eLearning – Upcoming Revit Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include: 

2.5.13::Revit 201:
Residential Construction in Revit Architecture

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Get the Edge in 2013 – New Year’s Training Bundles from Ideate

Competition in today’s marketplace is fierce, and technology advances in the New Year stand to demand even more of AEC professionals. Being well-qualified and skilled in real-world applications of software solutions helps position you for new projects and industry recognition. Let these New Year’s Training Specials from Ideate, Inc. give you the edge.

Revit Architecture – Special New Year’s Bundle
• Revit Architecture Fundamentals
• Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics
• 6 Revit 201s – Online
• 1 Revit Architecture 2013 Professional Certification Exam

--->All for $2013  

 AutoCAD Civil 3D – Special New Year’s Bundle
• AutoCAD Fundamentals
• Civil 3D for Beginners – Online
• Civil 3D Fundamentals or Civil 3D for Surveyors
• AutoCAD Update Course
• 1 AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 Professional Certification Exam

--->All for $2013  

AutoCAD – Special New Year’s Bundle
• AutoCAD Fundamentals
• AutoCAD Beyond the Basics
• AutoCAD Update
• 1 AutoCAD 2013 Professional Certification Exam

--->All for $2013  

Phone: 888.662.7238
Email: education@ideateinc.com
Expires: Training must be purchased by March 29, 2013.
Classes must be taken one year from date of purchase

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Rules and Restrictions:
• Training bundles must be purchased by March 29, 2013.
• No refunds for unused training.
• Classes must be taken one year from date of purchase. No extensions.
• Good for (1) individual. No substitutions.
• Certification tests offered in four locations: San Francisco, San Jose Portland, Seattle
• One test per individual. No retaking of exam unless paid for by individual. Ideate not responsible for passing grade.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

1.30::San Francisco
Revit for Project Managers Workshop
2.4-6::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.6-8::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.11-13::Sacramento
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.13-15::San Jose
AutoCAD Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

Featured Ideate Expert: Shruti Harve, LEED AP

Shruti Harve, LEED AP –
Ideate Senior AEC Application Specialist

Shruti Harve provides training for Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and 3ds Max Design classes for Ideate, including the February Revit Architecture Fundamentals class in San Jose.
 
Shruti holds a Master of Science degree in Architectural Computing from University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom and is LEED accredited. Her experience includes working in Architecture and Construction firms in India and the United Kingdom as well as Structural Engineering firms in the Bay Area providing design, 3D modeling and drafting services.

“Shruti was a great instructor. She gave clear directions, was very patient with questions, but still kept the class moving at an efficient pace. I would happily recommend her to other architects.”
—Revit Architecture Fundamentals, with Shruti Harve

eLearning – Upcoming Revit Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include: 

1.22.13::Revit 201:
Roof Framing in Revit Structure
1.29.13::Revit 201:
Impression
2.5.13::Revit 201:
Residential Construction in Revit Architecture

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Ideate, Inc. Earns Autodesk Fabrication Specialization

San Francisco, CA, 1/24/2013 – Ideate, Inc., (ideateinc.com), an Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller, today announced that it has earned the new Fabrication Specialization designation for value added resellers from Autodesk, Inc., a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. As an Autodesk Specialized Partner, Ideate has shown that it has made a significant investment in its people, that the company has a solid business plan specific to its specialization areas, has customer references, and that it provides a high level of expertise, experience and support to customers. Ideate offices including San Francisco and Sacramento, CA, Portland, OR and Seattle, WA have achieved the Fabrication Specialization. 

Autodesk Partner Specializations enable value added resellers to highlight and brand their expertise in delivering services in key industry areas. By completing the required curriculum and training, as well as meeting required levels of service and standards set by Autodesk, Ideate demonstrates through its strong customer service and support in sales what it means to be a trusted adviser to Autodesk customers throughout the world. 

“Fabrication applications encompass a wide array of powerful and integrated tools for estimating, cost analysis, detailing and fabrication,” says John Souza, Director of Sales, Ideate, Inc. “Achieving the Fabrication Specialization is a new opportunity for us at Ideate to demonstrate our commitment to our customers’ success. This specialization supports our customers’ need to improve design workflows, facilitate stakeholder collaboration and enhance productivity throughout a project’s lifecycle.” 

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM) and is a leading Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the AEC industry since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating five Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in the northwestern U.S., Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization. 

Autodesk and ATC are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. 

# # #

Import Sketchup Model into Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler

At Ideate, we are asked about the value of purchasing the Infrastructure Design Suite. Included in Infrastructure Design Suite Premium and Ultimate is Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler; a great program for quickly visualizing your design in context for meetings with stakeholders and/or clients.
 
Problem – you are using Infrastructure Modeler to present your next urban development project proposal. And to make it more realistic and compelling you want to insert a 3D model of the nearby landmark giving the project stakeholders a visual perspective. You have seen 3D models of buildings in Google Earth but this is Infrastructure Modeler. Not Google Earth!
 
The 3D buildings you see in Google Earth are sketchup models. But can you import these 3D models in Infrastructure Modeler?

Is it possible to import any sketchup model into Infrastructure Modeler? The answer is Yes. Here’s how!
 
Before I raise your hopes – I am not aware of any direct way to achieve this so we will have to take a detour via Civil 3D.
 
So the process is to:

1. Import the model first into Civil 3D by using the Sketchup Import plug-in. This plug-in can be downloaded and installed from Autodesk Exchange which is found in the Infocenter on the top right as shown below.

2. Then export this model to an FBX file
3. And finally import and configure it in Infrastructure Modeler. Configuring includes move, scale, rotate as necessary to georeference.

You can possibly insert the sketchup model in Civil 3D project drawing that contains the georeferenced image and terrain and move, scale and rotate the model to georeference it here in Civil 3D.
 

Import the Model in Civil 3D
From within Civil 3D, Plug-ins tab > Sketchup Import panel > click on Get 3D Model

From Sketchup Import – Get 3D Model window, click on Download Model to download and insert the model in Civil 3D. Depending upon what’s available you will be given options – I got the 9MB model.

Here is the 3D model of Golden Gate Bridge in Civil 3D.

Export the Model to FBX
Go To Application Menu > Export and save the file as FBX format.

In the FBX Export Options dialog box, choose what you want to export appropriately – I exported everything visible – the drawing had only one model.

Import the Model in Infrastructure Modeler
From within Infrastructure Modeler, click on Data Source in the Home tab to open the Data Source palette. Click 3D Model as shown below and then pick the above FBX file. I had already imported the surface and image from Civil 3D 2012 using LandXML and Raster data sources, respectively.

Once the model is imported you need to configure it.
 
In the Data Source palette, double click on the row corresponding to the FBX file you just imported.
 
In the Data Source configuration dialog box,

Assign it a type depending upon the data, I chose Buildings, could have chosen City Furniture as well.

Assign a coordinate system to the data source (on the top), in this case I used XY-FT because the data does not have any coordinate system. Then there is a coordinate system for where the data will get placed in the model - I assigned the appropriate California State Plane coordinate system. I also had to scale the model down 12 times to convert meters to feet. You can see the scale factor of 0.083 for X, Y, Z. 

Click on Interactive Placing… and then double click in the model area to place the sketchup model in the project. Remember, it’s a double click. 

You may have to move and rotate the model to place it accurately.

That’s it, you are done. 
Here is the final result in Infrastructure Modeler. Enjoy!

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Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Classroom Training – Open Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

1.23-25::San Francisco
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals
1.28-29::San Francisco
Navisworks Fundamentals
1.30::San Francisco
Revit for Project Managers Workshop
2.4-6::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.6-8::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

Ideate BIMLink in the Cloud – Now non-Revit Users Can Edit Revit Data Too!

A great reason to use Ideate BIMLink for Autodesk Revit is that it allows non-Revit users to contribute to the data side of the model. What do we mean by this? We mean that interior designs or consultants who don’t have Revit can fill out important space and room information such as a finish schedule or the Specified Airflow values using plain ‘ole MS Excel. We mean that the project manager who is busy traveling to job sites can edit the sheet list  information from the job trailer without having to access the project’s .RVT file. Or, maybe it’s the building engineer, onsite, who is reading barcodes from each installed piece of mechanical equipment and wants that data stored back into the as-built model. Ideate BIMLink is the perfect solution for all these scenarios.

How does it work? We’ll use the example of filling out the manufacture and model number for the mechanical equipment or specialty equipment. Bob is the engineer who owns Revit and uses a workstation, while Sue is the general contractor completing the as-built information. Sue is onsite with an iPad walking through the building to confirm each piece of data. Here’s the basic procedure:

1. Bob exports the list of mechanical equipment from the Revit model using Ideate BIMLink.
2. Bob saves the .XLSX file into Dropbox.
3. Sue uses CloudOn with Dropbox on her iPad and sees the file Bob just posted.
4. Sue opens the .XLSX and walks around to verify the Manufacture and model number for each piece of equipment that’s actually installed.
5. Some of the model number fields are missing or incorrect.  Sue edits them on the iPad.
6. When Sue is done Bob uses Ideate BIMLink to import the edited .XLSX data and push it back into Revit.
7. Now the Revit file data matches the as-built information and the owner gets a high-quality deliverable!

Give it a try; you can download a free Trial version of Ideate BIMLink and both Dropbox and CloudOn are free Apps for the iPad and iPhone. Note that CloudOn also works with Google Drive and with SkyDrive accounts.

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Glynnis Patterson is a registered architect and the Director of Software Development at Ideate, Inc. In a previous life Glynnis spent many hours looking at blueprints with a scale, highlighters, and a scratch pad to develop detailed cost estimates.

Missing Something in a Revit View? 33 Steps to Find Stuff.

Recently David Haynes, Ideate Director of Consulting passed the following tidbit around the office and I thought it could be of use to you. Thanks for the tips David. 

Can’t see it in a view? Here are 33 possible reasons… 

Checklist: 33 Steps to Find Stuff in Revit.

Check to see if: 

1. The element or category is temporarily hidden 
2. The element or category is hidden in the view 
3. The element is being obscured by another element 
4. The element’s category or subcategory is hidden in the view 
5. The element is outside the view’s view range 
6. The view’s far clip depth is not sufficient to show the element 
7. The element resides on a work set that is not loaded within the project 
8. The element resides on a work set that is not visible in the view 
9. The element resides on a work set that is not loaded in a linked file 
10. The element resides on a work set that is not visible in a linked file 
11. The element resides within a group (detail model) and it has been excluded from the group 
12. The element is part of a design option that is not visible in the view 
13. The element is part of a linked file that is not visible in the view 
14. The element has one or more of its edges overridden to display as “Invisible Lines”
15. The element is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible in the view type 
16. The element is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible at the view’s detail level 
17. The element is set to not be visible at the category’s detail level 
18. The element has been placed outside the view's crop region (visible extents) 
19. The element is an annotation element and does not reside entirely within the annotation crop region 
20. The element’s phase settings or the view’s phase settings prevent the element from displaying in the view 
21. The view’s discipline is prohibiting the visibility of the element 
22. The element is affected by a filter applied to the view 
23. The element is subject to an element override, set to background color 
24. The element is subject to a category override, set to background color 
25. The element style is set to background color 
26. The element is constrained to a scope boxes that is not visible in the view 
27. The extents of the element itself don’t permit it to be seen 
28. The element is a mass, and “Show Mass” is turned off 
29. The element’s host view has been deleted (area boundaries) 
30. The view’s scale is prohibiting the element’s visibility 
31. The element is a linked instance with coordinates too great for Revit to handle 
32. The user has incorrectly identified the link instance to which the element belongs 
33. The element is in a link that is not in its correct position

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Ron Palma
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Ron has over 24 years of experience in the architectural industry as a drafter, designer, lead project designer, trainer, and a CAD manager implementing Autodesk Architectural Solutions for a residential design firm. His instructional background includes being an Autodesk Certified Instructor, trainer, support technician, educator at Portland and Clackamas Community Colleges, as well as a U.S. Army certified instructor where he was a senior instructor at Ft Lewis Washington. Ron is a member of the Oregon Army National Guard and platoon sergeant, training and mentoring soldiers in their careers. Ron is a published writer and continues to author professional technical training manuals and shorts for AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, and Revit. As an Autodesk Certified Instructor, Ron provides Revit Architecture training and support for AEC firms. Follow Ron @RonPalmaAEC.

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Classroom Training – Open Revit Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

1.23-25::San Francisco
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals
1.30::San Francisco
Revit for Project Managers Workshop
2.4-6::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
2.6-8::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals

Know your software. Sign up now!

AutoCAD Spell Checker Not Working

Often, in the Ideate, Inc. technical support queue, customers get error messages that seem mysterious, but have a quick answer.
 
Problem: So you run the spell checker via the command “spell” and this is what you get.

The spell checker uses the dictionary DCT files found in the program files support folder of the product. AutoCAD engine locates these files using the path info to this location found in the Support File Search Path under the Files tab of options dialog box. The problem is, for a multitude of reasons, you are missing this path.
 
Solution: Add the path. Here’s how:

1. Open options and switch to Files tab
2. Click on Support File Search Path
3. Click on the Add button and add the following path:
    C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013\Support

See the following image.

4. Finally, it is a good idea to move this path to the top giving it the highest search priority using Move Up button shown by the arrow above.

Note: The above path is for Civil 3D 2013. The path may vary as per the product you own. For example,

• Civil 3D 2012, use C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012\Support
• AutoCAD 2013, use C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2013\Support
• AutoCAD 2012, C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2012\Support
• Map 3D 2013, C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Map 3D 2013\Support
• Map 3D 2012, C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Map 3D 2012\Support

---

Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist


Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

Get it. Know it. Use it.

eLearning – Upcoming Revit Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include: 

1.15.13::Revit 201:Rapid Detailing

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

How to Add a Segment/(s) to an Alignment

During training at Ideate, Inc, we are often asked how to add segment to an alignment.
 
Adding a segment to an alignment works sometimes and other times the alignment style seems to get applied but station labels do not appear. If you have been using Civil 3D before then I am positive you have seen this.
 
So the concept is, just as an alignment has a direction, every component of an alignment: lines, curves and spirals have a direction, which is displayed by the arrow component of the alignment style. If the direction of this segment is against the main alignment direction, the labels do not appear even though the segment gets added to the alignment – evident because color changes: alignment style gets applied. Here is how it works.
 
When you click on the button “Convert AutoCAD Line and arc” to add the lines/arcs at the beginning or end of the alignment to the alignment as shown below:

1. Labels do not appear even though the segment got added to the alignment. In the figure below you can see the white AutoCAD line turn green.

2. Click on the button “Reverse Sub-entity Direction” which is one icon to the right of “Convert AutoCAD Line and arc” icon as shown below.

See the label -0+59 appears as below:

That’s it; you are done. Now go ahead and add other segments as necessary.
 
If the negative station number is unacceptable, change it via the Reference Point under the Station Control tab of Alignment Properties.

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Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist


Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Classroom Training – Open Revit Classes

Know It. Ideate Training.

Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

Here are a few of the training opportunities Ideate has to offer in the coming weeks:

1.14-16::Sacramento
Revit MEP Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals
1.23-25::San Francisco
Revit MEP Electrical Fundamentals
1.30::San Francisco
Revit for Project Managers Workshop

Know your software. Sign up now!

Windows 8 Support: Update from Autodesk and Ideate Software

My colleague, David Haynes, Director of Consulting, blogged recently regarding Ideate’s position on implementing Windows 8 with Autodesk software. I’d like to update that information to include Autodesk’s own position on Windows 8, posted in November 2012.

Ideate Software, including Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Explorer for Revit are not yet supported for use with Windows 8. We are currently working to test and approve our products for use with this platform. It is Ideate’s recommendation that you hold off on migrating to Windows 8 until Autodesk has officially approved Revit for use on this platform.

Ideate is committed to approving our own software in tandem with any Autodesk approval for Revit products. In the meantime, our technical support team will continue to assist customers who have issues with products that are not currently supported. If you do decide to run Autodesk software on the Windows 8 platform know that this is an unsupported operating system and technical support whether from Autodesk or Ideate may not be able to address all issues.

Note: The Ideate Solutions blog and Autodesk’s AutoCAD Services and Support page will be updated as new Windows 8 compatibility information becomes available.

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Glynnis Patterson is a registered architect and the Director of Software Development at Ideate, Inc. In a previous life Glynnis spent many hours looking at blueprints with a scale, highlighters, and a scratch pad to develop detailed cost estimates.

Part II: Loaded Type Has Been Renamed… to Protect the Innocent

Copy/Monitor Quirkiness Between Revit MEP and Revit Architecture

Last month my colleague, Bill Johnson explained some quirkiness with the Copy/Monitor tool as it relates to managing data. His excellent blog on this topic details how Revit MEP families that are copied only capture the family:type name and the location, leaving any instance-based parameter to re-set to its default values sometimes causing unexpected size and elevation changes for the copied elements. 

For those who have already run into this dilemma I’ll describe some of the basic steps we’ve used to map the original object parameter values to the objects within the new file – this is not for the faint of heart!
 
Problem: after Copy Monitoring plumbing fixtures all the instance parameters are reset to default, causing information about the grab bars, the toilet graphics, and the Instance Mark to be incorrect. How can we Copy/Monitor the data?

 
Solution: Using Ideate BIMLink we can create a custom database key, based on the object location. This allows us to then map the old instance parameter values onto the copied objects – even if the parameter names aren’t the same!  See video for explanation.



[--Alternate video format--]
 
Just because you can copy objects, doesn’t mean you should. As a general rule we would not recommend using Copy/Monitor on any object other than Grids and Levels. However… there are situations where it may be prudent to copy/monitor families. If so, proceed with caution and definitely review Bill’s blog or ask Ideate Consulting for help in developing Copy/Monitor strategy for your complex projects.
 

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Glynnis Patterson is a registered architect and the Director of Software Development at Ideate, Inc. In a previous life Glynnis spent many hours looking at blueprints with a scale, highlighters, and a scratch pad to develop detailed cost estimates.

eLearning – Upcoming Revit Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

Upcoming classes include: 

1.15.13::Revit 201:Rapid Detailing

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Civil 3D Pipe Network Error: Script Control (msscript.ocx)

Update:
One of our customers here at Ideate ran into the MSScript.ocx error recently and was able to find a forum post with a reported solution to try before reformatting. Check it out here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/AutoCAD-MEP/msscript-ocx-AutoCAD-MEP-2012/td-p/3574092

Thanks to Justin Zampardi from Mead & Hunt for providing us with the info!

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Recently, while teaching a class for one of our customers I noticed that my Pipe Network commands in Civil 3D were not working (both 2012 and 2013). When I attempted to create a Pipe Network both from an object and using the Network Layout Tools, I received the same repetitive error at the command line.
 
The error said:
 
ERROR: Calculation Failed with Part Table AeccCircularConcretePipe_Imperial There is a problem with the Script Control (msscript.ocx). This problem may be corrected by reinstalling Internet Explorer or by reregistering the control.
 
After doing some research on the issue and contacting Autodesk, I was informed that the issue was Microsoft related, and could possibly be fixed through this process:
 
First, install the script control from: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/184739
 
Also, the version of Internet Explorer (IE) 7, IE8, and IE9 may be preventing it from operating, so try to uninstall it and reinstall it. 

Once that is complete, do the following:

1. Go to Start All Programs Accessories.
2. Right-click Command Prompt and choose “Run as administrator.”
3. Enter the command:
   Regsvr32 C:\Windows\SysWOW64\msscript.ocx
   (Copy/Paste by right-clicking in the command prompt window to do the paste)
4. Click OK on the message that says the file registration succeeded.
5. On the keyboard, hold down the WINDOWS key and then hit R.
6. In the Run window, type REGEDIT and then click OK.
7. Find the following folder:
   HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\(0E59F1D2-1FBE-11D0-8FF2-00A0D10038BC)\1.0\0\win32
8. Right-click the win32 folder and choose “Permissions.”
9. Make sure the administrator group has full control.
10. With the win32 folder selected, make sure the (Default) key at the right is set to the following path with no quotes around it: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\msscript.ocx
11. Close the Registry Editor.

After attempting the instructions above, as well as doing a clean reinstall of Autodesk products, nothing resolved the issue. Unfortunately for me, in some extreme cases (which this happened to be) a complete reformat of the OS is required in order to fix the issue with the .OCX file. 

After reformatting and reinstalling everything, I can gladly report that Civil 3D is back up and running with the issue resolved.

I hope you’ll never run into this error, but if you do, those are your options.

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Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Matt is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of Hawaii. Matt obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has 7 years of private sector design experience which he applies in his role as an application specialist with Ideate, Inc. His project experience includes residential and commercial site development, private and public sewer, water and drainage systems, harbors improvements, and roadway improvements. While in Hawaii, Matt was involved in multidisciplinary projects for City and County agencies, State Departments, the Army COE and private developers. @MattM_PE

Get it. Know it. Use it.