ASCENT Blog

From the Woods to the Clouds

By Elvis R. Sverko

Computers, and thumb drives, and servers, oh my! We’ve been storing our CAD files (models, drawings, and datasets) in many locations for a long time. And it’s a mess. It’s like a jungle. And with multiple people trying to work together with all these CAD files, it gets difficult to keep straight. It’s easy to get lost in the woods!

Data management, including Autodesk Vault, has definitely cleared the lot some. And with version controls, it keeps the latest version of files always at the forefront. But most of these kinds of data management systems require users to all be connected to the same server. And that’s great for a large engineering firm, where all its engineers can work on and share the designs. But these designs don’t mean anything if you can’t share them with the outside world.

For Autodesk users, DWF files and Design Review have made collaboration with outside individual reviewers a breeze. They can send DWF files to others who can view, redline, and markup these DWF files, and then send them back so the engineer can make changes. A perfect partnership for drawing approval. But sometimes, collaboration is more than just reviewing a drawing of a model. It’s working on the same CAD model or drawing with people in different locations.

In comes the Cloud. With the recent passing of Steve Jobs up to the clouds, it’s easy for anyone to have heard of Apples iCloud (a storage for all your music, photos, documents, all on the web). And all these files pushed to all your devices automatically. How can we do that with our CAD models?

Welcome to Autodesk Cloud. An online storage of all your design documents. Anyone can sign up, so you can access your documents (1 GB worth) anytime, from anywhere, and share them with others. You can even view your DWF files through a web browser. And those who are Autodesk Subscription customers receive additional storage space.

The Autodesk Cloud service can be a great tool for CAD instructors. Every instructor can use the same files for the courses they teach. Even the students can use it to store their exercise files, and sharing them with the instructor to verify.

Another great tool for the CAD world. These new features and enhancements keep coming quicker, and yet better, that sometimes it’s difficult to keep up. I can’t wait to see what’s next. Bring on the clouds!

 

“When it rains, it pours.” – American proverb

 

Creating Roofs in the AutoCAD Architecture Software

By Lisa Kemp

When working with the AutoCAD Architecture software, I use its versatile roof commands to create many different types of roofs, from simple to complex and from flat to sloped. Once created, the roofs can be modified by changing their heights and slopes and dormer windows can be added. I can also convert objects into roofs and change the roof edges. This gives me a great deal of flexibility whether creating roofs from scratch or modifying existing ones.

When I want to create a roof, I often draw a simple or complex outline as a polyline or group of walls and then convert it into a roof. This enables me to concentrate on the outline first and then use the modification tools to refine the roof later.

If I want to create a flat roof I use the same process as when I create a sloped roof. The difference is that the Rise for the flat roof is set to a very low number and the Overhang is set to 0". The points I select when creating the roof are on the inside of the exterior walls, enabling the tops of the walls to be used as a parapet.

When I want to modify a roof I use the Properties palette to change its properties, including the Overall Thickness, Pitch, and Overhang. I also use grips to modify the edges of the roof and the locations of the roof vertices. Grips can also be used to change ridge points and fix missed intersections and are very useful when creating gables.

When creating a complex roof plan I draw it in 2D and then convert it into 3D using the AutoCAD Architecture software’s Roof Slab tools. This enables me to have more control over the edges of the roof planes and to create complex fascia and soffits. Roof slabs also enable me to create openings for dormer windows. I can convert roofs, linework, and walls into roof slabs, which is very useful when creating a complex roof. When I need to modify the roof slabs, I use grips, which enable me to change the angle, rise, or run of the slab.

To create a dormer window, I use the Roof Dormer command to fit the dormer walls and roofs into the Main roof. I draw the dormer walls, roof, and windows and then use the Roof Dormer command to add it to the Main roof.

As you can see, the AutoCAD Architecture software provides many options for creating and modifying a wide variety of roofs.

Teaching BIM

Teaching BIM

by  Martha Hollowell

Last week Elvis posted some thoughts on Teaching CAD  so I thought I would add my two cents worth on teaching Building Information Modeling (BIM). Teaching BIM has its own variations and complications. One of the biggest challenges is moving people from 2D thinking to 3D thinking. I must admit I was part of the problem for a while. I knew 2D AutoCAD inside and out and could do everything I thought was needed. Then I took the time to really understand 3D and my drawings were never the same.  Moving from 3D modeling in AutoCAD and even AutoCAD Architecture to total building modeling in Revit was also a revelation. This one didn’t take me as long to grasp because a lot of it “just happens”.  I was thrilled to have my schedules automatically populate and for elevation views to automatically apply the changes from the plan.

But that is still not all there is to BIM. I was still thinking in a 2D Construction Document way. I was looking at the output rather than a new way of working.  A lot of people coming into Revit fundamentals classes will feel the same way. They might be comfortable with how they have done things and don’t want to change. Even more experienced users might be focusing on the 2D views and not caring about the full features of the program. Our job as instructors is to get them excited about the full world of BIM in Revit.

There is no question that people need to know the basics to be able to work successfully in Revit. If you don’t know how to sketch a linear element you can’t get too far. So, how do you take the basics and help people see the whole model? By working back and forth (or side-by-side) in 2D and 3D views.  It is critical to get 3D views up in front of people from the very beginning because it shows the whole “building model” rather than just a floor plan or elevation. 



Tip: When you want to see more than one view on the screen close all views that aren’t needed and type WT (Window Tile) to show the views evenly on the screen.

 

How do you help your students understand Building Information Modeling?  I invite you to tell us your insights on teaching BIM. If you have any ideas you want to share through this blog that would be great. You can post replies in the comment section below and we will incorporate your ideas in future posts on this blog.

 I am also leading an “unconference” (discussion) class about this at AU 2011 in Las Vegas this year. It is titled “The Brainy Bunch: Teacher Training Tips for Revit Architecture, MEP, and Structure”. The class is scheduled for November 29, 10:30 am. Right now it is full but you can list it in “My Interests” and check back later to see if any openings have come up.

Martha Hollowell