OpenPlant Isometrics Manager
Alternative: Extract MTO from Any Isometric, No 3D Required

OpenPlant Isometrics Manager generates new isometric drawings from a 3D plant model (OpenPlant Modeler or iModel). It is not built to read existing PDF or scanned isometric drawings. The architecture is fundamentally outbound (model → drawing), not inbound (drawing → data). For projects where the isometric already exists in PDF form, OpenPlant Isometrics Manager has no extraction path.

Generation (OpenPlant Isometrics Manager, AVEVA Plant SCM) creates new isometric drawings from a 3D model and produces MTO from the model's metadata. Extraction (Pathnovo) reads existing isometric drawings (in any format) and produces MTO from the drawing's geometry and annotations. Generation requires a 3D model; extraction does not. They serve different points in the project lifecycle.

Yes. Pathnovo's MTO output is configurable to ProjectWise document management schema and to PlantSight asset data structures. Workflow: scanned isometric drawings → Pathnovo extraction → structured MTO → ProjectWise / PlantSight ingestion. Useful for owner-operators standardised on Bentley iTwin who need to populate the platform with brownfield asset data.

Different pricing models. OpenPlant Isometrics Manager via Piping Passport is ~$5,995 per user per year, plus enterprise scope, plus the OpenPlant suite licence. Pathnovo is credit-based with the full platform included on every paid tier, so each isometric sheet draws from the credit pool rather than triggering a separate per-user licence. For one-off brownfield projects or fabrication shop pre-ordering, Pathnovo is dramatically lower cost. For large multi-year programmes with stable engineering teams, Bentley's per-user model can be competitive. See pricing for plans.

Yes, and this is the most common pattern. Greenfield projects with full 3D models: use OpenPlant Isometrics Manager to generate. Brownfield projects, revamps, and fabrication shop pre-orders without 3D source: use Pathnovo to extract from existing drawings. Most owner-operators have both kinds of projects in their portfolio simultaneously.

Bentley does not publish a standalone list price for OpenPlant Isometrics Manager. The closest publicly available figure is Bentley Piping Passport, the subscription bundle within the OpenPlant suite that includes piping isometric authoring and editing capability, listed in the Bentley Subscription Store at approximately $5,995 per user per year. Piping Passport requires an upstream Bentley OpenPlant Modeler licence to author the 3D source model (additional cost) and typically rolls into a broader Bentley enterprise agreement covering ProjectWise document management, PlantSight digital twin, and iTwin platform. Practical total cost depends on enterprise scope and user count: tier-1 EPC contractor deployments routinely run six to seven figures per year once the full OpenPlant suite, ProjectWise, and iTwin commitments are included. Implementation typically runs 5+ months. For an honest cost comparison, OpenPlant Isometrics Manager is priced for tier-1 EPC and large owner-operator scope with multi-year Bentley commitment; it is not commercially viable for mid-EPC scope, individual brownfield projects, or fabrication shops that need piping MTO from existing 2D drawings without committing to the Bentley ecosystem. Pathnovo's credit-based pricing (published transparently at /pricing) starts at the Starter tier with full platform included and runs at roughly 8 credits per isometric sheet, so a typical mid-EPC revision set fits inside Starter or Professional tier monthly allocation. For a side-by-side cost comparison on a typical 500-isometric brownfield scope, see the Bentley OpenPlant alternative and the piping MTO software comparison.

Different pricing models, so the comparison depends on scope. OpenPlant Isometrics Manager: approximately $5,995 per user per year for Bentley Piping Passport (the closest publicly-listed bundle), plus upstream OpenPlant Modeler licence for the 3D source, plus typical enterprise scope agreement for ProjectWise + PlantSight + iTwin. Tier-1 EPC deployments routinely run six to seven figures per year. Pathnovo: credit-based, full platform included on every paid tier, no per-user licence, no enterprise minimum. Each isometric sheet consumes 8 credits, so a 500-isometric brownfield revision set fits inside Professional tier (5,000 credits per month). For a mid-EPC contractor processing 1,000 to 2,000 isometric sheets per year, Pathnovo total cost is typically 10x to 20x lower than the equivalent Bentley enterprise commitment. For greenfield projects with a stable Bentley engineering team already authoring 3D models in OpenPlant Modeler, OpenPlant Isometrics Manager is the cheaper marginal addition. For brownfield, mid-EPC, fabrication shop, or non-Bentley scope, Pathnovo is materially cheaper. See Pathnovo pricing and the piping MTO software comparison for the full picture.

All three are enterprise-tier 3D-authoring stacks and none publish standalone list prices for the isometric-generation component. Estimated public ranges from industry analysts: Bentley OpenPlant suite (Modeler + Piping Passport with Isometrics Manager + ProjectWise + iTwin) runs from ~$5,995 per user per year (Piping Passport alone) up to six to seven figures per year for full enterprise scope. AVEVA Engineering + E3D + Diagrams + AIM + Connect enterprise contracts typically start in the high six figures per year, with E3D per-seat licensing at $1M+ multi-seat scope. Hexagon SmartPlant 3D + Smart Materials + SmartPlant Foundation + SDx2 enterprise licensing runs $200K to $1M+ per year for typical tier-1 EPC deployment. All three require 5 to 12 month implementations and ongoing AVEVA / Hexagon / Bentley engineering team commitment. The pricing comparison is essentially an ecosystem decision (which stack is the organisation committed to) rather than a per-product cost comparison. Pathnovo is non-overlapping with all three on the 2D extraction layer and is materially lower cost than any enterprise stack for mid-EPC and brownfield scope. See the AVEVA E3D alternative, the Bentley OpenPlant alternative, and the SmartPlant Instrumentation alternative for per-stack detail.