Beyond Design

BIM Workflows Connected with Glue

This week the latest version of BIM 360 Glue was released; offering a completely redesigned user interface, making it quick and easy for project participants to share, review and coordinate models. In addition to the improved UI, under the hood has also received significant attention, now with Autodesk core technology for BIM viewing and coordination as found in Navisworks. This brings consistency in model viewing across desktop, cloud and mobile solutions from Navisworks to BIM 360 Glue and BIM 360 Field. And with consistent clash technology being used, the same clash test being run in Navisworks and BIM 360 Glue will yield identical results. Another huge advancement in my opinion is the Glue integration with Navisworks – in the previous version you could push Navisworks model up to Glue, but now you can open and append models and merged models directly from Glue too.

In this post, I want to highlight the collaboration BIM 360 Glue can bring to your projects - connecting designers, construction professionals and clients, to facilitate better project outcomes.

Designers

Architectural and Engineering design professionals can upload their models to BIM 360 Glue, making them immediately available for the whole team. With continuous access to the latest model versions, designers are able to perform their own coordination ahead of weekly/bi-weekly review meetings – think of this as "reducing the noise", and making broader team reviews more focused and productive.

Glue add-in applications make it even easier to work with Glue from within authoring applications such as Revit, AutoCAD and Civil 3D. These add-ins enable you to send your models directly to Glue; and when clashes are found with your model, you can open the clash report within your design app and quickly access the clashing element to make the necessary design changes.

Get all of the latest add-ins here: https://b4.autodesk.com/addins/addins.html

BIM/VDC Managers

The design models can be merged to create federated models, which may initially be carried out by a BIM/VDC Manager - though it doesn't need to be; anyone can create a merged model, combining any combination of individual discipline models – you can think of merged models as being similar to an NWF in Navisworks, a project model referencing individual design models. And merged models will automatically update whenever the design teams update their constituent models. Everyone has immediate access to the latest federated model, without needing to wait for it to be curated and re-published, speeding up the entire coordination and collaboration cycle, and freeing up time for more value add pre-construction activities.

Construction Professionals

As mentioned above, anyone currently using Navisworks, can now access project models from Glue. Thereby ensuring they're working with the latest designs, they can perform advanced project analysis such as 4D simulation and quantification. Their Navisworks project NWF will be referencing the model data in Glue, so whenever they open the NWF it will bring down the latest model versions from Glue. Running Change Analysis in the Navisworks Quantification tool for example, provides an efficient workflow for identifying change between design iterations.

You can additionally append individual discipline models from Glue and create your own federated model in Navisworks, then Glue this back to the cloud server for access by all. Which brings me nicely onto…

Clients and Extended Team

BIM 360 Glue is exceptionally good at getting everyone on the same page, ensuring everyone is up to date, and sharing the same information. Whether you're a BIM guru or novice; in the office or the field; coordinating models or installing equipment, there's an app to suit your workflows. Clients for example can access the individual disciplines and federated models in the BIM 360 Glue mobile app for iPad. This provides continuous and consistent access to the latest models, providing transparency and ensuring buy-in and engagement from the client throughout the project.

Check out this Case Study from M Moser Associates to learn about how they are using BIM 360 Glue to deliver projects on time and within budget, with improved client engagement throughout the project.

Also visit the BIM 360 Glue website to find out more about the latest release, and try it for yourself with a Free Trial.

What can we learn from the entertainment industry?

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited with a number of our customers from Architecture, Construction, Manufacturing and the Entertainment worlds to a screening of the third instalment of Iron Man at BAFTA in London. For those that don't know, Iron Man 3 had the 2^nd biggest opening of all time, only superseded by The Avengers last year. As a big movie geek (I have far too many 'making of' and 'art of' books at home), it was great to see a big film like this in somewhere completely different from the local multiplex, but for me the real treat was to hear from a couple of our visual effects customers, Simon Stanley Clamp from Cinesite and Alexis Wajsbrot from Framestore talk about how key scenes from the film were put together followed by a Q&A session.

 

For me I was fascinated by the parallels between the problems the entertainment industry has faced over the years and how closely it aligns with the issues we see you in the construction industry facing.

• Large datasets - With terabytes of information being passed around the world, there's a number of issues with how this is stored, how it is accessed and how it can easily be found, it's partly about working intelligently with data, not transferring every piece of data across with each revision, only the parts that have changed. Often projects are spread between internal offices, different firms, and across time-zones, that isn't likely to change any time soon so the issue of data needs to be addressed, the quality, size and version control are all vital to the eventual delivery.
• Consistent organised up to date content - There are a number of challenges around ensuring that the latest version of some content is passed and filtered across all companies, all relevant shots, and there isn't a manual process to ensure that you are up to date at the start of each day. Being able to find the right up to date content quickly and easily speeds up the whole process and reduces the chances of mistakes.
• Regular reviews – In Iron Man 3 the director was running reviews of daily work with 18 different studios, using mark-up tools to point out areas of concern, in Cinesite's case, they only had 9 weeks to produce over 100 shots, something that would normally be spread over a much longer period, regular review cycles were essential to get quick turnarounds. The faster an issue can be identified, the sooner it can be addressed.
• Working together! - In the case of Iron Man, not every firm on the project was looking after a shot in its complete state; different elements were brought in from different firms, and collected in a single place for additional post production work like atmosphere effects and color grading. In our world, you will often have multiple companies working on the same end goal but the processes to do this efficiently, although in everyone's best interest, often are hit by hurdles that we struggle to overcome.
• Information sharing – As the end product needs to have consistency, everything is shared between teams, the IP is owned by the client, and information, textures, objects are all shared between the teams at different firms to prevent downtime of redoing the same job again, at the same time everyone learning better ways to do things, improving the overall final product.
• Learning's from previous projects - In Marvel's case, this isn't the first project they've done, and although the look, feel and make up of a film like Thor is very different to Captain America or Iron Man, they haven't been starting afresh each time round, they've learnt that organised projects, reusing common elements, and continuous improvement on processes is helping turn around effects heavy films under increasingly tight deadlines. Compare this to construction, it's very rare you get two identical projects, but the processes will largely be the same, from conception through to handover, common libraries can be reused and then custom elements brought in as needed.

These issues can be solved today; they're not a distant pipedream we can admire from afar. Using tools like BIM 360 Glue, Vault and Revit can help you can manage the huge task of organising projects and data into a state where no one needs to know what is happening behind the scenes, just that it is there on your desktop or tablet device ready to work on.

And if you're wondering about the film, all I'll say it Ben Kingsley's performance as The Mandarin is worth watching the film alone.

Here's the only chance I'll get to post a film trailer on the blog, if you want to know more about our Entertainment division, I highly recommend following Jamie's Jewels blog for behind the scenes videos and more on how our software is used!

Dancing on the ceiling in Navisworks

We had a bit of an unusual request today, how do you defy the laws of gravity? Obviously in the real world it's going to take a budget of millions to reach the edge of the atmosphere and float away. In Navisworks though, it's a bit simpler. Gravity itself we can't change, it will always be pulling you down, instead you just need to change where 'Up' is. You can do this by right clicking in Navisworks main view, Viewpoint > Set Viewpoint Up and then setting the axis you want as your 'Up'. This could be a good way to investigate a ceiling run, or inspect the façade on the side of a building.

As Lionel Richie once sung, oh what a feeling, when you're walking around your 3D Navisworks model on the ceiling!

Hope that helps, any more tips, you'd like to share, use the links on the left to email us.

BIM 360 Glue mobile update available

A new version of the BIM 360 Glue mobile app for iPad is available now! This latest release offers improved visualization – which looks particularly stunning on the iPad retina screen – and support for the Navisworks 2014 NWD format.

Crisp Graphics

The earlier versions of the Glue mobile app showed slightly jagged edges to model objects, which was accentuated on the high resolution retina displays found on the iPad 3 and 4.

This release displays models at their best; with crisp, clean edges and greater clarity of details – such as the railings in these screenshots.

Navisworks 2014 NWD Support

2014 NWD models can now be transferred directly to the app. Sign in with your Autodesk ID to explore your Navisworks models, access saved views, markup and object properties.

Get the app now!

View the app in the iTunes AppStore

Do you use 3DS Max or 3DS Max Design in your work? We want your help

Did you know Autodesk as well as producing software for the building, plant and infrastructure industries also produces industry leading rendering and special effects software? And did you know if you have the Building Design Suite Premium or Ultimate you already have a copy of 3DS Max Design? It's been used to produce more films and games than you can shake a 3D rendered stick at.

If you did know, you may have been able to produce amazing renderings like this competition winning rendering below by Tianyi Zhu.

So here is the bit where we want something. Have you used or tried to use 3DS Max or 3DS Max Design in your building or infrastructure projects? Can you please fill in the following survey? The results go to product management so we're keen to get your input to help shape the future of our products.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RV7NQLV

Updated Navisworks Hotkeys including Measurement specific shortcuts

I've just updated the hotkeys for 2014 including 'Ctrl + F8' for Quantification and some shortcuts specifically for the Timeliner and Measurement tools to significantly speed up reviewing. With the Measurement tool you want to use already selected: -

X	Lock to the X axis
Y	Lock to the Y axis
Z	Lock to the Z axis
P	Lock to a point perpendicular to a surface
L	Lock to a point parallel to a surface
Enter	Quick zoom to measured area
+	Use with Enter key to zoom in to measured area
-	Use with Enter key to zoom out of measured area

The + and – tools used with Enter are a great way to get accurate measurements and get close into the area you want to measure.

Read the full Navisworks Hotkey blog post here.

Revit 2014 New Features

A quick round up of the new features in Revit 2014!

For those interested in getting more info on the upcoming Revit 2014 product new feature set these are two great resources:

And - David Light's excellent writeup.

via bimapps.typepad.com

What else is new in Autodesk Navisworks 2014?

We really have been busy this last year. As well as the headline new features in Navisworks 2014, there's plenty more 'under the bonnet' to speed up your workflows and make you more productive.

• Sectioning improvements, the Fit Selection tool allows you to select items that the section plane or box will fit to
• Clash Detective (Autodesk Navisworks Manage only)
  • Preserve Clash Highlighting when exporting Viewpoint reports allows you to save Viewpoints with the same view you see in the results tab including redlining. These Viewpoints can also be seen in Simulate and Freedom
  • Color highlighting of the clashing elements which can be customized
  • Comment column in the results to shows if a Clash has a comments and how active the clash is
  • Clash Filters allow you to filter down to clashes only involving selected items
  • Clash Report Filter allows you to only report on those filtered items
  • Save explicit views related to a clash result
• Timeliner
  • Export Selection Sets of the items attached to each task
  • Support for Primavera P6 v8.2 Web Services
  • Support for Microsoft Project 2013
• File formats
  • AutoCAD 2014    
  • AutoCAD Architecture 2014
  • AutoCAD MEP 2014
  • Autodesk Plant 3D 2014
  • Autodesk Inventor 2014
  • AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014
  • Revit 2014
  • Autodesk 3ds Max 2014
  • Improved IFC 2x3 support
  • Faro SDK 5.1
  • Exporters for Graphisoft ArchiCAD 14, 15 and 16

There's also some new features in design application Revit that will improve interoperability between the two packages.

• Construction Parts can now be generated from Wall Foundations, Slab Edges, Fascias, and Gutters, making Timeliner Simulations even more accurate. This is on top of Walls, Floors, Roofs, Ceilings, Structural slab foundations, Structural Framing, Columns, Structural Columns which are already supported, see the link for more information about Creating Construction Parts in Revit.
• Revit Switchback improvements, where a new 'Navisworks Switchback' view is created in Revit, you can modify the Visual Style and Detail Level and Shadows of this view and switchback will use these settings
• Displaced views (like your own exploded view) can be exported to Navisworks, using these in combination with Switchback will make the navigation of complex models even easier. I've had some fun with this already, blowing the roof off our Sheffield office (see below)
• Materials from the Revit material library are also brought through, also shown in the image below

Anyway, you'll be able to get hold of this in the next couple of weeks, let us know on Twitter and Facebook which features you're most looking forward to.

What’s new in Navisworks 2014? Part 1

You may have noticed we've been pretty busy behind the scenes here at Autodesk, a few weeks ago at TED we launched a new logo which signals a change in direction from Autodesk as more than just a software company for engineers, with the transition to mobile and cloud the way everyone interacts with software is changing, and we hope to be leading the way with this transition. We know many of you over the last few months are using the BIM 360 Field and Glue products, but that doesn't mean we've forgotten about users of our flagship products like Autodesk Navisworks, with new and improved features and increased links to workflows in the cloud.

The key new features in Navisworks 2014 are

• Quantification – Get accurate model based quantities from your BIM model, allowing you to track changes between model revisions, perform destructive and constructive take offs and assign material and labor resources to items in the model. Many more details are to follow in a series of blog posts explaining how to use the new tool and a recommended workflow getting you quickly up to speed with model based quantification.

• Autodesk rendering – The same rendering engine found in our other flagship products is now available inside Navisworks, allowing you to use consistent Autodesk material libraries, and collate models from various disciplines and sources to create even more compelling visual

• Measurement tools – Improvements to the measure tool allow you to more easily work out what you are measuring and snapping to, have the flexibility to lock to a particular axis or surface, and zoom quickly to an area to select a measurement point.

• You'll hear lots about point clouds this year with 2013 being the year Point Clouds will be used by more than just those with very expensive equipment. The capabilities of the new 'Autodesk ReCap' engine will astound regular point cloud users as we'll be able to handle models much larger than you previously could. You'll be able to measure and snap more accurately against point clouds, and link your 3D virtual BIM model to a real life 'Reality Captured' point cloud, this will allow new design and construction workflows. AutoCAD^®, A

• Clash detective* has improvements to the user interface to allow you to change the colors and display of clashed objects, better manage saved viewpoints and overrides, access to comments in the results tab, and better filtering and reporting on those filtered results, you'll also remember this blog post about Clash Rules, well we've now made it easier for you to reduce the number of false positive clash results, meaning you can work only on the clashes that matter.
  *only available in Autodesk Navisworks Manage

Don't forget, you can also view your NWD models on the free Autodesk BIM 360 Glue mobile iPad app.

There's also EVEN MORE FEATURES on this second What else is new in Autodesk Navisworks 2014 blog post.

You'll be able to access the new 2014 products with subscription within the next couple of weeks, and look out on this blog for more detail on how to use these new features and unlock the power of the cloud with BIM 360 Glue and Field over the coming weeks.

Special Autodesk Live Events and You Are Invited

Please join us for the special live events on Facebook, LiveStream, and the Autodesk Area.
www.facebook.com/autodesk and www.livestream.com/autodesk

“It is often the arrival of a new tool that opens our minds to new opportunities we would have never imagined before. New tools not only make it possible to do new things, they also expand our vision of what could be. We will soon be announcing our 2014 portfolio of tools for design, engineering and entertainment and we invite you to join us for a special webcast on March 26, 2013 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern, 3pm UK and 4pm Europe to learn more and see the impact that Autodesk software is having across the industries we serve.”

- The Role of Tools in Design blog post

Also check out the 2 day celebration with the Unfold event featuring Autodesk’s 2014 Animation Software tools.
http://area.autodesk.com/2014unfold

via autodesk.blogs.com