Autodesk InfraWorks R2 – .RVT Import

Here at Ideate, Inc. we are always trying to stay one step ahead of the game in order to provide the best information to our customers. With that in mind, whenever we hear about a new product or update from Autodesk, we do our best to test the new features and let you know what we think.

If you haven’t already heard, Autodesk has released a Subscription based Product Enhancement for Autodesk InfraWorks called Autodesk InfraWorks R2, and Autodesk InfraWorks +Ultimate R2. These are available via the Autodesk Subscription Center for customers who have Building Design Suite (BDS) Ultimate, or Infrastructure Design Suite (IDS) Premium or Ultimate (+Ultimate R2 is for IDS Ultimate subscription owners). You can download the R2 installation package by logging in to Subscription Center and downloading it from the Product Enhancements section (not part of the standard program downloads). Expand downloads to find Product Enhancements, as shown below.

One of the new features included in the R2 versions is the ability to import Revit .RVT files directly into the InfraWorks model without having Revit installed on the same workstation. Up until now, only IDS Ultimate customers who installed InfraWorks along with Revit were able to use Revit .RVT files as a data source. With the R2 product enhancement, all Revit file processing is handled via the cloud when the .RVT file is added so we no longer need the side by side installation. This also adds the .RVT file option as a data source for BDS Ultimate customers, who did not have it as part of their original installs.

Keep in mind, this new feature does come with some requirements.

First, you will need to have and be signed-in to your Autodesk 360 account in order to use the cloud-based processing capabilities. When you launch Autodesk InfraWorks, make sure you’re signed in to Autodesk 360, and you’ll be all set. If you are not signed-in, the application will prompt you to login before you can proceed with the .RVT import.

Second, we are currently limited to the “Local Origin” option when using Interactive Placing in the Data Source Configuration window. Although there are four different placement options, Local Origin is the only one that is currently working in Autodesk InfraWorks R2 and +Ultimate R2. Ideate has tested, submitted, and confirmed with Autodesk that this is a bug in the application and it is being escalated to the Autodesk Development Team for further research.

Here are some screenshots of the options and the error that you’ll run into if you choose something other than Local Origin.

Select LOCAL ORIGIN as the Position option for model placement

Selecting Center 2D, Center 3D, or Lower Left Front all produce this error when the model tries to refresh with the new data source.

Refresh Failed error (Center 2D, Center 3D, or Lower Left Front options)

As mentioned earlier, we have confirmed this as a bug with Autodesk. But don’t worry; as long as you keep using the Local Origin option, you’ll be fine importing .RVT files into your InfraWorks models.
 
On a side note, the pre-R2 version of Autodesk InfraWorks installed from the Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate along with Revit works with all position options when importing .RVT files.
 
If you’re interested in finding out more about the different features and flavors of Autodesk InfraWorks (there are currently four!) check out the post from Kate Ming, one of our ISD Techs in the San Francisco office. 
 

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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

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The Flavors of Autodesk InfraWorks

As a Technical Expert in Infrastructure at Ideate, I need to know the intricacies of the different versions of InfraWorks. I thought you might like a quick guide to the differences. Here goes:
 
Autodesk InfraWorks 360 Free app (on iTunes) – Download from the iTunes store.  The app has the most basic functions of navigation and model review for the iPad and iPhone and works with Autodesk 360.
 
Autodesk InfraWorks – Available as a standalone product, this version includes the basic features for model creation (installed with its own SN, and not from design suite).
 
Autodesk InfraWorks R2 – Available as a Product Enhancement on Subscription Center to owners of Infrastructure Design Suite Premium. Along with added features from your suite purchase like cloud credits, this version also includes enhancements like the ability to use RVT files as a data source without owning Revit. This version is also available to Building Design Suite Ultimate customers and adds the .RVT file option that was not part of the original install.
 
Autodesk InfraWorks +Ultimate R2 – Available as a Product Enhancement on Subscription Center to owners of IDS Ultimate. It is similar to R2 above, and also includes cloud based optimization, design roads, cloud credits, etc.
 
Autodesk InfraWorks 360 Pro – Available as short term (quarterly) or annual renewal, this version is purchased separately from BDS and IDS packages. It does NOT include cloud based optimization or enhanced road design functions that are available to subscription and +Ultimate R2 owners. It’s similar to the Autodesk InfraWorks item above, but with short term licensing options.
 
*monthly licensing options may also be available
 
Autodesk InfraWorks 360 Pro with Autodesk Roadway Design for InfraWorks 360 Pro – Available as short term (quarterly) or annual similar to 360 Pro, but also includes the Autodesk Roadway Design add-on. The Roadway Design add-on is an additional purchase that must be added to the InfraWorks 360 Pro product above. This is the highest level of InfraWorks available and includes more features and functions than the products listed above. Some of the enhanced features include Documentation Tools and Sight Distance Tools that are NOT part of any other version.
 
*monthly licensing options may also be available
 
Autodesk’s comparison matrix offers more details about the different InfraWorks offerings. 

Introduction to InfraWorks Online Class
If you’re interested in finding out more about Autodesk InfraWorks, we’ve got a 90-minute online class available through our website. The intro course covers basic functionality of the program and teaches you how to import and connect to existing data sources and create a conceptual plan for a roadway project.
 
Infrastructure 201: Intro to InfraWorks
 
Visit our website at www.ideateinc.com for information on various products, training, consulting and services. 
 

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Kate Ming
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Kate has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. At Ideate, Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.  

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BIM Workflow for Roads and Highways

This year, Ideate is offering a new class based on the BIM for Road and Highway design to go along with Autodesk’s new BIM Specialist: Roads and Highways certification. 

Although the concept of BIM or Building Information Modeling has been around for years, its integration into the world of Road and Highway design has been relatively slow when compared to that of Building design. The 2014 Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite provides users with core products for use in BIM modeling for Roads and Highways. In this article, we’ll talk about the products involved, and some the roles they play in the BIM Workflow process.

When looking at the list of products in the Infrastructure Design suite – Ultimate version, we’ll find applications for many stages of the project lifecycle. For the purpose of our blog, we’ll break this down into three main areas.

Stage 1: Planning and Preliminary Design
Stage 2: Detailed Design and Documentation
Stage 3: Construction Simulation/Management

For Stage 1, Autodesk InfraWorks is available to combine both existing and proposed data sources and create a virtual 3D model of a planned development. Autodesk InfraWorks is compatible with GIS, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit, Point Cloud and other data types and also includes tools for creating proposed features and cloud-based profile optimization for road design. 

Once models are created, Autodesk InfraWorks also includes tools for creating storyboards, virtual fly-throughs, and scenarios for communicating design concepts. Finally, Autodesk InfraWorks models can easily be exported and imported into Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D for continuing on to the next stage of the design process.

The Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D modeling tools provide civil engineers with the ability to add large amounts of information to the models for use in the BIM process. Built-in analysis tools like Storm and Sanitary Analysis and Hydraflow, along with  plan production tools to automatically cut Plan and Profile and Section Sheets make AutoCAD Civil 3D an excellent program to use for Stage 2 of our workflow. Additional tools for Quantity Take-offs, earthwork, and material volume calculations also provide the necessary data for construction cost estimates based on the information contained in our models.

Once designs are finalized, we can move on to Stage 3 of our BIM Workflow.  Model components can be exported back to Autodesk InfraWorks for high quality visualizations of the final design, and imported into Navisworks Manage for construction management and simulation. Both applications are also compatible with files from Autodesk Revit as well as other software packages, giving us the ability to create realistic composite models using data received from all parties involved in a project.

Within Navisworks Manage, the Timeliner tool can be used for creating 4D and 5D construction simulations by linking model components to timelines created in project scheduling software like Microsoft Project or Primavera.

Along with the Timeliner, Navisworks Manage also includes Clash Detection for detecting clearance violations and hard clashes between model components.  Simulated construction sequencing and virtual clash detection help save time and money through early detection of issues that could lead to costly redesigns and change orders if found during construction.

So there you have it, Autodesk InfraWorks for preliminary planning stage design, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D for detailed design and construction documentation, then back to Autodesk InfraWorks or into Autodesk Navisworks Manage for advanced visualizations, construction simulation, clash detection and construction management. A BIM Workflow for Road and Highway design using applications included in the 2014 Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suites.

Interested in finding out more? Visit our website for the next open enrollment class on BIM Workflow for Roads & Highways and to find out more about Autodesk’s BIM Specialist: Roads & Highways certification.

Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Matt is an Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. and is a licensed Civil Engineer with over 10 years of industry experience. He has successfully completed the BIM Specialist: Roads & Highways certification and helps to provide training, consulting and technical support services for our customers at Ideate, Inc. @MattM_PE

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Basic Differences Between Inroads and Civil 3D

Over the past year, through Ideate I have been training Civil 3D to Caltrans employees. Recently, it got me thinking back to my design days as an Inroads master. Now that I have as much experience with Civil 3D as Inroads, I’d like to illuminate for you some high level difference between these two competing software, specifically integration with the CAD platform and data management.
  
At a glance, Inroads and Civil 3D are seemingly the same software. They both create civil design objects such as roads, utilities, surfaces, etc. I am not going to get into the ins and outs of what they offer. What is more interesting is the difference in their architecture. They are both vertical design software built on a CAD platform. Inroads works with Microstation while Civil 3D works with AutoCAD. Civil 3D is seamlessly built into the AutoCAD interface while Inroads is a separate window. 

This highlights the first main difference: integration with the CAD platform. Civil 3D’s integration into the user interface makes transitioning from AutoCAD to Civil 3D easy. All of the Civil 3D commands are placed amongst the AutoCAD commands. Civil 3D objects can be edited using the common AutoCAD commands. Inroads, however, feels like a separate software from Microstation.  All of Inroads functions are contained on the Inroads window, which is separate from Microstation. You need to open Microstation and Inroads in order to work with Inroads. In order to edit an Inroads entity, you need to use Inroads commands. Essentially, all of Inroads data is contained in one of the many Inroads files, which are separate from the CAD file that you may be using. This is why you can’t edit Inroads objects using Microstation.

This leads me to another main difference: data management. In Civil 3D, the drawing itself is a database which contains all of the Civil 3D objects. This allows the software to be dynamic. Of course, you are not going to want all of your data in one drawing, even if it’s possible. That would create a huge and slow file that could crash the software. You can create separate design files instead of having everything in one file and share that data. Civil 3D objects are shared amongst drawings through Data Shortcuts. Data Shortcuts are XML files that act as a pointer to the file that has the needed data. It in a sense creates a path to data from another drawing for purposes of displaying.

Conversely, data for Inroads is contained in multiple files. Each data-type has its own file, i.e. surfaces and alignments both have a separate file types that are loaded into Inroads. Both of these files are separate from the Microstation dgn file. In order to display any of this data in the dgn file, you need to have a preference file loaded. So at any given time, you need to have a minimum of 3 files open to work: the object file (an alignment for example), a preference file, and the microstation dgn file. That’s a lot of files to keep track of. You can create a project file that will open all relevant files when you want to work on a project. Having a lot of different files makes the software inherently less dynamic. For example, if you update a surface, you will then have to open the alignment file that may be affected by the surface, and then update the alignment file. All of these separate files can make data management difficult. 

To sum it up, Civil 3D is more dynamic then Inroads due to all Civil 3D data being in the drawing. This is definitely a plus for Civil 3D, despite the fact that it can lead to large files that can crash. The solution to this is to create multiple files and share data using the data shortcuts. Civil 3D also is integrated well with the AutoCAD interface and commands, which makes moving from AutoCAD to Civil 3D easy. Another plus to Civil 3D is its integration with other Autodesk products.

Inroads is less dynamic and it is harder to learn to use because it is not integrated with Microstation. It is a separate software that works on top of Microstation. Sharing data, however, is easy because it is contained are separate files. There is no need for a data sharing system, like Civil 3D’s data shortcuts.

Is one better? I don’t think so. They are different. It depends on what your clients and colleagues are requesting and what other software you are working with. Additionally, it depends on how you like to work. If you have never used Inroads or Civil 3D, I hope this opened your eyes to some of the key differences.

For information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com.

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Kate Ming
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Kate has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. At Ideate, Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.  

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Everything you need to know about Civil 3D ToolTips

While on Tech support here at Ideate Inc., I got a question from a customer about a ToolTip that shows the station and offset an alignment. He did not know how to access this function. Out-of-the-box the software defaults to have the ToolTips on. But what if they aren’t on and you want to see them? What if you don’t want them because you feel like it clutters your screen? How do you turn them on or off?

Well first, let’s understand what ToolTips are. There are three types: Command, Rollover and Proximity. Command ToolTips show up when you hover your cursor over a command in the Ribbon, as shown below.

Command ToolTip

Rollover ToolTips display object information when the cursor hovers over an object.

Rollover ToolTip

Proximity ToolTips display proximity information about the current cursor location with respect to objects in the drawing. You don’t have to hover the cursor over a particular object to display information. Wherever you find your cursor, you will find a ToolTip with proximity information to various objects in the drawing.

Proximity ToolTip

In order to have access to these ToolTips, you need to have them turned on.  You do this in the Options Box and the Object Properties Box. On the Display Tab of the Options Box, you can turn on Command ToolTips and Rollover ToolTips. For Command ToolTips, you have the choice of showing an extended Command ToolTip and Shortcut Keys, which show up at the bottom of the ToolTip. Refer to the first image of a Command ToolTip above for examples of these options. The Rollover ToolTip check box is below the Command ToolTip, as shown below.

Command and Rollover ToolTip Check Boxes

The Proximity ToolTip check box is at the bottom of the Information Tab on the Object Properties Box. This means that you can individually turn on or off Proximity ToolTips for each object. This allows flexibility on what information is displayed.

Proximity ToolTip Check Box

Thank you for reading. I hope this has been informative. For more information on training and consulting for the various products we service, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com.

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Kate Ming
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Kate has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, and utility design. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. At Ideate, Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and Navisworks.  

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Important Information: Action may be required Change in Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suites Migration Policy

Autodesk recently sent subscription customers information regarding the automatic AutoCAD® Civil 3D® and AutoCAD® Map 3D upgrade offer to Autodesk® Infrastructure Design Suite 2014 Premium and Standard.  Ideate wants to make you aware of a change to the program. Based on your feedback Autodesk has decided to withdraw the offer to upgrade you automatically to Infrastructure Design Suite Premium or Standard and instead provide you with the option of choosing to upgrade. Autodesk still believes the Infrastructure Design Suite is the right solution for you but are changing the automatic upgrade offer in order to allow you the freedom to choose and make the best decision for your business.

You Decide

If you already opted out on the previous communication Autodesk sent you, no further action is required.

If you are an AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 customer on Autodesk Subscription Autodesk is offering you the opportunity to upgrade to Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2014 Premium at no cost between now and July 15th 2013. This is a change from the previously communicated program and your access to Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite will no longer be available unless you opt in by July 15th 2013. Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium is a comprehensive BIM for Infrastructure software solution that provides intelligent model-based tools to help you gain more accurate and actionable insight throughout the lifecycle of your infrastructure project with access to desktop and cloud solutions.

If you are an AutoCAD Map 3D 2013 customer on Autodesk Subscription Autodesk is offering you the opportunity to upgrade to Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2014 Standard at no cost between now and July 15th 2013. This is a change from the previously communicated program and your access to Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite will no longer be available unless you opt in by July 15th 2013. Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Standard offers foundational planning, design and coordination capabilities both on the desktop and in the cloud.

If you do not take action by July 15th 2013, you will automatically be opted out and will receive the 2014 version of AutoCAD Civil 3D or AutoCAD Map 3D and current subscription entitlements for which you are eligible.

Learn More

Make sure to review email communications sent by Autodesk to Subscription customers for instructions and information including subscription renewal price changes associated with this migration. For additional information, please visit www.autodesk.com/idsmigration_help.

If you would like to learn more about Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite visit our website at www.ideateinc.com.

Ideate understands these migrations represent changes that affect budgeting and planning for software solution purchases. Our sales and support teams stand ready to answer any questions about the Autodesk changes and how they may affect you and your firm.

Phone: 888.662.7238
Email: sales@ideateinc.com

Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler for Interoperability – .IMX and .FBX Files

Here at Ideate, Inc., we often receive requests from customers for information on how they can take advantage of their current Autodesk Suite of products to make modeling and visualization easier. Is there anything that can incorporate GIS data for existing features? Is there a product that can use model data that we already have in Civil 3D or Revit to create rendered animations? 

The answer to those questions is: Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler. And the best part is, if you’re on subscription with the right Autodesk Suite of products, you can have it for free. Autodesk Building Design Suite Ultimate, and Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium and Ultimate editions include AIM. 

Introduced in 2011, Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler has the ability to quickly and easily generate a 3D model from existing GIS and other data sources. In most cases, GIS data in the form of SDF, SHP along with Raster Images are used to generate the base of the AIM Model. For proposed features like buildings, roads, and sitework, the 2013 releases of Revit Architecture and Civil 3D include built-in exporting tools that generate AIM compatible files. These files come in .FBX and .IMX formats and can be imported directly into an AIM project. 

In Revit Architecture, the Export command under the Application Icon (Purple “R” in the upper left corner) includes the FBX option that allows users to export the 3D View to a FBX file. In the FBX file, both the building model and the toposurface will be included. 

In Civil 3D, the Output tab → Export panel of the Ribbon includes an Export IMX icon for exporting Civil 3D objects to AIM compatible format. The IMX file contains data from Civil 3D objects in the drawing and can be used to re-create those objects in AIM. Alignments can be easily converted and stylized to display proposed roads, and surfaces can be exported and combined to display existing and developed conditions.

As of October 2012, an enhanced version of AIM was posted and available for download to Subscription customers. Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2 can be found on the main Subscription Benefits page after logging in to Subscription Center. AIM R2 has been enhanced with new tools for communicating and presenting proposed designs. 

NOTE: If you’re considering AIM R2, please note that the existing version of AIM needs to be uninstalled from your computer before you install AIM R2. 

Also included in the AIM R2 package is an iPad® compatible version called Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler for Mobile and a web-based version called Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler for Web that works on 32-bit Internet Explorer. Here’s the Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2 info per Subscription Center: 

Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2
Release Date: 2012-10-04 

Autodesk® Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2 software delivers several enhancements to our Autodesk® Infrastructure Modeler 2013 desktop software and our Autodesk® 360 Infrastructure Modeler cloud service. With the extension, Autodesk® Subscription customers will gain new tools designed to help better communicate their designs and produce high quality, low-touch design presentations in addition to new publishing options. 

• Storytelling Tools Enables users to better convey the details of their designs to non-technical audiences with the ability to create camera paths, fly-through animations, and videos that include titles, captions, points of interest and storyboards without needing video editing software. 
• Rendering More Realistic Models Helps users produce higher quality renderings with new photorealism tools like progressive ray trace, more realistic sun/sky models, and high and low definition range output. 
• Open Standards Support – Enables user to access CityGML, the standard many municipal bureaus in Europe use to store city data. CityGML data may contain a whole city’s structure (including detailed 3D models), roads, pipes, and textures in different levels of detail. The inclusion of CityGML can greatly improve our user’s ability to incorporate detailed data into their designs that was previously unavailable. 
• Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler for Mobile Now, infrastructure professionals can share their models as well as specific scenarios in a more secure cloud environment - via Autodesk® BIM 360™ cloud-based services- with public stakeholders who want the ease and convenience of using an iPad® mobile digital device. 
• Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler for Web The new Web application enables interested parties who are not Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 users to view models and specific scenarios via a link using their Web browser, giving broader access to project proposals and more. 

We’ve also posted a short fly-through video or a proposed road made with the new Storytelling tools to our YouTube page. The existing ground model and roads were imported via IMX file from Civil 3D and the road used in the fly-through (including light posts, median and intersections) was created directly in AIM R2. The process of setting up the model to producing the recording took about 30 minutes. The quality of this video clip has been lowered so we could post it on the web (down to 3 MB). The original video produced by AIM R2 is just under 3 GB. 

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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.