ASCENT Blog

What's new in the Advance Steel 2020 Fundamentals book

The Autodesk® Advance Steel Learning Guide received some necessary TLC for its latest 2020 release. This Fundamentals Learning Guide was meant to be an overview of basic Advance Steel tasks, but in order to give the user the experience of creating a project from start to finish, I needed to dive deeper by expanding on existing topics and adding new ones.

The overall goal was to give trainers more in-depth topics to stem as to how or why a project is setup. Here is a quick overview of what's been added to the Advance Steel 2020 Fundamentals Learning Guide:

Cage Ladders

Although there was already information on how to create a cage ladder I wanted to make sure the practice gave users more in-depth knowledge on how a ladder or cage is created. I expanded on adjusting a ladder's height, the distances and dimensions of braces and bands by showing the user how to add two ladders and adjust their properties to create two different cage ladders.

Stairs

Stairs were a part of the Learning Guide, but they always seem to be a nightmare to create correctly (no matter which Autodesk software you are working in), so I elaborated on creating stairs by adding more in the practice for stringers, tread type and landings, as well as adding how to add stairs from another project. 

Special Parts

Special Parts is a new addition to chapter 4. Adding special parts was a necessity as a lot of designers need to use parts created by other software or firms to keep optimal design communication. 

Model Verification

Model verification is an intricate part of designing in Advance Steel so a section covering all of the verification tools necessary to add to the book. 

Prototypes

Understanding and editing a prototype drawing is crucial for setup, so I created a new chapter in the Advance Steel book covering the creation of prototypes and how to define the  necessary settings and configuration.

Drawing Style Manager

Content about the Drawing Style Manager was added to give users a better understanding of what is being generated behind the scenes and how to take advantage of the various styles, like object presentation, view direction, advance options and much more.

BOM Template Editor User Interface

The Advance Steel Bill of Materials Template Editor section, which is a new addition to the appendix, teaches the users how to customize existing BOM template elements, including graphics, fonts, colors, token attributes, and list structure.

Management Tools

I've added a section in the appendix for an explanation on the Advance Steel Management Tools Defaults and how to navigate, filter, and save profiles.   

The changes and additions in this Learning Guide required new datasets to go with it. The changes and additions were made to enrich the book and learning experience. I welcome any suggestions or comments you may have regarding the new Advance Steel Learning Guide.

If you are interested in learning more about ASCENT’s offerings for the 2020 release, please watch our recent Webcast - https://youtu.be/yVEcM8ah-U8

 

 

Webcast follow-up: Using the AEC Collection Tools for Land Development Projects, Part 1

I thank everyone for attending my webcast on January 22^nd, 2020, where I repeated a presentation I did at Autodesk University in 2019. Due to the length of the original I had to break the webcasts into two parts.

In the first part of the AEC Collection Tools for Land Development Projects, we looked at three products:

• Autodesk Sketchbook
• Autodesk Formit (and Formit Pro)
• Autodesk InfraWorks

I demonstrated creating conceptual sketches in Sketchbook and conceptual massing in Formit. Then I created an existing conditions model in InfraWorks (through Model Builder) and populated it with sketches, 2D drawings and 3D models to explore options for a land development project for preliminary grading and visualization.

In the second part, I will take the concepts into Civil 3D and Revit for the  Design Development and Detailed Design stages and finally into Navisworks for some visualization and quantification. 

To register for the second part of my webcast happening on February 19th, click here.

To revisit the webinar, you may view the recording here. 

The webcast was prepared for:

• Architects
• Civil Engineers
• Site Designers
• Landscape Architects
• Technicians

Topics covered in the webcast:

• Creating sketches in Sketchbook
• Creating conceptual massing in Formit
• Creating a model with InfraWorks Model Builder
• Using InfraWorks to analyze and visualize the developing concepts.
• Establish some preliminary grading within InfraWorks.

Below are some questions that came up during the webcast:

Q: ­Is BIM 360 connected all the software into one project­?

A: Currently BIM 360 can interface with Revit, Civil 3D and Formit.

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Q: ­Can InfraWorks data be imported into Revit­?

A: The Bridge Modeler in InfraWorks can be directly imported into Revit and it creates a dynamic link to manage changes. Other InfraWork objects can be exported as FBX files which can be imported into 3DS Max. For surfaces and topography, we will cover that in Part 2 of this presentation.

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Q: ­Will this series include any drainage analysis and how that integrates between Civil 3D & InfraWorks? ­

A: We are considering more topics for such integrated workflow topics. Advanced piping including gravity and pressure pipes, SSA and InfraWorks watersheds would be part of this topic.

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Q: What was the total time to develop the model?

A: Model Builder generated the initial model in less that 5 minutes, and it took about 10 minutes to download the model.

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Q:  Do you have info or a link to show how you created the slope and direction styles?

A: These topics are covered in the ASCENT InfraWorks 2020: Fundamentals for Conceptual Design and Visualization course. In InfraWorks, the Terrain Themes are accessible through the <Analyze your model> <Terrain Themes> menu.

Technical Editing Tip: Using e.g. vs. i.e.

by Breanne MacDonald

As a technical editor at ASCENT, I often come across two abbreviations that are frequently misused. When should you use i.e. and when is e.g. more appropriate?

e.g.

This stands for exempli gratia in Latin and means “for example”.  It should be followed by a comma and is used when providing a list of examples – just as you would use “for example” in a sentence.

i.e.

This stands for id est, which translates to “that is.” It is used when providing an alternate wording or clarification in a sentence. You can use it the same way you would use “that is” or “in other words” and, like e.g., it should be followed by a comma.

 

Below are some example sentences showing correct and incorrect uses of e.g. and i.e.:

Correct:

Use the sketch tools (e.g., line, 3-point arc, fillets, etc.) to create the sketch.

This is correct because we are using e.g. to introduce a list of examples of the different sketch tools. In this sentence, e.g. could be replaced with “for example” (so we know it is used correctly):

Use the sketch tools (for example, line, 3-point arc, fillets, etc.) to create the sketch.

Incorrect:

If multiple symmetries can be set when you are assigning circular symmetry, the possible symmetries are listed (i.e., 2-sided, 4-sided, 8-sided, etc.).

In this example, i.e. should be replaced with e.g. because we are providing a list of the possible symmetries and not an alternate explanation.

Correct:

Construction features created in a form feature in the FORM environment are listed in the BROWSER, but they cannot be modified (i.e., their offset or angular values cannot be changed).

This is correct because we are providing an alternate explanation for “cannot be modified.” In this sentence, i.e. could be replaced with “that is” (so we know it is used correctly):

Construction features created in a form feature in the FORM environment are listed in the BROWSER, but they cannot be modified (that is, their offset or angular values cannot be changed).

Incorrect:

Select the next loop of edges (e.g., the 4th loop working your way up from the bottom).

In this example, e.g. should be replaced with i.e. as we are providing further clarification on what is meant by “the next loop.”

 

It can be tricky to figure out which abbreviation is the appropriate choice for your sentence, but if you keep their translations in mind, you will find it’s easier to choose the correct one.