RobiNZ CAD Blog

The Sydney Opera House - A BIM legacy

This post was scheduled to go live when I was cycling in Viet Nam. It didn’t happen then but I think the articles it link to are still worth reading. Besides, it’s about one of my favourite buildings

It’s an Australian icon, a combination of geometry which challenged it’s Architects and Engineers. AEC Magazine have an interesting article on how Digital BIM is being used to restore and maintain The Sydney Opera House:

AEC Magazine - Remodelling an Icon:
The architects and engineers responsible for preserving the icon that is the Sydney Opera House are relying on BIM to guide renovations and manage facilities…

Bentley have recognised this project with an award for excellence;

BE Awards of Excellence 2007 – BIM for Multiple Disciplines: Arup – Review and Study of the Opera Theatre Interior and New Works, Sydney Opera House. The primary goal was to create a base-coordinated structural, architectural, and MEP as-constructed model. This existing-condition BIM allowed further internal building studies and scheme documentation to be completed with a great deal of confidence in the redistribution of internal space and existing structural constraints.

However it’s not the first use of BIM on this structure. I’ve posted previously about the Perspex BIM created to do the same task during construction.

RobiNZ CAD Blog: Sydney Opera House BIM found after 30 years
It’s a real, not computer, model but was created to aid design and construction, not just as a promotional device, so I think it qualifies as a BIM.

To add a local connection it’s interesting that this Aussie Icon is currently being run by a Kiwi;

Kiwi lands plum role in Sydney Opera House | tvnz.co.nz
A former Christchurch schoolboy who sang with the national youth choir has begun a plum role as CEO of the Sydney Opera House…

Tags: sydney+opera+house

Lets get together!

Wow, a couple of days away from the net and look what happens:

The Autodesk + Bentley deal was a bit of a surprise and is big news for those collaborating with dwg/dgn, However, I haven’t seen a .dgn file in years so it won’t change my life.

This one was not expected at all. It seems BMW & Fiat are looking to collaborate on powertrain, maybe medium small car technology (Alfa Mito/Punto/Mini sized) and, perhaps, dealer sharing to launch Alfa in the USA. Now that’s a surprise! Maybe it will stop my brilliant, BMW expert who tolerates Fiats, mechanic from asking: “When are you buying a BMW?”

Autodesk and Bentley to Advance AEC Software Interoperability - Autodesk Press Releases
At a joint press conference, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) and Bentley Systems, Incorporated, two of the leading providers of design and infrastructure software, today announced an agreement to expand interoperability between their portfolios of architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) software. Autodesk and Bentley will exchange software libraries, including Autodesk RealDWG, to improve the ability to read and write the companies' respective DWG and DGN formats in mixed environments with greater fidelity. In addition, the two companies will facilitate work process interoperability between their AEC applications through supporting the reciprocal use of available Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)…

Fiat and BMW officially confirm agreement
It’s official: the agreement between Fiat Automobiles and BMW AG. The two sides have said “the possibilities of reaching a common use of components and systems on Alfa Romeo and Mini vehicles is being examined to create economies of scale and cost reduction”.

Tags: fiat, bmw, autodesk

Creating a country...

New Zealand is said to be the youngest country on earth. Tourism New Zealand asked Weta Digital to make it!

The 100%PureNZ site has a better quality flash version with a sync’ed map showing locations. Not all are remote, Piha where the beach\surfers are seen is about 15 minutes from my place, 40 from Auckland CBD.

How they made it;

Thanks to a new soon to be Kiwi, Sharon, for leading me to this.

Walt Disney World in Google Earth

Disney have just released a remarkable 3D model collection on Google Earth covering the massive Walt Disney World® Resort, Orlando. The level of detail is incredible to the as you can see in the comparison below. It shows Google Earth and a photo I took at Autodesk University 2005 – the photo is on the left, no it’s on the right!

You can explore all the parks and many of the surrounding resorts. It does take a while for some of the more complex models to download, even with broadband, but it’s quicker than the days it takes to see it all in the real world!

Official Google Blog: Explore Walt Disney World^® Resort in 3D

This revolutionary project features 3D models of our four Orlando theme parks and more than 20 of Disney’s Resort hotels. Incredible in scope -- containing over 1,500 3D models -- Walt Disney World Resort in 3D is the most detailed 3D rendering undertaken on Google Earth to date. 

The CIO who can't write an Excel macro...

CIO NZ have a interview with Warehouse CIO Owen McCall. In his time the IS systems have grown to cope with a growing General Merchandise business and the new “Extra” Supermarket offer.

It’s not until I talk to other CAD Managers that I realise how much infrastructure, and support, the IS team supply leaving me just to deal with the CAD stuff. The fact that they leave me to deal with that allows a degree of freedom which makes my role a whole lot easier.

I also think it’s kinda cool he can admit; “The closest I’ve got to programming is I wrote a macro in Excel once that didn’t work”.

Perhaps it’s time for me to admit: “I’m a CAD manager who can’t write LISP”

CIO > 'Two steps forward, two steps sideways, one step back' –
By Chris Bell | Monday, June 02 2008

Owen McCall, CIO of The Warehouse Group, understands the importance of learning to walk before you run. Cost-effectiveness hinges on system dependability, and he says IT will not be valued by the business until it provides firm foundations…

Global "BIMStorm" Forecast to hit London

A reader emailed me about BIMStorm London which is happening in June (details in the extended post). BIMStorm aims to raise the awareness of BIM and how the AEC industry is, or should be, using collaborative tools for projects. Teams will compete, using BIM platform(s) of their choice, to create a master plan for a site in London. If you want to participate in, or watch, the BIMStorm events read on…

Novedge Pulse, a CAD blog'gregator

I suspect, hope, I’m not the only blogger who uses a “vanity search” to see who’s linking/mentioning his content*. When I got back from holiday the feed showed a bunch of links coming from a new site. Pulse is Franco Folini’s, of Novedge, aggregation site which gathers a bunch of blog content (extracts only with links to the full post) into one “CAD, AEC & DCC Super site & RSS Feed”.

In addition to providing an overview of a wide range of content it also allows readers to vote on the worth, or otherwise, of content by registering a “Beat” (keeping the Pulse going I guess) or a “Burn”. Click on the “Bloggers” button and you’ll see a gallery with thumbnail portraits of all the contributing bloggers. Thankfully there’s no  vote on that page

Novedge Pulse™ Today - www.novedge.com/Pulse
The Pulse of the Graphics & Design Community

* If you're considering blog names having a "non-word" made up name, RobiNZ, makes this a lot easier!

Tags: Novedge

It's really 2009 now!

I got home tonight to find my subscription update AutoCAD Architecture 2009 had arrived.

Tomorrow it’s off to Salesoft CAD Solutions Autodesk 2009 Software Launch/lunch with “Innovative NZ Guest speaker”, Barrier Breaking challenges and Segway (or Footomobile) Races!

2009 has arrived.

DataCAD gets smart, or just a slow learner?

I haven’t spent much time working with DataCAD. In fact, probably more time getting stuff out of it, for other platforms, than creating anything in it! However, news of a new release caught my attention.

I remember going to an AutoCAD launch years ago, maybe r14?, and they mentioned a future where smart objects would replace line work enabling you to build a 3D virtual model. I also remember thinking – while they said it – don’t waste your time showing me the new widgets in AutoCAD, just give me those smart things!

The object model hinted at became a reality a short time later with the release of Architectural Desktop. At the time ArchiCAD users probably wondered what all the fuss was about…

Then along came Revit offering coherent building models capable of retaining, even responding to, design intent thanks to a database structure and parametrics. Even ArchiCAD users noticed and I suspect, maybe reluctantly, thought that was smart…

But reading this review of DataCAD 12 I thought I’d gone through a time warp;

DataCAD Gets Smart - Cadalyst AEC
"So if a sliding glass door is added to the model, it will automatically cut the hole in the wall planes and add all the appropriate geometry of the sliding glass door. If the designer then decides she wants that door to be a double French door instead, she does not have to redraw anything; she just tells the program to make the door a double French door, and the wall and door geometry will automatically change."

Wow, that’s still considered new and smart in 2008?

Greenbuild™ New Zealand

It’s not easy being green, according to Kermit, but this resource aims to make it a little simpler for Kiwis. It’s an New Zealand specific website with green building information, specifications and products.

Greenbuild™ New Zealand - www.greenbuild.co.nz
Greenbuild.co.nz is for people who care. Architects, designers, building product manufacturers, builders, developers – anyone who wants to create more sustainably.

The leaders in the New Zealand building industry have united to make Greenbuild possible. The result? A single location for listing and assessing New Zealand’s building products, with a particular emphasis on their sustainability. It’s a simple idea. If we measure the sustainability of buildings overall, what about their component parts?

Greenbuild lists these parts (and adds more all the time), comparing their performance through independent environmental assessments.

Greenbuild is a joint venture between Building Research, Masterspec, the NZ Institute of Architects, Registered Masterbuilders and Green NZ.

The meaning of Cad?

Its older than computer aided drafting. So what does Cad really mean?

Weird Words: Cad ~ World Wide Words
Its history is as weird as one might like…

Design productivity secrets from "Google User Experience", and a flaw in their UX?

“UX is an acronym for User experience" but many of the principles discussed in this ChangeOrder post apply to all design projects, especially the tips about design presentations.

ChangeOrder: Secrets of UX Design Productivity from Google

Last Thursday, I attended a free session organized by SIGCHI, Puget Sound region at Google Seattle HQ. Jake Knapp, a very well-spoken user interface designer, entertained a packed house with a speech on 17 tactics that he uses for creating strong UX work in "the flood" of projects that pour through his UX department from month to month…

• Have Strong Project Foundations
• Let the Code Be the Mockup
• Be Smart About (Re)using Research
• Designers Need to Create Memorable Presentations
  • Have a singular goal for your presentation.
  • Start on paper, and see the big-picture story
  • Make horizontal and vertical storyboards
  • 3 words or less per slide
  • Follow the 10/20/30 rule, per Guy Kawasaki.
  • Be careful how you present mockups
  • Drawings invite people to participate – Keeping the design work rough cues everyone to know it's a work in progress -- and treat it as such in discussions.

Via swissmiss

As a Google user, isn’t everyone on the net?, I have pondered one aspect of their Homepage (it’s even seen in the ChangeOrder Post!). While I understand their drive for simplicity it would be nice if the menu could sense, and cope with, a wider screen. Flying out a menu when there’s ample space for it’s contents doesn’t enhance my Google UX!

The Physics of the "I" in BIM

What is a Building Information Model? My interpretation is simply an  information model of a building. It’s not a technology, it’s not a way of working, it’s the expression of a building as data. To the architect it’s a design and, hopefully, construction model, to the engineer it’s an analysis & fabrication model, to the owner it may include the economic model used to justify it’s creation and the operating model that will determine and manage it’s life-cycle.

Whatever your definition there’s a common factor in all these models. Whether digital or analog, they are all forms of information.

But what is information? The rather surprising answer is, “everything”, even you! Quirks & Quarks have a  podcast (posted in Jan 08) of a forum discussion which takes the meaning of “Information” about as far as it’s possible to go. Its not really about Building Information Modelling but it does make you think. We are all information models, creating information models!

The Physics of Information: What the Universe Doesn't Want You to Know | CBC Radio | Quirks & Quarks

Physicists are not like you and me. That’s because they don't see the world the same way we do.
Take information, for instance. When you have a question or an interest in some topic, and you want more information about it, chances are you look for answers by reading a book, searching the Internet, or even listening to a radio program. But that's not how physicists view information. They want to know what it's actually made of. And that idea leads to a whole lot of weird and quirky views of how the universe works...

QuadriSpace gets ribboned

Yesterday a press release arrived in my in-box from QuadriSpace. I wasn't familiar with their product but the tag line on their site “3D Publishing Software – It’s 3D, it’s a document” says it all. They have range of applications which claims to take existing 3D design data then format, enhance and publish it for use in technical, marketing and other documents.

I haven't used the software but one feature caught my eye in the preview of their 2008 releases. It's a new user interface. Another design related application gets the ribbon, notice a trend?

QuadriSpace - 3D Publishing Software

Tags: QuadriSpace

Autodesk making an Impression?

Lisa’s blog has an announcement from the Autodesk World Press Day which impresses!

Coming soon... – Inside Hues – Lisa's Autodesk Impression Blog
“At World Press Days (taking place as we speak) it will be announced that Autodesk Impression 2 (to be released this Spring) will be available to Subscription customers of AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD MEP, and AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite. If you read between the lines, this means that Impression will no longer be sold as a stand-alone application, and that the Technology Preview program which we've been running in select regions will come to an end.”

Journalists and Bloggers, what's that all about?

Recently, I was surprised to be asked if I was attending the Autodesk World Press Day. I responded: “No, I’m not Press, I’m just a blogger!”.

As the press and “deskers converge on San Francisco it appears Roopinder Tara has been pondering the whole question of Journalists and Bloggers;

CAD Insider: Journalists and Bloggers - Old School Meets New School
Major CAD companies have indeed recognized blogging as valuable. Has their treatment of bloggers given bloggers cred? Does the old school resent the intrusion? Do bloggers play by the rules -- or do they even have rules? I'll try to examine some of these issues in an ongoing series of posts. And as usual, I welcome you to chime in with your opinion…

It will be interesting to see how his series develops, and what emerges from Autodesk over the next few days.

Tech Tea!

Mike & Melanie (pictured at AU2007) have a new’ish blog which is theirs, as opposed to his (sort of) and hers. Something to do in their spare time? 

I found it after noticing Melanie's profile had changed on LinkedIn. Pop over, have a read, and subscribe like I just did.

Tech Tea - Mike and Melanie Perry

A technology-loving couple sharing about what is going on in the world of design and technology. If you like the Web, Engineering and Conservation, you've come to the right place. Have a nice cuppa tea and join us for some tech chat.

Mike Puckett interviews Lynn Allen at Solidworks World

Earlier this week I posted about a mystery person, actually Autodesk Evangelist Lynn Allen, being seen at Solidworks World. What was she doing there? Mike has the answers in this audio interview!

Mike Puckett's Blog: Lynn Allen Sit Down
if you're confused as to why someone from Autodesk is attending a Solidworks event, Lynn was gracious enough to sit down with me and answer some questions...(the post has streaming audio file link)

If you have trouble with the streaming file this post has a download link: Mike Puckett's Blog: Lynn Allen Interview File (download)

Tags: Lynn+Allen, Solidworks

Spotted at SolidWorks World?

• Who did Matt spot at SolidWorks World?
• Why were they there? What’s next?
• “Autodesk acquire SolidWorks” or “SolidWorks acquire Inventor”?

Matt Writes » Spotted at SolidWorks World
This blur is actually #### #####….

Autodesk Green Research, to be seen at AU?

As Autodesk University rapidly approaches I suspect “James Van” has found a preview of what we may see in the AEC Industry Event...

When I booked for Autodesk University it seemed a long way off. Now it’s suddenly less than a week before I hit the road, well flight-path, for AU. I’ve had a busy week deploying new hardware and service patched 2008 applications*. Now it’s time to catch up with project work before getting on the plane next Friday…

 All Things BIM: Green Design: Project Chicago
While buried in my preparation for Autodesk University (Nov 26-30), I overheard some of my colleagues reporting in from the GreenBuild conference in Chicago about a great presentation from Phil Bernstein, VP at Autodesk, on their latest vaporware effort code named "Project Chicago."…

*Only to see yet another round of Revit builds released!

PedalCAD? Cycle Powered CAD?

I like cycling but finding the time is tough. Maybe this MIT project is the solution…

Bike Powered Notebook Computer (TreeHugger)
As the bike's instructions note, if you have trouble "squeezing in that daily exercise," you can now "multitask with no problem--[you can] bike while you work!"

See what parametric modeling looked like in 1962...

Tomislav does it again with this brilliant look at parametric design and pen input circa 1962… 

BIMology: BLAST FROM THE PAST - (----- Architecture 1962-72)
How much are you willing to pay for forty five (45) year old technology?
Well, to see what parametric modeling looked like in 1962…

Autodesk Area blogs, it's feeding time again!

All my Autodesk Area Blog* RSS feeds were showing broken but thanks to Mike Perry (BLAUGI) found out there are new feeds.

Autodesk Area blogs, new URL's now! with new RSS feeds - BLAUGI

* The area blogs are: 3D Roadie, Mayalicious, Maxed Out, Duncan's Corner, MotionBuilder

China Rises, the Olympic venues

There have been lots of CAD images of the Beijing Olympic Venues. China Rises has a few photos of the real thing.

The Olympics 'wow' factor - China Rises

A group of foreign journalists were offered a tour of Olympics venues in Beijing this morning…

NOVEDGE interviews Joel Orr

Franco Folini continues his excellent CAD interview series, this time with Joel Orr.

NOVEDGE blog: An Interview with Joel Orr, Chief Visionary of Cyon Research
Joel Orr (blog), is a one of a kind person in the Design and CAD world, a person who uses the word future meaning it and not just to refer to the next financial quarter….

CompliCAD

This is brilliant! 

CompliCAD v1.0.0.0.0 - Cadalyst AEC
The ultimate BIM software will provide you with a challenge -- and an intense headache…

CAD and the future of energy

Imagine working on a design project that might not be completed in your lifetime. Then consider the task of migrating design data as that project progresses through decades of development. Fusion power could be the most important development in the history, and future, of humanity. It may be the greatest test of digital design data fidelity ever. This article outlines the technology used by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Fusion Research project.

MCAD Online - The future of energy?
Fusion power may be a long-term solution to the world’s energy crisis, requiring the effective creation, capture and maintenance of complex engineering data today to help the scientists of tomorrow…

Developers use Dassault Systemes’ Catia V5 and Enovia SmarTeam PLM, supplied and supported by Applied PLM Solutions, to create and maintain the vast amount of engineering data required

Seemage acquired by Dassault Systèmes

I lurk in the mechanical CAD world, as although not a user, as some of the concepts & software interest me. Seemage were one company with an interesting product mix and strong views, see their blog, around using & sharing CAD data.

Seemage was privately held and venture-backed but last night an email arrived from Alex Neihaus announcing Seemage had been acquired by Dassault Systèmes.

It will be interesting to see where this leads!

Tags: seemage

AUGI Salary Survey - Autodesk User Group International

It’s time for the AUGI Salary Survey. It’s a useful benchmark to figure out if you’re being under-paid, maybe help with negotiations, or to totally ignore if you find you are being over-paid – yeah right…

I found it a little depressing to find I’ve jumped up a group on Question 2 since last year:

I also pondered this:

13.  What was your annual salary in 2007? (Note: Salary includes base pay
plus bonuses, commissions, and overtime. Amount should be given in
U.S. dollars).

It would have looked better a few months ago when nz$1 (aka Pacific Paso) was about us$0.81 than it does now at us$0.75. Still a few weeks ago it was $0.68 – brilliant that happened just when the AU fee hit my card

The survey is anonymous, only takes a few minutes to complete and the results are interesting to see. If nothing else you know it will keep The Mistress busy compiling all the results.

AUGI Salary Survey - 2007 - Autodesk User Group International

Please complete the questionnaire. Results will be compiled, analyzed, and published in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of AUGIWorld magazine

Response Deadline:  October 31, 2007

Tags: AUGI

Forgotten Art Supplies...

I feel old, I’ve used at least 18…

Welcome to The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies... Drawger

Where tools of the trade that have died or have just about died a slow slow death are cheerfully exhibited.

Via Swissmiss

Advice for a future Engineer, everyone really...

In a LinkedIn Question Joel Orr asked “What should college students know about careers in engineering?”. I considered answering but carried on browsing my feeds while I thought about it. I’m glad I did as stumbled upon this via the Curious Cat Blog. It’s better answer than any I can think of:

CMU professor gives his last lesson on life - Mark Roth, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Randy Pausch set the tone early on yesterday at his farewell lecture at Carnegie Mellon University.

"If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you,"

Tags: LinkedIn, Randy+Pausch

Autodesk Patch Wednesday?

Microsoft have their “Patch Tuesday” but seems this Wednesday it was Autodesk’s turn.

Guess who was about to build a new master CAD deployment but got distracted and ran out of time. Then he arrived at work the next day to find nearly every CAD product had been patched overnight! Procrastination is sometimes a good thing.

Keep up to date with Autodesk Product Support, Updates & Service Packs via RSS Feed at:

http://rss-support.autodesk.com/subscription

Tick the products you want to watch and add the feed created to your reader. Revit MEP isn’t listed but the AutoCAD MEP selection seems to get it as well.

 

Rich's Footomobile - Salesoft CAD People with wheels

A recent visit to my CAD dealer and reading the brilliant XKCD Blog resulted in a rather remarkable coincidence.

Rich Sales (yes, that’s really his name) was showing me his new company vehicle, a Segway. Rich chose it as lives reasonably close to work, travels a route soon to be cluttered with bus/pedestrian only transit roads, it’s fun way to save gas and save the planet. I think it’s rather appropriate transport for the ultimate CAD/BIM geek. I was at Salesoft for training but had time for a little test drive around the office. For someone used to balancing on bicycles I found the “relax I’ll balance for you” Segway a strange, but cool, way to move.

That night I got home to find XKCD Blog featured a cartoon vision of the future, drawn in 1900. The caption says “In the new century no one will walk – all will have wheels” and the label on the device reads ‘footomobile’. I asked Rich for a photo of his new toy for my blog but didn’t tell him about the ‘toon. I grinned when this image arrived today with eerily similar composition.

Rich may say he commutes by Segway, but for me it will forever be:

Salesoft CAD Solutions – Powered by Footomobile.

   1900 (A vision of 2000)               2007 (A Vision!) 

 
Click the images for full-size versions

Footomobiles - xkcd » Blog Archive
I was recently reading through newspapers from around 1898 to 1901. In a collection of articles from midwestern papers predicting what life would be like in the year 2000, I found this cartoon. The label on the device reads ‘footomobile’. Words fail me
Cartoon from Brown County Democrat, December 28, 1900.

Tags: segway, Salesoft+CAD+Solutions

Julian Bencito - Future Architect?

Click through for the full story of a remarkable school project. It’s a Building Model of a city.

When I was a kid an inspiring teacher let me make hundreds of paper planes as part of a school project. Years later, one of them helped me fly across the Pacific to AU 2006 where they showed “virtual city super models”. I wonder if Julian would be interested in CAD/BIM? Give that kid a computer and student edition design application, where would it lead...

Rag & Bone Blog: Julian Bencito's Paper City
Here's an inspiring story:

Californian Canyon Middle School art teacher Mike Bennett gave an extra credit assignment to his students this summer: Build a paper craft model of the former Twin Towers in New York. And if you have even more time, try the Empire State Building. He often taught Paper Modelling to his students as a way to learn about craftsmanship, architecture and following detailed instructions. But Mr. Bennett was a little curious as to why student Julian Bencito kept asking for more cardboard to make his extra credit paper models…

Via Ogle Earth

Tags: AU2006

Problems for Boeing 787 Program?

You know what it’s like. You get to the critical point in that weekend project only to find you’ve run out of something essential. A quick dash to the local hardware store sorts it out, even if they don’t have quite the right part…

Flightblogger: Temporary Fasteners Causing Major Problems for 787 Program

“Boeing has previously acknowledged that temporary fasteners would be required on early 787 airframes while a shortage of flightworthy fasteners was being remedied. Flightblogger has learned that many of the temporary fasteners, which were painted red and installed in place of flightworthy parts, were purchased from run-of-the-mill chain hardware stores, including Home Depot and Ace Hardware.”

With “keeping it digital” being emphasised by many (digital info management) vendors this comment caught my attention:

“Because all work has to be documented and accounted for electronically, Boeing has employed the VELOCITY system to track the assembly process. Engineers and mechanics who are working directly with Dreamliner One have found the paperless work environment an impediment to progress.

One veteran engineer put it this way, “Boeing has missed a fundamental element in Lean Manufacturing. When building and assembling the aircraft in VELOCITY, the paperless assembly environment system shouldn’t be something that creates more work for us."

While this sounds similar to the A380 story…

“Boeing hired the best minds to design the new 787 and they hired the best minds to put in place a world class lean manufacturing team. The issue has been one of execution.”

Building aircraft is tough but the A380 and 787 will be great to fly, eventually. It’s just a matter of time and money!

UPDATE 07–09–2007: 787 Dreamliner Fastener Shortage Traced to 9/11 - www.designnews.com

Toyota Corolla Art?

The arrival of conceptual shading, and hardware that could cope, in CAD meant escape from the world of wireframe. This Toyota Corolla takes wireframe out of the monitor into the real world…

I can see its ribs! Toyota Corolla in wireframe - Autoblog

Jimmy Bergmark interviewed by NOVEDGE blog

In the latest post on NOVEDGE Franco Folini interviews Jimmy Bergmark of JTB World.

Like many I first “met” Jimmy via the Autodesk Discussion Groups, his website and blog. He’s a keen contributor and has a wealth of knowledge in CAD related programming and customisation. In 2005 it was a real pleasure to meet him in person which given I’m in New Zealand and he’s in Sweden was no simple task. We met in Orlando, about halfway, as both attended Autodesk University 2005.

NOVEDGE blog: An Interview with Jimmy Bergmark, AutoCAD Guru
Jimmy Bergmark is the owner and principal of JTB World, a Swedish consulting company specializing in AutoCAD programming and customization. Jimmy is well known in the AutoCAD community because of his constant presence and highly qualified advice in several discussion forums and also because of his popular technical blog…

Tags: JTB+World, NOVEDGE

Robert Green on NOVEDGE blog

Franco has a great interview with CAD Management guru Robert Green. If you are heading to AU 2007 be sure to check out Robert’s CAD Management sessions. I did them in 2005/6 and found them really valuable.

NOVEDGE blog: An Interview with Robert Green, author of "Expert CAD Management"

Tags: CAD+Management, Robert+Green, NOVEDGE

Some more BIM & Revit Resources

Here’s a couple of BIM & Revit resources I’ve found recently:

Revit 3D.com
Gregory’s “Revit Encyclopedia” of information

URL: http://www.revit3d.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Revit3dcomJoinTheRevitlution

and

BIM Manager Blog
David Kingham (who shares my hand writing problem) has a blog on BIM.

URL: http://bimmanager.blogspot.com/
Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BimManager

Want to know more about CAD/BIM and Google Earth?

Looking at the statistics for this blog there is one thing thats remarkable.

Judging by visits to the post “DWG to [Google] Earth, do you read me?” lots of people are interested in Google Earth and CAD.

It’s responsible for about one third of the visits coming from search which makes me wonder:

• Is there a huge untapped demand for information more posts on CAD/BIM and Google Earth?
• If so what are you all trying to achieve?

Leave a comment or email me using the “email me” link in the r/h column.

Tags: Google+Earth

The lost art of handwriting...

This post by Blog Maverick made me laugh:

Quotes from "I Forgot How to Write!" - Blog Maverick
“I was sitting in a meeting the other day and decided I needed to take some notes .“

“This particular meeting for some reason I couldn't go the digital route so I can had to go 1900s and actually handwrite my notes.”

“What a disaster. I couldn't write.”

Ever since I had to PRINT UPPERCASE at Tech (three years when nearly all work was handwritten) it's all I have done. Now if I write, which is rare, it's all u/c block scrawl as I have forgotten how to write cursive. At school I got good grades for “Technical Drawing” but always with a comment about my poor printing. I even remember one teacher saying I couldn’t consider being a draftsman without improving it. I still remember Mr Price as I enter text into design software!

Technology sorted out the drafting printing but hasn’t helped my handwriting...

If I ever get a Tablet PC it will have to be a convertible with keyboard! Now I just have to learn how to type faster…

HOK Blog!

HOK have a couple of new(ish) blogs looking at buildingSMART (Building Information Model) and Green design. It’s great to see companies sharing their experience & knowledge!

HOK CAD Solutions - Welcome to this HOK CAD Support blog
“This is the idea: let’s use this blog as a communication track to gather knowledge and share; we hope that you will be willing to author posts and share opinions to make this work. Postings will be by HOK and invited guests, viewing is by anybody inside and outside HOK….”

http://hokcadsolutions.blogspot.com/

HOK GREEN BIM - Welcome to my new Green Blog - Miles Walker
I plan to capture my path into green design in architecture…

http://greenbim.blogspot.com/

Also check out Miles' other website on BIM:

4BIM – A web site exclusively for Building Information Modelling

http://www.4bim.com/

Via autodesk-revit.blogspot.com

Tags: HOK, buildingSMART, BIM

Autodesk buy Kiwi made!

Must admit I’d never heard of Skymatter or Mudbox, their “3D brush-based modelling software”, until I read this: 

Autodesk to buy New Zealand software company: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Autodesk Inc. agreed to buy Skymatter Ltd., a New Zealand company that makes modelling software…

Perhaps Autodesk have been reading this: http://www.buykiwimade.govt.nz/

Tags: Skymatter, Mudbox

A Tablet PC for CAD/BIM?

As it’s an evolution from “the drawing board” combining CAD/BIM software and Tablet PC seems natural. I wonder why it hasn’t been done by the major market players? In the early days hardware was a real limitation but newer tablets like the Lenovo X61 or Toshiba M400 have reasonable performance for portable use. I don’t see them as workstation replacements, rather an ideal way to take your design on-site or to a meeting where using a mouse isn’t practical.

I’ve tried mark-up with Autodesk Design Review (ADR) on a Tablet and liked it in-spite of the application’s User Interface (UI) not being very Tablet friendly. That was with ADR 2007 but, sadly, the newer free ADR 2008 makes more use of fly-out tools for mark-up formatting which are harder to use on a tablet. Even with the current UI the speed & ease of pen input for non-precision sketch/mark-up leaves a mouse/keyboard combo for dead, especially in the field where you can’t use them at all.

I’ve also played with AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture and Revit on a Tablet PC and all were usable, if not really viable full-time. There’s no perfect UI but for many environments & tasks the pen/tablet is far more natural, dare I say fluent, than the mouse & keyboard. I was surprised to find AutoCAD’s UI and command “logic” (selection/command sequence) worked better than the smarter object based applications.

Revit’s dialog heavy UI was the least accommodating which is a pity given the power of it’s engine to assist design. I’d love to see that Building Information Model manipulated with a Tablet friendly UI as a conceptual design tool. You wouldn’t want to do detail design work – lots of text or precision dimension entry – but for knocking around a concept the tablet & pen is the most natural human interface, at least until those surface displays with direct manipulation become affordable.

Thanks to “GottabeMobile” I found an application from Evodia which shows what “concept sketches” become with some smart software and a tablet. It’s software for Electrical Schematic design and looks brilliant. I can only say “looks” because the website is in French (my ignorance prevents me reading that) and I don’t have a machine to try it on as the Tablet PC’s I’ve used were loan machines. Donations to the “Tablet for Robin” fund accepted in the tip-jar  

I’ve seen all sorts of software used for this – Excel, Visio, AutoCAD/Revit MEP – but none an Electrical Engineer, who can drive a pen faster than a mouse, could use so fluently. You get the speed of a scribble with the power of software assisted design & layout. Imagine that with a conceptual Building Information Model. The pen may not be the ultimate design tool but it’s mightier than the… mouse.

Via GottaBeMobile.com - Using a Tablet PC for Electrical Sketching
“When you see how quickly someone can sketch out the schematics for a house, you have to wonder why electricians would ever choose to go back to paper.”

Tags: Evodia, GottabeMobile

Real world tales of Revit BIM’plementation

These articles share tips from the front line where BIM theory meets production reality: 

BIM Do's and Don'ts – Cadalyst
Beau Turner* & Joe Eichenseer (Avatech Solutions) offer some real-world insights for success implementing BIM…

As I’ve recently been investigating Revit Architecture/MEP collaboration this AECBytes article was brilliantly timed. Thanks Lachmi & Bill!

Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration in Revit - AECbytes "Tips and Tricks"
Bill Knittle’ s (Synergis Design) tutorial on “Collaborating in an all-Revit environment” has recommendations & techniques for sharing Architectural, Structural & MEP models using Revit’s linking, collaboration & monitor tools.

* Just this week I was reminded of Beau zooming around on a Segway at Autodesk University 2004 as I had another “CAD + Segway” close encounter. More on that in a future post…

xkcd on LISP

;-)

Lisp Cycles - xkcd - A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language

Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

Tags: xkcd

CATIA, the power of a napkin...