The End of Navisworks?! (3D Coordination in the Cloud) - Episode 84

 

3D Coordination (also known as MEP Coordination or Clash Detection) is one of those things that is vital to the success of a BIM project... Did you know that it can all be done in the cloud now?!  No more playing "FTP jockey" and uploading, downloading, and verifying your data is up to date...  Could this be the end of Navisworks?!

In last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live I talked about how you can take advantage of using Autodesk Model Coordinate and more efficiently coordinate your models with your consultants, sub-contractors, and more...

Topics we covered were:

- The advantages of Revit Cloud Workshared Models on ACC / BIM 360

- Taking advantage of "views".

- Understanding the "Clash Matrix"

- Filtering Views, reviewing clashes, and navigating the viewer...

- And more....

Click here to view the replay of episode 85 now... 

"3D Coordination" Explained (Revit + Navisworks) Replay w/Sample Files

 

I wasn't sure what I was expecting going into this episode of BIM After Dark Live.  I know its an area of BIM that a lot of people aren't very familiar with, or if they are, it's an area of mass frustration.  Either way, the topic of 3D coordination with Revit and Navisworks was a huge hit.  Over 200 of you joined me live and there were tons of great questions that guided the conversation.

Some of the topics we covered were:

- An Overview of the 3D Coordination Process (w/a sweet diagram, see below)

- How design teams can help improve the process

- How to export from Revit to Navisworks

- The only tools you need to know in Navisworks (for coordination)

- Running Clash Detection in Navisworks

- Ways to communicate issues with team members

- and more...

Continue reading to view the replay, see the diagram, and download sample files...

BIM Collaboration with Autodesk Navisworks - Review

Paul Aubin has a new book out!

I was fortunate enough to receive an early review copy from Paul of his new book, "BIM Collaboration with Autodesk Navisworks".  The review copy could not be better timed.  I started a new job as BIM Manager of Turner Construction here in Connecticut.  As you can imagine, Navisworks will be open just as much as Revit on my laptop.  I was looking forward to reading Paul's latest book (co-authored with  Darryl McClelland).

I was not sure how "basic" or "advanced" this book would be.  I have quite a bit of experience in Navisworks running clash detection, selection sets, search sets, etc...  I would consider myself a bit of a veteran.  I was delighted when I got through the book and had a page full of notes with tips and tricks picked up along the way!

BIM Tutorial - Rendering Animations in Navisworks

For those of you looking for a new blog to follow I highly suggest John Tocci's blog.  For those of you who don't know who John Tocci is here is a little bio over at his blog.  The blog is filled with some great information on the construction end of the BIM process...  A perfect example is his tutorial/writeup about rendering animations in Navisworks based on a Revit model:

I recently got this question posed to me by someone in my comments section, and I've heard it before... so I figured, why not create a little tutorial on it.


The question:


"I am a student at Texas A&M and am getting very frustrated at the quality of my render 4d videos. If you have found a way to make them look good I would be very interested in any tips you might have.

Thanks for the help"


Since the animations are all the same, I figured I'd answer it using a 1,713 frame animation I did inside Navisworks. (It took slightly less than 24 hours for the images to all export)

Click here to see the video tutorial and final video of the animation....

Navisworks 2011 for Architects

Great find from Greg over at Revit3d.com. People always ask me why I bother to have Navisworks installed on my laptop and why I bother learning how to use it. Well, this video should end those questions... Not to mention, this only shows the very brief array of usages for Navisworks and Architects.

• Click here to view the video...

Oh, did I mention Navisworks is free for students?

Tutorial - Revit to Navisworks (Penn State BIM Wiki)

I finally had space on my hard drive to install Navisworks. Looking up some information I stumbled upon a great resource for BIM, Revit, and 4D... The Penn State BIM Wiki.

• Revit to Navisworks
  
  There is a Revit plugin to export a Navisworks file directly from Revit which maintains much of the data related to the Revit file. This plugin is available in the Tools menu in Revit Building and Revit Structure provided it was installed with the installation of Navisworks. If you are working on your home computer and you have not installed Navisworks with the Revit exporter, you can use one of the AE Computer Lab machines for this export. Note that it is not a standard export option, but instead was developed using the Revit API and is listed in the Revit application as a tool. This function will save the file as a Navisworks .nwc file which can be opened directly in Navisworks.
  
  
• Revit to Navisworks for Clash Detection
  
  Research Goal and Objectives
  
  This workflow will take you through the process of exporting a Revit file to Navisworks to use clash detection. The clash detective tool in Navisworks is a very useful tool to use, and is a great way to use Navisworks and Revit for MEP, structural, or electrical coordination, as well as other trades.

I also searched the word "Revit" in their Wiki and click here to see all the results.

Always great to find more sources of information and students using Revit.

Autodesk NavisWorks

The next program to introduce you all to before the next step in our Revit Classroom Workflow is called NavisWorks. First, here is a brief summary of the program and what it does:

By combining the high-quality 3D design data created by AutoCAD® software, Revit®-based applications, and Autodesk® Inventor® software with geometry and data from other design tools, Autodesk Navisworks project review products enable a dynamic real-time, whole-project view for:

• Effective 3D coordination analysis
• 4D planning simulation
• Accurate photorealistic visualization

The aggregated whole-project view can be published in both Autodesk Navisworks native NWD format and 3D DWF™ format, giving all stakeholders access to the virtual project with Autodesk Navisworks Freedom.

Did I mention that Navisworks Manage is completely free for students through the Autodesk Student Community? Well, it is. I will get more in depth about how Navisworks can create advantages for you in the Studio during the next step of the Revit Classroom Workflow. To me, Navisworks is sort of the graphical representation of BIM. It visually shows the collaboration of all parties and how they all contribute to the process. As usual, here is a bunch of links for you all to learn about Autodesk NavisWorks:

• Autodesk Navisworks Homepage
• Tutorials and Basic Navisworks Information
• Great post about Navisworks in action (Read it!)
• Navisworks 101 Video - Clash Detection
• Navisworks 101 Video - Basics
• Navisworks Blog - Lots of information here.