Beyond the Paper

Top Five Reasons to Choose Navisworks for Construction

What would you consider the top 5 reasons that made you choose Navisworks for your Construction project?

Here is our selection:

 

1. Easy Interactive Design Review & Visualization

The large and complex models generated for 3D building information modeling (BIM) projects are often difficult to view, explore, and analyze. Autodesk® Navisworks® 3D project review software products use innovative technology to compress files for interactive visualization and smooth real-time walk-through, so you can navigate, explore, and review even the largest and most complex 3D models on standard PCs, without having to master CAD skills or design software.

2. Design & Model Coordination in One Place

Construction professionals frequently need to visualize and coordinate designs in a single, whole-project view with other design consultants or construction disciplines. Autodesk Navisworks 3D project review software products offer compatibility with most major native design and laser-scan file formats, which means that 3D design data created in 3D BIM applications such as AutoCAD® software and Autodesk® Revit®-based products can be combined with geometry and information created with other design tools and then easily reviewed. 

3. Improved Project Collaboration

Navisworks allows you to share your 3D designs with other project stakeholders and offer a single, whole-project view for review or viewing. The single Navisworks whole-project view can be published in both Autodesk Navisworks native NWD format and 3D DWF™ format, giving all stakeholders access. Autodesk Navisworks Freedom software is the free* viewer for both file types. In addition, Navisworks provides design insight and construction or operational predictability with a powerful toolkit that includes measure, mark up, and comment to aid project model understanding and analysis.

4. Save on Project Time & Costs

Autodesk Navisworks allows you to leverage your existing construction planning software to simulate time or planning schedules with 3D models to create 4D construction sequences that can highlight and resolve on-site issues. Both Navisworks Simulate and Navisworks Manage help create an easier-to-understand visual simulation of work processes by linking existing 3D model data and project schedules. In addition, Navisworks Manage can analyze any of the file formats that it can read and delivers more effective identification, inspection, and reporting of interferences in a 3D project model, which means that you can help ensure your design is issue-free before construction begins.

5. Realistic Project Visualization

Navisworks allows you and your project stakeholders to walk-through and experience designs in real-time before they are real, and to rapidly validate and present intent at the early bid or tender stage as a 3D interactive proposal. Open existing CAD or 3D files for real-time walk-through of your projects. Navisworks quickly creates high-quality rendered images and animation that you can realistically visualize and present easily in 3D. The experience can be extended, giving all stakeholders access to the whole-project view using Autodesk Navisworks Freedom software.

Do you have any questions that were not covered by the above stated content?

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Attend Autodesk University 2009 Virtually

The event itself remains a not-to-be-missed experience, but Autodesk recognizes that many of our customers will not be able to attend this years AU 2009 event in Las Vegas, NV.

Said that, Autodesk University Virtual promises the "best of AU right on your desktop".

Here are the details for the event:

• Event date: December 1-4, 2009.
• 50+ Classes and Sessions- streamed “live”  http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=virtual_class_listing .
• A “Premium Pass” (full access) is only US$99.
• All Subscription customers receive a free “Premier Pass”. 
• A “Free Pass” (limited access) is available to anyone.
• How AU Virtual compares with AU “On-Site”.

Find additional information here at the Autodesk University Virtual Website

Thank you.

Project Cooper - Feature Overview Video

Try the preview of Project Cooper software for free at http://www.autodesk.com/projectcooper .

This video provides a brief summary of the application and shows you how simple it is to start making drawings with Project Cooper.

Video Link

Send us your feedback, comments or suggestions!

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Windows 7 Support Announcement by Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. has announced support for Windows 7. Effective October 22nd 2009, Autodesk will support customers using nine products including AutoCAD 2010, AutoCAD LT 2010 and the Autodesk Inventor 2010 family of software, on Windows 7.

For the 2010 product line, Autodesk will support nine products on Windows 7.  These products are Autodesk Inventor 2010, Autodesk Inventor LT 2010, AutoCAD 2010, AutoCAD LT 2010, AutoCAD Architecture 2010,  AutoCAD Electrical 2010, AutoCAD Mechanical 2010, AutoCAD MEP 2010 and Autodesk Algor Simulation 2010 software.  Autodesk will support Windows 7 for most of its other products as updated versions are released.

Windows 7 offers many powerful new features and functionality that will benefit Autodesk customers, including full support for 64-bit computing, Windows search and improved performance. Multi-touch support has also become a core capability of Windows 7, and Autodesk is developing new software to take advantage of this technology. At the Windows 7 media launch event, Autodesk will demonstrate Project Cooper, a preview of new technology for simple drawing and drafting that has been engineered to take advantage of the multi-touch capabilities of Windows 7. The Autodesk Project Cooper Technology Preview is now available for free download at www.autodesk.com/projectcooper.

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Cool IPhone App from Autodesk

Autodesk SketchBook Mobile is a new professional-grade paint and drawing App designed for the iPhone and iPod touch, and offers a full set of sketching tools in a streamlined and intuitive user interface.

SketchBook Mobile uses the same engine as Autodesk® SketchBook® Pro painting and drawing software, delivering much of the same power and functionality as the desktop application.

The application will be available worldwide on the iPhone App Store, starting today Thursday, September 17th 2009.

Video Link

 

Content that is created in SketchBook Mobile can be saved as a picture and opened in SketchBook Pro. As a result, artists, designers and anyone who likes to sketch or create artwork can create a drawing at any time with SketchBook Mobile, and continue building on their idea in SketchBook Pro.

The key to SketchBook Mobile is that it uses the same engine as SketchBook Pro. This means you get the exact same look and results from brush strokes.  Currently, you can share flattened images with SketchBook Pro and continue building on the image. The results are seamless.

Have you downloaded it yet? Tried it?

Please share any thoughts you may have.

Thank you.

Autodesk 2010 Certification Now Available

Autodesk announced earlier in the week that design and engineering professionals can  become Autodesk Certified in AutoCAD 2010, Autodesk Inventor 2010, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010, and AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 software.

Becoming Autodesk Certified allows professionals, and companies boasting Autodesk Certified employees, to validate their industry skills and knowledge, demonstrate expertise and gain credibility. 

Customer demand has contributed to the huge growth of Autodesk Certification over the past year, increasing the number of Autodesk Certified professionals to more than 100,000. “With engineering and design fields becoming increasingly competitive, certification gives employees an edge at a time when having one is critical to career success,” said Barbara Bowen, certification program development manager, Autodesk. “Autodesk Certification allows experienced designers and engineers to validate acquired skills by receiving recognition for their knowledge of specific Autodesk software applications.”

Certification can only be achieved after passing a rigorous Autodesk certification exam, or series of exams, and companies like Parsons Brinkerhoff, a planning, engineering, program and construction management, and opera¬tions and maintenance organization, recognize the importance of certification and of having consistent quality of skills company-wide.  In 2008, Parsons Brinkerhoff partnered with Autodesk to bring certification to their designers.

“We needed a reliable way to assess the skill level of our employees, ensure they were up to industry standards and equip staff for their next project,” said Rebecca Arsham, CAD Training Manager, Parsons Brinkerhoff. “Our pilot program with AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D was extremely successful. With the Autodesk training model, our employees had an 83 percent and 71 percent pass rate on the Associate Certification and Professional Certification exams, respectively. Through this program, we have seen an increase in productivity and gained competitive advantage by marketing Autodesk Certified staff expertise on many of our projects.”

The Autodesk 2010 Certification program is available for professionals using AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit Architecture, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Professionals seeking to master their respective industries can take training courses and the Certified Associate and Certified Professional exams at all Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers across the United States and Canada. Autodesk Certification is available in more than 20 countries. 

Autodesk will also offer free certification for the second year in a row at Autodesk University, as well as a preparation lab, offering assessment and practice tests and a study room with study materials.

For more information on Autodesk Certification for 2010, please visit: www.autodesk.com/be-remarkable.

Autodesk Announces Giveaway for Cleantech Companies

Autodesk announced that it will be choosing 100 companies to receive $150,000-worth of software each under the banner of its Clean Tech Partner Program. The application process is open to any young company working on sustainable technologies, though there is a slight focus on renewable energy innovations.

Startups chosen for the program will receive five licenses for the following suite of Autodesk applications: AutoCAD Inventor Professional, Autodesk Showcase Professional, Autodesk Vault Manufacturing, Autodesk Navisworks Manage, Autodesk Revit Architecture and Autodesk Alias Design.

These programs were written to manage construction projects from start to finish, even through manufacturing.

Autodesk, which is touting the program as a new brand of seed support for early-stage enterprises, has already initiated the giveaway with a small pilot program benefiting two companies: Syncromatic and green building powerhouse Serious Materials. The former has already used the software it received to create a more efficient bus-tracking system that utilizes GPS and mobile-location technology. Essentially, the company modeled its potential assembly line and discovered an inefficiency that was subsequently eliminated to speed up the entire process.

Autodesk plans to announce its grant recipients on a rolling basis, giving the software company time to provide condensed training and to learn more about how it will be implemented to advance sustainable causes. The overarching goal is to give startups that aren’t necessarily well-funded the ability to realistically render a digital prototype, rather than having to build a series of expensive physical prototypes.

Autodesk Assistance Program Launched for Northern Europe

Following the success in North America and recognizing the impact of today's economic challenges, Autodesk is launching the Autodesk Assistance Program in EMIA. This Program will provide Autodesk customers and partners with design software tools, education and resources that will help them to enhance, maintain and develop their 3D design technology skills and remain competitive in the marketplace. The program will offer free student software term licenses, free online training and a path to certification to unemployed architects, designers and engineers in all industries.

Autodesk Assistance Program tools and resources will be made available through the online portal, where users can access to:

Free Software License: Any 13-month term student license of AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Civil 3D or a number of other software products.

Reduced-Cost Classroom Training: Many Autodesk Authorized Training Center (ATC) partners are offering classroom training at their training facilities for free or for a significantly reduced fee.

Certification: Certification preparation and exams are available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers.

E-learning: participants will have access to a number of online learning resources, leveraging much of the e-learning available on the subscription portal.

The Autodesk Assistance program will be extended to other countries in EMIA over the next few months.

For more details please visit the http://www.autodesk.co.uk/assistance.

Autodesk Expands Support for Mac Users

Autodesk is now officially supporting Apple Boot Camp, a component of the Mac OSX operating system that enables customers to run Windows on their Apple Hardware, for users of AutoCAD 2010 software, 3ds Max 2010 software, 3ds Max Design 2010 software, Autodesk Inventor 2010 software, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 software, Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 software and Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 software. 

A growing number of Autodesk customers are working in environments with Apple hardware and have requested support from Autodesk to use our design and engineering applications on that platform.    With Autodesk support for Boot Camp, customers can now run their favorite Mac applications and Autodesk applications on the same computer.   This will also enable customers to run Autodesk applications at full speed on a Mac and leverage its native graphics capabilities. 

We know some customers have been successfully running their Autodesk software under Boot Camp for years, so we’re pleased to finally offer official support.  See www.autodesk.com/mac for more details.

Enclosed are a number of links to technical solutions appicable to this content:

Apple® Boot Camp Support for AutoCAD® 2010

Apple® Boot Camp Support for Autodesk® 3ds Max®

Apple® Boot Camp Support for Autodesk® Inventor®

Apple® Boot Camp Support for Autodesk® Revit® Products

Thank you.

Meet, Greet and Learn

Join Autodesk, the Boston Society of Architects, and Microdesk for a networking event at the Autodesk Gallery Boston on Trapelo Road.

• Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009
• Time: 6 p.m.–8 p.m.
• Location: 1560 Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA 02451

In partnership with the Boston Society of Architects and Microdesk, Autodesk is hosting a networking event for job-seeking architects, engineers, and designers in the Boston Area.

Meet potential employers in your field, network with peers and learn more about how you can benefit from the Autodesk Assistance Program.

Please RSVP to autodeskAAP@fleishman.com by Friday, July 17, 2009. Registration is limited.

Thank you.