Revit 2012 update 2 released

With all the noise about the Autodesk Cloud tools which were released today, it will be very easy to miss that Autodesk have also released Revit 2012 update 2. You will certainly need this update if you plan to use the new Cloud rendering functionality. Get the update here...

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=16841348

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Autodesk Design Review Mobile

With the advent of portable mobile technologies such as we Iphone & the Ipad Autodesk Users have been jumping up & down with anticipation for a mobile DWF viewer. Whilst AutoCAD WS was the first mobile cloud technology from Autodesk for true design review collaboration, this really wasn’t gonna cut it for the Revit User. So finally Autodesk sneaked Autodesk Design Review Mobile up onto the Apple App Store yesterday! Hurry for common sense! :-)

You publish your documents to a Autodesk Cloud account where they can then be downloaded to your Ipad or Iphone via the Autodesk Design Review app. Once onto your I-OS device, you can review any multi-page DWF. There is a basic information panel which includes the ability view properties, views, control layers & mark-ups. A simple double arrow allows you to navigate through the various DWF sheets.You can add text mark-ups & callout boxes mark-ups which get saved to the DWF.I haven’t tried it, but one would assume you could publish a DWF from Revit. Send it to a cloud account, download to a Ipad, Iphone, Ipod touch, add mark ups & pass those mark-ups as overlays in Revit. 3d DWFs can be navigated with one or two fingers using the typical pan & zoom functionalities associated with the I-OS.

At present the functionality looks limited, for instance you can’t control the graphic look & feel in 3d views or perspectives. Also, there doesn’t seem to be a magic marker sketch tool, but these are early days. However, these are really early days & I am sure it will come. So if you have an I-OS device, what are you waiting for? Get connected, go to the Apple App store & download Autodesk Design Review Mobile. Suddenly you will have a reason to use your Ipad for more than just Angry Birds. :-)

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/design-review-mobile/id459112753?mt=8

AU2011 – Citrix & Revit

Wanna know more about Citrix & Revit?  Then be sure to check out HOK’s John Bartolomi, Director of IT Services class. He will be giving a presentation at Autodesk University on the virtualization of Revit. Class detail & times are below.

• ID:                          AB4595
• Title:                     Autodesk Revit Virtualization Using Citrix® Technologies
• Date:                     Thursday, Dec 1, 2011
• Time:                    5:15pm
• Duration:             90 minutes

Vasari – BIMstore Special Editions

I have been asked on a number occasions if I could share a copies of some my Star Wars Revit & Vasari families. Well I shared my Imperial Shuttle with the guys over at BIMstore, so get ya copy there! Be sure to check out the parameter names!

http://www.bimstore.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:the-bim-geek&catid=49:the-bimstore-blog&Itemid=297

BIMshow Live

 

So BIMshow live is announced today! The BIM momentum is really (and some say finally) gaining traction in the UK. There have been numerous seminars & conferences, but BIMshow live aims to be different by showcasing BIM & BIM technologies live; how firms are using them & the benefits that this brings.

“This strategic event – BIM Show Live 2011 - brings BIM to a targeted audience in a way that is accessible providing a showcase of practical examples, through designated streams, highlighting experiences, challenges and advantages.

The use of BIM will be made mandatory on virtually all government projects within five years and this is a big policy change for the construction industry. A report by the Innovation and Growth Team in 2010, which recommended BIM being used on projects over £50m, was dismissed by Paul Morrell, the government‟s chief construction advisor, as “unambitious”. He said the only exceptions would be when using BIM made the project more expensive and said: “Within five years, all government procurement will be within 3D collaborative BIM, with specific exceptions where the cost might exceed the benefit, although I have to say I‟m struggling to think of obvious examples of that.

UBM‟s practical BIM Show Live 2011 will showcase and highlight the enormous benefits of BIM and also what BIM requires firms to do - to conform to a set of standard processes and 3D modeling of projects.
Come ready to learn so much of the latest new systems. Take away fresh ideas and forge new business contacts. Network, debate and listen to the challenges, advantages and latest trends and technologies”

More details can be found at the BIMlive website-

http://bimshowlive.building.co.uk/

Yours truly will be there to cover Conceptual Form Finding and Analysis. In my this session we will look at how to use BIM for concept form making. We will review how; even at the early stages of the design process we can use the power of tools like Autodesk Vasari & Autodesk Revit to provide immediate feedback during the concept development. You will learn how to:-

• Generate forms
• Use parameters to control geometry allowing you to test options
• Schedule areas
• Divide complex surfaces for early stage panelisation
• Create solar studies
• Solar analysis
• Use CFD for wind analysis

Be sure to checkout the other speakers & BIM gurus on the agenda.

 http://bimshowlive.building.co.uk/agenda/

AU2011

So I will be going to AU2011. I will be helping rather than leading any sort of class. I have offered my assistance to Jason Grant in his class on Presentation Graphics.

AB4564 – Autodesk Revit for Presentations: Graphics That “Pop” Jason Grant

This class will focus on the art of a drawing and how entourage, tweaking settings, and not using Revit out of the box can add "feeling" to your drawings rather than just displaying your walls, doors, and windows. Focusing on using Revit as your main presentation tool and output, we will explore how techniques that are applied using other graphics and modeling software can be mimicked within Revit to create a more efficient workflow as well as drawings that will impress. Custom families and settings will be shared.

I will also be loitering at Roberts & Zachs labs class. If you didn’t make it last year, be sure to sign up this year. You will learn & ton & its great fun as well!

AB4391-L Twice Baked: Creating Your Own Adaptive Components and Panels with Autodesk® Revit®

This hands-on lab builds on the topics covered in last year's "Au Bon Panel: Baking Your Own Adaptive Components and Panels with Autodesk Revit Architecture." Revit 2012 has introduced the ability to place adaptive components directly into projects, which opens up even more possibilities of what you can do with this powerful family modeling tool. We will address more complex topics, including using hosted points and shape handles, and will provide tips on how to make use of nested components. Our examples will include both the practical and perhaps not-so-practical, including how to use Adaptive Components as “design aids” (“computational” design on the fly). You will learn how to build “stuff” that behaves how you want it to and not how Revit thinks it should. So, come prepared, review the classes from 2010, and get ready for a whirlwind lab!

Then my colleague William Lopez Campo & I have got the grave yard slot late on Thursday afternoon. This is an conferenced class on the concepts of BIM 360.

BIM 360: Autodesk® Revit® for Whole Lifecycle

In this unconference session, we will explore the use of BIM in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the building. Based on exploration made for a specific project, this class will show the lessons learned and best practices for using the information model throughout the lifecycle of a complex building, using Revit primarily, but far from exclusively, as the driving platform.

Grevity Blog

Got pointed in the direction of this blog today by my old boss Tim Bates, who now heads up Newforma in EMEA. He said be sure to check out Andy Milburns Revit & BIM blog!

http://www.grevity.blogspot.com/

Andy is an architect working in Dubia for a firm called GAJ. Some really cool stuff here, be sure to take a look.

More on creating custom patterns - Hatch22

A shout out to all those that pointed me in the direction of this free hatching creating application called Hatch22 which installs directly inside Revit 2011 & 2012.

http://mertens3d.com/tools/revit/2012/hatch22-2012/hatch22-2012-download-install.php

Also, Hatch 22 is free of charge to use. Go check it out!

What a piece of junk!

Still working progress, but I thought I’d share. Why Vasari & Revit is my hobby as much as its my job!

Creating custom fill patterns the easy way

So out of the box Revit comes with a useful set of hatch patterns which can be used in your projects to create drafting & model fill patterns. The hatch pattern file uses the same format as AutoCAD & ends with an file extension of .PAT. These hatch pattern file can be found in the following location……

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit Architecture 2012\Data

You can also create your own fill patterns directly in Revit, however you are limited to creating patterns which are either parallel lines or cross hatch.

What if you want to create custom fill patterns based on a material requirements or a specific design you have created? Well you are into writing the .PAT file, which is actually a simple plain text file. There is some great guidance on how to do this in Mastering Revit Architecture bible as well as the Revit help file.

Nether the less, architects are generally visual people, we draw & design; very few of us can write scripts & code! So this is where Hatch Kit Pro steps in. Its a $125 utility for creating hatch patterns & is well worth the money and it will save you hours of pain! Patterns can be created directly in the Hatch Kit Pro or imported as a DXF from say Revit or AutoCAD & then exported to generate the .PAT file. The following video steps through what I think is the quickest process for creating that pattern you have always wanted!

Feel the force! Vasari 2.1 update is here…

Need I say more, Vasari 2.1 update is on Autodesk Labs, be sure to check out the wind tunnel feature, the coolest thing you’ve seen in a long time! :-)

• Ecotect Wind Tunnel Analysis  
• Improved Automatic Zoning for Energy Models 
• Performance and Stability Improvements

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/vasari/

(yep & before you ask, all modelled in Vasari 2.1)

Plumbline announce Revit content

Plumbline have announced some very cool Revit content. They have updated their popular products from the Catalano range to Revit, making it easier for architects and designers to specify our products.  Be sure them out…

http://www.productspec.net/cad-files.aspx?index=0&ext=.rvt&secondary=700&cid=1716