In April 2023, Bentley made the decision to end support and remove AutoPIPE Nozzle from the general AutoPIPE download. The below Q&A provides an overview of this change.
AutoPIPE Nozzle is no longer bundled with the following installers of:
Technical support for AutoPIPE Nozzle will be limited.
If you choose to upgrade to AutoPIPE 2023 or later, then you will not be able to access AutoPIPE Nozzle from your Bentley product portal or install it on your machines. Existing copies of AutoPIPE Nozzle will continue to run, provided you have a valid AutoPIPE Advanced or Nuclear license as part of your entitlements.
This change is driven by heightened security over which Bentley products can be released to the market. Specifically, security protocols no longer support the release of 32-bit software applications and applications built using older compilers. AutoPIPE Nozzle was compiled using Visual Basic 6.0 IDE, which Microsoft discontinued support for in April 2008, and upgrading AutoPIPE Nozzle to a newer compiler was not feasible.
Existing copies of AutoPIPE Nozzle will continue to run, provided that a valid AutoPIPE Advanced or Nuclear License is a part of your entitlements.
Do you have an AutoPIPE Advanced or Nuclear License:
If no, then you should stop here. To use AutoPIPE Nozzle, you must have a license for AutoPIPE Advanced or Nuclear.
If yes, you should continue to one of the below scenarios.
| Scenario #1: Upgrading from AutoPIPE Connect to AutoPIPE Yearly (ex. 2023..) |
In this case, AutoPIPE Nozzle should already be installed and operational with your AutoPIPE CONNECT edition. All that is required is to install the most recent version of AutoPIPE Yearly (e.g., 2023 or higher). AutoPIPE Yearly will communicate with AutoPIPE Nozzle as with previous versions of AutoPIPE.
Again, if you have entitlements to AutoPIPE Advanced or Nuclear, then AutoPIPE Nozzle is already installed and will continue to function when opened. There is no need to install AutoPIPE Nozzle software again.
| Scenario #2: New installation of AutoPIPE Yearly (ex. 2023..) |
If a previous version of AutoPIPE or AutoPIPE Nozzle has never been installed and you are now installing AutoPIPE Yearly edition, you should follow these directions:
Note: After reading the information at the top of this WIKI, please note that Bentley now has a strict internal procedure for processing requests of outdated software. This process in no way guarantees the application will be made available to the requestor.
If no, please check back as more information will be released and posted here on the WIKI.
If yes, a link will be sent for the requestor to download and install the outdated software to be used with AutoPIPE Advanced or AutoPIPE Nuclear entitlements.
Bentley is aware of the importance of nozzle and piping stress analysis and is working on a new solution to replace the functionality provided by AutoPIPE Nozzle. The new solution will be compatible with the latest security standards and will offer enhanced features and performance.
More information about the new solution will be released and posted on the Bentley website and Communities as soon as it is available. You are encouraged to check back regularly for updates and announcements.
In the meantime, if you need to perform nozzle and piping stress analysis, then you can continue to use your existing copies of AutoPIPE Nozzle or use other third-party software applications that support the required standards. You can also contact Bentley technical support for assistance and guidance on how to perform nozzle and piping stress analysis using AutoPIPE or other Bentley products.
Please note that there will be no further development of AutoPIPE Nozzle, and technical support will be limited. You are advised to log any defects and feature requests using Bentley Cases and IDEAs during the development of the new solution.
If you have any questions or issues regarding AutoPIPE Nozzle or AutoPIPE, you can contact Bentley technical support using the following methods:
Bentley technical support is available 24/7 and is committed to providing you with the best possible service and solutions.