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Irrigation Design Features for RainCAD X Series
DesignCAD Edition
RainCAD™ X Series1.0 |
RainCAD™ X Series 8.0 |
Irricalc |
Photoscapes |
FAQ
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RainCAD™ IX and RainCAD™ SX include the tools
necessary to complete an irrigation design including
sprinkler placement, zoning, piping, pipe sizing,
hydraulic calculations and more.
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Sprinkler Placement
There are three methods of sprinkler placement in
RainCAD™ IX and RainCAD™ SX. You may place
sprinklers manually on the screen, automatically within
a boundary line or automatically along an existing line
or curve or a temporary line on the drawing screen.
Show Equipment
The Show Equipment feature will allow you to limit the
number of sprinkler nozzles available for selection in
either Manual Placement or Along a Line or Curve.
Sprinkler manufacturers provide a wide variety of
nozzle selections to accommodate virtually any
situation. Therefore, the choice of nozzles may become
overwhelming. In some instances, you may want to limit
the number of nozzle choices to those nozzles you use
on a regular basis to speed up the selection process.
For this feature to work properly, you must first
adjust the Visible in Sprinkler Placement setting for
each nozzle in the Sprinklers Database.
 Manual
Manual sprinkler placement allows you to select a
sprinkler from a database of nozzle selections. The
sprinkler will appear on the design screen and you may
immediately move it to the desired location. When you
place the symbol on the screen, you can set a second
point to rotate the symbol in the correct direction.
You will see the symbol during the entire process
allowing you to accurately place the sprinkler.
Within
a Boundary
You can place sprinklers automatically within a
boundary line using a “palette” of nozzles. Since
irrigation equipment manufacturers have so many
different nozzle selections, it is necessary to group
these selections into smaller subgroups for automatic
placement. We call these subgroups sprinkler palettes.
Simply select a palette and click on a boundary
line. The sprinklers will be placed within the
boundary based on their radius of throw and arc
pattern assignment.
Along
a Line or Curve
To place sprinkler symbols along a line or curve,
simply select the nozzle from the database and click
on the line or curve on the design screen. You may
accept the calculated spacing to evenly space the
sprinklers along the line, or you may enter an exact
spacing requirement. Set a second point to determine
the direction the sprinklers will face and the program
will draw the sprinkler symbols.
Water Source
RainCAD™ IX and RainCAD™ SX allow for an unlimited
number of water sources per design. A water source can
be a pump station or water meter. The database comes
with water meters from 5/8” up to 6” in size.
 Water
Meters
When placing a water meter on the design, you can
select the size of the meter and enter the available
static pressure at the meter location. You can select
the type of service line pipe, enter the length of the
service line and the change in elevation from the main
to the meter location. The program will recommend the
flow through the meter and calculate the available
working pressure.
Pump
Stations
When placing a pump station, you can enter the
available flow and pressure provided by the pump. You
can also enter the pricing information and labor for
installation to include in the estimating portion of
the software.
Additional Irrigation Symbols
You may place additional symbols on the design for
irrigation equipment. Each device will be counted in the
material takeoff or estimate/proposal.
Backflow Devices, Control Valves, Controllers,
Quick Couplers, Isolation Valves and Accessories
Simply select a category from the menus, choose a
device from the database selections and place the
symbol on the design screen. You will see each symbol
as it appears on the screen. You can set a second
point to rotate the symbol in the desired direction.
Pipe Placement
You may place pipe on the drawing using either manual or
automatic features. You can also break pipe at
intersections and draw pipe hops using the Modify Pipe
commands.
Manual
When drawing pipe, you can leave the pipe unsized or
you can draw the pipe in a category and size. To draw
pipe, simply set two or more points on the design
screen and press Enter.
Auto Snap Pipe to Symbols 
The Auto Snap Pipe to Symbols feature will assist in
connecting the pipe to irrigation symbols. If the
Auto Snap Pipe to Symbols feature is enabled, the
software will automatically connect the pipe to the
closest irrigation symbol based on the Pipe Snap
Distance setting.
Automatic
RainCAD™ IX and RainCAD™ SX can draw lateral line
pipe automatically. Simply select the zones to pipe
and set the desired angle for the pipe. You can pipe a
single zone at a time, or select multiple zones for
piping. You can adjust the pipe by setting the lateral
line row variance and the minimum length for lateral
line branches.
Modify
Pipe
After drawing pipe manually, simply select the water
source and zone number from the drop down menus and
the program will automatically break the lateral line
pipe at any intersection to ensure that the pipe may
be sized correctly.
You can draw pipe hops by simply selecting the pipe to
make the hop, set a point at the intersection of the
two pieces of pipe, and set a final point in the
direction for the hop to appear.
Wire/Cable
You may draw wire or cable on the design by simply
selecting the cable size and setting two or points on
the screen.
Sleeving
Draw a sleeving symbol by selecting the pipe category
and size and setting three points on the design screen.
Valve
Notations
There are three different valve notation symbols from
which to choose. Simply select a symbol and the zone
number. The symbol will appear on the screen complete
with the zone number, the control valve size and the
flow of the zone.
Installation Details
The program includes product installation details from
several different manufacturers. You may add details to
the database, or edit any of the details included with
the program.
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Total
Flow
Quickly calculate the flow of all sprinklers on the
design screen. The command will break the flow into the
categories of sprinklers such as turf sprays, shrub
sprays, turf rotors and shrub rotors. If a single water
source exists, the command will recommend the number of
zones and the recommended flow per zone for each
category of sprinklers.
Water Source / Zone Assignments
The Water Source/Zone Assignment command will allow you
to assign a water source and zone number to the selected
sprinkler symbols or control valves. You may also assign
a backflow device or master valve to a water source. You
may add or remove sprinkler symbols, control valves,
backflow devices, or master valves to or from their
assignments.
Assignments
Assign a zone number to the selected sprinkler or
control valve symbols. You may also assign a backflow
device or master valve to a water source. You may add
or remove sprinkler symbols, control valves, backflow
devices, or master valves to or from their
assignments. In addition, you may use the command to
simply total the flow of the selected sprinkler
symbols. The command displays the total flow of all
sprinklers assigned to a zone in the dialog box. If
the flow exceeds the recommended flow through the
water source, the flow will be displayed in red as a
warning.
Reassignment
There may be times when a zone is removed from a
design or a new zone is inserted into a design and the
remaining zone assignments must be adjusted
accordingly. The Reassignment command will allow you
to change the zone assignment of the sprinkler or
control valve symbols.
Automatic Pipe Sizing
Automatically sizes lateral line and mainline pipe.
Lateral
Line Pipe
You may quickly size all lateral line pipe on the
design at one time or you may select specific zones to
size.
Pipe
Viewer
This feature more clearly identifies pipe that
cannot be sized during the automatic pipe sizing
process. You may click on each individual piece of
pipe in the error list and have it clearly marked in
the viewer. You may zoom in, zoom out, zoom the
entire zone(s), or pan the drawing within the
viewer.
Mainline
Pipe
Size all mainline pipe within the selected water
source from the furthest control valve back to the
water source location.
The
command now automatically detects any mainline loop
piping network and sizes the pipe based on the Hardy
Cross method of balancing flows and pressure loss.
In addition, the command now allows for single valve
operation or multiple control valves operating at
one time.
Pipe
Network Data Viewer
Allows you to select a piece of pipe on the screen
and view more detailed information such as the size,
length, flow, velocity, and pressure loss. Arrows
indicate the direction of flow in looped networks.
You can export the data to an HTML file for printing
or inclusion in another software program.
Options
You may set the desired velocity in the pipe and a
percent pressure variance in the lateral line zone.
You may turn off any pipe size you do not want to use
in the sizing process. For example, if you do not use
1/2" or 1 1/4" pipe, you can turn them off
and the program will disregard these sizes. Pipe may
be color coded by zone, or you may color the pipe
based on the color setting in the Pipe database.
Symbol
Elevation Adjustment
The Symbol Elevation Adjustment command will allow you
to assign elevation to water source, control valve, and
sprinkler symbols. This elevation change will be
accounted for when calculating the system hydraulics.
Hydraulics
Simply select a water source and zone number or run set
and click on the OK button generate the system
hydraulics. The hydraulic calculations include the
pressure loss through the service line, water meter,
backflow device, mainline, control valve and the lateral
lines. In addition, they include the pressure required
at the sprinkler.
Hydraulics
Viewer
Allows you to select an object on the screen and view
more detailed information on the equipment such as the
size, length, flow, velocity, and pressure loss in an
individual piece of pipe. You can export the
information to an HTML file for printing or inclusion
in other software programs.
Precipitation
Rates
You can quickly calculate the precipitation rate of any
area. Simply select a formula from the drop down menu
and enter the required data.
Distribution
Creates a densogram of the selected sprinkler zones
displaying the coverage. Drag the mouse around the
entire display to see the actual application rate at any
point in the sprinkler layout. The command will allow
you to calculate the distribution of a single zone,
multiple zones, or the entire project. The command reads
the sprinkler layout from the design with no
restrictions on sprinkler placement.
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Preferences
The Preferences command will allow you to enter specific
information to avoid the repetitive input of data.
General
Select the units of measurement for the design in
either US Units or Metric Units. You may select a
scale factor to increase or decrease the size of the
symbols when they first appear on the design. In
addition, you may select the desired flow format in
either gallons per minute, liters per second, liters
per minute or cubic meters per hour.
You
can now enter label sizes to increase or decrease
the Zone Assignment numbers associated with
sprinkler symbols and other irrigation equipment.
Pipe
Set the scale (the distance between the dashes) for
the mainline pipe. You can also set the text size,
offset from the pipe, and the color for pipe size
labels. You can set the color in which pipe will be
drawn for each zone when sizing pipe automatically
using the Automatic Color Code Zones feature.
Sprinklers
The Sprinklers Preferences will display the layers on
which sprinkler symbols and arc patterns are drawn.
You can set the line type and the color for the
sprinkler arc patterns.
You
can now adjust the Arc Pattern Line Width and the
Arc Pattern Line Scale making the wetting pattern
for each sprinkler more visible on large drawings.
The program now allows for setting adjustments to
the new category of Golf equipment.
Pipe
Lengths by Category
Quickly calculate the total length of pipe on the design
and separate it into categories. It will also break the
lengths out into lateral line and mainline pipe.
Properties
The Properties dialog box will allow you to adjust the
properties of the selected sprinkler symbol. You can
adjust the radius of the throw, the arc pattern, or the
sprinkler body assignment. In addition, you can replace
a sprinkler with a new selection. For example, you can
select a 15 foot sprinkler from one manufacturer and
replace it with a 15 foot sprinkler from another
manufacturer. Simply make the desired selections in the
dialog box and click on the Apply button.
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The databases of irrigation equipment include Hunter,
Irritrol Systems, Nelson, Rain Bird, Toro and
Weathermatic. In most of the database commands, you can
enter the List Price for the equipment, the Discount
Rate received from a supplier and the Labor Rate
required for installation of the product. In addition,
you can assign the equipment to an Equipment Code to
allow for the quick adjustment of items such as the list
price and more. In addition, you can enter a Part Number
and select a Supplier Code and Tied Assembly.
All of the irrigation databases are now stored in a
Microsoft Access format for increased stability.
Sprinklers
You may add an unlimited number of manufacturers and
sprinklers to the existing database, or you may edit any
of the current equipment listings. You may assign a
symbol to each nozzle from more than 200 current symbol
selections or you may create your own symbols. You may
assign a color for each nozzle and an arc pattern
displaying the wetting pattern. Each nozzle includes the
manufacturers performance data of pressure, flow and
radius.
The
Sprinklers database now includes Golf equipment from
most of the major manufacturers including
valve-in-head sprinklers.
View in Sprinkler Placement
To limit the nozzle selections shown in the Sprinkler
Placement command, disable the View in Sprinkler
Placement check box by clicking on the selection until
the checkmark no longer appears in the box.
Sprinkler
Bodies
Each sprinkler nozzle may be assigned to a body. You may
place the same nozzle on a design and have it installed
on more than one body. For example, you may place a Rain
Bird nozzle on an 1804-PRS body in some instances and on
an 1804-SAM-PRS in other instances.
Sprinkler
Palette Assignments
Each manufacturer has literally hundreds of different
sprinkler nozzle selections. When placing sprinklers
automatically within a boundary line, you will only need
to make use of a few nozzle selections. Just as an
artist has millions of colors to choose from when he
begins a painting, he only makes use of a few colors
that he places on his palette. A sprinkler palette is
similar to an artists color palette.
A Sprinkler Palette is a group of sprinklers to use in a
particular situation. For example, you may create a
palette of nozzles consisting of only 15 foot sprays. In
addition, you may have another palette consisting of 8
foot or 10 foot nozzles. You may create separate
palettes for turf sprays, shrub sprays, turf rotors and
shrub rotors. You may create as many sprinkler palettes
as required for each manufacturer and each sprinkler
category. In addition, you may assign each sprinkler to
one or more sprinkler palettes.
Meters, Backflow Devices, Control Valves
These databases include equipment from most major
manufacturers. The Water Meter database includes meters
from 5/8” up to 6” in size. Each entry includes
performance data including the flow and pressure loss.
You may edit any of the information or enter an
unlimited number of new devices.
Controllers, Quick Couplers, Isolation Valves,
Accessories
These databases include equipment from most major
manufacturers. You may edit any of the information or
enter an unlimited number of new devices.
Pipe
This database includes 17 different categories of pipe
in both English and Metric Units of measurement. The
categories include poly, PVC, copper and galvanized.
Pipe sizes range from 1/2” to 12” in size. You may
edit the information in any of these categories. In
addition, there are 13 custom categories available for
use. You may add an unlimited number of pipe sizes to
each category.
Pipe
Fittings
This database includes pipe fittings of all sizes. You
can enter the inlet and outlet size and type. Although
this version of the software does not include fittings
in the material list, the feature is planned for a
future release.
Drip
Tubing
The Drip Tubing Database allows you to create a database
of inline emitter tubing selections based on the chosen
manufacturer.
Wire/Cable
This database includes wire from 00 to 18 gauge. You may
add an unlimited number of additional wire sizes.
Tied
Assemblies and Supplies
A Tied Assembly is the combination of supplies that are
associated with the installation of a single piece of
equipment. Tied assemblies can be built for sprinkler
bodies, controllers, backflow devices, control valves
and more. For example, a tied assembly for a one inch
control valve may consist of two 1" PVC (MIPT x
Slip) fittings, two waterproof wire connectors, one
10" round valve box and one cubic foot of pea
gravel. Each assembly may be assigned to one or more
pieces of equipment in the database selections. All of
the product in an assembly is counted in the
Material/Estimate command.
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There are hundreds of symbols included in the program.
There are 202 different symbols to represent sprinklers.
You may assign any of these symbols to one or more
sprinklers in the database. You may create your own
symbols or edit any of the symbols included in the
program.
In addition to sprinkler symbols, there are symbols for
control valves, controllers, quick couplers and more.
There are more than 100 different installation details
as well as symbols to represent furniture, rocks,
boulders, automobiles and more.
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