Ideate Solutions

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming days:

2.23-24::San Francisco
Ecotect Fundamentals
2.27-29::San Jose
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals
2.28-3.1::Seattle
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
3.5-7::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

eLearning – Upcoming Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

2.21.12::
Revit 201: Site Tools
2.28.12::
Revit 201: Getting Started with Presentations

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

2.21-23::Portland
Civil 3D Fundamentals
2.22-24::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.22-23::Seattle
Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics
2.22-24::Seattle
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals
2.23-24::San Francisco

Ecotect Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

eLearning – Upcoming Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

2.14.12::
Ideate 101: Getting Started with Vasari
2.21.12::
Revit 201: Site Tools
2.28.12::
Revit 201: Getting Started with Presentations

Avoid Takeoff Blunders in Revit Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:53:00 +0000

The days of actually sharing Building Information Models are finally upon us. At Ideate we’re seeing a high degree of RVT sharing going on out there, not only across A/E disciplines but also into the construction field. Obvious hurdles still abound as we struggle to define BIM deliverables and what constitutes a “constructability” model but it’s exciting nonetheless to see so much progress in the past two years.

As we see more owners and contractors performing detailed takeoff analysis derived from Revit models we’ve become more attuned to the unique challenges of trying to leverage someone else’s data. It’s difficult enough to “walk through” a project you are not familiar with, and even more difficult to comfortably assess the data behind the model when you yourself are not the creator.

To that end, I thought I’d share a few tips to help avoid some of the common mistakes that can be made when using Revit for quantity takeoff purposes.

Phasing and Schedule Data Challenges
Architects and Engineers most typically use phases to graphically represent demolition, existing, and new construction conditions within a project. This allows, for example, items that are existing to be shown in a lighter lineweight, and items that are being demolished to either be displayed as dashed or not be shown at all. Ideate has had many support cases where quantity takeoffs were not giving the expected results due to phasing considerations. Using the wrong Phase Filter on a Schedule can radically impact the takeoff results.

Each of Revit’s model elements are assigned a Phase Created and Phase Demolished value, as shown. These assignments give Revit the ability to display Views and Schedules as a snapshot in time. When the schedule is created a Phase is identified, as shown. This acts as a filter on the schedule. In this example, any Wall that has a Phase Created value of “Phase II” will not display in the schedule.

Consider the simple floor plans shown for Phase I and Phase II of the same project. Each schedule has a different combination of Phase and Phase Filter settings. These phase settings can be edited from the Properties dialog when the Schedule is the active view.

Note that the temporary wall, shown dashed, is visible in both the Floor Plan View and in the Schedule. Depending upon the Phase Filter the temporary wall could be excluded even if the Phase is set to “Phase I.” Additionally, this schedule includes walls that are existing. Is this desired for your takeoff?

In Phase II, another room is created. The Revit Schedule, when set to Filter on “Phase II” can include only the items created during this Phase OR can be set to show both the new items and the older items. The Phase Filter called “Show Previous + New” will cause the Existing, Phase I, and Phase II items to display. It cannot, however, be used to only show Phase I and Phase II items and it will also not include any temporary items from the previous phase.

So, Before You Start the Takeoff...
If you’re using someone else’s RVT to generate a takeoff, bear these tips in mind:

Start by reviewing the Phase settings which can be found on the Manage tab under Phases. Review both the Phase and Phase Filter Settings to understand the lay of the land.

In order to get a complete picture of the elements on a per phase basis, you may want to have a Schedule for each Phase and use only the “New” Phase Filter.

Additionally, while not as prevalent, Design Options present the exact same set of issues with respect to quantity takeoffs. Revit Schedules may or may not reflect information about the set of data upon which you should be basing the takeoff. Design Option data creates duplicate elements. In some instances the Design Option data may actually be old and not relevant to the bid.

The best course of action is to review the Design Options directly with the architect or engineer prior to starting the takeoff.

Lastly, Ideate BIMLink can provide peace of mind to the quantity takeoff process by including the relevant phased and design option-based information in-line with the element data. In this short Quantity Takeoff and Phasing video you’ll see how Ideate BIMLink can represent all element instances. You can then use Excel to decide which elements should be part of your takeoff.

Learn more about Ideate BIMLink at www.ideatebimlink.com.

Want more information on Phasing or Design Options? Ideate offers custom online training during convenient lunchtime hours on these and other construction-related topics. Review the online Revit training topics then contact Ideate's Training Department for more information.

Glynnis Patterson is a registered architect and the Director of Software Development at Ideate, Inc. In a previous life Glynnis spent many hours looking at blueprints with a scale, highlighters, and a scratch pad to develop detailed cost estimates.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

2.13-15::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.21-23::Portland
Civil 3D Fundamentals
2.22-24::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.27-29::San Jose
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

eLearning – Upcoming Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

2.14.12::
Ideate 101: Getting Started with Vasari
2.21.12::
Revit 201: Site Tools
2.28.12::
Revit 201: Getting Started with Presentations

BIM for Civil Engineers: Surfaces – Elevation Analysis Using AutoCAD Civil 3D

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

As an Application Specialist with Ideate, Inc., I have received many questions regarding AutoCAD Civil 3D models and how users can take advantage of the capabilities within their product. The information within a model allows designers to clearly convey design intent to their current and prospective customers. This often leads to a better understanding of the project itself, and a much smoother process leading to the end product.

The term “BIM” has been used for a few years now, however the definition of BIM has not been adapted to the recent enhancements in the design and construction industry. If you ask an Architect or Construction professional what “BIM” stands for, they may respond with “Building Information Modeling,” which is a term that focuses the intent of the model on the actual “Building” that is being designed. As engineers, when we think about “BIM” we should consider its meaning to be “Building an Information Model,” where the content is not strictly focused on the building, but on the entire model and all components making up the project.

As a civil design engineer, AutoCAD Civil 3D is my tool of choice for creating and analyzing a Civil Engineering BIM Model. In this short article, we’ll take a look at one quick and easy way to create and analyze surface slopes using a text (.TXT) file from a Surveyor.

Step 1: Create a Civil 3D Surface using the Point File (do not import points)

In your Civil 3D drawing, use the Ribbon’s Home tab → Create Ground Data panel to start the Create Surface Command
Verify the Surface Type is TIN Surface, and provide a Name and select a Style for your surface. Optionally, provide a description and select a render material in this dialog box as well.
Click OK to create the Surface. It is now listed in the Prospector tab of your Toolspace
Expand the Surfaces collection (click on “+”) and expand the Surface object that was just created.
Expand the Definition collection within the Surface object to view the different types of data that can be used to generate the model.
Right-Click on Point Files and select Add
Click on the “+” sign in the upper right corner to browse to your Point File (.TXT in the example).
Select the Point File and click Open.
Specify the Point File Format (PNEZD (comma delim) in the example) and click OK to create the surface.

The surface is automatically generated when you click OK. If you do not see the surface in your drawing, use the Zoom Extents command (double-click the mouse wheel) to zoom to the extent of your drawing.

Our Information Model now has a surface object that can be analyzed and used in our design. The power of a Civil 3D drawing does not fall in the objects you see on screen, but in the information that the drawing contains. Although we simply see contours representing our surface, we have all of the 3D information it contains available for use. In this example, we will do a quick Surface Elevation analysis to color-code the surface based on a range of elevations to find the high and low spots in our model.

The latest releases of AutoCAD Civil 3D have a much more user-friendly environment. For this example, we will take advantage of the Contextual Ribbon tab that appears when Civil 3D objects are selected. In most cases, if you wish to edit, analyze or use information from a Civil 3D object, the process begins by simply left-clicking on the object in the drawing.

Step 2: Surface Elevation Analysis

Left-click on the Existing Ground Surface to activate the contextual Ribbon tab
Click on the top half of the Surface Properties button in the Modify panel
In the Surface Properties dialog box, switch to the Analysis tab
Select Elevations from the Analysis Type drop down list
Specify the number of ranges in the Ranges section (4 in the example)
Click on the Run Analysis button
Review the Range Details section to find out the Elevation Ranges and color scheme that was applied.
Fine tune the Elevation Ranges and modify the color scheme if preferred.
Click OK to complete the Analysis.

At first glance, it may appear as though nothing happened in your drawing. What has actually happened is more information has been added to your model. In order to view the information, a modification must be made to the Surface Style. Civil 3D uses Object Styles to display the different aspects of a Surface in a drawing file.

The final step is to select or modify the Surface Style to display the new information that was just created through the Elevation Analysis.

Step 3: Displaying the Results of the Elevation Analysis

Left-click on the Surface again, if the contextual tab is not already displayed.
Click on the bottom half of the Surface Properties button to access the Edit Surface Style command.
Switch to the Display tab of the Surface Style Dialog box and click on the light bulb symbol next to Elevations to make that feature visible.
Click OK to exit and review the results of your Elevation Analysis.

It is recommended that your Civil 3D drawing template include a pre-defined style for analysis review. If it does include a pre-defined style for Elevations, you may use the Surface Properties command to assign that style to your surface instead. Editing the Surface Style using the steps above will affect all surfaces referencing that style in your drawing, and the Style must also be edited again after your review is complete to return it to the original state.

As you can see, the value in the BIM model lies in the information that it contains. Civil 3D provides users with a user-friendly way to leverage this information and convey their design intent to all parties involved in a project.

Next time you hear the term “BIM,” remember to think of it as “Building an Information Model”, rather than simply modeling a building.

Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist
Matt is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of Hawaii. Matt obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has 7 years of private sector design experience which he applies in his role as an application specialist with Ideate, Inc. His project experience includes residential and commercial site development, private and public sewer, water and drainage systems, harbors improvements, and roadway improvements. While in Hawaii, Matt was involved in multidisciplinary projects for City and County agencies, State Departments, the Army COE and private developers. @MattM_PE

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

2.13-15::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.21-23::Portland
Civil 3D Fundamentals
2.22-24::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.22-24::Seattle
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals
2.22-23::Seattle
Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics

Know your software. Sign up now!

Adopting Lean Practices in the Architectural/Engineering Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

David Haynes, AIA, LEED AP, Director of Consulting at Ideate, Inc. has spoken at numerous conferences about technology and business issues that affect the AECO (Architects, Engineers, Contractors, and Owners) industry. Recently, David spoke at Autodesk University and Revit Technology Conference about adopting Lean Business Practices in the A/E (Architects/Engineers) community.

In the most recent AECbytes issue, David’s article addresses bringing the best practices learned in other industries (manufacturing) to A/E design workflow practices. This article is a must read for everyone in the A/E community looking to maximize profits, reduce waste, create a better design experience for customers, and increase customer retention.

AECbytes Viewpoint Article: Adopting Lean Practices in the Architectural/Engineering Industry

eLearning – Upcoming Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

1.31.12::
Revit 201: Revit for Interior Designers
2.7.12::
Revit 301: Revit Architecture Family Editor Basics
2.14.12::
Ideate 101: Getting Started with Vasari

Playing Nicely with Navisworks Manage

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Working with both AutoCAD MEP and Navisworks Manage, we always want to make sure to utilize all the data built into AutoCAD designs in the Navisworks model. However, when exporting from AutoCAD MEP, some information seemed to get lost in translation. Recently, an Ideate Inc. customer contacted us about this exact issue. Thankfully, the Techs at Ideate along with Autodesk were able to resolve this issue.

Conduits, Ducts, Pipes all seemed to export the geometry just fine but all their properties were missing. Take a look... Here is what we saw:

Original Properties of a Conduit in Navisworks 2012

There is no intelligence there at all. We scratched our heads and contacted Autodesk. We collectively scratched our heads. We tried uninstalling, updating, re-installing with no avail. We were almost convinced that Autodesk had left this functionality out of Navisworks 2012. Luckily, a tech at Autodesk stumbled upon a switch that opened the door for the data to come across! Here is the difference!

Updated Properties of a Conduit in Navisworks 2012

So what changed to allow all these new properties to come through the export? It’s a simple change of a registry key associated to the Navisworks exporter.

There are some pre-requisites though. You need to make sure you are up-to-date on all your service releases.

Navisworks Manage 2012

32bit: Service Pack 1
64bit: Service Pack 1

Navisworks Exporters (32/64bit) IMPORTANT

Latest Update

Make sure that you install the latest updates and reboot your computer before making any registry key changes. Once you have rebooted, Open AutoCAD, draw a conduit, cabletray, duct or pipe and run NWCOUT to export the DWG to Navisworks. Open Navisworks and open the NWC. You will most likely NOT see any of the extended properties from your element; This is to be expected. However, behind the scenes a new registry key has been created. This key “HiddenProps” is the one we need to modify. Close out Navisworks and AutoCAD and do the following:

Open the registry editor (Start > Run > regedit)
Expand to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
...Software\Autodesk\Navisworks Exporters x64\9.0\AutoCAD

Open the key HiddenProps and set the value to 1
Close the registry editor and try exporting again.

At this point, if you run an export from AutoCAD, you should see your extended properties in Navisworks. I hope that this helps. Thanks for reading!

Matthew Nelson
MEP Solutions Application Specialist
Matthew has a deep understanding of Autodesk products. He studied Mechanical Engineering at SUNY Stony Brook. He has been a BIM manager and CAD manager for a leading international consulting services firm utilizing AutoCAD MEP, Civil 3D and Revit MEP. During that time, he focused his skills on understanding the dynamics of inter-discipline coordination on large scale civil and building engineering projects. At Ideate, Matthew provides training and support for Revit MEP, Navisworks and AutoCAD MEP. @MNelsonIdeate

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Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

1.31-2.2::Seattle
AutoCAD Beyond the Basics
2.13-15::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.21-23::Portland
Civil 3D Fundamentals

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Optimizing Performance with Autodesk Software, Windows, Parallels, and Mac OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Well it’s been about 3 months now since my Dell M6300 had to be sent out for service and I switched to our iMac as my main workstation. I’ve been loving using our Mac; secretly I hope the Dell can’t be fixed :). Like Apple says Mac OS X is the most advanced operating system in the world. With more developers writing apps for both Windows and Mac OS X and huge leaps in virtualization technology Apple products are popping up everywhere. Apple first infiltrated the enterprise market with its mobile devices and has been steadily carving away at the PC share. This shift has been increasingly referred to as the consumerization of IT. iMacs, Macbook Pros, Mac Pros, machines once only seen in the hands of design professionals; can now be seen in all industries. Case in point, the last engineering firm I visited here in Portland the IT director had a Macbook Air in hand as we toured the office physically and virtually, remoting into workstations as needed. As IT, notorious for their iron like grip over its end user’s workstations, devices, and software, start adopting more Apple devices this trend will gain even more traction.

In the case of the AEC industry there has been one very large problem why we haven’t seen many Apple computers used in the workplace before – Autodesk. Autodesk’s products which have been adopted by architects, engineers, and contractors almost as a standard are all developed for Microsoft Windows. But even this is starting to change. AutoCAD for Mac re-released in 2011 and AutoCAD LT for Mac this year are now part of its entire software offering. But what about the other Autodesk products, what about Revit? For this problem there is a solution and like I said I’ve been using it for 3 months now and am pretty happy about it.

I use Parallels 7 to virtualize Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit on top of the Mac OS enabling me to use Revit, Navisworks, even 3ds Max in a seamless environment with my Mac apps. Parallels is officially supported by Autodesk as the virtualization software. I’ve used VMware before and Parallels has by far surpassed it. I chose to install the Building Design Suite Ultimate and Infrastructure Design Suite Premium as part of my test. This setup requires a rather robust machine, so let’s start off with hardware. This is what I’m running:

21. 5” iMac , mid 2010
3.2 Ghz i3 processor
8 GB memory
ATI Radeon HD 5670 512 MB memory
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

Anyone looking for a similar setup, I would recommend increasing the RAM to 16GB, so you can allocate 8GB to OS X and another 8GB to Windows; which by the way at this time is the max in Parallels. Setting up Parallels and installing Windows was pretty straight forward and went smoothly, but there are a number of settings where you can optimize the experience. Below are my recommendations separated out by changes that can be made on the Mac side, Windows side, in Parallels, in AutoCAD based apps, and Revit.

Mac OS X

Create a Bootcamp partition, install Windows, and install your Autodesk products before you setup Parallels. Why? Because Parallels has a great feature that will create a virtual machine based off the Bootcamp partition. This allows you to work in Windows on the Bootcamp partition when you need a 100% of your Mac’s resources, restart and boot back into the Mac OS and Parallels all other times. The file/folder structure is retained. So any changes, file saves, etc. made on one side is reflected in the other.

Windows

Get rid of that fancy Windows 7 Aero theme and graphics. You don’t need all that graphics glitz because you won’t see it, more info below under the Parallels section. In Control Panel, System, Advanced System Settings, Visual Effects, select Adjust for Best Performance.

Connect to your company domain – more of a reminder than anything, so you can connect to your company’s network and file servers. The network will actually see your machine as two machines while in Parallels. For example, I named our iMac, IdeateiMac, and the Parallels Windows VM, IdeateiMac-PC.

Parallels

Coherence mode. Hands down this is what amazed me the most. As the name implies Coherence basically eliminates the feeling that you’re working in two environments, and instead in one coherent combination of Mac OS X and Windows. Windows applications can be accessed from a folder on the Dock or by the Start Menu by right clicking the Parallels icon in the Application bar. Parallels allows copy/paste functions between the two operating systems, even drag and drop! It also knows which documents can be opened with what program when double clicking the file. Other features like USB detection are nice too. When you plug a USB device Parallels asks what side is it for, Windows or Mac.

Memory. Allocate as much as you can to Windows, 8GB.
Processor. Parallels even allows you allocate entire processors to the virtual machine. I didn’t see much of a difference between settings. It could be because I didn’t push it hard.
Video Card memory. Like the processor setting I didn’t see much of a difference, but again it could be because I didn’t stress test it enough.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD-based Products

Hardware Acceleration. The first time I fired up AutoCAD in Parallels I was a little disappointed. There was a considerable delay between the mouse and cursor. It felt like I was working underwater. I checked Options, System, 3D Performance, and disabled Hardware Acceleration. This immediately resolved the cursor lag.
Selection Cycling. Disable it. We’ve actually seen performance hits on PCs with this option on too.
Dynamic Input. Disable it. I like dynamic input and saw a minor hit when it was on, but it still helps a little.
Use an MS compliant mouse with a scroll wheel. I LOVE the Magic Mouse and its multi-touch gestures, but when I would work in AutoCAD or Revit I wanted to be able to use the scroll wheel to zoom, pan, and orbit.

Revit

Hardware Acceleration. I actually didn’t see a difference with it on or off.
Anti-aliasing for 3D views. Same here, I didn’t notice a difference with it on or off.
Visual Styles and Graphic Display Options. Just like on a regular Windows machine, different visual styles affect performance in it different ways. Hidden Line and Wireframe obviously performed the best; while Realistic lagged a little when orbiting in 3D. Not surprisingly, ghosted surfaces utilized more resources.

Parallels truly is the best of both worlds. You can use all of those Mac OS features and be able to run your Windows only apps like Revit; and with a seamless feel to the two environments. If you’re one of those users who love their Mac and work with Autodesk software I highly recommend going the Parallels route. Just make sure you have enough memory which will have the most impact on how well the software will run.

I hope this helps. Do you have a specific question I didn’t cover here? Feel free to email me at support@ideateinc.com.

Derek Wielkopolski
Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

1.23-25::Portland
AutoCAD Fundamentals
1.23-24::San Francisco
Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics
1.31-2.2::Seattle
AutoCAD Beyond the Basics

Know your software. Sign up now!

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

1.17-19::San Francisco
Civil 3D Fundamentals
1.23-25::Portland
AutoCAD Fundamentals
1.23-24::San Francisco
Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics

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Corridor Section Displays Improperly in Section View Editor

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Recently, Ideate received a support request from a customer who is using Civil 3D 2012. In the particular file, the corridor was not displaying properly in the Section View Editor. The following figure shows the customer’s screen image with the problem:

As you can see, this section is at station 0+50’ that all the corridor section lines are jumbled up and the grid is not visible. For example, you cannot see the datum and the top links clearly on this corridor. It is not easy to use or interpret this information.

From the figure below, a few sections ahead, at Station 2+75’ the corridor section line work gets even more difficult to understand the section.

What’s happening is that Civil 3D is showing you all the sections from the start on this corridor baseline. So in the figure above you are seeing sections at station 0+00,’ 0+25,’ 0+50’ and so on to station 2+75’ all at one time, each station overlapping each other.

The simple answer to this problem is to set the visual style to 2D Wireframe.

You can find the visual style on the top left corner of this screen. Currently it is set to “Wireframe” which stands for 3D Wireframe. Click on this and chose “2D Wireframe.”

Problem solved! As shown below:

Gaurav Bagga
Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

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Increased Requirements for 2012: AIA Continuing Education

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

On December 9, the AIA Board of Directors voted to modify the AIA’s calendar year continuing education requirement. Per year, AIA members will be required to complete 12 hours of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) education, an increase from the previous requirement of 8 HSW. The AIA Board will re-evaluate the sustainable design (SD) requirement in 2012. The new HSW requirement goes into effect in January 2012 and AIA members should fulfill their total 18 hours of continuing education during the calendar year.

Increasing the HSW requirement per year sets a higher standard for AIA members and will enable them to fulfill state licensing requirements for most states. Additionally, increasing the required number of HSW credits will raise the level and quality of our continuing education and professional development of architects.

Additional information and list of topics on health, safety, and welfare (HSW).

Additionally, in calendar year 2012, aligning closer with state licensing boards’ practice, AIA members will no longer be able to self-report HSW courses for credit. Members will need to complete HSW credits by taking qualifying courses from registered AIA CES Providers and Providers will need to report HSW courses for members to receive HSW credits. Members can continue to self-report learning unit (LU) credit hours for non-provider courses and programs.

In the past, AIA members were able to attend courses outside of the AIA CES Provider network and submit a self-report online to be reviewed for HSW or SD credit. AIA CES is implementing this new HSW and SD credit policy to ensure quality education and establish an educational standard for the courses that AIA members attend.

Both Ideate Green BIM Basics and Ecotect Fundamentals qualify for HSW credit, 7 each. For more information about these and other Ideate course offerings, contact the Ideate Training department or call 888.662.7238 x1012.

Credit requirement information via the American Institute of Architects.

Share and View Your 3D Infrastructure Models Online + Browser + iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Are you using Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler (AIM) to create 3D models of your projects? If not, refer to my earlier blog post where I talked about importing GIS data straight into a 3D model using Infrastructure Modeler.

So now that you have 3D infrastructure models, the question is how do you share them with your design team or project stakeholders? The answer was simple if you needed to share DWG files – email the file or use online document management such as Autodesk Cloud. But how to share infrastructure models that are represented by multiple files and folder structure? Here is the answer:

Project Galileo Online
Using PLUG-IN to SHARE FILES

In short, create infrastructure models using AIM and share them with your project team member using Project Galileo Online. Team members can view the model online or within AIM.

On the Project Galileo Online page you will find three download options:

Project Galileo Online Installer: Plug-in that gets installed and runs within AIM
Web Browser Plug-in: Browser plug-in that gets installed and runs AIM scenario within Browser
iPad App: Use iTunes to download the application.

Download and install Project Galileo Online Installer to be able to see the options to share project data within AIM.

Once this is done you will need to activate your Sync > My Galileo Online Account which will give you a unique Service URL and Account ID.

Next create a scenario from the Scenario Explorer and publish it. A scenario is just the subset (or more) of the whole project that you want to share. Once the Scenario is created and published you will see the share links in the Sync > Manage Online Scenarios dialog box:

Now the project stakeholder who does not have AIM can view the infrastructure model in the browser by installing the Web Browser Plug-in as below:

By downloading the plug-in and publishing the scene, team members and stakeholders can see the 3D infrastructure model. Using an internet browser, the process is even simpler. Collaboration and team communication is greatly enhanced, further reducing project timelines, and getting valued team feedback quicker.

See How Autodesk Cloud Computes Optimal Design Profile to Minimize Earthwork

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:08:00 +0000

You create the existing ground profile using Civil 3D and then create the design profile using the traditional Civil 3D commands to balance and minimize earthwork.

What if you could click a button to automate the design profile creation based on certain design criteria?

While it's not quite one click; it's what Autodesk labs came up with recently:

Project Silverstar for AutoCAD Civil 3D

The project codename does not quite convey the advantages but it is a really impressive feature. The way it works is you click a button within Civil 3D, specify some design parameters and send the data to the Autodesk Cloud. After the calculation is done you will get an email from Autodesk cloud with the design profile file/s. Now you can import the profile form the .txt or LandXML file into the Civil 3D project drawing.

The following Profile Views displays the design profile in blue created traditionally:

Download the Project Silverstar executable.

Once you install you can access the Profile Optimization command from the Toolspace > Toolbox. You may need to register or sign in to your Autodesk account.

This will open the Optimization Wizard.

In this box, apart from the other options specify the Design Speed and Earthwork Cost Table. Yes, earthwork cost table, impressive, isn’t it, take a look…

In the next few pages you also specify the Dump/Borrow Site, Max/Min Grade, other such parameters including the solution precision and maximum solving time. Once you hit Finish, everything seems to finish. It may seem like nothing happened, but you sent the information to the Autodesk Cloud where the computation is being done. On your command line you will see a message saying: The request was sent successfully.

Expect to receive an email with the .txt file or LandXML file with your results. Once you get the email save the files and import the profile via Create Profile from File command:

That’s it! You are done. The profile that I imported is displayed below.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

1.9-11::Seattle
Civil 3D Fundamentals
1.10-12::Sacramento
Revit MEP Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals
1.10-12::Seattle
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
1.17-19::San Francisco
Civil 3D Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

1.4-6::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
1.9-11::Seattle
Civil 3D Fundamentals
1.10-12::Sacramento
Revit MEP Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals
1.17-19::San Francisco
Civil 3D Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

eLearning – Upcoming Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education.

Upcoming classes include:

12.27.11::
Revit 201: Converting Blocks to Families

Classroom Training – Open Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

1.3-5::San Jose
AutoCAD Fundamentals
1.10-12::Sacramento
Revit MEP Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals
1.17-19::San Francisco
Civil 3D Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

New Year's Resolution - Cleanup those RVTs!

noreply@blogger.com (Ideate Inc) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Resolve to keep your RVTs clean and well oiled in 2012. Use Ideate Explorer for Revit to take on these essential tasks:

Review/Cleanup Imports. Unused Import files (DWG/DGN) are cluttering your RVT and impacting performance. Get rid of them now while you can.

Assure that only Company Standard Text and Dimensions are being used. It’s easy to use the wrong style of there are too many to choose from. Prevent printing headaches and make sure only approved styles are used.
Audit keynote and revision usage. What’s been keynoted? Where are the revision clouds? You’re in charge of quality control – you need to know these answers.
Review the model and detail lines. Improper use of model lines or selecting the wrong detail line will surely result in a printing mishap. Audit now.
Audit the workset organization. Controlling performance and visibility through worksets can work well, until objects are misidentified. Review workset assignments quickly to nip these problems in the bud.

While not a complete list, it’s a great starting point. Start the year off right by auditing your projects today with Ideate Explorer for Revit.

Glynnis Patterson,
N.C.A.R.B. – Director of Services
Glynnis is a Registered Architect and has worked within the BIM industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is currently the Director of Development Services at Ideate, Inc. and continues to work with AEC clients across the nation, developing, and implementing best practices solutions. In her spare time Glynnis is a member of the Morristown Environmental Commission and builds Lego projects. @GVPinNJ

Get it. Know it. Use it.