information.

Use Pattern Dimension Names (Coming with 7.3.1 Update)

Under Admin>Company>Settings>AutoCAD, Revit, CAMduct, and ESTmep: Dimension property names for each fabrication item can now be modified in Stratus. If checked, the fabrication item dimension properties will use the default Autodesk dimension names. If unchecked, the dimension names from the authoring software will be applied to the dimension part properties in Stratus.

Example: when the Use Pattern Dimension Names is turned ON, the default Autodesk Dimension will look like this:

Example: when the Use Pattern Dimension Names is turned OFF, the default Autodesk Dimension will look like this:

Scenarios

Publish Failures

CAMduct/ESTmep Addin Not Enabled for Company

If a user gets the below error message, this means their company has NOT been enabled to publish models or packages with CAMduct/ESTmep.
To enable publishing, users will need to contact their GTP sales representative.

Publish Packages Checkbox Not Configured for Placeholder Model

When a user attempts to publish a package, the Publish button is disabled and the Model list is empty. This occurs because a model in Stratus has not been designated for Publish Packages.
See the Publish a MAJ Package section for more information.

Error: The Specified Package Name or Number Has Already Been Used

When creating new packages, if the specified package name or number has already been used for the selected Model, the user will receive an error message.
1. Package Number example: In this example, the Package Number 123 has already been used, therefore the error message displays.
  1. The Packages > Dashboard displays the already existing Package Number 123.
2. In this example: the Package Name CAMduct_2022_Package_BV has already been used, therefore the error message displays.
  1. The Packages > Dashboard displays the already existing Package Name CAMduct_2022_Package_BV.

Cannot Republish a Model that is Checked for Publishing Packages

When a model is selected as a placeholder for package publishing, it cannot be republished.
An error modal will appear if there is an attempted republish.

Item Numbering and Dimensioning

Item numbering and dimensioning follow the same rules as normal Stratus models. Except, all of the same parts will get the same Item numbers, and users will have to use manual dimensioning for each part.

Handling of Assemblies

The spool property is referenced on the initial publish to create assemblies in Stratus. Afterward, Stratus is Always right is assumed. Updates to packages and assemblies on the Stratus side are imported and the spool property on items is updated. Assemblies are not currently supported when Item quantities exceed (1).

STRATUS Knowledge Base

CAMduct / ESTmep Publish and Import

Analytics