ASCENT Blog

All in one Measure Tool!

By Jennifer MacMillan

The workflow that was previously used in Autodesk Inventor to conduct measurements has been completely updated in 2018. Instead of multiple measure commands, there is now a single command that can be used to conduct many different types of measurements. The new command is located on either the Inspect or Tools tabs and is simply called Measure ( ). You can also access it in the Marking menu or when entering dimensional values during feature creation.

What I really like about this new tool:

• It is easy to use and very intuitive.
• All possible results for your reference selection are displayed in the Measure browser.
• The references are assigned colors. The first selection is blue and the second is green.
• The expandable and optional Advanced Setting area can define the precision and whether to display the result in multiple unit formats. If you don’t want to modify these settings, you don’t have to even look at this area.
• The orange measurement value in the Measure browser is the value displayed on the model. To display a different value, simply select it in the browser.
• To restart a measurement, left-click in the graphics window. Quick and easy!
• The tool is the same whether you are conducting a measurement in a part or assembly; however, in an assembly you are provided with a series of selection filter options to make selection easier.

Here are some measurement examples:

Measuring Entities and Points

• Select an edge to measure its length and select a second edge to measure the distance between them, as shown below.

 

• Select a circular edge to measure its diameter, radius, length, and angle, as shown below.

• Select a point to measure its location (X, Y, and Z) relative to the active coordinate system, as shown below. Select a second point to measure the distance between them. Individual position values are also measured. The midpoints of entities can also be selected as measurement references.

 

Measuring an Angle

• To measure an angular value, select linear references or faces as shown below. Alternatively, you can measure the angle created by three points by selecting the first two points, press and hold <Shift> and select the third point to define the angle. To measure the angular extent around a circular edge or arc, select it.

Measuring Planar Faces for Perimeter and Area

• Once a planar face is selected, the outside perimeter, the total loop perimeter (all edges that lie on the face), and the area of the face are displayed, as shown below.

 

Measuring Cylindrical Faces for Radius and Area

• Once a cylindrical reference is selected, the radius, diameter, total loop perimeter (all edges that lie on the face), and the area of the face are reported, as shown below.

Measure the Distance Between Components

To measure the minimum distance between components, change the filter option to Part or Component priority and then select two components in the model. Among other reported values, the Measure browser displays the minimum distance between the components, as well as individual solid volume measurements for each component.

I hope that this helps you become more familiar with using the new Measure tool in 2018! If you have any feedback please let me know. Good luck!

Jennifer

feedback@ascented.com

Announcing ASCENT’s latest courseware title “Using Autodesk Navisworks in a BIM Workflow”

By: Michelle Rasmussen

I am excited to announce ASCENT’s latest courseware title “Using Autodesk Navisworks in a BIM Workflow”. From the beginning of this project we had fantastic feedback from industry, our customers, and even instructors that use our training guides. Thank you! This provided us with valuable insight into how Navisworks was being used and guided us to the type of offering that we wanted and more importantly was clearly needed.

The first thing you will notice is that we have structured this guide to follow a BIM workflow, as shown below. Next, with the help of my co-worker, Martha Hollowell, we have created a book that crosses disciplines. This book guides you through the process of bringing civil, architectural, structural, and mechanical models together into one BIM model. Then, you use inquiry tools, Clash Detective, TimeLiner and Animator tools to better predict the project’s outcome.

Rather than simple animations, like opening a door and walking through the model, we teach you how to animate a piece of construction equipment (shown in the video below) and run a time-based clash test. This helps stake holders to better understand any issues that might arise during the construction phase.

 

As in any design environment, change happens. We have used realistic models for all disciplines and show how modeling changes are made and update easily in Navisworks. As you work through how to use Navisworks in a BIM Workflow, you still learn the basics of the software. What I like about this is that you learn each tool when it is applicable. This is certainly not a tool-based training guide, instead, you learn what you need,when you need it.

 Topics in the book include the following:

• Understanding the purpose of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and how it is applied in the Autodesk Navisworks software.
• Consolidate Models
  • Navigating the Autodesk Navisworks workspace and interface.
  • Creating a composite model.
  • Transforming models for proper alignment.
• Review and Analyze Models
  • Using basic viewing tools.
  • Saving and retrieving views.
  • Sectioning a model.
  • Investigating properties.
  • Searching for items.
  • Hiding and unhiding items.
• Communication
  • Measuring a model.
  • Adding tags and comments to model components.
  • Marking up and redlining the model.
  • Animate a model.
• Collaboration
  • Reviewing a model for clashes.
  • Consolidating redlines from other team members.
• Construction
  • Creating a construction timeline.
  • Animating a construction timeline.

We also included an Appendix at the end of the training guide that provides you with some information on how to prepare your models for use in Navisworks. This is especially important when it comes to using Timeliner for construction simulation of Revit or Civil 3D models. In both Revit and AutoCAD Civil 3D, multiple parts make up one object in the model. Yet during construction, those objects are constructed as individual entities. The Appendix guides you through the steps on how to prepare your Revit model and AutoCAD Civil 3D model for TimeLiner for a more accurate construction simulation.

I am very excited to hear how you like this new offering. Let us know what you think by sending us an email to feedback@ascented.com. 

What are common uses for silhouette curves in Autodesk Inventor?

Silhouette curves are commonly used for generating parting lines for plastic part design, or for use in multi-body part design.

A silhouette curve represents the contour of the model relative to a specific pull direction. The curve can include both the inner and outer design model boundaries, as shown below. The curve can be best explained by imagining a light shining on the model. The curve is placed wherever there is a silhouette.

The models shown below show two examples of silhouette curves created on similar models. In the left model, the silhouette curve feature creates two curves because the straight faces were excluded, and in the right model, it creates a single curve around the entire model because nothing was excluded.

 

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This information is from the ASCENT training guide: Autodesk Inventor Advanced Part Modeling

Using the Mouse Wheel in Navisworks 2017

You can use the mouse wheel to move around the scene. The movement is based on a pivot point, as shown in Figure 1–21.

Figure 1–21

Note that the mouse wheel functionality changes depending on the command you are currently using. To Zoom, Pan, or Orbit a model, in the Quick Access Toolbar or Navigation Bar, click(Select), and then use the mouse wheel as follows:

• Zoom - Scroll the mouse wheel up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
• Pan - Hold the mouse wheel and then move the mouse to pan.
• Orbit - Hold <Shift> and the mouse wheel, and then move the mouse to orbit around the scene.

• When you zoom, the current location of the cursor is the pivot point.
• Pan and Orbit use the pivot point defined by the most recent zoom.

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This is an excerpt from the ASCENT training guide: Autodesk Navisworks 2017 Using Autodesk Navisworks in a BIM Workflow - Imperial (1st Ed.)

What is Autodesk Moldflow Synergy?

Autodesk Moldflow Synergy, also known as just Synergy, is the graphical user interface for Autodesk Moldflow Insight.

• It provides a quick, simple method of preparing, running and post-processing an analysis for a model.
• It also has fast, easy-to-use wizards for creating multiple cavities, runner systems, cooling circuits, mold boundaries and inserts.
• Included with Autodesk Moldflow Synergy is a material searching capability for the extensive material database.
• Material creation tools exist to import, change/modify and create materials to be used for any Autodesk Moldflow Insight analysis.
• To communicate your results with colleagues, Autodesk Moldflow Insight has a report generation facility that creates reports. You can customize the reports to contain any of the results derived from an analysis. The reports can contain images of the part(s) analyzed, including any of the animated results. One report can contain results from any number of analyses or studies.

 

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This information is from the ASCENT training guide: Autodesk Moldflow Insight 2017: Fundamentals

AutoCAD Tip: Layers in Solid View

Solid View creates a viewport and several layers. The viewport is placed on the Vports layer, which is created if required. Each viewport is given a name. This name is used to create four layers per viewport: <name>-DIM (dimensions), <name>-HAT (hatching), <name>-HID (hidden lines), and <name>-VIS (visible lines).

• Do not put anything else on these layers (except for the layer Dimensions), because Solid Drawing automatically deletes and updates the information stored on them.
• Change the linetype for the -HID layers so that they display with hidden lines, as shown here:
  
• You can change the color of any of the layers as required.
• Hatching created in sectional views uses the current values set in the Hatch command. Double-click on the hatching to modify it once it is in the drawing.

 

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This tip is taken from the ASCENT training guide: AutoCAD 2017: 3D Drawing and Modeling - Mixed Units

3D Sketches in Inventor

By Jennifer MacMillan

I recently spent some time in the 3D sketch environment (not something that I do often). It has been a while; definitely before the Inventor 2017 release. I used to find it tough to sketch and know what plane I was on, and I mostly only used the Project to Curve option. I wanted to share some of the cool features that I found and will certainly use to “control” my 3D sketches.

• There are the  (Ortho Mode) and  (Snap Object) options in the Status bar at the bottom of the graphics window that enable you to better control how the entities are sketched. With Ortho Mode enabled, you can restrict sketching to the X, Y, and Z planes. With Snap Object enabled, you can snap new entities to existing ones. Nice! Definitely makes sketching entities more accurate.
• Additional status bar options are available to enable/disable dynamic dimensioning, inferring constraints, or to show/hide constraints.

• There is more 3D sketching control added with the addition of options (shortcut menu) that help you align and reorient the model to accurately sketch your entities.
  • Use Align to Plane align to sketching triad to a plane.
  • Use the Orient Z and Orient to World to reorient the sketching triad to a custom Z direction or to the world coordinate system.
  • Use Snap Intersection to snap an entity to the intersection of entities. Ortho Mode must be enabled.

• You might be thinking that I am a bit of control freak at this point (you possibly are correct), but there is still more to get excited about. Constraints! Yup... there are more constraints to use. In addition to the pre-2017 constraints, there are options to constrain to a planar face, constrain parallel with the X, Y, or Z axis, or constrain with the XY, YZ, or XZ planes. The equal constraint has also been added.

• You can copy and paste sketches in the same sketch or in a different one. Then I can use the 3D transform tool to manipulate its location in the sketch. It uses the familiar triad to translate (along an axis or in a plane) or rotate.

• Lastly, I love the new sketch tool that enables me to sketch directly on a curved face. Awesome!

 

I certainly encourage you to look at how this environment has improved over the last few releases. You might find a lot more use for 3D sketches and all the “control” it offers.

Jennifer

feedback@ascented.com

Revit for Landscape Architects Webcast and Q&A Follow-up

Thanks to everyone who was able to join the webcast about our latest training guide: Autodesk Revit 2017 for Landscape Architecture.

In the webcast (which you can view here) I talked about how we customized Revit to work for landscape architecture where the base elements were limited or, in one case, needed a new element, to show landscape specific information. The customization process we used is beyond the scope of the fundamentals level class but all the methods I used are covered in Autodesk Revit 2017 BIM Management: Template and Family Creation.

The subtitle of the webcast was “Planting Components, Planting Areas, and Planting Schedules” so, you can see where the customization was most needed – all around plants.

Follow-up Q & A

As always, we had a lot of good questions for follow-up. Here are a recap of the questions along with my answers:

Q. Will this info apply to REVIT LT 2017?

A. Much of what is covered in the training guide can be used with Revit LT. There are some limitations including Shaped Edited floors, which are used for creating hardscape and area plantings with multiple slopes.

Q. Are there exercises in the book on how to calculate the volume of dirt for the above ground planting areas?

A. We didn’t include exercises on this exact method but we do include how to create floor types that can include the dirt in planting areas. That information can then be gathered using a material takeoff schedule as taught in Autodesk Revit 2017 BIM Management: Template and Family Creation.

Q. Can you show us the syllabus?

A. Yes! You can download a copy of the Table of Contents and a Sample Chapter here: Autodesk Revit 2017 for Landscape Architecture

Q. I've seen in many projects that utilize the RPC trees (in a lot of quantity) becoming fairly heavy and hard to move around in... Is this still an issue, have you seen this in some of your larger projects?

A. Yes, RPC (Rich Photorealistic Content) components can become cumbersome. In this case you might want to place 2D elements where having 3D elements is not needed. For example, we used a 2D bamboo component in some areas in the practices. These components can hold all the same information as the 3D components and show up correctly in the schedules.

Q. Does Revit have any plans to further develop plant libraries that come 'out of the box' to help users avoid the daunting task of building up a complete plant library from scratch?  Seems like that would be a deal breaker for many.

A. I haven’t heard about anything yet and I do understand that this is a big issue. My recommendation as you are starting out is to create the plant libraries you need as you need them. This way you will build your library as you build the number of projects in Revit. Of course, if you have someone hanging around doing nothing…

Q. After planting areas have been placed, how do they appear on sheets? We've only seen them in views thus far, as color blocks.

A. For the webcast I was showing the color blocks because they look pretty:)  You can have patterns applied as shown below. These patterns are typically setup in the material.

If they are not showing it could be that the Fill Pattern Graphics for the view have been turned off. You can fix that in the Visibility/Graphics Overrides dialog box as shown below.

This turns on the patterns for all floors – not just the planting floors. You can turn off the Surface Patterns of individual floors by using Override Graphics in Views>By Element...

Q. If the LIM Project is merged with an Architects Revit Project, can the floors be filtered or will they all show up in the project browser?

(LIM= Landscape Information Modeling – this is a term I used in the webcast.)

A. When you link Revit projects with each other you can control the project categories separately.

I interpreted the term floors in this question to be levels (rather than hardscape or planting floors) because this is what shows in the Project Browser. In the Autodesk Revit 2017 for Landscape Architecture training guide we cover how to link Revit models and how to copy and monitor levels between the projects. A more advanced use of Visibility/Graphic Overrides is to control the visibility of categories of elements in the Revit Links tab. This is covered in the Autodesk Revit 2017 Collaboration Tools training guide where we go more in-depth of how to use linking in projects.

Q. Regarding the spacing on boxwood floor planting, she changed the on center from 6 to 9 – I’m a bit confused on subject.

A. Sorry about the confusion – I probably went a bit too fast! In one example I showed that we created a custom instance parameter that lists typical spacing (in inches) as shown below. When you select from the list it establishes the Analysis Results that are then used in the schedules to tell you how many plants are needed for a specific planting area based on the spacing.

Q. You mention the custom content created for the book, but the book does not cover how to create the custom content or schedules.

A. Yes, a lot of the custom content we created for the book (and covered in this webcast) is beyond the scope of a fundamentals level training guide. If you are going to be creating the content and setting up the schedules and custom parameters for your company, you will also need the information covered in Autodesk Revit 2017 BIM Management: Template and Family Creation. There are no practices in this book now that are geared specifically to Landscape design but the methods are the same no matter what schedule you are building.

Another resource you might want to check out is my webcast Autodesk Revit Parameters Demystified found on the ASCENTctk YouTube channel.

Q. Another workflow for planting areas would be to create an area plan and create a color scheme for planting.

A. Yes, this was one of the possibilities we looked at when we were creating planting areas. We decided to use floors for several reasons:

1. Floor are easy to create and don’t require any additional training. Area plans require specific types of views and color schemes that would need to be setup.
2. Schedules for floors are similar to those needed for planting components.
3. You can slope the floors to follow contours.

That said, some people may prefer to use area plans and color schemes. You can discover more about those in Autodesk Revit 2017 Architecture: Conceptual Design & Visualization.

Thank You

Thanks for watching the webcast (either in person or on YouTube). We hope you enjoy learning and teaching from the new Autodesk Revit 2017 for Landscape Architecture training guide and any of the other ASCENT Revit titles that might help.