How to Catch Design Problems Quicker With Geometric DFX

If DFX sounds like a new product to you, it isn’t. For some time, it has been offered as an add-on product called DFMPro, which has been integrated into a number of high-profile CAD software solutions, including SolidWorks, Creo, and NX. DFX is the stand-alone product now offered by Geometric. While DMFPro works within a specific MCAD software package, DFX works with native models and assemblies in almost all CAD software programs. The cool thing about DFX is how easy it makes finding design flaws in the early design stages, helping to eliminate engineering change orders (ECOs).

What’s Useful About DFX?

ECOs are wasteful and expensive. It is estimated that ECOs are responsible for eating up some 20 to 50 percent of the total cost of designing and producing a product, and about 30 to 50 percent of the cost of engineering and research and development capacities. Some design flaws aren’t evident until much later in the development process, such as when the product hits the production line, during product testing, or when the end customer begins to complain.

DFX helps eliminate this waste of time and resources in a simple, user-friendly way. It automatically recognizes areas of the design that need special attention, such as the placement of holes and bends, how wide ribs and slots are, and the height of bosses. DFX as a stand-alone product can help eliminate cost overruns, and speed the time to market.

DFX combines the in-house knowledge base with industry best practices and automatically applies the design rules with just a few clicks of the mouse. It is also customizable for specific industry needs, as well as particular company or user needs and preferences.

How Does DFX Work?

It isn’t necessary to be an experienced CAD designer to leverage this product. DFX requires only basic CAD software knowledge to operate, such as how to rotate, zoom, etc. It combines a number of knowledge bases, including technical documentation, data from testing and analysis on previous projects, and known ways to improve efficiency and lower costs with designs.

Once the knowledge is added to the system and the program is configured according to needs and preferences, it looks for issues that might be found in production or during product use. This includes identifying issues like mold release when manufacturing plastic parts and pieces, bending issues often seen in sheet metals, and service access problems associated with making parts. It helps users identify design flaws at the earliest possible stage of development, when these issues are quick, easy, and cheap to resolve.

DFX Compatibility

Geometric DFX works in most CAD formats, including:

• SolidWorks
• CATIA
• Creo
• Inventor
• NX
• Solid Edge

It is also compatible with most neutral formats, including:

• IGES
• STEP
• Parasolid

DFX is useful for injection molding, sheet metal, machining, castings, and assembly. A free trial of the product, as well as demos and videos, are available at the Geometric DFMPro website.

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For CAD users, Cadalyst is the brand of CAD information provider that offers the most complete and up-to-date information about CAD. Read up on the latest product reviews, news, information, announcements, and more today at the Cadalyst website.

 

Protect Sensitive Data With Easy, Secure Data Image Overwrite for Your Large Format Devices

Proper disposal of electronic data stored on a large format printer’s disk drive is imperative to preventing inadvertent disclosure of sensitive or confidential information.

Data-sensitive environments are no longer limited to defense agencies, power generation firms and related contractors, but include any enterprise that places a high value on its intellectual property. These environments require specific security precautions to ensure the security and integrity of sensitive and confidential information.

Security breaches can occur when documents are not disposed of properly. This is not only limited to hard copy documents but also electronic data. Unfortunately, simply deleting files isn’t enough. Threats to your data and secure information linger long after you delete a file.

The disk drive that is part of a large format printing device’s controller is used as a temporary repository for spooling and processing data (e.g. copy, scan and print jobs). These drives are susceptible to data remanence – the residual representation of data that remains even after the data is deleted – which can inadvertently make sensitive data available to unauthorized users.

The Importance of Electronic Shredding

Proper disposal of electronic data stored on a large format printer’s disk drive is imperative to preventing inadvertent disclosure of sensitive or confidential information. To prevent this from happening, specific security precautions should be integrated into all network devices.

Purchasing a large format device that is equipped with electronic data shredding (or e-shredding) functionality can help prevent recovery of previously printed, scanned and copied documents. With e-shredding technology, data is overwritten in such a way that makes it impossible to retrieve or reconstruct it. Print, copy and scan jobs sent to a large format print system enabled with this technology are completely overwritten and erased upon completion of the job. This can be particularly useful in decentralized walk-up environments where many different users have unregulated access to the system.

Electronic Shredding Options

Most systems that offer e-shredding functionality allow the administrator to select from a number of overwrite algorithms. Common algorithms used in the United States include:

• Gutmann: All jobs on the system are erased in 35 overwrite passes. An overwrite session consists of a lead-in of four random write patterns, followed by 27 specific patterns executed in a random order, and a lead-out of four more random patterns.
• US Department of Defense 5220.22-M: This is generally regarded as the highest level standard for sanitization to counter data remanence. It meets U.S. Department of Defense requirements for erasure of disk media.
• Custom: The system administrator defines the number of overwrite passes manually.

Implementing e-shredding in your large format workflow is an easy way to protect your confidential data. Don’t wait until it is too late and you security has been compromised. To learn more about secure data image overwrite technology on large format devices, read the whitepaper “Safeguard your Business’ Sensitive Data.”

Author: Bob Honn, Director of Marketing Services, Wide Format Printing Systems Division, Océ North America

Autodesk 360, Part 4: Synchronization With Autodesk 360

In Part 3 of this series, I showed you some of the collaboration functionality of Autodesk 360. We are now going to look at how we can synchronize our documents and drawings using Autodesk 360, using a fixed location (PC on a network) and a mobile location (iPad on a remote site with Wi-Fi), like in Part 3.

Your Documents Are Ready To Go, What Happens Now?

In Part 3 of this series, I mentioned that your documents were already synced. The synchronization tools you get with Autodesk 360, either in your fixed location or your mobile location, give you great flexibility. Especially if you are mobile on a tablet such as an iPad. Any changes you make using AutoCAD WS (for example) can be synced up to Autodesk 360. Be aware, though, that you can store ANY kind of document on Autodesk 360. We are talking MS Word or Excel docs, not just drawings and models.

So like in Part 3, you’re logged in with your Autodesk ID and you have synced your existing documents from your fixed location (PC on the network) to the cloud (Autodesk 360).

Autodesk 360, logged in, with MS Word docs highlighted.

Making And Syncing Changes In A Fixed Location

I have selected one of the Word docs I have uploaded, which are the three previous parts of this series. The selected document is “Intro to Autodesk 360.” You will notice I have control over comments (right-hand side) and I have commented “This document needs to be archived.” Currently, this document is NOT set to be shared. Public sharing is switched OFF (bottom). If sharing was on, the comments function is a great way to add “unofficial” comments on any document, drawing or otherwise, almost like you would talk to each other on social media, a bit like Windows Live Messenger, for example. It is a superb way of working in a fixed location and letting the staff on a site know what needs to be done, aiding productivity. There is also the facility to download the document, which I will discuss in a moment.

Screenshot showing download, comment and sharing functions.

So, if I clicked on DOWNLOAD now, Internet Explorer (IE9 in this case) prompts me to Open or Save the document.

MS Word document waiting to be downloaded from Autodesk 360.

I am going to OPEN the document and as I have MS Office on my laptop at my fixed location, Windows will open the file for me and I can then get on working, regardless of where that document came from, which could have been a remote site on the other side of the world, again aiding productivity.

If I go back to my overall list of Autodesk 360 documents (just click on Documents at the top of the Autodesk 360 screen), and I hover over the document, you will see small icons highlighting that I have made a comment on the document.

When I click on the Actions icon (arrowed) and click on Versions on the sub-menu, Autodesk 360 give me a chronological order of the versions of the same document, allowing tracking of the document and its various versions.

Actions sub-menu showing Versions function.

The versions of the document are displayed on the browser screen as shown below:

Screenshot showing document versions.

I can upload a new version of the document, or if I click on the small clock icon, I can revert to a PREVIOUS version if required. Autodesk 360 prompts you about this if you decide to do it.

The option to revert to a PREVIOUS version of the document.

Making And Syncing Changes In A Mobile Location

So let’s look now at our mobile location. I am running Autodesk 360 and AutoCAD WS on my iPad, and I am going to change a drawing using AutoCAD WS.

Upon logging in to Autodesk 360 on my iPad, I see the recent history of the MS Word document. So, my changes have already been synced live in the cloud in Autodesk 360. This speeds up collaboration time, especially when working together as a team on project drawings where the masters are stored on Autodesk 360.

iPad screen showing live updates already synced in Autodesk 360.

Using the same process as above to find a drawing this time, but using the iPad remotely on a Wi-Fi connection, I have downloaded the drawing A3 Training.dwg in to AutoCAD WS for the iPad.

A3 Training.dwg open in AutoCAD WS on the iPad.

If some changes are made to the drawing on AutoCAD WS REMOTELY, these changes will be synced to Autodesk 360 immediately when the drawing is saved. I have added two red circles to the drawing, as shown below.

A3 Training.dwg showing the two red circles added.

After selecting Done in AutoCAD WS, the drawing is saved. I then need to select Sync in the drawing list and the new revisions to the drawing (the red circles) are then saved to that version of the drawing in Autodesk 360 as well.

Drawing list in AutoCAD WS showing drawing used and Sync button on iPad.

Once the remote sync is complete (on AutoCAD WS), the fixed location can then check the changes on their Autodesk 360 back at the office.

By clicking on the Actions icon like we did before, and selecting Document Activity, you can see that the drawing was synced in Autodesk 360 only minutes before.

Autodesk 360 at the fixed location showing where to find Document Activity on the Actions sub-menu.

The Document Activity list for A3 Training.dwg with the recent sync highlighted.

If you refer back to Part 2 of this series, I showed you how to use Autodesk 360 to work with updated drawings and how you can collaborate with your stored documents in Autodesk 360. With the addition of AutoCAD WS on a mobile device (in this case, the iPad), you now have the ability not only to collaborate, but design on the fly, using a mobile device and show the document changes in Autodesk 360 as you go.  I stated that this leads to faster implementation of your design on site or on the factory shop floor.

Faster implementation and, as you now see, easy remote syncing of both drawings and regular documents makes for a much slicker workflow. The remote location using Wi-Fi and any kind of enabled tablet (not just an iPad, it could be an Android device, even a Kindle Fire) allows any organization to work GLOBALLY and almost anywhere.

The cloud is here and it is being used in many ways already. Autodesk are providing some superb tools that can be used with some of the cutting edge devices that are out there, such as the iPad, the Motorola Xoom (amongst many others). This technology WILL (and already is) revolutionizing  the way we work with not only CAD, but with all the documents used in the design process such as specifications, OEM manuals and the like. A typical example was the MS Word document in this part of the series.

As I said in Parts 2 and 3, it will allow us to embrace the mobile device movement and start to mobilise the CAD office/function in ways we never thought possible.

This is Part 4 of 4 for this series, so I bid you farewell for now but keep an eye for further blogs about tablet devices and mobile workflows!

Author: Shaun Bryant

Autodesk 360, Part 3: Collaboration Between Fixed and Mobile Locations

In Part 2 of this series, I showed you some of the functionality of Autodesk 360. We are now going to look at how we collaborate using Autodesk 360, using a fixed location (PC on a network) and a mobile location (iPad on a remote site with Wi-Fi).

Your Documents Are Synced, What Happens Now?

You’re logged in with your Autodesk ID and you have synced your documents from your fixed location (PC on the network) to the cloud (Autodesk 360).

Logged into Autodesk 360.

Using AutoCAD 2013 In A Fixed Location

As mentioned in Part 2 of the series, all of the Autodesk 2013 product range now include an Autodesk 360 tab on the ribbon interface. We will be using this in a fixed location when you are already logged in. Click on the Online tab on the AutoCAD 2013 ribbon interface.

The Online ribbon tab, after log in.

So, right now, you will have your Autodesk 360 browser window open (it works best in Microsoft IE9) and your AutoCAD 2013 is done and uploaded to Autodesk 360 ready to go. That is your fixed location all set.

Using Autodesk 360 In A Mobile Location

So now we need to think about the mobile location. I am running Autodesk 360 and AutoCAD WS on my iPad, so let’s check this out.

I first use my browser on my iPad (normally Safari by default) to logon to Autodesk 360. Once I am logged in, I can browse my documents in my Autodesk 360 folders. In this case, it is the AEC Plan Elev Sample Drawing, already loaded in Autodesk 360. I know this is a default sample drawing, but for speed’s sake, use this as the drawing you have just loaded up from AutoCAD 2013 to Autodesk 360, using the Online tab in AutoCAD.

Autodesk 360 (logged in) with sub-menu highlighted.

I can click on the button shown and on the sub-menu, I can open up the drawing from Autodesk 360 using AutoCAD WS on my iPad.

Upon clicking on the Edit in AutoCAD WS option, I am prompted to install AutoCAD WS on my iPad from the App Store, if I haven’t done so already.

If AutoCAD WS is already there on the iPad, you just load up AutoCAD WS and the new drawing will be there in your drawing list, as shown below (drawing is at the bottom of the list).

AutoCAD WS, with the loaded drawing highlighted in the list.

You can now open the drawing in your mobile (remote) location on your iPad and edit the drawing accordingly based on whatever data you have at that location. You can now see the value of AutoCAD WS on a mobile device, as per my first series of articles about AutoCAD WS.

AutoCAD WS, with the loaded drawing ready for editing.

If you refer back to Part 2 of this series, I show you how to use Autodesk 360 to work with updated drawings and how you can collaborate with your stored documents in Autodesk 360. With the addition of AutoCAD WS on a mobile device (in this case, the iPad), you now have the ability not only to collaborate, but design on the fly, using a mobile device and show the document changes in Autodesk 360 as you go. This leads to faster implementation of your design on site or on the factory shop floor.

The cloud is here and it is now. Autodesk are moving forward fast with this technology and it WILL revolutionize the way we work with not only CAD, but all the documents used in the design process such as specifications, OEM manuals and the like.

As I said in Part 2 of this series, it will allow us to embrace the mobile CAD movement and start to mobilise the CAD office/function in ways we never thought possible.

Stay tuned for Part 4 of this series, where I will show you how changes in documents and drawings are synchronised using Autodesk 360.

Author: Shaun Bryant

Optimizing Your Revit Workstation for Point Clouds

Reality capture is a boom business for the building industry. With roughly 5 million existing commercial buildings in the United States alone, it’s easy to understand why. Laser-scanner-based reality capture is the dominant methodology used today to accurately capture the 3D state of an existing building. However, the typical laser-scan-based point cloud is in the hundreds of millions of 3D points, sometimes even going into the billions of points. With this additional data overhead on top of an already dense Building Information Model, it’s important to optimize your workstation hardware to deliver a productive user experience.

Point Clouds in Autodesk Revit 2013

Finding the Bottleneck

Under the hood, Autodesk Revit utilizes the PCG point cloud engine to rapidly access the 3D points contained in point cloud and retrieve points to be displayed in the current Revit View.  Since the typical point cloud dataset is so large, a workstation’s RAM is insufficient to be used as the means for access by the PCG engine in Revit.  Instead, the disk drive is used for access, while a small amount of System RAM and Video RAM is used for the current Revit View.  Thus, the hard drive is commonly the limiting factor for point cloud performance, rather than system RAM, CPU, or GPU.

Learn the Options

With data access a common limiting factor to the performance of the Revit point cloud experience, let’s discuss the options available to deliver the best experience. There are two primary types that are found today: spinning platter and solid-state drives.

• Spinning platter drives are the traditional hard drive technology, and are found in most computers today, as they deliver the best balance of storage capacity, read/write access speed, and cost.
• Solid-state drives (SSDs) are relatively new technology, contain no moving parts, and are generally much faster at reading and writing data than typical spinning platter drives.

In a structured comparison completed by the Revit product team, we found the following results when comparing typical versions of these Disk Drive types:

Revit Point Cloud Performance Comparison

Reap the Benefits

Based upon this investigation, we would highly recommend that those looking to optimize their Revit workstations for point cloud use install an SSD for at least the local storage of the point cloud data.  While you will also achieve additional benefits from running the entire OS on your SSD, a significant performance boost can be achieved through the retrofit of a ~$200 SSD to an existing workstation.

Author: Kyle Bernhardt, Product Line Manager, Autodesk Building Design Suite

Vectorworks Cloud Services: Reduce CPU Computing Times, Improve Collaboration in 3D Workflows

When people think of cloud computing, benefits such as convenience and portability often come to mind. After all, the cloud may or may not deliver a faster experience for users of CAD solutions when compared to desktop processing. With this in mind, why then is cloud computing garnering so much attention these days?

It’s simple. The real benefit lies in the significant speed gains that emerge in your workflows. So if you find yourself twiddling your thumbs and monitoring your desktop CPU as it churns away at processing complicated client presentations, a cloud-based workflow could drive some needed improvements.

For example, under normal circumstances, if you want to generate a set of construction documents in PDF form, containing 10, 20 or even hundreds of sheets, sections and details on your local machine, this process can tie up your desktop for a considerable amount of time and lock you out from working. This forced downtime will vary, depending on the complexity of the viewport update and render.

Utilize the cloud, however, and the steps are basically the same, but you gain the benefit of being able to use your desktop during the process. This is because the calculations needed to generate sections, elevations, renderings and Building Information Modeling (BIM) data shift from the desktop to the cloud.

Cloud Services From Vectorworks

To synchronize and compute presentation and construction documents in the cloud, simply drag your Vectorworks file to the Cloud Services Desktop App’s project folder on your CPU, and wait for a connection. The file may reside temporarily in a queue based on load. Next, the remote server processes your file just as your desktop would, and results are automatically downloaded to your desktop or mobile device.

Cloud servers are very capable from a hardware standpoint, and can manage multiple file instances at once, meaning uploads won’t interrupt your workflows. Additionally, the Vectorworks Cloud Services sync can be automated to occur based on a user-defined schedule —sort of like a “set it and forget it” option.

Vectorworks Cloud Services users have up to 5 GB of storage capacity, and files are transferred over a secure HTTPS connection to and from the cloud, encrypted with AES-256, a U.S. government adopted security standard. Stored files are similarly encrypted. We also use Amazon Web Services for our cloud infrastructure, which enhances reliability and availability by providing redundancy and multiple data centers worldwide. (Read more about cloud security at http://aws.amazon.com/security/).

Leveraging Mobile Devices

Another benefit of the cloud is that it lets people use iOS hardware they already have to be more productive. For example, our cloud product features the Vectorworks Nomad app, which lets users browse through and share their designs from any computer or web-enabled device, such as an iPhone or iPad. So whether you’re at your desk, in a meeting, on the job site, or on vacation, you can view, mark up, share, and synchronize Vectorworks files across your devices and with your colleagues. The app runs on any iPhone or iPad that has iOS v5.0 or later, and an Android version will debut later this year. (The Vectorworks Cloud Services desktop app requires OSX 10.6.8 or newer and Windows XP SP 3, Windows Vista SP 2, or Windows 7.)

Today’s iOS hardware relies on Wi-Fi and 3G or 4G data networks, which makes them a perfect conduit for communicating files processed in the cloud.  So just imagine the possibilities as these mobile devices become more powerful and as the services to match these capabilities also grow.

In the meantime, CAD software users can take advantage of their iOS hardware to access files in a practical way. And from a project management perspective, it’s all about increasing the efficiency of employees to do more. Embrace cloud services and you’ll make your workflows and your teams more efficient.

Author’s Note: Vectorworks Cloud Services is currently available for free to members of Vectorworks Service Select, a subscription program that provides customers with the latest product releases and updates, as well as priority technical support, and VIP access to downloads and a growing library of on-demand learning tutorials. Visit www.vectorworks.net/cloudservices to learn more.

Author: Jeremy Powell, Director of Product Marketing, Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc.

Autodesk 360, Part 2: What Can You Do With It?

In Part 1 of this series, I introduced you to the new cloud-based collaboration tool from Autodesk, called Autodesk 360. In Part 2, I am going to show some of the functionality of Autodesk 360.

Once You’re Logged In, What’s Next?

Once you’re set up with your Autodesk ID and you’re logged in, what exactly can you do? What services are available? Well, if I went in to detail, I could write blogs about a mile long that would take you a week to read, so let’s go with something simple.

Autodesk 2013 Product Range

All of the Autodesk 2013 product range now include an Autodesk 360 tab on the ribbon interface. To keep it simple, I will work with AutoCAD 2013 on a PC workstation or laptop to show you how this all works.

Click on the Online tab on the AutoCAD 2013 ribbon interface.

The AutoCAD 360 Online ribbon tab.

You will see a group of ribbon panels that are grouped and incorporate relevant icons to work with Autodesk 360 from the AutoCAD 2013 application. The benefit here is that you can collaborate from AutoCAD straight to the cloud to other AutoCAD users and, more importantly, other Autodesk cloud users, who may be using other Autodesk products.

A typical example of this goes back to my previous blog series about AutoCAD WS, which features heavily in Autodesk 360 right now. As long as you are logged in to Autodesk 360 (click on the Autodesk 360 icon to do this), using the Share Document icon allows you to share the document (our drawing) in either Autodesk 360 or AutoCAD WS.

The Online tab panels and icons, with Share Document highlighted.

Autodesk 360 now updates in your browser, prompting you to Refresh List.

Refresh List

Once refreshed, Autodesk 360 updates your document list, and you can see the new document. In this case, it is an imperial drawing called Autodesk 360.dwg. Autodesk 360 shows you all 5 layout tabs available in the drawing.

Autodesk 360 with the refreshed document list.

So, if I now select one of the layout tabs in the refreshed document (drawing), I can start the collaboration process. As you can see from the screenshot below, I have plenty of tools to work with in Autodesk 360. I can toggle between layout views, I have a thumbnail view and I have zoom and text tools as well.

An Autodesk DWG layout open in Autodesk 360 with various tools highlighted.

Now, the tools shown are purely for use in Autodesk 360 but if I select the Actions pulldown menu, I can then start collaborating via AutoCAD WS as well. Clicking on Edit Online in AutoCAD WS opens up another browser tab with AutoCAD WS and providing you are logged in, you can start to work on the drawing using AutoCAD WS.

Actions pulldown showing Edit Online in AutoCAD WS.

AutoCAD WS can be used on a number of platforms, as per my previous blog series — PC, Mac, tablet and smartphone to name a few. This is where Autodesk 360 starts to really prove that the cloud will totally change how we work with Autodesk products.

AutoCAD WS with the drawing from Autodesk 360 ready for editing.

As I have said before, Autodesk will revolutionize the way we work with Autodesk 360. It will allow us to embrace the mobile CAD movement and start to mobilize the CAD office/function in ways we never thought possible.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series, where I will start to show you have to synchronize your local/network locations to Autodesk 360.

Author: Shaun Bryant

Autodesk 360, Part 1: What Is It and How Does It Work?

I was fortunate to attend the Autodesk Media Summit in March this year and discover the company’s new cloud initiative, Autodesk 360.

What Is Autodesk 360?

Autodesk 360 is the customer-centric cloud computing solution with a difference. Not only does it act as a cloud storage solution, but also provides CAD software and services based in the cloud to free up your hardware’s processing power. It also allows you to run mobile apps on your enterprise mobile kit, such as tablets and netbooks, even smartphones.

So How Does It All Work?

Getting on to Autodesk 360 is very easy. Go to the URL 360.autodesk.com and all you need to do is get yourself an Autodesk User ID (the usual username and password thing). Once you have an Autodesk ID, you can log on to Autodesk 360 for your FREE 3GB of storage space. Using your Autodesk ID, you can also log on to any other Autodesk ID controlled webpage as well.

The Autodesk 360 front page.

Once logged in, you can utilize the Autodesk 360 services whatever mobile device you are using: laptop, tablet, phone. Notice the link to AutoCAD WS (the topic of my previous blog series here on CADspeed). Also, as an Autodesk Subscription customer, you gain access to even more 360 services using a credit system, where you buy cloud time on a pay-as-you-go basis. Plus, you get 3GB of storage space, just for signing up.

The Autodesk 360 front page once logged in.

The major benefit of Autodesk 360 is that you can access it anywhere you have a connection. So any device with that capability can be used.

I can see Autodesk 360 being a great hit with CAD and project managers who want to “manage” their CAD function. They can see all their drawings and documents in one place and, better still, they can collaborate (using the likes of AutoCAD WS and Design Review) and distribute project documents and drawings (to other Autodesk 360 users). This can be done on something as compact as a tablet like the iPad, or an Android device like the Motorola Xoom.

For the mobile CAD user, laptops are getting smaller and more compact, so full CAD apps can be used in conjunction with Autodesk 360 and with the provision of “heavy” services in the cloud, such as rendering and analysis, it could bring the requirement of a “brick” like laptop to an end!

Autodesk have revolutionized the way we work with Autodesk 360. It will allow us to embrace the mobile CAD movement and let us concentrate on our design and management processes while the cloud does all the heavy lifting for us.

In Part 2, I am going to show some of the functionality of Autodesk 360.

Author: Shaun Bryant

Use of Point Clouds for Revit Modeling

Here at CADspeed, we’ve touted the need for CAD hardware that will get the job done. We are equally intrigued by the growing use of building information modeling (BIM) in our industry, which requires even more hardware capacity and usage power than standard CAD programs. But could new technology expand the power of BIM to those of us with hardware budgets?

Longitude Media, publisher of Cadalyst, announced today that it will host a free webcast for Autodesk Revit users and managers to discuss the benefits of using 3D scanning and point cloud models in a Revit-based design workflow. The live presentation, titled “Optimize the Use of Point Clouds for Revit Modeling,” will be sponsored by Leica Geosystems, developer of the CloudWorx Revit plug-in tool for point-cloud processing.

Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Time: 1 p.m. ET

To Register: http://bit.ly/ICWkvz

Building information modeling (BIM) offers tremendous advantages for today’s AEC firms, and using point cloud models of as-built structures is an ideal option for those who want to accelerate the design process for renovations and retrofits while increasing accuracy and cutting costs. Until now, however, the options for creating Revit BIM models from point clouds have been limited and inefficient. With the introduction of Leica CloudWorx for Revit, all that is changing. Leica CloudWorx for Revit allows users to quickly and easily create BIM deliverables of existing construction based on rich data collected by 3D laser scanners — all within the familiar Revit environment.

In “Optimize the Use of Point Clouds for Revit Modeling,” attendees will learn about the basics of 3D laser scanning of as-built structures, how to prepare point cloud models, and how to optimize the use of point clouds within a Revit workflow. A live demo of Leica CloudWorx for Revit will offer a first-hand look at the unique features and benefits of the plug-in, and a Q&A session will allow attendees to ask questions of the expert panel.

Moderator: CADspeed‘s own Curt Moreno, CAD manager and blogger, of Kung Fu Drafter

Panelist: Ben Bennett, Chief Technology Officer at Digital Digital Surveys Ltd and subsidiary service eBIM Ltd

Panelist: Jason Waddell, BIM manager at The Beck Group and a Leica CloudWorx for Revit customer

Panelist: David Langley, application engineer at Leica Geosystems and manager of development of Leica CloudWorx for Revit

Check it out! We’ll be there too. Register now at http://bit.ly/ICWkvz.

AutoCAD WS for Facilities Management – Part 4: Managing Your Move to AutoCAD WS

Welcome to the fourth part of the series of AutoCAD WS for Facilities Management (FM).

In Part 1, 2 and 3, we talked about operational methods for easily managing our space in our building from the cloud, using a tablet device and AutoCAD WS. Let’s now look at AutoCAD WS from a management level, rather than an operational level.

Managing Your “Move”

FM is always associated with office moves so, pardon the pun, we now need to look at managing our “move” to AutoCAD WS, as compared to traditional methods, such as issuing FM drawings via regular email.

AutoCAD WS is available on PC (as the AutoCAD plug-in) and Mac (as the AutoCAD for Mac plug-in) and as a full cloud application via your web browser. It is also available as an app on the iPad and iPhone and all appropriate Android devices (both phones and tablets) using the App Store and Android Market respectively. The major benefit here is there is no capital software cost involved as AutoCAD WS is free to download.

The full range of AutoCAD WS applications. (Image courtesy of Autodesk, Inc.)

The choice of software obviously depends on the platform being used, PC or Mac, but fundamentally they are the same and the workflow does not change.

Deployment

AutoCAD WS on the web requires an account to be set up for each user on the FM team. This is the foundation of AutoCAD WS. It is a cloud application. Each user needs an account with a user name and a password.

Then, depending on how the user will use AutoCAD WS, they install the appropriate app or plug-in.

On an organizational level, this would have to be rolled out either by the IT team or possibly the CAD management team.

The basic deployment structure would be as follows:

1. AutoCAD WS web account — all FM CAD personnel.
2. AutoCAD WS plug-in for AutoCAD (Windows) — all Windows-based AutoCAD users.
3. AutoCAD WS plug-in for AutoCAD (Mac) — all Mac-based AutoCAD users.
4. AutoCAD WS for iPad/tablet — all site-based personnel who collaborate with office-based AutoCAD users.

Workflow

Using the basic deployment above, the office-based AutoCAD users can share FM drawings with the site-based AutoCAD WS users and vice versa. This allows for collaboration of the FM drawing function and, in turn, uses the cloud. Also, bear in mind that the use of AutoCAD WS incurs no extra software cost!

Training

AutoCAD WS is not difficult to use and any training can be done in a minimal time frame of hours, not days.

Taking all of the above in to account, it should be reasonably painless to set up an AutoCAD WS function within any FM CAD team, again, proving that AutoCAD WS can provide a 24/7 timeline and allows drawing management and revisions to be shared to the cloud within the FM CAD team, using both office-based and site-based hardware.

Author: Shaun Bryant