Why I Put My Flowchart and My Calculations on the Same Canvas
I spent the last eight years as a process engineer. Most of that time went into two things: drawing flowcharts in Visio, and doing mass balances in Excel. Draw the flowchart, then open Excel and type the same numbers again. Change a parameter, update both. After a while, the diagram and the spreadsheet start to disagree. I'd spend an hour tracking down whether the drawing was wrong or the…
For eight years, the author worked as a process engineer, dedicating much time to creating flowcharts in Visio and conducting mass balances in Excel. However, they found this workflow to be inefficient, often noticing discrepancies between the diagram and the calculations. After trying various options, they realized there wasn't a tool that treated the flowchart as the calculation model itself. This led to the creation of IAutoDrawSim, a software that functions as both a drawing and calculation tool.
IAutoDrawSim allows users to draw a flowchart on the canvas, with each node representing a unit operation, stream, and connection. When a parameter is changed, the solver assembles all nodes and streams into a system of equations and solves it. This eliminates the need for manual trial-and-error and ensures that the diagram and calculations remain synchronized.
The software is not a replacement for rigorous thermodynamic simulators like Aspen or HYSYS, but rather a complementary tool for mass balance calculations, capacity planning, inventory flow, and approval workflows.
One of the key features of IAutoDrawSim is its customizable node types, formulas, and connection rules, allowing it to fit a wide range of domains, not just chemical processes. The tool is available for free trial and has a commercial version that can be purchased as a one-time, perpetual license, with offline compatibility.
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