Capabilities
Every module, and what it actually does.
247 Drafter is roughly fifty engineering modules working on one model. This page lists what each group of them contributes, in the order they matter to a loading project.
Group 01
Reach and vehicle geometry
The keystone. Everything downstream depends on getting this right first.
| Module | What it contributes |
|---|---|
| Reach solver | Computes the swept envelope for an arm at a given pivot position and mounting height, and reports where the envelope runs out relative to the target. |
| Vehicle specification | Holds the car and trailer definitions the solve runs against — hatch and nozzle positions, plate dimensions, spot tolerance. |
| AAR plate clearance | Evaluates the solved geometry against plate clearance so an arm that swings into the envelope is flagged in the model rather than in the field. |
| Railcar hatch | Models the hatch and manway geometry the arm has to land on, including position variance across a spot. |
| Articulated arm | Drives the arm linkage itself — segments, joints and range of motion — so the envelope reflects a real mechanism. |
Group 02
Assembly and connections
Building the system, with rules that stop invalid configurations from reaching a drawing.
| Module | What it contributes |
|---|---|
| Connection sockets | Snap-mode building. Components attach at defined sockets rather than being positioned by eye. |
| Pipe specification | Carries the joint compatibility matrix — which ends mate with which — modelled on the conventions used by mainstream plant design tools. |
| CAD parts mode | Articulates real part geometry brought in from STEP exports, so the moving assembly is the assembly you ship. |
| Gangway articulator | Drives gangway motion and range against the vehicle and platform geometry. |
| Stair and platform stacking | Builds access structure — stairs, landings, platforms — as part of the same model rather than as an afterthought. |
| Structural steel | Represents the supporting steel using standard shape definitions so the structure is buildable and countable. |
Group 03
Validation and compliance
Checks that run against the model while it is being built, not after it is finished.
OSHA validator
Evaluates access, platform and fall-protection geometry against the built model and reports what fails.
Clearance checking
Plate clearance and interference between the arm envelope, the vehicle and the surrounding structure.
Joint compatibility
Invalid pipe and fitting pairings are refused at the socket rather than passed silently into a bill of material.
Group 04
Containment, product types and structure
The surrounding scope that turns an arm layout into a loading system.
| Module | What it contributes |
|---|---|
| Track pans | Procedurally generates spill-containment pan geometry to published containment specifications for the track length being covered. |
| Product-type quick-fills | Pre-loads a starting configuration by service — LPG, CO2 and others — from established top-loading design form conventions. |
| Guided wizard | A step-through build path for people who do not work in CAD daily, so a sales engineer can drive it unaided. |
| Silo and vessel geometry | Supports fixed-vessel targets alongside mobile ones for unloading and transfer layouts. |
Group 05
Output and demonstration
What leaves the tool and goes into a quote package or a customer conversation.
PDF and orthographic views
Exports a PDF along with front, side and top views of the assembly — the views a customer, a fabricator and a site team each need to look at the same layout.
Counted off the built model
Because the assembly was built with real sockets and real parts, the material list comes off the geometry rather than being re-keyed from it.
Operator control panel mode
A live control panel running against the 3D scene the customer just built, so a demonstration shows their layout being operated rather than a generic animation.
Runs in a browser
Built on a modern real-time 3D engine and delivered as a web build. No CAD licence and no workstation requirement for the person you are trying to sell to.
A note on honesty. Every module on this page exists in the current build. Where a capability is still being hardened, we would rather tell you on the call than discover it together during an evaluation.
Want the module-level detail?
Bring your hardest configuration to a walkthrough and we will build it live rather than describe it.
Sam Doyle · 247 Industrial Platform · Cary, NC