VIDEO: Best Things in Life Are Free. Autodesk AEC Collection Grows.
Best Things in Life Are Free. Autodesk AEC Collection Grows.
Jeffrey Heimgartner posted on September 07, 2017
Autodesk made a huge announcement that provides tremendous benefits for those in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries. Today, Autodesk added tools to its Architecture, Engineering and Construction Collection. They will help customers address the ever evolving and expanding building information modeling (BIM) workflows that span planning and design to preconstruction -- at no additional cost.
The Architecture, Engineering and Construction Collection adds several tools -- for free!. (Image courtesy of Autodesk.)
AEC building and infrastructure projects have become increasingly complex with tighter deadlines. This has led to the introduction of new and expanded software solutions to help those in the industry accomplish project goals within ever evolving workflows. BIM software solutions continue to progress at a rapid pace. They have become more powerful and at times can seem daunting if lacking the budget to acquire the new tools or time to train on them.
“I’ve personally had the opportunity to see many of the building and infrastructure projects our customers are working on, and I’ve been impressed by the complexity, size and ingenuity of what is being designed and built today,” Vikram Dutt, Senior Director, Building Business Line of Autodesk, said.“Still, even in the most innovative firms, a common pain point I hear from our customers is that with technology changing so rapidly, it’s expensive to try new software. In specific, you’ve told us loud and clear that visualization, analysis and fabrication capabilities have moved from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’ to implement the BIM workflows you need to stay competitive.”
Autodesk addressed some of these concerns last year by launching its Architecture, Engineering and Construction Collection, which is a set of BIM tools for building design, civil infrastructure and construction. The initial core collection included Revit, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Navisworks Manage and 3ds Max. This move was aimed at not only giving customers the tools needed for their projects today, but tools they could use as BIM workflows evolved.
The additional tools announced today continue to expand the product offering into emerging BIM technologies and workflows such as virtual reality, fabrication, computational design and analysis.
Virtual Reality
Revit Live is the virtual reality (VR) component of the collection. It allows users to visualize their project models by “turning them into immersive visual experiences."Imagine being able to virtually experience an entire building project before it is built; seeing how sunlight shines at different times of the day or even throughout the four seasons, or having doors that open and behave as they would in the real world.
Analysis and Computational Design
Rounding out the structural analysis tools of the collection are Robot Structural Analysis Professional, which allows users to test the effects of loads on different structures to verify code compliance and structural integrity, and Structural Bridge Design, a similar analysis software tailored for small to medium-span bridges.
Design to Fabrication
Advance Steel and Fabrication CADmep, which are Interoperable with Revit and Navisworks, were added to help users conceive, model and fabricate better mechanical, electrical and plumping (MEP), and structural steel systems on an integrated platform.
Conclusion
As stated above, these additions are free if you are already signed up for an Architecture, Engineering and Construction Collection. Subscribers can log into their My Account portal to start trying these new tools. If not a subscriber, check out more info, pricing and download a free 30-day trial here.
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