Beyond Design: the Construction and BIM blog

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

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.

New version of BIM 360 Glue mobile – available now!

It gives me great pleasure to announce to our readers, that a new version of the BIM 360 Glue mobile app is now available on the iTunes AppStore!

Providing large-project BIM viewing on the iPad, whether you're a BIM 360 Glue or Navisworks user, you can now benefit from visibility controls (hide and isolate), and enhanced measurement tools. Read on for more details of this exciting release…

Hide and reveal models and model objects

Visibility controls have been a major focus for this release. Whilst the app is powerful enough to load multi-discipline projects, it's really useful to be able to hide models from individual disciplines; or hide objects such as walls and ceilings to see and inspect the services behind them.

You can additionally isolate objects - making it easier to examine them within context of their surroundings.

And when reviewing the properties of an object, you can now select its parent object, for example the object type, family or category; with hide and isolate applying to the entire selection.

Powerful measurement tools optimized for BIM and field use

The Point-to-Point measure tool has been enhanced to provide a magnifying glass, providing a view of what's under your finger, and therefore making it easier to position your measure points.

An important benefit of using this app in the field is to be able to compare the model with installed components and equipment – planned 'vs' actual. As such, it's not always the point-to-point distance that is required; the vertical and horizontal differences between the points can help inform you whether something has been installed too high/low, or too far from a specific reference point. To provide this additional context, the app will also calculate and display the XYZ differences.

The app is used by a wide range of users, some of which will not necessarily benefit from this feature, so XYZ Differences can be disabled in the App Settings.

Measure shortest distance

The Measure Shortest Distance tool makes it easy to find the direct distance between two objects. If you want to know the width of a corridor for example, to see if you can get a piece of equipment along it, you can select the walls on either side of the corridor and the narrowest point will be identified.

Get the app now!

View the App in the iTunes AppStore 

Please give us feedback

Prioritization of new features is certainly influenced by user feedback, so thank you for the feedback we've received to date, but don't stop now – why not share with us the work site scenarios where you are currently using the app; how you could use the app more effectively if only it did 'x'; or any other ideas, suggestions, or features you'd like to see in future releases.

You can either leave a comment here, or contact us via email, [email protected]

New Autodesk Building Performance Analysis blog

For those of you with interest in performance analysis of buildings there's a new blog from Autodesk focussing on this very topic. Whether you are interested in energy analysis, airflows, lighting analysis or more, this should be a hot topic for those looking to get the most out of the BIM models.

Building Performance Analysis blog

Directly from the team, this is who the blog is aimed at: -

Who is this Blog for? We are looking to address three groups of readers –

• Expert BPA Professional –MEP engineers, Building Scientists, Energy Analyst or similar professionals who dedicate the majority of their time to BPA related activities.
• Casual BPA Professional – Architect or Junior Engineer who spends part of their time on BPA related activities.
• Aspirational BPA Professional – People who finds BPA interesting, would like to learn more and be more involved.

What will we try and do with this Blog?

• Share – Share information about Building Performance Analysis, latest research, and related topics that would be interesting to our readers
• Teach – Educate our readers in the general field of BPA as well as specifically on Autodesk solutions supporting BPA
• Learn – Learn from our readers by always providing room for comments and feedback
• Be Provocative – As transformational BPA technologies and workflows become available, we will highlight them to provoke discussion and exploration of the future that could be very different from our past.

If you want to view this or any other blogs more easily here are full instructions to see blogs inside Autodesk products.

BIM 360 Field Keynote speech this Wednesday in San Diego

As many of you know, earlier this year Autodesk acquired Vela Systems which has now been relaunched as BIM 360 Field. Co -founder of Vela Systems, Josh Kanner, an expert in Construction Field Management is presenting the keynote speech at this Wednesday's AGC Construction Technology Conference in San Diego.

The AGC Technology Trends in Construction Committee has planned a dynamic conference for the industry. Learn how to use the latest technology to be more efficient, and to gain a competitive edge so your firm can secure more work. The committee will also be giving away a new iPad during the conference, what better way to show off your model than downloading the free BIM 360 Glue mobile app for the iPad!

KEYNOTE: How iPads, the Cloud, and BIM are Changing Construction

This session is presented by Josh Kanner, the Senior Industry Manager from Autodesk. Autodesk is based in San Francisco, and is a worldwide leader in iPad apps for the construction industry. Josh is the Autodesk expert in iPad apps for use on construction sites. He will detail how cutting edge contractors are using iPads, the Cloud, and BIM to revolutionize construction field management.

Date - Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Time - 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Location - Mission Bay Hilton, 1775 East Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 92109
Cost - $49
Register and more details here

What Does the Cloud do for Me?

In my previous post, BIM 360 Glue On The Go, I mentioned that I assumed product management responsibilities for the BIM 360 Glue mobile app around 10 months ago - that takes us back to Autodesk University 2011. Whilst there I was able to share with a group of construction customers (under a non-disclosure agreement, of course) an early research prototype created by our development team. That prototype was looking to see whether the core Navisworks technology could be leveraged on iOS, and we found that we were able to handle BIM models at least 10-times larger than we had seen before on a mobile device. "This looks promising", said some of those customers. "When can we have it?" asked many others in the room.

Initially we hoped it would be much sooner than 10 months, however in that same week another twist of fate took place - Autodesk acquired Horizontal Systems (with their solution Horizontal Glue being rebranded as Autodesk BIM 360 Glue earlier this year).

If ever there were two technology stacks and engineering teams that were meant to be together, this is them - Navisworks has been well established in the AEC space for over a decade, and fundamentally addresses a key problem of being able to bring together the (often large) design data of BIM projects for coordination on PC's. BIM 360 Glue addresses a similar need, however starting out with a foundation of collaboration, which greatly simplifies the process of gathering models from your design partners, and delivering instant access and simultaneous review capabilities - I'm thrilled that our teams have united over the past 10 months - and what I hope you see in the BIM 360 Glue mobile app is the evolution of Navisworks technology (which maximizes the limited memory and computing power available on mobile devices), unified with the collaborative power of Glue (which makes it easier to access your models and stay current) - if only the branding team would let me get away with calling it SuperGlue... J

 

If you're still asking what the cloud can do for you, well I think one of the best things the cloud offers is, facilitating a connected experience – connecting people to their data; and connecting people to people, thereby improving collaboration. The first release of the BIM 360 Glue app provides a means of connecting the mobile user to their latest-version models in Glue, which may be individual design models from Revit, etc. or merged models aggregated within Glue, or models aggregated in Navisworks and uploaded to Glue. From a collaboration perspective, if you're using the BIM 360 Glue web client, then as part of your review process you can send notifications to other users of let's say, a specific area of interest in the model. Upon receiving this notification, it will include a unique URL, and if you follow this link from your iPad mail client it will take you directly to the mobile app, automatically open the relevant model and take you to the exact area of interest. "One-click to BIM" (or technically with a touch interface, one-tap to BIM, but that doesn't sound so snappy).

This is what should be the start of many collaborative workflows we'll deliver across Autodesk and the BIM 360 solution. These will not only better link the design teams into pre-construction workflows, but also extends into the construction phase through BIM 360 Field, for Field Management, Commissioning and Handover (delivered through another recent acquisition of Vela Systems). It's clear that mobile capabilities will be an important means of project participants capturing data anytime and anywhere, and making that available to the rest of the team. This will help to reduce a lot of the wasted time (and resource) seen in construction today, through delays in getting information to the right people, and getting the right people together (when often not co-located) so that they can make informed decisions.

Project Galileo Online graduates to Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler

When Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler was a technology preview on Autodesk Labs, it was known as Project Galileo. A second technology preview, Project Galileo Online, allowed users of Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler to collaborate on and share infrastructure-scale models with their stakeholders. Using Project Galileo Online, users could publish models to Autodesk 360, and invite others to access, download, and commit changes to shared models. The technology preview of Project Galileo Online operated until September 30, 2012. Thanks to everyone who participated in the technology preview.

With its graduation from Autodesk Labs, Project Galileo Online has become Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler. Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler is available to subscription customers of the following software:

• Autodesk Building Design Suite Ultimate // more
• Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium // more
• Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate
• Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler // more

Graduation ceremonies are alive in the lab.

via labs.blogs.com

When Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler was a technology preview on Autodesk Labs, it was known as Project Galileo. A second technology preview, Project Galileo Online, allowed users of Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler to collaborate on and share infrastructure-scale models with their stakeholders. Using Project Galileo Online, users could publish models to Autodesk 360, and invite others to access, download, and commit changes to shared models. The technology preview of Project Galileo Online operated until September 30, 2012. Thanks to everyone who participated in the technology preview.

With its graduation from Autodesk Labs, Project Galileo Online has become Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler. Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler is available to subscription customers of the following software:

• Autodesk Building Design Suite Ultimate // more
• Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium // more
• Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate
• Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler // more

Graduation ceremonies are alive in the lab.

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