Autodesk's show reel from Siggraph.

new Connection Extension for Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010

Autodesk has released a new Connection Extension for Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 for subscription customers.

“Features and Benefits" (from the product information)

Enhanced interoperability with CAD packages – Bring solid models from many of your favorite CAD packages into 3ds Max Design 2010 for visual enhancement or conceptual design and export them back as solids when you’re done. A new high-fidelity SAT data translator helps make it easier to move solids-based data between 3ds Max Design and Autodesk® Revit® Architecture, Autodesk® Inventor® Professional, or certain third-party CAD products without translating to polygons.

Extensive connectivity with Google™ SketchUp™ modeling software – A powerful new SKP file translator enables you to bring SketchUp scenes into 3ds Max Design with minimal effort and get straight to work rendering or enhancing the visuals. Also, 3ds Max Design can now read numerous free models from the 3D Warehouse section of the Google website.

Streamlined compositing with OpenEXR - Create professional-quality cinematic narratives. A rewritten OpenEXR translator makes it easier to work with compositing applications, enabling you to blend computer graphics (CG) animation with live action footage.

Intelligent workflows – Help save time and avoid costly geometry clean-up work with new, more effective workflows for dealing with complex scenes.”

KC firm to design 'sport city' in Iraq - Kansas City Star

Congratulations to 360.

KC firm to design 'sport city' in Iraq - Kansas City Star

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Mid West CAD Technology Expo - 9/22

Mid-West CAD hosts a technology expo at Unity Villiage in Kansas City, MO. This year's event takes place on September 22.

www.mwcad.com/cadmidwest.pdf or, you can sign up via Autodesk here.

Texas adopts BIM capability for State Design and Construction Projects

Contact: Mike Blackwell, TFC Marketing and Communications Specialist (512) 463-4237/(512) 791-9189 Michael.blackwell@tfc.state.tx.us

Austin - The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), the agency within the State of Texas that oversees the state’s real estate development as owners and operators of state facilities, today announces its adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for state design and construction projects. For over a year, the Facilities Design and Construction (FDC) division within TFC has diligently worked to standardize the use of BIM for its future projects. FDC is responsible for overseeing the design and construction of state facilities throughout Texas. Currently, FDC manages 125 projects valued over $500 million, in addition to maintaining the Facilities Master Plan. In an effort to promote workflow efficiency, streamline productivity and increase the return on investment for the State of Texas, FDC has adopted and encourages the use of BIM’s digital design technology.

This digital design technology, in the form of coordinated, data-rich BIM models, gives TFC and its architectural and engineering design professionals the ability to explore early design concepts in 3D, visually analyze and simulate projects before construction begins, help identify and reduce costly design conflicts, and work in a more collaborative way to produce a better, faster, and more cost-effective state building. After construction, the BIM model becomes an evolving, digital representation of the actual building that can be used throughout a building’s life to facilitate the sharing of coordinated, consistent data among TFC’s design and construction partners; as well as TFC divisions tasked to maintain energy efficiency and maintenance services.

“Modernization has always been a central theme of my administration at the Texas Facilities Commission, and the BIM implementation is another part of that effort,” said TFC Executive Director Edward L. Johnson. “Modernization of our business practices, modernization of our real estate strategy, modernizing building design and construction . . . a part of everything we do is making use of the most innovative, state-of-the-art developments in both the public and private sector. Three years ago we embarked on making the Texas Facilities Commission the most sophisticated and professional real estate management and building design and construction organization that exists in the public sector. Becoming a leader in Building Information Modeling is an important step in that direction.”

The BIM model and process is a powerful tool for an owner of any size; but due to the number and scale of the TFC’s building and renovation ventures and the varied nature of construction types, ranging from office buildings and hospitals/labs to deferred maintenance projects, the integrated process allows for better informed decision making for all involved. The BIM process helps architects, engineers, constructors, sub-contractors and vendors collaborate with an intelligent model, allowing them to visualize and simulate using precise data before any building material is purchased, brought to the site or erected. Further, by making BIM the standard for all new buildings, TFC can begin to gauge energy usage, as well as forecast energy consumption based on model simulations; model multiple high-performance building scenarios based on minimal design time, simulate or identify security issues related to building type, and connect the model to existing databases or control systems for bi-directional, real-time data exchange.

“The BIM process allows the TFC and our private sector partners to collaborate from the start, share important data accurately and make better informed decisions earlier in the design process,” said Chris Tisdel, TFC’s Director of Building Information Modeling. “The added visibility and workflow efficiency reduces unexpected delays, unforeseen costs and overall construction time, which is of great value for our large operations across the State of Texas.”

As a part of the adoption of BIM, TFC recognizes that the private sector will be looking to it for guidance and a clear definition of what BIM means to the state. To that end, the FDC has developed a clear set of standards and guidelines that all private sector partners will have access to prior to any involvement in a state project. Along with the guidelines, FDC has created an interoperable BIM template that all private sector partners will have made available to them for any State project. The combination of the guidelines and template will enable any private sector partner just getting into BIM to save time and effort and provides them with a framework to build their own workflow and standards around. TFC is committed to educating and working with those who design and build projects for the State, in a collaborative manner with the clear goal of making the BIM approach a positive one for all involved. (See video describing TFC’s adoption of BIM)

The State of Texas leads the way in BIM adoption and implementation, providing support, education and best practice standards to other state and local agencies that are also in varying stages of BIM adoption. The pool of owner-entities adopting BIM within Texas is growing at a quickening pace as the state leads the way in encouraging a better way to design and build. Industry and trade association leaders acknowledge that Texas has taken an innovative leadership role in adopting BIM. By doing so, Texas closes the gap between it and the General Services Administration, the first major governmental agency to adopt BIM for new construction and leads all other States in the way it leverages BIM to support construction, energy, maintenance, and facilities operations within Texas.

Finally, BIM provides a coordinated, informed understanding of the design and building process for owners, designers and constructors. As new construction grows at the state level, project expectations that include increasing complexity, a high level of transparency for decision makers, and accountability to taxpayers requires a new, but tested equally innovative approach to the traditional understanding of concept, design, scheduling, cost and implementation. TFC has adopted that innovative approach in BIM and by doing so is leading the way on a national stage into the future of digital design and construction.

Transferring Site Data Between Revit Architecture ad Civil 3D

Autodesk offers something called "Skill Builders" that are available to all users, regardless of your subscription status. One of the local Kansas City Autodesk resellers sent me an email about a new skill builder series on "Transferring Site Data Between Revit Architecture and AutoCAD Civil 3D"

Below is from the Autodesk web site.

This skill builder is a series of videos that show how to share and manipulate site data in Revit Architecture and AutoCAD Civil 3D.

Creating a Toposurface in Revit Architecture
Learn how to import a DWG file into a Revit Architecture project, establish a survey point for coordination with AutoCAD Civil3D, and create a toposurface for site layout.

Exporting a Revit Architecture Project for Use in AutoCAD Civil 3D
Learn how to prepare a 3D view of a Revit building site and export it to an ADSK file for import to Civil 3D.

Importing Revit Architecture Data into AutoCAD Civil 3D
Learn how to import an ADSK file from Revit Architecture into an AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing.

Exporting an AutoCAD Civil 3D Surface to Revit Architecture
Learn how to extract contours as 3D polylines from a proposed ground surface and write the polylines to a drawing file that can be used to update the Revit Architecture model.

Updating the Revit Architecture Toposurface with an AutoCAD Civil 3D Site Design
Learn how to update the linked drawing file in Revit Architecture and recreate the toposurface. Then, see how to use the Globe Link Extension (available for subscription customers) to upload the Revit model to Google Earth and further explore the design.

Mastering Revit Architecture 2010 (Paperback) Review

With each release of Revit, more and more publishers are starting to print Revit Architecture books. Finding the correct book that meets your needs can be difficult, especially if you are ordering online and don't have an opportunity to skim through. And to be perfectly honest, one book may not meet all your needs.

I teach Revit Architecture at the community college level and choosing either a textbook or supplemental text is pretty important. I don't want my students spending money on something they won't use when the class is over, so I have chosen not to use a textbook. Instead, I encourage my students to buy a supplemental text that will help them during the class and on the job.

For that reason and several other, I recommend the "Mastering Revit Architecture" series and the Mastering Revit Architecture 2010 title is now available. Having read and used previous version of the Mastering Revit Architecture series in the classroom and at work, I have come to expect very high standards from the latest title "Mastering Revit Architecture 2010". I am pleased to report I was not disappointed. In short, the book is well organized and the material is presented in a manner that it can be used as an easy-to-follow tutorial or as an in-depth and knowledgeable reference. Each of the 20 chapters takes you through the subject matter from the basics to the more advanced features.

Why is this book different? I think what sets this book apart is the authors. You have your Autodesk insiders who are working for the company and know how each individual tool is intended to work. But you also have a practicing Architect as part of the writing team, Eddy Krygiel.

Eddy has worked on large complex projects like the IRS Center in Kansas City to much smaller projects like the renovation of his home (send me model pic to post Eddy). So what does that mean. Well, we have all seen the Autodesk demos of Revit. Sometimes the workflow makes sense and well, sometimes it does not. Sometimes Autodesk intends a tool to be used in a particular manner but in the real production world it gets used differently. That's what Eddy brings to the table. He helps you understand and learn the tools the way an Architect will use them. Not the way a programmer thinks you will use them. And he knows this because he is actually working on projects from pursuit to commissioning. He's not a consultant who may touch a project briefly or a application developer.

If you want a book that is going to teach you about the buttons on the ribbon, then find the cheapest one. If you want a book that is going to teach you how to properly use the tool so that you are successful with BIM, then I think you would be very happy with "Mastering Revit Architecture 2010" series.

Saw this new extension for Max on the subscription web site. Has anyone used this with Revit and seen a workflow improvement?

Release Date: 2009-08-10

The Connection Extension for Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design 2010 software makes it easier and more cost-effective to turn design data into more accurate, realistic visualizations. New levels of interoperability, based on intelligent data workflows, between 3ds Max Design and CAD software from both Autodesk and certain third parties makes it easier for architects, designers and visualization specialists to leverage existing design data and minimize rework.

Features and Benefits

1. Enhanced interoperability with CAD packages – Bring solid models from many of your favorite CAD packages into 3ds Max Design 2010 for visual enhancement or conceptual design and export them back as solids when you’re done. A new high-fidelity SAT data translator helps make it easier to move solids-based data between 3ds Max Design and Autodesk® Revit® Architecture, Autodesk® Inventor® Professional, or certain third-party CAD products without translating to polygons.
2. Extensive connectivity with Google™ SketchUp™ modeling software – A powerful new SKP file translator enables you to bring SketchUp scenes into 3ds Max Design with minimal effort and get straight to work rendering or enhancing the visuals. Also, 3ds Max Design can now read numerous free models from the 3D Warehouse section of the Google website.
3. Streamlined compositing with OpenEXR - Create professional-quality cinematic narratives. A rewritten OpenEXR translator makes it easier to work with compositing applications, enabling you to blend computer graphics (CG) animation with live action footage.
4. Intelligent workflows – Help save time and avoid costly geometry clean-up work with new, more effective workflows for dealing with complex scenes.

Revit 2010 & ADT and AutoCAD Architecture problems

Richard Binning in his "Beside the cursor..." blog details a problem with ADT and AutoCAD Architecture after installing Revit Architecture 2010 on workstations with existing ADT and AutoCAD Architecture installs.

...After installing Revit Architecture Suite 2010, I was suprised to find out that my install of Architectural Desktop 2007 would no longer allow me to drag and drop palettes from the content browser to the application...

Worksharing over the WAN

In this economy, I am not sure if I am a BIM Manager or a Procurement Officer will all the cold sales calls I have been receiving from software and hardware vendors. But occassionally I get contacted from someone that has a product worth investigating.

I don't think I am in an unusual situation where I am supporting multiple projects that are working over the WAN. The biggest drawback to working over the WAN is the file latency issues when Saving to Central. Riverbed's have been the primary tool to combat the latency issue but another company Globalscape.com claims to have a product that makes working over the WAN better.

I have not used the product and we are just starting the process to look into this solution, so I thought I would share it with everyone. If you have used the product and have done your internal duedilagence and benchmarking and would like to share, please do so.

Link to a marketing video

State of Wisconsin to require BIM

I recently completed work on a BIM Execution Plan with the assistance of some very talented people. While discussing this document with a colleague, they brought to my attention that the State of Wisconsin is now going to require that all projects with a total budget of $5 million or more and all new construction projects that exceed $2.5 million have to have their designs done in BIM (Building Information Modeling). Being familiar with the GSA and ACOE requirements, I thought I would look at what the State of Wisconsin was requiring.

In short, the State has new standards or guidelines that require A/E that meet the above financial requirements and are Design-Bid-Build utilize BIM / 3D software from start to finish. The State has already completed several pilot projects

Below I have linked in the State of Wisconsin's announcement and the standards for their BIM requirement. The State of Wisconsin has also setup a discussion forum to get feedback on the standards.
BIM Implementation Announcement

BIM Guidelines and Standards