REVIEW: Autodesk Webcast - The Path to BIM for Small Firms
On February 20, 2008 Autodesk presented a webcast entitled “The Path to BIM for Small Firms“. A Microsoft LiveMeeting recording of this webcast is available here:
The Path to BIM for Small Firms
This hour long webcast started with a few polls that showed that most of the audience worked on commercial projects, and for architecture / engineering firms with less than 25 people. The statement was made that BIM, or Building Information Modeling, may seem overwhelming for small firms to implement. But with the help of tools such as (surprise) Autocad Revit Architecture, BIM can be done successfully. They pointed to four key things for successful BIM implementation:
- Buy-in by all involved
- Start with a real project of a type that you are familiar with
- Ensure that all are adequately trained and that sufficient support is available
- Have good templates
A large portion of the webcast was a demonstration of Autodesk Revit Architecture 2008. They started a new project using a predefined template. The demonstration showed how walls and other features could be easily added, and how these features showed up automatically in multiple view and sheets. Schedules - such as door and window schedules - were automatically created and updated. They also demonstrated importing from and exporting to DWG files.
Every geometry in Revit has many details (i.e. a wall assembly includes a complete description of all of the materials used to construct that wall). Thus the material take-off functionality included in Revit can generate accurate material lists quickly and easily. The “camera” function allows one to create “pictures” by placing the camera on the plan and setting the direction. Changes can be made in the “camera view” - allowing for adjustments to be easily visualized.
An Autocad 3ds Max demonstration followed. This showed how additional detail - color, shading, etc. - can be added to what is designed in Revit Architectural.
This was an interesting webcast; it did a good job of demonstrating the capabilities of Revit Architectural. However, it did not go into any real depth in regard the “path to BIM for small firms.” They did point to their on-line resources( http://www.autodesk.com/experience-revitarchitecture ). They do have some white papers that do seem to be a bit more informational. And for the professional engineer, Autocad Revit MEP is likely to be the tool of greater interest.
