Beyond Design

Building the Death Star, The Autodesk Way – Autodesk University 2012

Inspired by this post by Jason Dodds from 2009, I'll be at this year's Autodesk University at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, talking all about Star Wars. Well sort of…

Imagining a world where Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine had Autodesk tools to hand and fully embraced the concept of BIM, not only could the lives of countless stormtroopers been saved during construction, but they could have saved the Death Star from destruction completely.

I'll be talking about contingency planning using Navisworks and Microsoft Project, creating time based clashes for temporary works, using Revit construction parts to build an accurate schedule and linking animations to Timeliner for powerful presentations, all things that apply to building projects on this planet as well as flying death machines in space. I'm having a great time spending my weekends and evenings modeling Tie fighters in Inventor and futuristic looking curtain wall panels in Revit (I live a life of simple pleasures!), and hope that as well as learning how you can use the Building Design Suite more effectively, you'll enjoy geeking out with me in a couple of months' time.

You can now register for Building the Death Star, The Autodesk Way which is filling up quickly.

If you register for Autodesk University before October 14^th you'll save $500, those associated with education get a heavily discounted rate too.

If you need to convince your boss to let you go to Autodesk University, use this "Convince Your Manager Toolkit" to find plenty of useful ammunition, and plenty of reasons for them to go to. And a couple of funny posts appeared on the Revit Forum Blog about how to tell you wife or husband that you're going to AU2012.

See you in Las Vegas!

Register for the FREE Autodesk Virtual Event on September 5th and 6th, 2012

See how the latest Autodesk solutions for design professionals will help you Take the Lead in transforming the way you work, with powerful tools that enable you to create, capture, connect, and showcase your designs with impact.

Featured solutions include:

• AutoCAD® Design Suite 2013 – All the functionality you need in one convenient package.
• Autodesk® BIM 360 – Cloud-based services within the Autodesk® 360 platform that provide mobility and accessibility to multidiscipline design and construction teams through infinite computing power.

Register now and secure your space for this FREE online event.

• Building professionals:  www.autodesk.com/taketheleadbuilding
• Construction professionals:  www.autodesk.com/taketheleadconstruction
• Infrastructure professionals:  www.autodesk.com/taketheleadinfrastructure
• Utilities professionals:  www.autodesk.com/taketheleadutilities
• Oil & Gas professionals:  www.autodesk.com/taketheleadoilandgas
• General Design professionals:  www.autodesk.com/taketheleadgeneral

We have different times available for your time zone: -

• Americas – 7.00am PT
• Europe - 4:00pm CET
• New Zealand - 6 September 2012, 4:00pm NZST
• Australia - 6 September 2012, 2:00pm AEST
• India - 6 September 2012, 9:30 am IST

AU 2012 Class Catalog Is Live

Start planning your AU experience now, there's plenty of classes about Revit, Navisworks, Construction and this year one from me about building the Death Star! More about that in the coming weeks.

The preview version of the Autodesk University 2012 class catalog is now available. View it now and start planning your AU schedule.

Class space at AU is limited so plan to sign up when AU registration opens early for AU members on August 28. Becoming an AU members is as easy as enrolling free at http://au.autodesk.com  

Highlights for AU 2012 include:
Advanced features and workflows
Cloud, mobile technologies, and visualization
Autodesk Certification preparation
New! Educator Summit
Innovation Forums
Media & Entertainment Dev. Network Conference

View the Catalog Now 

https://www.autodeskuniversity2012.com/connect/publicDashboard.ww

(note the server is being hit by thousands of anxious people and getting slow)

Remember, early registration for AU members starts 1 week before general registration. Plan to register starting August 28, 2012. Learn more about AU 2012.

Cheers,
Shaan

 

via autodesk.blogs.com

Lab Assistants Needed for AU 2012

AU 2012 will feature more than 70 hands-on labs. These are some of the most popular sessions at AU. Each lab has an instructor and 3 lab assistants. Do you want to be a lab assistant?

Lab assistants receive $75 for each lab they assist in. They do not receive a free AU Conference Pass.

REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES

Here are some general requirements and guidelines for being a lab assistant.

• You must be registered for AU 2012. Being a lab assistant does not give you free access to the conference.
• You must be an expert-level user of the software used in the lab you are assisting.
• You do not attend the lab (that is, you do not sit at a computer), but are there to assist attendees without interrupting the class. You need to be accessible to students and avoid asking the instructor for help.
• You cannot take over teaching for even a short period of time, and you must refrain from offering unsolicited opinions during the class.
• You must review the class materials before AU and work with the instructor if something is not clear.
• You must meet the instructor in the classroom at least 15 minutes before the lab starts.

If you believe that your expertise and interest qualify you to serve as a lab assistant, please fill out our short interest form. On September 15, we will email you a list of labs that are in need of assistants.

Autodesk® Construction Magazine: First Edition Digital Magazine from Autodesk!

We've just launched the first digital edition of the Autodesk Construction Magazine. Inside this edition, you will learn about key trends and capabilities of the Autodesk BIM for construction solutions. Hear from our customers directly and get insight into the latest trends in the construction industry from our thought leader, Dominic Thasarathar.

Autodesk® Building Design Suite offers a comprehensive set of tools to manage all phases of design and construction at an exceptional value. By combining Building Information Modeling (BIM) and CAD tools, Autodesk Building Design Suite helps you design, visualize, and simulate more efficiently. Check out the digital Autodesk Construction Magazine in the link below, and learn more about how Autodesk BIM for construction solutions can help you overcome construction challenges and accelerate paths to new business.

To gain access to Autodesk Construction Magazine, sign up here:

http://www.autodesk.com/constructionmag

Service Pack 1 now available for Autodesk Navisworks 2013

UPDATE: Service Pack 2 is now available from our website which contains all the fixes below and more.

A service pack is now available for Autodesk Navisworks 2013 products. You can download and install the Autodesk Navisworks 2013 Service Pack 1 from our website

If you have experienced any of the following issues then we recommend you upgrade to the Service Pack 1

• File refresh not working after Options changed
• Timeliner 'Find Unattached Items' not working
• Inconsistencies in Clash grouping
• Google Earth model exported from Navisworks placed below surface
• Construction Parts in Revit Linked Files not working
• Save back to earlier Navisworks versions from Batch Utility
• Faro files loaded in at the wrong orientation
• Re-running clash tests with Isolation > Hide Other selected in Results tab, results are classed as resolved
• Merging Clash data inconsistencies
• Changing the selections in the Select tab in Clash causes Tolerance to revert to previous value
• Dates linked to from DataTools are displayed as previous days date in Properties window
• Sort button is disabled when there are items in Sets window.
• 'Cut, paste, copy' context menu not appearing when right clicking on Sets name.
• Selecting multiple Search Sets is not updating the Current Search
• Properties for piping and pipe supports from CADWorx 2013 not appearing
• Navisworks closing unexpectedly when: -
  • when linking to Microsoft Project file
  • when selecting a property in Freedom
  • in certain graphics card drivers
  • after refreshing during Autosaving
  • in Search and Selection Sets dialog
  • when machine locked or a screensaver is running
  • using the Simulate tab in Timeliner

Please select the relevant 32 or 64 bit version for Manage, Simulate or Freedom. This can be installed on each individual machine which already has Navisworks 2013 installed, included in the installation, or included in a deployment, the readme contains more instructions.

Should you have any issues installing the service pack, please use the Installation and Licensing forums which are monitored by Autodesk experts.

BIM in the Cloud? Now a reality with Autodesk BIM 360!

In a world where the global economy is affecting projects every day, and clients want buildings cheaper and faster, and pressures to improve the quality and sustainability of projects are pulling firms in every direction, BIM has become the 'buzz word' of the industry as the only way to do business. Autodesk® BIM 360^TM is the next generation of BIM, for anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Building, infrastructure design, and construction professionals can access intelligent model–based workflows through a broad range of cloud-based services within the Autodesk® 360 platform, which provides mobility and accessibility through infinite computing power. This video shows you some more about BIM 360 and what it means for you.

Autodesk BIM 360 helps multidiscipline design and construction teams improve project outcomes by moving computational-intensive tasks to the cloud, enabling more rapid visualization and simulation and optimized collaboration with access to intelligent data–rich models.

As part of Autodesk® BIM 360^TM we're offering 3 new services on top of some that you may have seen from Autodesk® 360.

• Clash Detection, Collaboration and Coordination – Work globally to detect and avoid potential issues before they happen, coordinate over the cloud without sending bulky models over FTP's.
• Conceptual Design and Feasibility Evaluation – Use Autodesk® 360 Infrastructure Modeler to store and manage large models and review and edit proposals.
• Field Management, Commissioning and Handover – Why should BIM stop with the model sat on a computer in an office? Taking an information model onto site and feeding information back into the model using real world information.
• *Rendering – 3.3million hours of rending since launch in September last year, that's 125,000 working days that would otherwise be spent sat next to idle computers!
• *Structural Analysis –Using the power of multiple servers as opposed to a single machine to analyze potential pitfalls in your structural design.
• *Energy Analysis – Sustainability is one of the biggest challenges the industry faces, the Energy Analysis tools help you make informed decisions about improving efficiency of your buildings.

*Existing Services

Find out more through the BIM 360 website, you can also find BIM 360 on the recently updated Autodesk 360 Facebook page. Or log into 360.autodesk.com, and try out this innovative cloud based technology and the advantages and benefits it provides.

We'd love to hear what you think, leave a comment below or email us.

Find your serial numbers and product keys for Autodesk Revit, Navisworks, QTO and the suites

Sorting through the piles of notebooks, manuals, boxes for hardware and software and emails, there's plenty of times people think there must be an easier way to get your serial numbers and product keys. Luckily there is!

This link shows you how to find your Autodesk serial numbers and product key in Subscription Center and this link shows how to find the product key for your Autodesk product.

These links also have a full list of all the product keys for the last few Autodesk releases: -

2013: Product keys for Autodesk products
2012: Product keys for Autodesk products
2011: Product keys for Autodesk products
2010: Product keys for Autodesk products

Have you got any unique ways to store your serial numbers and product boxes? If you do send us a photo by July 1^st 2012, we'll send prizes to the best ones.

Vela Systems acquired by Autodesk to help transform the construction industry

Vela Systems are an exciting company that we have been working with for some time as a partner organization, and late last week it was announced that Vela will be joining the Autodesk team.
This video, posted just a few weeks ago explains in more depth the integration between Vela's products and Autodesk Revit and Navisworks.

Amar Hanspal, the Senior Vice President, Information Modeling and Platform Products Group say "BIM has tremendous value in the planning and design aspects of construction projects, but if you can't get that rich data into the field, at the point of construction, you are leaving out the critical 'last 100 yards' in the process. Integrating Vela Systems and its cloud and mobile products with the Autodesk BIM portfolio transforms the business of construction, delivering valuable information to job sites anywhere in the world".

Read here for the full press release.

Practical tips on starting and maintaining a BIM user group

Further to a blog about starting a BIM User group a couple of weeks ago and a worldwide list of BIM in Construction User groups, James Vandezande from HOK has kindly passed along a series of posts he has written about running effective user groups.

These are well worth a read whether you are looking to start a group or contribute towards a local group with more detail about locations, speakers, hardware and sponsorships.

http://www.allthingsbim.com/2012/01/effective-user-groups-part-1.html
http://www.allthingsbim.com/2012/01/effective-user-groups-part-2.html
http://www.allthingsbim.com/2012/04/effective-user-groups-part-3.html

Since we launched the BIM in Construction User Groups page we've added lots more groups across Europe and the Americas and Australia thanks to your suggestions. If you have a group to add, email us!