The FREE Viewer Autodesk DOESN'T want you to know about...?

 

Have you ever wanted to share an interactive Revit model view, diagram, or section with a client or collaborator?  Or maybe you want to open a Rhino file without installing Rhino?  Well, this free viewer from Autodesk is pretty damn incredible... And for some reason they don't seem to want us to know about it?!

In this video I'll walk you through how to set up share a Revit model with someone and NOT need them to create an Autodesk account to view it!

Click here to watch the video tutorial now and learn about this super secret tool... 

Are You a Student Using Autodesk's Cloud Rendering? Here's What You Should Know.

It is no secret that I am a huge proponent of Autodesk's 360 Cloud Rendering service.  Personally, I use it in the office almost weekly (if not daily).  The simple ability to send my views to the cloud and continue working without bogging down any computers is MASSIVE for me.

I have used it so much that I have created my own techniques on how to make a raw cloud rendering look similar to renderings produced with professional rendering engines (such as V-Ray).   If you are interested in my techniques check out BIM After Dark - Volume 1.

Example: Rendered in the cloud using the techniques I illustrate in BIM After Dark (Click here to see more).

If you are student, Autodesk was gracious enough to give you unlimited cloud rendering credits absolutely free.  This is huge!  I remember leaving my laptop on for days rendering a few scenes while I built a physical model (crossing my fingers hoping the machine didn't break or restart).  Throwing up 30 or 40 interior/exterior scenes to the cloud and being able to crank out floor plans, sections, and elevations while they rendered was life changing.

Well, with the release of Revit 2015 and a new cloud update, the word "unlimited" is key.  You will still have an endless supply of cloud credits at your disposal, but, you may not able to throw thirty up to the cloud and let it crank away...

Autodesk BIM 360

Looks like Autodesk countered VectorWork's "Open BIM" pretty quickly... The acquisition of Vela systems appears to be the final piece of the puzzle.  Personally, I can't wait to see what this will evolve into over the next few years.  If you check out the services link below you will find something new called "Autodesk BIM 360 Glue"...  As Greg pointed out this looks similar to the Vela Systems application... Interesting...


Autodesk® BIM 360, the next generation of Building Information Modeling (BIM), is for anyone, anywhere, at any time. Building, infrastructure, design, construction professionals can access intelligent, model-based workflows through a broad range of cloud-based services within the Autodesk® 360 cloud-based platform that provide mobility, accessibility, and infinite computing power. 


 Autodesk BIM 360 helps multidiscipline design and construction teams improve project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud, enabling more rapid visualization and simulation and optimized collaboration with access to intelligent, data-rich models.Autodesk® BIM 360, the next generation of Building Information Modeling (BIM), is for anyone, anywhere, at any time. Building, infrastructure, design, construction professionals can access intelligent, model-based workflows through a broad range of cloud-based services within the Autodesk® 360 cloud-based platform that provide mobility, accessibility, and infinite computing power. Autodesk BIM 360 helps multidiscipline design and construction teams improve project outcomes by moving computation-intensive tasks to the cloud, enabling more rapid visualization and simulation and optimized collaboration with access to intelligent, data-rich models.



Click here to view the Autodesk BIM 360 page.
Click here to see the services available. 

Autodesk Cloud Rendering Hotfix

How convenient that a Hotfix for Cloud Rendering is released while all this discussion about the future of cloud rendering takes place... Cool. 

Click here for a list of the updates and fixes...

Sign into the Cloud Rendering Website and Re-Download/Re-Install the Add-in.

Phil Bernstein's Blog - Cloud and BIM

Uncle Phil, aka Phil Bernstein, published two great posts last week that might have slipped through some of your radars.  These are must see/read posts about BIM and the Cloud.

Check out Phil's first post titled:

Redefining BIM (Video)

Check out Phil's second post titled:

Partly Cloudy, Chance of BIM

Oh, and... FOLLOW HIS BLOG!