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:

6.6-8::Portland
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
6.6-8::San Jose
Revit Architecture Fundamentals
6.11-13::San Jose
Revit MEP – Mechanical and Plumbing Fundamentals
6.18-20::San Francisco
AutoCAD Fundamentals

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Who Moved My Duplex?

One of the benefits of Building Information Modeling is the automatic coordination associated with having a single element being represented throughout the project documentation in many ways. A duplex outlet, for example, can display itself as a 2D symbol while in Plan View, a 2D cover plate within Elevation View, and as a load component within an Electrical Panel Schedule, and as part of a Quantity Takeoff Schedule for Electrical Devices. Any change to this single element is managed properly within each of these “views.”  The challenge, of course, is remembering that this is true! 

One of the simplest strategies for dealing with this issue is to work in a split view. The image below shows the same three duplexes in both plan and section views. Working in plan view only may cause us to miss the GFCI that’s at the wrong height, while working only in Section may cause us to assume that two of the duplexes are placed too close together.

Using the Revit Filter tool can help us make sure that changes are only being made to Electrical Fixture Objects, but often that level of information is not sufficient to ensure that we’re making the right changes to the right fixtures.

With Ideate Explorer for Revit, the same selection set can be reviewed with a much finer level of precision.  We can view the selection by Category and realize there is a GFCI involved…

…OR we can review the selection set by Space and realize that we are only interested in the duplexes that are located within the hallway (WF51).

Working in a 3D world can bring amazing efficiencies to your engineering or architectural projects. Make sure that your team has the right tools to make the best decisions so that no one ends up asking “Who moved my duplex?”

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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.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 – Under Pressure: More on Pressure Pipe Networks

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 has some great additions that save you time by making mundane tasks simpler and faster. Gaurav Bagga, Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. reviews some of those productivity improvements.

Perhaps one of the most sought after features in Civil 3D has been pressure pipes. People had to jump hoops; make the best use of existing features of Civil 3D to create a water line.

With Civil 3D 2013 it is now very easy to create a pressure pipe network in plan and display it in profile.

The workflow is similar to the gravity flow as before – specify the parts list, surface and alignment to get started and then layout the network in plan.

Create the pressure pipe layout including the:

• Pipes
• Bends, tees, and other fittings
• And valves, fire hydrants and other appurtenances

Display the pipes, fittings and appurtenances in profile with a relative ease.

The figure below shows the pressure pipe and a gate valve in plan, profile and model view.

Check out the YouTube Video that describes this advancement.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2013 releases for Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure, AutoCAD, Navisworks and more: ideateinc.com/2013

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Gaurav Bagga
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.

Riding The Rails: Rail Design Enhancements in Civil 3D 2013

In this post, Ideate Application Specialist Matt Miyamoto provides some insight on the new Rail enhancements for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013.

In this release of Civil 3D, Autodesk is raising the bar once again by including new Rail Design features and enhancements.

Included in this version are: a new Rail Alignment type, automatic Cant calculations, and added rail-specific parameters, making rail design in Civil 3d easier and more user friendly.

One of the bigger changes to Rail design functionality is the new Rail Alignment type.  This alignment is now included along with the Centerline, Offset, and Miscellaneous alignment types of past releases.

When this alignment is used, an additional Rail Parameters tab is included and the Design Criteria defaults to Cant Design tables for passenger and freight trains.  Rail alignments can also be measured along chord base lengths rather than only along centerlines.

The new Cant design wizard provides users with an interactive Cant calculation tool similar to the Superelevation calculator tool included for road design. 

Cant calculations are done automatically, and the results appear in the Cant Tabular Editor when complete. The old Rail Sub-assembly has also been enhanced to support Cant design.

To see some of these new features in action, be sure to check out the What’s New Videos now posted on YouTube.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2013 releases for Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure, 3ds Max Design, AutoCAD, Navisworks and more: ideateinc.com/2013

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Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Infrastructure Solutions 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.