Methods and apparatuses for automatically selecting a pipe in a CAD drawing

A method for determining and drawing a pipe type for use within a section of piping within a CAD drawing, comprising the steps of:

• receiving from a user one or more parameters used by a drawing tool for determining one or more pipe types to use for one or more sections of piping within the CAD drawing;
• receiving from the user one or more override parameters for overriding through the drawing tool one or more properties associated with the pipe type;
• receiving from the user a location for the section of piping within the CAD drawing;
• receiving from the user a pipe diameter for the section of piping within the CAD drawing;
• allowing the user to draw the section of piping within the CAD drawing using the location and the pipe diameter, and without specifying a current pipe type for the section of piping within the CAD drawing;
• identifying through the drawing tool one or more additional parameters based on the location of the section of piping within the CAD drawing;
• determining through the drawing tool the pipe type among the one or more pipe types appropriate to apply to the section of piping within the CAD drawing, the determining of the diameter, the one or more parameters, the one or more additional parameters, and a set of predetermined pipe-interaction rules between the section of piping within the CAD drawing and another section of piping connecting to the section of piping within the CAD drawing;
• determining through the drawing tool if the one or more override parameters apply;
• altering through the drawing tool the one or more pipe properties associated with the pipe type based upon the one or more override parameters;
• and
• applying through the drawing tool the pipe type to the section of piping within the CAD drawing.