Lighting is an important factor that needs to be considered in the design of a building.  In the design stages you can place artificial lights on the exterior and interior of a building to assess and evaluate the building’s lighting needs, and then plan the impact of different levels of lighting.

(You can also use natural light, or a combination of both, when rendering a 3D view of a model.  You can specify the direction of the sunlight, the location, date or time, and this will give you the most realistic picture of sunlight on the building.)

When adding artificial lighting to a model, you add lighting fixtures, organising them into light groups if you want.  Then, before rendering, you can turn individual lighting fixtures/light groups on or off, to achieve the effect that you want. The rendered image then shows the lighting you have chosen in your design.

Revit enables you to design a wide range of artificial lighting from single source lighting, to multiple source lighting, track lighting and even chandeliers.

How to create a lighting fixture with one light source

Firstly Click ‘New’ then select ‘Family.’  Select ‘Template File’ dialog then choose a light fixture template.  All of the lighting fixture templates include the words ‘Lighting Fixture’. Make sure you select the right template for the type of lighting fixture that you want to create.

Revit then opens the Family Editor.   For ceiling and wall-based fixtures the template will include either a ceiling or wall to host the fixture.

Define the geometry of the light source for the lighting fixture, and then sketch solid geometry for the lighting fixture.  If you want the surface of the light bulb to show in a rendered image, create geometry for it, then apply a material to it and for its render appearance, select ‘Light Bulb – On’ from the Render Appearance Library.

Click ‘Create’, then the ‘Properties’ panel, then Family Types.  In the Family Types dialog, specify values for the parameters.  Click OK.

Click ‘Load into Project’ to load the light fixture into the current project, or save the fixture and exit the Family Editor.

For information on how to create other light sources such as multiple source, track lighting or chandeliers, click here.

For more news, updates, hints and tips you can follow Cadassist on Twitter or on LinkedIn. You can also visit our website, contact our email sales@cadassist.co.uk or call on 0845 872 5555 to talk to a member of the team.

Following our post on the mid-year release of Revit Architecture, here are some of the new additions to Revit MEP, now available to subscription clients only.

Background processing of colour fills

In Revit 2016 R2 with Background Processing of Colour Fill, colour schemes and the associated colour fills, are updated asynchronously, alleviating model interaction delays, associated with these computations like when adding duct/pipe.

In the past, whenever a model change affected a room, space, area, duct, or pipe color fills, each view, whether it was open or not, would be processed to update the associated schemes.

You can update room, space, HVAC zone, duct, and pipe color fills using multiple CPUs, improving the response speed of related operations up to 15%. Based on a new multiprocessing framework, this is the latest in a series of multi-CPU features that began with Progressive Display in Revit 2016.

You can notice the temporary hatch indication when the calculation is in-progress.  Now that color fill is processed in the background, you can experience improved performance when adding duct and pipe to large models.

Fabrication Part Modeling improvements

Revit 2016 R2 features enhancements to fabrication part modeling for both duct and pipe.  The Show Service tool updates the fabrication part browser to show the service of the element selected in canvas view, making it easier to continue placing related elements.  This gives you a more efficient fabrication part browser that enables you to model faster and improve productivity.

It also features an improved in-canvas rotation tool for fabrication parts.  The Enhanced Rotation Controls enable users to more easily rotate the part on its axis to any desired angle. You will benefit from more control and improved productivity when rotating connected parts around their connected ends.

The Insert Part Option command makes it easy to place in-line parts, such as valves, dampers, and tees, into existing runs of straight segments. You can more easily place tees, valves, and dampers into modeled runs.  It enables you to model fabrication level detail parts more efficiently with in-line part placement.

When using fabrication parts in Revit, you can place fittings on the sides of rectangular ducts, such as square to round fittings using Tap Placement. Once the tap has been placed, it can be positioned anywhere on the duct surface. Improve accuracy with the ability to model taps to the side of ducts according to specifications to meet fabrication requirements.

The main benefit of this update is that it improves accuracy and performance with the ability to model according to specifications more efficiently.

Electrical Design enhancements

In the updated version of Revit 2016 you can now define the default rating for newly created circuits, enabling you to tailor your project template to regional requirements.  Default Circuit Rating provides control and flexibility for local needs outside the US. It simplifies the pre-populating branch circuit panels that may have many such breakers. This means you can tailor circuit default ratings to local standards usability to meet your design specifications.

Another electrical design enhancement helps you when there are only two options for the Default Distribution System on a panel. In prior releases, when placing a panel, the distribution system was always assigned as None. In this release, if a panel only has a single distribution option, such as 208/120, this will be assigned automatically.

This update to Revit MEP 2016 will increase productivity with automatic selection of the default distribution systems and tailored local circuit default ratings.

As previously stated, these updates are only available to those with subscriptions – either desktop or maintenance (click here if you want reminding of the different kinds of subscription), which is one more reason to keep a subscription going.

If you need advice on which subscription is for you, get in touch on sales@cadassist.co.uk, contact your account manager or call 0845 872 5555

To keep up today date with the latest releases, follow us on Twitter or on our LinkedIn group.

The recently launched Autodesk® Structural Fabrication Suite will provide users with a comprehensive set of tools that will helps streamline BIM-based steel design, detailing and fabrication.  The suite consists of the following:

• Autodesk® AutoCAD® with Advance Steel
• Autodesk® Revit®
• Autodesk® Navisworks® Simulate
• AutoCAD®

Autodesk® AutoCAD® with Advance Steel is a replacement software for the recently phased out Autodesk® AutoCAD® Structural Detailing software.  It meets the increasing need for a structural detailing solution that supports a bigger range of modelling and documentation needs, without compromising on team collaboration and user productivity.

Autodesk® Advance Steel software has more advanced structural modelling and detailing capabilities, and provides tools that helps drive fabrication. Advance Steel is built on the AutoCAD® platform, providing a familiar user interface, helping to support a faster, smoother transition from AutoCAD® products.

Key benefits of Autodesk Advance Steel are:

• It integrates with Autodesk® Revit® and Autodesk® Navisworks® software products for building projects.
• It integrates with Autodesk® AutoCAD® Plant 3D software with object-enabler technology and Navisworks for industrial projects
• It provides comprehensive modelling libraries of profiles and connection types
• It has highly customized for local steel standards including steel connection design
• It will help to reduce shop errors by producing NC and CNC files directly from the 3D model and connecting these models directly with leading MIS software.
• It will support collaboration in a multi-user 3D model environment
• It automatically updates and maintains revision control of documentation

The introduction of this new suite means that for the first time, users can take structural BIM models through design review and fabrication within one suite, ensuring a more efficient way to work.

This new suite will be available on Desktop subscription, making it an affordable, scalable and flexible way to work with smaller initial investment required to try out this new suite.  Get in touch by email or phone; 0845 872 5555, to get a quote or ask questions.

To keep up to date with updates and new releases, follow us on Twitter or our LinkedIn Page.

Autodesk are showing more and more why subscription is very much the way to go, as a way to keep up with the introduction of new features and releases throughout the year.  The recent mid-year release on the 2016 software’s have shown some interesting developments in Revit Architecture and Revit MEP, but other packages are also showing new capabilities, and one of the most striking from InfraWorks 360 is the advanced traffic simulation.

This function was available in a preview that was then pushed out to users but it’s now been rolled out across the board.

This new functionality enables a designer to identify potential problem areas and allows them to explore new design alternatives.  Users can input traffic flow and add features, and then test them extensively by specifying the kinds of vehicles in the traffic and even time of day; how it handles rush hour or the school run for example.  The different road types include an area often neglected; roundabouts, a common feature in the UK – home of the roundabout, but less so in the US.

Being able to view designs and design changes within a virtual environment isn’t just an invaluable tool to assess and evaluate engineering designs; it’s also an impressive way of displaying how a traffic system will look, and let’s face it, just looks supercool.

For more information on subscriptions to keep up to date with all the latest Autodesk software, get in touch with our team on sales@cadassist.co.uk or call 0845 872 5555.

To keep up to date with updates and new releases, follow us on Twitter or our LinkedIn Page.

A new version of Autodesk Inventor is now available to subscription customers; Inventor 2016 R3 includes Inventor Connected Design on A360 as well as the ability to export data in the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) file format for use in building design applications.

Inventor Connected Design on A360

Inventor Connected Design will facilitate fast and simple 3D design reviews within a team and project collaborators anywhere in the world, and on any device.  Start in Inventor by taking a lightweight 3D capture of a part or assembly called a Design Share. The Design Share contains only the parts you designate and can be previewed so you control the information included.

You then choose the email addresses of the collaborators you want involved, and just give them access to the Design Share, directly from Inventor. These people can then review Design Shares whenever they want online using Autodesk 360, in addition comments can be added that can be viewed by the whole project team

Anyone can review a 3D design on practically any device, whether they have access to Inventor or not, which is a faster and more automated way of sharing data, as opposed to other more traditional methods such as 2D screen shots and email.

It uses lightweight 3D viewables that enable you to easily control which parts are shared and which are not.  It automatically manages and tracks comments, and provides a central record of the time and date for each Design Share and comment received in feedback.

Export data in the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) file format

The IFC file format provides an open standard way of exchanging model information between manufacturing, architecture, engineering, and construction industries. Autodesk Inventor 2016 R3 adds the IFC format as an export option to enable the delivery of 3D mechanical designs for building and construction applications.

The IFC standard is developed and maintained by buildingSMART. Autodesk has supported the buildingSMART initiative on Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) BIM data standard since it was established.  Autodesk Inventor leverages buildingSMART-certified IFC export capabilities in Revit to provide this capability.

From a part or assembly file, select the IFC file format from the ‘Export Building Components’ command within the BIM Exchange environment. The model will be written into a *.ifc format and will contain 3D geometry and material property information for use downstream.

For more information of Autodesk Inventor subscriptions and capabilities, get in touch on sales@cadassist.co.uk or check out our website.

To keep up to date with updates and new releases, follow us on Twitter or our LinkedIn Page.

Frequently during Autodesk Revit MEP training sessions I`m asked the question:

“Can we set the ceiling grid so it can be seen in the plan view?”

The answer is “Yes” and perhaps the simplest way to achieve this once you have checked the Visibility Graphics settings for the view, within the Model Category list for the element/s you are wishing to see, in this example Ceilings.

Is to set in the Properties of the Floor Plan the Underlay option Range Base Level to the same Level you are in and to set Underlay Orientation to Look up.

This method can be very useful when wishing to display overhead items as reference information.

In addition to the above if you are “Linking” in the Architectural and Structural Revit models you will need to check the View Range properties for the view.

In this example the Primary Range Top: is set to the Level above and the Cut Plane Offset: at 2700, as the Ceiling is located with an elevation height of 2600 the Cut Plane is set slightly above to display the desired information in the Plan View.

We offer a range of training courses and support packages to help you with functions like this.  Check out our website here, contact our training team on training@cadassist.co.uk or call on 0845 872 5555 for information and a competitive quote.

For more news, updates, hints and tips you can follow Cadassist on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Zebra Imaging has released a new plugin for Autodesk Revit; 3D Hologram Creator. This new plugin simplifies the process of turning an architectural, engineering or construction design into an impressive 3D hologram, taking your designs to a whole new level when it comes to showcasing AEC designs.

These 3D holograms give accurate portrayals of design projects that can be passed on to clients. They can be a powerful sales tool, dazzling a potential client with new technology.

The 3D Hologram Creator extends the native file export capabilities of Revit’s software to include OBJ files, which is the format needed for holographic printing. The software exports all selected geometry in a 3D view alongside the materials used in the view, and it fits effortlessly into the user’s workflow.

“Holograms are new to the architecture market, but their ability to depict depth and detail in eye-catching ways are exactly what clients want to see,” says Chuck Scullion, Zebra Imaging’s President and CEO. “Immersing clients into a design will now be as simple as preparing a file for printing. The focus belongs on the design, not the process.”

“Providing Revit users with the ability to create holograms from building models adds a new level of sophistication to design visualization,” says Sasha Crotty, Revit Core Product Manager, Autodesk. “We’re glad that the Revit community will be among the first to gain access to this exciting new presentation and design exploration technology.”

When using 3D Hologram Creator plugin for Revit, users can visualize and create hologram within the Revit application then export their design to Zebra Imaging. The hologram will then be created at Zebra Imaging’s print centre. Most projects can be completed within the week.  The 3D Hologram Creator plugin is a free download available from the Autodesk Exchange site.

For more information on using Autodesk Revit, get in touch on sales@cadassist.co.uk or check out our website.

To keep up to date with updates and new releases, follow us on Twitter or our LinkedIn Page.

Images by Zebra Imaging. All rights reserved.

With most tools in Revit, when you place your cursor over them, a description as to how the tool works appears.  This may be in the form of text or a small video which demonstrates the tool being used.

You may have experienced that sometimes the tool tip video does not work and you see a message similar to the image below.

The message tells you that you need to install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player in order to see the video.  But when you install the latest version of Adobe, the videos still do not work!  This is because the tool tip videos will only run using Adobe Flash Player version 10 and are not compatible with other versions.

We’ve been talking about this with Autodesk, and have found a handy workaround:

In order for this to work you will need to uninstall your version of Adobe Flash Player and reinstall version 10.

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html

Your videos should play after this install and all should be well.

If not, then you may need to download the Adobe uninstall tool which will clear any remnants of the previous install before a fresh install can begin:

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

Also, be aware that when installing Adobe 10 it may throw up a warning saying a new version is available and will not let you install version 10.  To get around this, just disconnect your machine from the Internet and perform the install of version 10 again.

I hope this has helped you out a bit.  If you want to keep up to date with all of our hints and tips for all of the Autodesk software, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Dynamo is a free-to-access visual programming extension which effectively takes Autodesk Revit to the next level by opening up the world of computational modelling. Computational BIM allows Revit users to:

• Apply behaviours and logic to a model
• Add rules via visual interface
• Build a system, not just a model
• Extend to other applications

An increasing number of Cadassist clients are using Dynamo with exciting results, saving large amounts of time by improving the transition from concept to design, exploring more design alternatives and introducing more automation to reduce rework.   Take a look at our webinar on Dynamo that includes real-world examples from Kohn Pedersen Fox, AHMM, BDP and Grimshaw Architects.

To help Revit users take advantage of this transformational technology, we launched a new range of Dynamo courses in November 2015.  So far, the feedback has been terrific.  Here is an example:

“Absolutely fantastic . . . the Advanced Data Management course in particular has huge value for us in our day-to-day work as an architectural practice.  What we learned and the scripts we picked up replace some 3rd party packages for Revit that cost us thousands of pounds.  We are looking forward to doing more work with you in the future.”
– Edward Couper, BIM Manager, Karakusevic Carson Architects

So please get in touch with us via training@cadassist.co.uk for more information and scheduled dates for our London and Manchester training centres.

For updates and information on a regular basis, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Anyone still recovering from a family Christmas is bound to understand how hard communication is.  After decades of my mother struggling to cook Christmas dinner alone we decided to split the work; my parents would do starters, my brother in law was doing mains and I was doing dessert.  Unfortunately with the out of sync phone conversations between the three households there was inevitably a screw up; my Dad only found out my husband hates onions after he had decided on a French Onion Soup starter, and had bought 3 kilos of onions for it.  And done a practice run.

This is not a disaster, my husband actually enjoyed the soup in the end (kind of), but in a large building or engineering project this kind of communication error doesn’t leave someone pushing onions around a bowl, it leaves expensive and/or time consuming errors that can put a whole project in jeopardy.

A360 Collaboration for Revit is for Revit users what a three way conference call at Christmas would have been to us.  A really good idea.

Collaboration for Revit is an Autodesk A360 cloud based platform which will enable people to co-author models across firewalls from different locations anywhere in the world, all at the same time. By doing this, it aims to reduce many of the current model sharing issues including firewalls, sync issues, storage and access.

How A360 Collaboration for Revit works

To use A360 Collaboration for Revit you will need a Cloud Service Subscription. With this subscription you can pay monthly, quarterly or annually, which means that you only buy the software and/or support when you actually need it.

Get in touch if you’d like more information about Autodesk A360 Collaboration for Revit or any of our other products and services, on sales@cadassist.co.uk

For updates and information on a regular basis, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

As Autodesk continue to be market leaders in manufacturing CAD software, Cadassist are pleased to welcome John Grimshaw as our new Manufacturing Applications Engineer.

John has been designing parts, products, processes and teams for 15+ years but has only recently graduated with a degree – Bachelor of Engineering (BEng), Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering with a 1^st  Degree Honors.

In the past he’s worked in a range of environments from $13b multinationals with 56,000+ employees to £3m small family owned firms with less than 50 people employed, all manufacturing market leaders in their field.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working in some truly great cross-functional manufacturing teams over the last 15 years of my working life, I believe this habit has continued at Cadassist Ltd” says John.  “This helps significantly when identifying possible pain points. It’s just going to be helping people from industry, like me, to improve their total business processes through better use and utilization of software.”

John’s has spent his first few weeks expanding his knowledge base in Autodesk’s product portfolio and the Product Design Suite Ultimate in particular, passing the Autodesk Certification with flying colours, generally learning more about the industry he’s moving into and settling in at Cadassist.

Using the information from his new degree and Autodesk material, he’s confident he can make a real difference.

“The knowledge I’ve gained over the last few weeks could have shaved weeks, if not months, off of some of the previous projects I have worked on. Reducing time from customer request to delivered product, elimination of multiple silos of information and improving communication through the project team. If we are able to pass on this knowledge and skills I’m confident we could help improve project time to market significantly at the majority of businesses and products.”

Out of work John is always happy watching movies, walking the dog, boxing and spending time with his fiancé and kids.

If you’d like to speak to John or anyone else in the Cadassist team don’t forget you can always contact us, check out the website and for regular updates follow us on Twitter

Some important information for anyone that has taken Autodesk Certification Exams in the past.

If you have taken Autodesk Certification exams in the past, you need to re-register with CERTIPORT, who have now taken the testing over.

You will need to use the same email address in order for your past certifications to be carried across.

Click here to re-register.

There are a number of advantages to Autodesk Certification.  For professionals that use Autodesk, you can quantify your level of expertise, boost your CV, and bring additional value and kudos to the business you work for.  As an employee, you can promote your business as one with highly trained members of staff and offer career opportunities to improve staff retention.

If you’re interested in Autodesk Certification and/or the training needed to gain certification, get in touch.

Autodesk offers certification exams for AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Revit MEP, Autodesk Revit Structure and Autodesk 3ds Max Design. You can find the upcoming workshops by browsing the training section of our website or emailing Gordon.mcglathery@cadassist.co.uk. You can also call us on 0845 872 5555

Keep up to date with all the latest courses and news by following us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The What?

Vault Data Standard is a subscription only add-in for Vault Workgroup and Professional that allows custom scripts to ensure the standardisation of documents created in Inventor, AutoCAD and Vault. Notice the use of documents, not parts, assemblies or drawings but all documents.

The Why?

We engineers are a funny bunch, some like standardisation; it removes us from the mundane tasks like part naming and numbering, project folder creation, presentation creation etc.… It’s all just there, done, complete, only needing the engineering data plugging in. This allows us to focus on the engineering tasks like, how do we make this stronger but lighter? Where can I remove cost but increase quality? This type of engineer often misses the need for a company branding and its impact on a customer, opting for a blank sheet of paper with lots of text based information. After all data is king, is it not?

Others know a better way, free thinkers that prefer to customise and personalise every aspect of their design input, templates are just a guideline, my title block/presentation layout looks much better, why can’t we have this specific for our site rather than to the global standard? This type of engineer often misses the need for standard part numbers and descriptors for linking into ERP’s or how much of a headache it is to explain away the ever so slight differences in title blocks during a quality audit.

We need both of these types of people to succeed, the ones that focus on engineering data above all else and the ones that promote change and improvements to the standards.

What we don’t need is five types of standard presentation templates, three standard drawing borders and no standard project structure.

The How?

Vault Data Standard uses simple script to define behavior for everyone.
This can be as simple as taking the next in line part/assembly number, or create a project file that is a standard layout, or it can be complex adding configurable and customisable tabs in the data sheets addressing specific needs such as dynamic pick list, specific complex file naming or additional business logic. Vault data standard can also enforce property completion to ensure that all the correct data is input to documents at the right time.

This add-in automates the mundane and reduces differences from person to person.

This allows the “nuts and bolts” and “free thinking” engineers to work in their own way then brings the data together making standardisation a background task that happens naturally rather than an extra task that needs to be completed, checked and enforced by multiple people.

Using this application at one of my previous employeers we could have eliminated most of the non-conformances highlighted in an ISO9001 audit. This would have saved 8 engineers around 20 hours each of historical rectification work, that’s 160 hours engineering time that could have been used to complete projects rather than fixing past issues.

On quick calculation if the business had £2.5m of live projects on the table, this equates to around £1299 per hour of un-realised profit, that’s £207,840 wasted fixing standardisation issues.

“Hindsight is 20/20” they say, in this case it’s much more than that. This number could have funded the department for around 12 months, and paid for the cost of implementation within a week.

If you’d like to speak to John or anyone else in the Cadassist team don’t forget you can always contact us, check out the website and for regular updates follow us on Twitter

Here at Cadassist we pride ourselves on our client-centred approach; providing what software users genuinely need when it comes to training.  We regularly collect feedback, looking to give the ultimate training experience.

A new approach

It’s because of this feedback that we’re taking a new approach to our Revit training, with a new emphasis on job-focused, bite-size, modular learning.

We’re very conscious that our customers’ time is their greatest asset. And taking three days in a row out of the office for a training course is a long time.  This is often a barrier to learning. Because this 3-day block is such a hurdle, Revit users end up relying on colleagues or tutorials or You Tube videos to get started. This often results in new users developing bad habits.  Another consideration for a 2-day essentials course is there are many individuals within a firm where a 3-day course is simply overkill for what they need.

We also listened to our customers when they told us the 3-day essentials course was not delivering everything they needed to begin a Revit project. Other customers told us they were struggling to understand the best techniques for 2D detailing inside of Revit. Yet others explained there was just not enough information on best practices for collaboration.

So we have re-engineered our training to make our courses shorter and more specific, allowing users to slowly build their knowledge as they apply it. Revit users can now get just the right amount of training at just the right time to advance their project skills.

More importantly, these new courses are designed to reflect a user’s actual workflow. Instead of taking Revit’s functionality and arbitrarily separating topics into “beginner”, “intermediate” and “advanced” courses (as most Autodesk courseware providers do), our new approach groups Revit skills by job role.

Revit Architecture Courses at Cadassist

The courses in our Revit series now include:

• Revit Architecture Essentials: this shorter two-day course now appeals to a much wider audience and makes it easier for users to get started with Revit. It is a suitable starting point for any architect, technician or user who will be involved in day-to-day project work. It is also suitable for senior partners and managers who need a basic understanding of Revit in order to manage projects and engage with clients.
• Revit Architecture Stage 2 Concept Design: this new two-day course is designed specifically for design architects and anyone involved in a project’s concept design stage. It covers all the necessary skills for early stage project work such as site design, linking CAD information, curtain walling and massing studies. It also gives you the skills to test and validate your design, including space planning, solar analysis, design options and energy analysis. There was never enough time to cover all these skills in a 3-day essentials course!
• Revit Collaboration:  We have separated out collaboration into a 1-day course designed for all disciplines. Being such a broad topic, it was always hard to fit collaboration into less than a full day. This new course includes an overview of the new Autodesk A360 Revit for Collaboration cloud platform.
• Revit Detailing: Also designed for all disciplines, a new 1-day course
• Revit Standards and Management: remains a 1-day course, with new content for British BIM standards
• Revit Content Creation: remains a 2-day course
• Revit for Landscape Architects:  a new 2-day course

In addition we recently launched our series of Dynamo courses – the first available in the UK – including Dynamo Essentials, Dynamo Advanced Data Management and Dynamo Advanced Geometry.  Since their launch in November, they have been filling up quickly and getting rave reviews.

If you’re interested in time-effective and job-focused training courses that better meet your individual needs, get in touch with our training department on training@cadassist.co.uk or visit our new website

Generally when you buy a suite of something you get more “Bang for your buck”.

Standard room vs a Suite 

Microsoft Word vs Microsoft Office

Inventor vs Product Design Suite

It’s clear that you get more for your money, but what are the real life advantages?  Here are my top 5 reasons for buying a Product Design Suite over individual component software.

•  Full Product Lifecycle – With individual software packages you generally complete one segment of a process, maybe 30% at a push; write a report in Word, calculate in Excel, present in PowerPoint, etc. The individual programs get a job done but a suite enables you to complete the whole process; from concept sketch to marketing and sales data in one set of products.
•  Electrical and Mechanical integration – With Product Design Suite Ultimate you can design a harness in Inventor and create an electrical schematic in AutoCAD Electrical. This information can then be linked; if you change the pin layout in the AutoCAD Electrical file it updates the pin connections in the 3D harness.
• Simulate installation or demolition sequences – Product Design Suite allows you to simulate production schedules, logistical information, take times and cost’s before metal is cut. You can make decisions earlier, and review and modify your products and processes on screen before it’s a physical product or a live process.

• Visualisation tools included – Inventor can bring real time design visualisation on its own, but showcase brings photorealistic rendering and 3DSMax gives truly cinematic 3D animation to your business. Allowing marketing and sales information to be generated in a fraction of the time of traditional methods.

Showcase –

3DS Max –

• Improved project data management – Vault pulls all of this together in one place, eliminating multiple silos of information and the lost time of data searches. All of the data lives in one location with a unified user interface that has the capability to be personalised depending on what information you need to see. There is also the added benefit of version control so no information is ever lost on the next save.

So these are my top 5 reasons for utilising a Product Design Suite from Autodesk, but I’ve only touched on 50% of the included products, and only 3-5% of what those products can offer.

If you would like to find out more about what the Product Design Suite can do, sign up for our free “First Look” seminar being held at the Oldham Events Centre on the 13^th of April, where we will start from a blank sheet of paper and move right through the design process to simulations of final designs.

There will be tea, coffee, bacon rolls and its all complementary, all we ask is that you register for the event here: Register now!  I hope to see you there.

The ability to use, activate and download Autodesk software is all controlled through the Autodesk Account. All users and managers must have an Autodesk Account; the user type generally determines what steps need to be taken to set up your software.

If the purchaser and end user are the same person, then all you will need to do is to sign in to your Autodesk Account, download the software and start the installation.

During product activation after the installation you will be asked to sign in using your Autodesk Account credentials. You will need an active internet connection to activate the software and begin using it.

If the purchaser is not the user then the purchaser will need to sign into their Autodesk Account and click on the users button.

Here they will need to add the end users who will be using the software.

They will also need to grant access to the end users over the software.

The end user will receive an email from Autodesk advising them that they now have access to the software.

I hope this has helped you out, if you want to keep receiving all of our hints and tips for Autodesk software, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Autodesk have just announced the availability of AutoCAD 2017 with a number of new and enhanced features designed to help you work faster and smarter across desktop and mobile connections, with subscription based users benefiting from AutoCAD 360 Pro mobile app, for AutoCAD access on the move.

Here are a few hints of the new key features of Autodesk 2017

Import PDFs

AutoCAD 2017 now includes PDF as a supported import file format. Geometry, TrueType text and raster images can be imported from a PDF file or used as an underlay in the current drawing as AutoCAD objects.

Smart Centre lines

In AutoCAD 2017 you are now able to associate the centre lines with object geometry, improving coordination between these components during future edits.

Autodesk Desktop App

You can now get the most from your AutoCAD 2017 with the Autodesk Desktop App which seamlessly provides product updates and learning content to help you as you go along.

There are a number of other features including developments in 3D printing and mobile technology.  For more information on AutoCAD 2017 give our team a call on 0845 872 5555 or email us.  If you want to be kept up to date with Autodesk software and Cadassist news, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

This time of year means only one thing; the latest releases of Autodesk software.  Last week saw the release of AutoCAD 2017, and this week manufacturing got a look in, with the new release of Inventor 2017 on 28^th March.

“The manufacturing industry is witnessing an evolution of the role of the mechanical engineer. They are no longer solely responsible for the design of complex mechanical systems, but are often also tasked with complete product definition, design and delivery,” said Derrek Cooper, director of the Inventor product line. “With this latest version of Inventor, Autodesk is delivering new capabilities aimed at supporting all aspects of this expanding role.”

Here are a few of the new features and benefits of the latest version.

What’s new with Inventor 2017?

Professional-grade Design Tools will help users design faster and optimise performance from the start.  These include improved sketching, part modelling, assembly management, surfacing and sheet metal capabilities so users can capture and develop design ideas much faster and more easily.

There are also additional Shape Generator capabilities, for example symmetry and member size controls that help users explore lightweight designs and improve product performance.

New Interoperability Tools help to pull disparate aspects of a project together, regardless of the discipline or software that was used originally.  This includes greater AnyCAD tools that enable users to integrate non-native mechanical design data into Inventor models without translation, now including associative connections with the industry standard STEP format.

There are additional enhancements that enable data and process management. These range from improved mesh handling to new connections with Vault for customers using Inventor for factory design.

New, enhanced Communication Tools will help clients share data with anyone on a project team, regardless of their role, location or software package.  Design Shares on A360 accelerate feedback and approvals on designs in progress. They allow users to lift the 3D graphics off the screen and immediately deliver them to anyone, anywhere in the world and on any device.  This means that collaborators can easily collect design feedback in a single secure location.

There are also enhanced animation capabilities to show assembly sequences and 3D PDF publishing to document designs.

For a view of the new features and functionalities of Autodesk watch the below video from Autodesk.  If you’re in the North West you can also attend our free seminar on Wednesday 13^th April at The Oldham Event Centre, Oldham.  Click here to register.

To keep up to date with all the latest updates and information from Autodesk and Cadassist, follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

For those preferring the  keyboard but still wanting to save time, Autodesk Navisworks offers an alternative to accessing all of the commands using the mouse. Keyboard shortcuts can be initiated either by pressing the Functions Keys, the CTRL/Shift or ALT key or a combination of the 4 options for productivity.

E.g. To switch  to the Walk tool whilst on the Home Tab, enter ALT + V to switch to the Viewpoint Tab, then MW to select the walk tool.

Alternatively, if your focus is not in the Viewpoint >Navigation Panel but press CTRL +2, it switches to walk mode and once you switch to the Viewpoint Tab, the Walk mode will have been set.

This list includes General Shortcuts, and in future posts I’ll be showing you shortcuts for Timeliner and the Measure Tools panel.  Get ready for a big list!

I hope that you find this useful.  For more information on products and training you can go to our new website, and to keep receiving all of our hints and tips for Autodesk software, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Another new release from Autodesk this week – Autodesk Navisworks 2017.  Those using the desktop subscription model will be able to access these, as will those with a maintenance subscriptions.

Autodesk usually release new features based on feedback passed on to them from users and resellers such as Cadassist.  Some of this year’s new features and enhancements include:

European Region Support

Navisworks 2017 provides access to BIM 360 Glue projects hosted both in the US and in Europe. You just need to select your regional server after sign-in.

BIM 360 Shared Views

Navisworks 2017 continues to support synchronised Shared Views with BIM 360 Glue, providing real-time access across BIM 360 Glue connected clients . Shared Views assist review and analysis activity in your BIM360 Glue project team, for closer collaboration.

Shared Views created in any BIM 360 Glue connected client retain view fidelity, including:

• Object Visibilty (hidden state)
• Object Overrides – color and transparency (transparencies are fixed at 95%)
• Section Planes and Boxes

Shared Views can be renamed, moved into folders created in BIM 360 Glue and saved directly in Navisworks.

 UI Improvements

Autodesk have made some changes to the Navisworks BIM 360 and Home tabs, making access easier and offering a more intuitive user experience.

CLIC Licensing

The introduction of CLIC brings cohesive access via single license, that supports both desktop and cloud services.

Faster Model Display

Improved speed of synchronising data and display of model list, and faster streaming of BIM 360 models.

Autodesk 2017 Product Integration

Providing support for the latest Autodesk applications is fundamental to Navisworks, ensuring that the latest version of design models and data can be reviewed and analysed. Updated file readers, exporters and integrations include:

1. AutoCAD 2017 file reader and exporter
2. Civil 3D 2017 file reader and exporter
3. Revit 2017 file reader and exporter
4. Inventor 2017 file reader
5. 3DS Max 2017 file exporter
6. Recap 2017 integration
7. Vault 2017 integration
8. Intergraph CADWorx Plant file reader updated to include support for additional properties including User data and Insulation.

Essential skills Videos.

There are some videos on essential skills available which will show you basic workflows that you will encounter as you use Autodesk Navisworks.  These will help you to optimise your project workflow.

For more information on Navisworks 2017 give our team a call on 0845 872 5555 or email us.  If you want to be kept up to date with Autodesk software and Cadassist news, don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.