Why InfraWorks 360 is Worth Paying For

The time you save is worth the price of subscription.

As the ENI Manager here at Ideate, I have been working to help sort out some of the software details that went into effect with the transition to Autodesk AEC Collections and the retiring of Design Suites at the end of 2016. One of the larger changes that came with this transition was the packaging and offerings associated with Autodesk InfraWorks 360. Some customers have been asking if they need to upgrade to a full version, or if InfraWorks 360 LT is sufficient, and how they might better justify the cost involved if InfraWorks 360 is right for them.

If you're in that group wondering what version you need, the following might help.

Some of biggest differences between the full version of InfraWorks 360 and the LT version, based on this feature comparison, are the cloud collaboration and the Road, Bridge, and Drainage design features. However, the one function that has been worth the cost of upgrading, in my opinion, is the item listed as "Automate Model Creation." It doesn't seem like much, but it's the one feature everyone will use, regardless of industry or design focus. Not all customers will need Road, Bridge, or Drainage design, and maybe you don't have immediate plans for cloud collaboration, but you can use Model Builder.

Model Builder, listed as "Automate Model Creation" in the PDF matrix, automatically finds, downloads, imports, and stylizes existing GIS data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and OpenStreetMaps to create a functioning model of the existing conditions. If you can search for a place online—think Bing or Google Maps—you can probably find it in Model Builder. Without Model Builder, even the most experienced GIS users may take a few hours to search for, find, and download the right data from their favorite sources. At that point, the data still needs to be imported and stylized manually.

With Model Builder, the entire process from finding data to importing and stylizing in InfraWorks 360 is automatic, and it usually completes in 15 minutes or less. There is a maximum download area of 200 sq.km, but models can be combined after they are created.

For more details on the difference between InfraWorks 360 LT and InfraWorks 360, read my post, Flavors of InfraWorks.

It seems worth noting that the full InfraWorks 360 subscription gives you access to periodic updates that are released throughout the year. If you're wondering what's new in the latest release (v2017.3 at the time this post was written), here's a great article from the Autodesk team.

For more information on purchasing InfraWorks 360, or if you have any questions, please contact sales@ideateinc.com, we are happy to help.

Thank you for reading. For more information on the software solutions, training, and consulting Ideate provides, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com.

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Matt Miyamoto

ENI Manager & Senior Application Specialist

Matt is an ENI Manager and Senior Application Specialist in Ideate, Inc.’s Seattle office. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Civil Engineer. Prior to joining Ideate, Matt worked as a civil engineer, using Civil 3D on a variety of projects including site development, roadway improvements and infrastructure design. With over 10 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Matt now provides training, consulting, technical support, and implementation strategies for organizations transitioning to Civil 3D. Matt is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), as well as an Autodesk Certified BIM Specialist: Roads and Highway Solutions. Additionally, Matt is and Autodesk Certified Professional for AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Civil 3D. He can be found on twitter as @MattM_PE

The Flavors of InfraWorks 360

During a recent round of customer visits, I was pleased to hear questions about Autodesk InfraWorks 360 and its features. Many of those questions revolved around what exactly our customers had access to, and what the differences between the available versions were.

Over the years, InfraWorks has seen a number of name changes, feature updates, additions, and modifications. And, unlike other Autodesk applications, the software is not on an annual rollout, meaning new features and functions are released throughout the year via periodic product updates.

Before I really get into it, though, here is some background information:

1. InfraWorks 360 IS NOT a serial number based application.
2. InfraWorks 360 IS a product entitlement assigned to an individual user's Autodesk account by the contract holder or software coordinator. 
3. InfraWorks 360 can be installed on any 64-bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 OS system without a serial number.
4. A user's Autodesk Login activates the features and functions when the program is launched.
5. Version updates are released periodically throughout the year, unlike the annual releases of other Autodesk products. The current version at the time of this post is 2017.3.
6. User accounts and entitlements may not be shared per the license agreement.

Diving in, as of January 2017, you have two options for InfraWorks 360:

Option 1 - InfraWorks 360 LT 

Previously, the "LT" version of InfraWorks 360 was included as part of the now-retired Design Suites, and it has limited or “light” functionality compared to the full version of InfraWorks 360.

It should be noted that the LT version is no longer available for purchase, but can be accessed by customers who have an existing and active maintenance subscription for Autodesk® Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate edition, Autodesk® Infrastructure Design Suite Premium edition, or Autodesk® Building Design Suite Ultimate editions.

This means if you are an existing customer with an active subscription for one of the older suites, you are entitled to InfraWorks 360 LT. If you are a current subscriber of the new AEC Collection, you have access to the full version of InfraWorks 360.

Option 2 - InfraWorks 360

This is currently available as an individual product subscription or as part of the AEC Industry Collection from Autodesk, and it includes access to all features and functions of the product.

As of the 2016 release of InfraWorks 360, the once “a la cart” Road, Bridge, and Drainage design modules are now included as part of InfraWorks 360, at no extra cost. Learn more about this change.

Here's a handy PDF, Autodesk InfraWorks 360 vs.Autodesk InfraWorks 360 LT Comparison Matrix, highlighting the differences between InfraWorks 360 LT and InfraWorks 360.

To find out what version of Infraworks 360 you’re currently running, launch the program and open one of your models.  Click on Settings and Utilities, then Application Options to access the About dialog.  The version you have is listed on the upper left corner of the About information.  If you are on subscription, you can download and install the latest version of Infraworks 360 through the Autodesk Desktop App.  Please note, Infraworks 360 models are version specific, so updating to the latest version will also prompt you to upgrade any existing models the next time they are opened.

There it is, now you've got a breakdown of the two remaining “flavors” of InfraWorks 360 and how (or why) you have access to a particular version. 

If you have LT and want more information on purchasing a full version of InfraWorks 360, please contact sales@ideateinc.com.

Thank you for reading. For more information on the software solutions, training, and consulting Ideate provides, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com.

---

Matt Miyamoto

ENI Manager & Senior Application Specialist

Matt is an ENI Manager and Senior Application Specialist in Ideate, Inc.’s Seattle office. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Civil Engineer. Prior to joining Ideate, Matt worked as a civil engineer, using Civil 3D on a variety of projects including site development, roadway improvements and infrastructure design. With over 10 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Matt now provides training, consulting, technical support, and implementation strategies for organizations transitioning to Civil 3D. Matt is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), as well as an Autodesk Certified BIM Specialist: Roads and Highway Solutions. Additionally, Matt is and Autodesk Certified Professional for AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Civil 3D. He can be found on twitter as @MattM_PE

Generate Terrain Surfaces from Point Clouds in InfraWorks 360

If you have been using InfraWorks 360, you may have noticed that updates and version upgrades are released intermittently throughout the year, as opposed to on an annual basis like other Autodesk applications. The InfraWorks team is constantly working on new features and enhancements and the rolling upgrades allow users to gain access to new tools as soon as they are ready for release.

A recent update was posted in February, and it contains some great new enhanced tools. One in particular is the new preview feature for Point Cloud Terrain Generation. With this new enhancement to point cloud objects in InfraWorks 360, you can take a point cloud data source in the model and automatically generate a terrain surface from the data.

The icon is available under the InfraWorks persona, Analyze group and looks like a mountain with a dotted cloud shape (point cloud!) above it.

In order to use the command, you must first have a point cloud attached as a data source. After clicking the icon, a palette will appear with options for data source (which point cloud), ground and vertical feature recognition, and processing. The options available for ground processing include Less Detail for flat surfaces, Optimum (default) for normal surfaces and More Detail for surfaces that require higher detail or have more features that need to be modeled. Vertical Feature processing options include Fewer Features, Optimum (default) and More Features depending on what level of detail you need for non-ground features in the point cloud. 

After specifying your preferences, click Start Processing in the bottom right and InfraWorks 360 will do the rest. When processing is complete a new terrain object will appear in the model. It will appear as a grey generic terrain object. At this point in the preview, terrain styles do not appear applicable to point cloud terrain objects, so it will maintain a clay-like appearance in the model.

In addition to being able to generate the terrain object from a point cloud, the new command also opens up more capabilities of working with point clouds in InfraWorks 360. Point cloud data sources were primarily for visual reference in the past, as they were not interactive in the model. They could be used for displaying an object, but shadows, lighting and interaction with other objects was not available. Now that we can create a terrain object, shadows, lighting, terrain statistics and grading can be done with data that originally came from a point cloud in InfraWorks 360 giving you access to more design options early on in the process.

For more information on new features added to the latest update of InfraWorks 360 (V. 16.4.76.0) check out this post on the Autodesk Knowledge Network.

To see the new Point Cloud Terrain generator in action, see this video on our YouTube channel.

If you’re an InfraWorks 360 user that has been looking for a reason to upgrade, or weren’t aware that an upgrade was released last month, I hope you have some new insight on tools and enhancements that help make the decision easier.

Thank you for reading. For more information on InfraWorks 360 and other Autodesk products, and information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website.

---

Matt Miyamoto

ENI Manager & Senior Application Specialist

Matt is an ENI Manager and Senior Application Specialist in Ideate, Inc.’s Seattle office. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Civil Engineer. Prior to joining Ideate, Matt worked as a civil engineer, using Civil 3D on a variety of projects including site development, roadway improvements and infrastructure design. With over 10 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Matt now provides training, consulting, technical support, and implementation strategies for organizations transitioning to Civil 3D. Matt is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), as well as an Autodesk Certified BIM Specialist: Roads and Highway Solutions. Additionally, Matt is and Autodesk Certified Professional for AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Civil 3D. You can also find Matt on Twitter.

Going from 2D to 3D Using Infraworks 360 and Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D with Raster Design

Have you ever thought about the difference a 3D model would make when compared to a 2D sketch or plan?  Using Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D and Infraworks 360 can take you from 2D to 3D in a matter of minutes, and it’s probably much easier than you think.

Recently, while researching a project for one of our customers, I came across a 2D proposed site plan on the internet and wanted to show that in 3D context using Infraworks 360.

Basically, I wanted to turn this:
  

into this:      

 

Although it seemed like an easy option, considering images can be used as an Infraworks data source, it did not go as smoothly as planned.  Because Infraworks 360 is a geographic coordinate driven database, data sources need some type of location data in order to understand where they belong in a model.  With most standard images, these coordinate files are not provided.

My first step was determining an accurate position for the standard non-coordinate based image.  The second step was then creating the coordinate file for the image that provided Infraworks 360 with the data it needed to use the image in my model.  I also wanted to use tools that were readily available in my current Autodesk products rather than going to an outside source to generate any additional data.

After a little bit of thinking, I realized that the combination of Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, along with Raster Design and the new Geolocation feature would provide me with everything I needed to geolocate the image and generate a supplemental world (.TFW) file for the TIFF (.TIF) image that I wanted to use.  Once I had the world (.TFW) file, the image had all of the data it needed to be a valid Infraworks 360 data source.  This also works for JPEG (.JPG) files by generating the accompanying world (.JPW) file.

The project started out with a small planned development in the corner of two intersecting streets.  Locating and generating a preliminary model took about five minutes using Infraworks 360’s Model Builder feature.

 

 Preliminary Infraworks 360 Model Builder Data

 

I also had a preliminary site plan of the proposed development in .PDF format found on the internet (http://www.mspsinc.com/park-plaza-shops).

 

Park Plaza Shops (Main Street Property Services, Inc).

 

Converting the .PDF to an image file was not difficult to do.  Attempting to use the image as a data source is where I ran into the first issue.  Without a world file, attempting to use the image as a Raster data source in Infraworks 360 produced a quick (and very limited) error that simply said “Failed to Import Data.”  Not a lot of information is given there, but the reason is that the “Raster” data sources are organized into rows and columns that contain values (data) representing information associated with those cells.  Without the data, the plain image file did not meet the requirements of being a “Raster” image source.

In order to fix this, I needed to create the data that went along with the image, and for that I used Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D with Raster Design.
Because I had limited information on the project itself outside of the address, I started out with a blank Civil 3D drawing and an assigned coordinate system.  From there I used the Geolocation feature to download an aerial image of the project site in my drawing.  This gave me a geolocated visual reference of where the sketched image needed to be.

 

Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D Geolocation Aerial Image.

 

Once I had the aerial image in Civil 3D, it was relatively easy to insert the image, scale and rotate it into place using the ALIGN command.  One thing to note here is that it is an approximate location based on visual references.  Since my intent was to use this as part of a preliminary model in Infraworks 360, this level of accuracy was acceptable for that purpose.

 

Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D Drawing with Overlaid Tiff Image.

 

Now that everything was in place, all that was left was to export the Raster data from Civil 3D.  Using the ISAVEAS and IWORLDLOUT commands allowed me to save a new image and export the associated world file for that image containing the coordinate data provided by Civil 3D (this came from the coordinate system that was assigned to the drawing file).  These two files now provide the necessary data for the image to be used as a Raster data source in Infraworks 360.

Image (.TIF) and World (.TFW) Files Exported from Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D

Back in Infraworks 360, I went through the same process of importing Raster data, and this time everything went as expected.  After configuring the data source to assign the proper coordinate system, the image appeared as Ground Imagery in the model.

 Infraworks 360 Model with Custom Ground Imagery.

 

...And with another few minutes in Infraworks 360, I added some 3D features for more visual impact...

  

Infraworks 360 3D Site Plan

 

Using Infraworks 360 and Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, I went from a 2D Site Plan to a 3D conceptual model in just a matter of minutes.  Next time you’re looking for something to take your proposals to the next dimension (2D to 3D!), consider Infraworks 360.

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

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Matt Miyamoto

Ideate ENI Manager & Senior Application Specialist

Matt is an ENI Manager and Senior Application Specialist in Ideate, Inc.’s Seattle office. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Civil Engineer. Prior to joining Ideate, Matt worked as a civil engineer, using Civil 3D on a variety of projects including site development, roadway improvements and infrastructure design. With over 10 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Matt now provides training, consulting, technical support, and implementation strategies for organizations transitioning to Civil 3D. Matt is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), as well as an Autodesk Certified BIM Specialist: Roads and Highway Solutions. Additionally, Matt is and Autodesk Certified Professional for AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Civil 3D. He can be found on twitter as @MattM_PE

Get it. Know it. Use it.

 

The New Flavors of Autodesk InfraWorks 360

As the ENI Team Lead and a Senior Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc.  Autodesk InfraWorks has been one of my primary applications for quite some time.  Over the years it has gone through a number of updates, enhancements and even changed its name (more than once).  In 2016, we have a new set of InfraWorks products, and here’s a little bit of information that may help clear things up. First, let’s start with product naming.  We are now down to just two options, which are:

Autodesk InfraWorks 360 and Autodesk InfraWorks 360 LT

Autodesk InfraWorks 360 LT replaces the Autodesk InfraWorks version that was previously included as a subscription entitlement with the Design Suites (Building Design Suite Ultimate or Infrastructure Design Suite Premium and Ultimate).  It is also available for purchase as a stand-alone product for non-Suite product owners.

Autodesk InfraWorks 360 is the “full” version of InfraWorks in 2016 and is a separate software purchase.  It includes additional functionality beyond what is included with the LT version, and can also be upgraded with additional modules for Road, Bridge and Drainage Design (requires additional purchase).

The second big change is the lack of a Serial Number with Autodesk InfraWorks 360 installations.  For owners of one of the above mentioned Design Suites, Autodesk InfraWorks 360 installs as a 30-day trial with the Suite.  This does not require a serial number, and activates the full version of the product for 30-days.  After the trial period is over, the installation reverts back to the LT version unless an upgrade to the full product version is purchased.

Now you might be thinking “If there’s no serial number, how do we know what we have?”

This is where your Autodesk 360 (A360) account comes in to play.  When a full seat of InfraWorks 360 is purchased, the software manager at your organization must assign the product entitlement to the end user that will be using the application.  This is done through A360, and must also be done with the additional modules that are available for purchase.  Once the product entitlement has been assigned to a user’s A360 account, logging in to A360 after launching the application enables (or disables) the features that the end user is entitled to.  It sounds like a complicating process, but this actually allows an end user to change computers, or go from a desktop to a laptop without having to worry about uninstalling and reinstalling the application.
An A360 account with no entitlements can log in to Autodesk InfraWorks on any workstation and the program will revert to the LT version where you can open and access models, but all other features have been disabled.



Autodesk InfraWorks 360 LT (login using A360 ID with no entitlements)

 

When an A360 ID with full entitlements is used at login (on the same installation), the application loads and enables all available features that have been assigned to that user. 

 

 

Autodesk InfraWorks 360 (login using A360 ID with full entitlements)

The full version of Autodesk InfraWorks 360 has significantly more features available, including the Model Builder, Groups, the ability to create new models from scratch, design Modules (Road, Bridge and Drainage) and a number of “preview only” features that have not yet been fully released.  Also included, but not shown are additional cloud-based optimization tools accessible through an A360 account with cloud credits.

 

A full comparison list of features in Autodesk InfraWorks 360 and InfraWorks 360 LT can be found below....



InfraWorks 360 vs. InfraWorks 360 LT

 

A So regardless of if you’re an existing user, new user or future user, now you know what options are available in the 2016 version of Autodesk InfraWorks 360.

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

 

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Matt Miyamoto

Ideate ENI Manager & Senior Application Specialist

Matt is an ENI Manager and Senior Application Specialist in Ideate, Inc.’s Seattle office. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and is a licensed Civil Engineer. Prior to joining Ideate, Matt worked as a civil engineer, using Civil 3D on a variety of projects including site development, roadway improvements and infrastructure design. With over 10 years of experience in the civil engineering industry, Matt now provides training, consulting, technical support, and implementation strategies for organizations transitioning to Civil 3D. Matt is an Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), as well as an Autodesk Certified BIM Specialist: Roads and Highway Solutions. Additionally, Matt is and Autodesk Certified Professional for AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Civil 3D. He can be found on twitter as @MattM_PE
Get it. Know it. Use it.