PypeServer is a software company making Mechanical / Electrical / Plumbing (MEP) and Industrial projects more efficient. Our products streamline every phase of work:

1. add-ons for design software (Revit, AutoCAD, Inventor, SDS2, Tekla) that make it easy to select what to fabricate and guarantee that all the needed fabrication and labeling information is sent to the shop
2. cloud services that make it easy to get the data to your fabrication tools and track progress from design to fabrication and through installation
3. tool control software that efficiently nests, processes, labels, and updates status
4. a field app for any iOS or Android device that lets your field team scan labels to view sheets and update status as items are installed

Our philosophy is that project tracking software shouldn’t be complicated and expensive. Our products are affordable, powerful, and easy to use because we focus only on the most important functions people need and little else. We have over 300 satisfied customers and an excellent reputation for customer support.

We’re best known for our tool control software but PypeServer currently offers a complete suite of workflow products, including:

Our tool control software to nest, cut, label, and update status as parts are processed. These products include our Enterprise software for pipe profiling machines from Lincoln Electric (Vernon Tool), Lone Star Cutting Solutions, HGG, Machitech, and pre-2020 Watts models. Our Lyte software controls linear positioners and saws from TigerStop, Scotchman, RazorGage, Kentucky Gauge, Revolution Machine Tools (RMT), and others. Lyte can also control any manual tool, allowing it to benefit from nested cut lists, advanced labeling, and fabrication status updates.

You can send cut lists to Enterprise and Lyte a number of different ways, including:

1. 1. PypeServer’s own free CAD/BIM add-ins and Cloud service (described below)
   2. Full API integrations to Stratus, MSUITE, Trimble Connect2Fab, BuildCentrix, or
   3. Directly importing a wide variety of file formats (PCF, PCD, PMP, XML, CSV, FIX, STEP, etc.)

Our design software add-ins and free Cloud service are the easiest way to get your cut lists to our tool control software. Our Connect add-ins for Revit, AutoCAD (MEP, Fabrication CADmep, Plant 3D, Advance Steel), Inventor Tube & Pipe, SDS2, and Tekla design software let you fabricate directly from your design model just by selecting the parts or assemblies and sending them to your tools using our free Cloud connection. If your legacy CAD or design software (e.g. SpoolFab) doesn’t support add-ins, our free Cloudinator Windows application lets you easily send PCF, PCD, CSV, FIX, and other files to our Cloud. All of our Connect add-ons, our Cloudinator Windows app, and our basic Cloud service are free for anyone running PypeServer Enterprise or Lyte tool control software. You can download Connect and the Cloudinator from the Autodesk App Store, the SDS2 Toolbox, and the PypeServer Portal.

Our Cloud+ project tracking system and mobile Field App. Cloud+ is our premium cloud service that gives you full project tracking from design through field installation. Cloud+ lets you set up custom workflows with statusing at every stage and includes the PypeServer mobile Field App. The Field App lets you scan the QR codes on PypeServer labels using any mobile device to see associated spool sheets and other documents and modify the status of spools and parts as they’re installed in the field. Cloud+ also lets you see job progress in real time, monitor productivity metrics and schedules, and collaborate with others inside or outside of your organization.

Factory tool software typically lets you program parts or import certain cut file formats and do basic nesting and label printing. However, you can save a lot of labor and materials with more advanced software. PypeServer’s Enterprise software for pipe profilers and Lyte software for straight cutting tools have the most advanced importing, nesting, labeling and part tracking capabilities on the market.

For example, Enterprise will automatically create properly-sized holes for o-lets as well as creating saddles and holes where pipes intersect, even accounting for non-90 degree mate angles, centerline offsets, and other challenging situations. Lyte can bundle stock so you can cut and label up to 10 hanger rods or other thin items in a single operation. Both Enterprise and Lyte can nest parts into the machine’s dead zone where the blade or torch can’t reach, thereby saving extra material, and both can keep track of your drops so they’re easy to re-use.

Enterprise and Lyte feature flexible and easy-to-use label printing for parts, drops, and joints. Create new label templates in minutes using our WYSIWYG drag-and-drop label editor, including text, QR codes, and images. Label data can include any of your CAD or BIM model parameters in addition to information generated in PypeServer’s own software. Labels can be created for parts, drops, and for part ends.

Finally, both Enterprise and Lyte offer a wide range of methods to get cut data to your fab shop tools. Enterprise and Lyte come with our free Connect plugins and free Cloud service that make it easy to select parts in your Revit, AutoCAD, Inventor, SDS2, and Tekla models, send them to your machines for fabrication, and track cutting progress in real time. Both also fully integrate with Stratus, MSUITE, Trimble Connect2Fab, BuildCentrix, and other APIs. If you’re using Victaulic Tools for Revit, eVolve Mechanical, Codeware COMPRESS, CADWorx, SolidWorks, SpoolCAD, Acorn/Spoolfab, and others, both Enterprise and Lyte also support the broadest range of flat file imports in the industry, including PCF/Isogen, PCD, PSVR, CSV, DSTV, FIX, STEP, and others.

PypeServer Connect is library of add-ins for Autodesk’s Revit, AutoCAD (MEP, Fabrication CADmep, Plant 3D, Advance Steel), and Inventor Tube & Pipe. We also have Connect add-ins for Allplan’s SDS2 and Trimble’s Tekla software for structural design. All versions of our Connect plug-ins work similarly and make it easy to select pipe spools, hangers, plumbing, and other model content and get it to your machines with all the information necessary to accurately cut, label, and assemble.

Connect lets you map most any property in your model to print it on a part label. Connect also has functions that overcome fabrication limitations in your modeling software, including the ability to convert weld, tee, and elbow fittings into fabricated pipe, modify bevel angles and root gaps based on end conditions, and round-up hanger rod and strut lengths for bundled cutting. When you’re all done and ready to fabricate, Connect can send your cut lists directly to our Cloud or can save them locally as a PypeServer-native file.

The Connect family also includes the free Cloudinator Windows application. The Cloudinator can send parts and spools in PCF, PCD, PSVR, CSV, FIX and other formats to our Cloud, as well as drawings in PDF and other graphic formats.

All of our Connect add-ins and the Cloudinator are free for anyone using our Lyte or Enterprise tool control software.

PypeServer’s Cloud service was developed along with the Connect add-ins to solve a very common problem: the difficulty of getting parts and spools out of design model and down to the shop for fabrication. With our Cloud, a simple internet connection eliminates the security risk associated with putting your machines on your corporate network and does away with shared folders or USB sticks for cut file transfers. The benefits of PypeServer Cloud are many, including:

• instantaneous transmission of cut lists from your BIM or CAD model to your machines
• real-time updating of cut status from your machines back to a web dashboard, so you’ll always know what’s been fabricated in real time
• shop managers can send specific cut lists to specific machines, if desired
• unique part IDs are tracked to ensure that nothing’s accidentally cut twice and your machines are always working with the most up-to-date design
• a full 3D assembly viewer from any phone, tablet, or web browser
• machine activity is tracked to monitor productivity and consumable usage over time
• isolation of your machines from your company network

Like our Connect add-ins, our Cloud is free for anyone using our Lyte or Enterprise tool control software.

Cloud+ is our paid-tier project tracking solution. Where Cloud is designed to facilitate getting parts from CAD and BIM to your machines, Cloud+ is a full project and fabrication tracking system that lets users customize their own workflows. Workflows are defined by the stages of your build and fabrication process, plus the rules for moving from stage to stage.

For example, items that start at “approved for fabrication” may progress to the “cut” stage and then to “assembled”, “welded”, “QA/QC”, “shipped”, “delivered”, and “installed”. There may be more or fewer stages in your particular workflow and the names can be customized to suit your preferences.

Once you’ve created all your stages, you set up the rules that govern how things move from stage to stage. For example, items cannot be “delivered” until they’ve gone through the “shipped” stage. Once you’ve set up your stages and rules, you can set and inspect package statuses using any web browser via PypeServer’s Cloud+ web interface or the Cloud+ field app for iOS and Android.

The Cloud+ Field App

The Cloud+ Field App makes it easy for field teams to access spool sheets and other project data, as well as update status as work progresses. The Field App runs on any iOS or Android phone or tablet and provides the same project data available in a browser in the office but in a more convenient form for field work.

Using the app, field team members can scan QR codes on PypeServer-generated part and spool labels to pull up spool maps, sheets, and other documents necessary for installation. Once installed, field members can update status of individual parts, spools, or even entire packages with the click of a button, eliminating manual tracking errors and improving efficiency.

Scheduling, Productivity Reporting, and More

With built-in scheduling and reporting tools, Cloud+ lets teams set project start and due dates to populate Gantt charts and visualize project timelines. Production progress and machine activity reports provide real-time insights, helping teams identify bottlenecks and prevent project delays.

Cloud+ is extremely affordable relative to other project tracking and fabrication software. Current pricing is $500/user per year, with no extra licenses needed for your cutting stations. Both Cloud and Cloud+ are completely independent of the Autodesk Construction Cloud, so there are no expenses or publishing delays.

Label printers come in two flavors: “direct thermal” and “thermal transfer”. Both have printheads that selectively heat up to create the tiny dots that form the text and images on the label. In direct thermal printers, the printhead acts directly on heat-sensitive thermal paper, turning it black where it’s heated without the need for a ribbon. In thermal transfer printers, the printhead’s heat acts to transfer and fuse pigment from a ribbon to the label below. Zebra’s thermal transfer printers can also act like direct thermal printers and print on thermal paper labels. Because the thermal transfer models don’t cost much more than direct thermal-only models and offer much greater flexibility, PypeServer only recommends and sells Zebra thermal transfer printers.

The various Zebra printers come in either 300 dot per inch (dpi) or 203 dpi resolution. For text only, 203 dpi is sufficient but moving up to 300 dpi doesn’t cost much and will produce clearer text while allowing the use of more sophisticated QR codes that contain more data.

Whatever printer you decide to get, you should consider buying the same resolution and, ideally, the same printer model for all your stations. Standardizing the resolution will allow you to use the same label templates across your different printers. If you go even farther and standardize on a single model of printer, you’ll be able to quickly swap out a broken printer at one station with the printer from another station. You may also be able to use one set of consumables across multiple stations. We also recommend that any printer you buy be “ZPL compatible”.

One thing you don’t need to do is buy high-end “industrial” printers. In addition to being more expensive, they tend to be larger and more complicated. Their main benefits are faster printing speed and a diversity of wired and wireless data connection options. However, the standard office-grade printers are plenty fast enough for fab shop duty, they’re simple to operate, they tolerate the shop environment well, and their USB connections are more reliable than wireless connections. PypeServer recommends and sells Zebra’s ZD621 printer with a 300 dpi print head. For those on tight budgets, we also sell Zebra’s ZD220 printer with a 203 dpi print head. Both can be used either with or without ribbons.

If you’re putting labels on parts and assemblies that’ll be kept indoors or at least sheltered, we recommend thermal paper labels. There’s no ribbon to buy or change but there are a few cautions. Paper labels can tear if scraped hard and they’ll turn gray if exposed to high temperatures, like pipe that’s hot from cutting or welding. They also won’t tolerate extended exposure to rain or sun. However, because the print extends below the surface of the paper, it resists abrasion and tolerates exposure to solvents like alcohol, mineral spirits, and acetone better than thermal transfer print.

If you’re putting labels on parts that are hot from cutting or welding or that’ll have extended outdoor exposure, we recommend the use of a thermal transfer ribbon and labels made of polypropylene. The ribbons come in three formulations: wax, wax + resin, and resin. Wax ribbons are the least expensive but they aren’t as durable as wax + resin or resin-only ribbons. In PypeServer’s testing, wax + resin ribbons produced print that’ve very nearly as durable as resin-only ribbons for a fraction of the cost of resin-only.

One caveat: if you’re using a ribbon-based printer, make sure you don’t inadvertently load it with thermal paper labels. If you do, you’ll have the higher costs of ribbon-printed labels without any of their benefits.

Also, some shops like to color code their labels for different building systems. We recommend that this be implemented using black print on different colored labels rather than by using a color printer. Colored print tends to be less legible and less durable than black print.

To summarize everything related to label printing:

Printer Brand:

recommended – Zebra desktop models ZD6XX, ZD4XX, or ZD2XX
minimum – Brother, Sato, Epson, and other major brands with ZPL language compatibility

Printer Type:

recommended – Thermal Transfer (works with or without a ribbon for best flexibility)
minimum – Direct Thermal (prints only on thermal paper, no ribbon, for indoors and cool surfaces)

Printer Resolution:

recommended – 300 dpi
minimum – 203 dpi

Printer Communication:

recommended – USB
not recommended – WiFi, Bluetooth, or other wireless

Label Material:

best abrasion and solvent resistance – coated thermal paper (no ribbon needed)
best tear and heat resistance – polypropylene or other plastic (requires ribbon)

Ribbon Type:

best cost and print speed – wax + resin ribbon
slightly better abrasion resistance – resin ribbon

Summary:
PypeServer recommends Zebra 300 dpi Thermal Transfer printers and coated thermal paper labels for most part labeling applications. If your parts will be labeled while hot or will have extended exposure to sun and rain, use polypropylene labels with a wax + resin ribbon. Zebra printers, labels, and ribbons can be ordered from the PypeServer Portal: https://portal.pypeserver.com/shop/

With Lyte for your manual tools, TigerStop, RazorGage, Scotchman, Kentucky Gauge, or RMT band saws, you’ll typically save about 20% on labor and 5% on materials at each station.

With Enterprise, it depends on how busy your shop is but there are three main sources of savings:

1. elimination of pipe machine programming
2. elimination or reduction of weld prep time
3. more efficient use of pipe

If you use Enterprise to get spools directly from your CAD or BIM software, your can eliminate take-offs and your machine operator can save 3 to 5 minutes of programming time per part. Similarly, Enterprise’s improved cut quality can save your welders at least a minute per cut in fit-up time or 3 to 5 minutes per part. Assuming an average fully burdened labor rate of $30/hour and a total of 8 minutes saved per part, your shop will save $4 in labor per part. If you cut 250 parts per month, that amounts to about $1000 in labor savings per month. Busier shops and/or higher labor rates realize even greater savings.

Pipe material savings vary a lot depending on the size, type, and volume of pipe you cut. However, Enterprise’s highly optimized nesting algorithms and its ability to nest into your machine’s dead zone commonly result in material savings of 5% or more.

You can get a more accurate savings estimate with Enterprise by using our online ROI calculator:

https://www.pypeserver.com/roi

Enterprise is compatible with machines from Lincoln Electric (Vernon Tool), HGG, Machitech. pre-2020 Watts machines, and Lone Star Cutting Solutions. If you’re purchasing a brand new Lincoln/Vernon, it will come standard with Enterprise. Enterprise is an added-cost option for other brands of machines.

If you’re interested in upgrading an existing machine with Enterprise, it’s relatively simple to tell if it’s compatible with Enterprise. Most any machine from Machitech or Lone Star is compatible. Enterprise is also compatible with both the current generation Lincoln/Vernon VMD machines (serial numbers 7000+) as well as the prior generation VP machines (serial numbers 6211-6999).

If you’re interested in upgrading a pre-2020 Watts machine with Enterprise, please contact PypeServer. Between our software and the mechanical and electronic upgrades available from our partners, we can bring your older Watts machine up to better-than-new performance for a fraction of the cost of a new machine.

If you have an unsupported machine and are interested in using it with PypeServer, let us know!

Enterprise runs on a small, dedicated server computer that’s typically placed near your pipe profiling machine for use by your machine operator. Both the Enterprise computer and your pipe profiling machine are networked together. After selecting which parts are to be cut and nesting them, Enterprise will write a control file to the machine computer. The file is selected for processing, the torch is positioned, and the parts are then cut in a single operation.

By joining Enterprise to your company network, any authorized user in your design office or elsewhere on your network can run Enterprise remotely without having to go down to the shop floor. This is convenient if you want your designers to be responsible for pulling spools into Enterprise and/or nesting the parts before cutting.

The downtime for your pipe profiling machine is limited to the time it takes to get it on your network, if it isn’t already, and to set up a shared network folder for Enterprise’s command files. These tasks will typically take your computer support person just a few minutes and they can be done prior to installing Enterprise whenever the pipe profiler isn’t active.

It takes about 30 minutes to physically assemble the Enterprise stand-up desk and computer. Once that’s done, the computer is connected to your network and given access to the pipe profiler’s shared network folder. These tasks don’t impose any downtime on the machine and even after everything is set up, the pipe profiler’s factory software will continue to function as a backup.

No. For maximum reliability Enterprise runs locally on its own computer and doesn’t require internet connectivity, not even for its extensive built-in help catalog of videos and documents.

We do recommend that you connect Enterprise to the internet, if available, for troubleshooting, software updates, license renewals, and Cloud access.

Lyte for TigerStop, RazorGage, Kentucky Gauge, Scotchman, RMT, and manual tools costs $1650/year with unlimited users. If you don’t want to sign up for a whole year, it’s $300/month. Lyte includes:

• all importers
• all Connect add-ins and the Cloudinator Windows application
• our basic Cloud service
• built-in label printing capabilities
• all software updates
• remote configuration, training, and support

Lyte can run directly on the Windows computer built-in to your TigerTouch module, TigerSaw, or RazorGage, in which case there’s no need to buy a separate computer. If you need a computer, most any Windows 10/11 laptop or Surface tablet will run Lyte well. PypeServer can also supply Surface Tablets pre-configured with Lyte, including all the hardware needed to mount it and connect it to your machine for about $3400, including the first year license of Lyte.

Enterprise for pipe profilers has an up-front fee for the software and computer kiosk it needs plus an annual license fee, both of which vary depending on the make and model of your pipe profiler. Enterprise includes:

• all importers
• all Connect add-ins and the Cloudinator Windows application
• our basic Cloud service
• three remote seats
• built-in label printing capabilities
• all software updates
• remote configuration, training, and support
• an extended warranty on PypeServer-supplied computer hardware

Pricing for our products can also be found on the PypeServer Portal once you create an account.

PypeServer has dedicated customer support personal available Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm Pacific time.  We also provide an online support service that can be accessed at https://portal.pypeserver.com.

Yes. PypeServer will provide as much time as needed, within reason, to ensure your machine operators and VDC staff are proficient with our products. If you need to train new employees or otherwise need additional support, just let us know and we’ll provide it at no extra charge.