Why are 2D drawings still so popular? To most architects, engineers and other professionals in and around the construction industry, the use of drawings is innate and fundamental. In any discussion about a potential idea or project, the first thing that we do is reach for pencil and paper to explain what we are thinking more clearly. The adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is especially true here. Although the earliest examples of architectural drawings can be traced back to Mesopotamia at around 2200 BC, it was not until the Renaissance period that the use of drawings to set out detai ..read more

What is BIM in construction? BIM (Building Information Modelling) in Construction is a process that is used to convey a wide variety of information to all those involved in the construction lifecycle. In the ideal case, this means using BIM in: Planning Design Construction Commissioning Operation Maintenance De-commissioning Demolition Although the creation of a 3D digital BIM model is usually at the heart of the BIM process, it does not necessarily have to be so. After all, the most important aspect of BIM is the ‘I’ for Information. That information can also take several forms, whether: G ..read more

On October 11th, Autodesk released the latest Revit 2018.2 update. This minor update brings along a number of bug fixes, new functionalities and software stability improvements. The update can be accessed by subscribers and current maintenance plan customers by using the Autodesk accounts portal or Autodesk Desktop App. Improvements to Fill Pattern Dialog One of the largest improvements in the Revit 2018.2 update is that the Revit development team has replaced the old fill pattern dialog with a revamped dialog, enabling a new search functionality for patterns, making it much more user-friendly ..read more

By Tassos, our Revit and Dynamo Expert Traditionally, when drafting text on technical drawings by hand we would use either letter stencils or write the text directly onto paper. When doing so, we would make an effort to best align the text with existing geometry such as lines, other text etc. We may have even used a ruler to improve the alignment. Then, we started using software such as AutoCAD, and writing text became a much easier task. We were now able to access spot on accuracy and we could now align the text insertion point with the start point of line geometry. Naturally, this made us ob ..read more

How to add a user to your Autodesk Account First of all log in to your Autodesk Account by visiting manage.autodesk.com and click onto the Management tab and then on to the User tab. Please note, if you’re not a contract manager or software coordinator you will not see this tab. Click on the “+Add” tab to add a new user and enter their email address, first name and last name. If you select “I’d like to add access to the user(s) now” you will be taken through the process of assigning products and services to the user. Once you’ve entered the user’s details, then select save and continue. For ..read more

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is no longer just for architects or builders. It’s changing the way structural engineers, detailers and fabricators are working together. These BIM pointers are put together by Autodesk. Reason 1 – Stay Relevant In The Industry If you don’t make the move to 3D BIM Modelling soon you are in danger of being left behind. From 2007 to 2017 BIM adoption exploded by a whopping 71% and now 56% of general contractors expect high BIM skills to carry out projects. The 2016 NBS annual BIM survey saw a sharp rise in BIM adoption from the previous year, showing 54% of re ..read more

At the end of November our trainers Carl, Tassos and Andy took the Autodesk Certified Professional Exam for AutoCAD 2017, and they all passed with flying colours! Autodesk Certification provides reliable validation of knowledge and skills from our trainers, proving they are some of the most knowledgeable AutoCAD users in the UK. Our trainers are required to take the Autodesk Professional Exams every year, to stay up to date with the latest software releases. To be able to qualify to take the Certified Professional Exam, one must have 400 hours plus hands-on experience with the software, and p ..read more

Electrical Wiring and Panel Schedules in Revit – UK Industry Standard Adaptation By Tassos, our Revit and Dynamo Expert Electrical engineers, designers and technicians in the UK building industry that use Revit to develop electrical drawings and panel schedules, will quickly discover that the way Revit names and presents circuiting information is not the generally accepted UK convection #way L #phase/s. The following article suggests an alternative that uses a shared parameter, an updated Wire Tag and Panel Schedule Template as well as a Dynamo Graph to update and present circuiting informatio ..read more

How can you make your BIM investment pay even greater dividends? The answer may be in the Cloud! Check out these three challenges listed in this Autodesk infographic below and see how BIM teams have used the power of cloud collaboration. The post Top 3 Ways To Boost your BIM Bottom Line appeared first on Benchmarq Ltd ..read more

CAD (Computer-aided design) has been used in the design industry for 30 years or more. It enables the fast production of drawings and the ability to revise designs or reproduce alternative proposals very quickly. CAD has proved to be an essential tool in communicating designs to stakeholders, but the advent of new technology has raised client expectations and now drawings alone are often not sufficient. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of these new technologies. Its primary focus is the development of buildings within collaborative working environments and has shown to be a game-cha ..read more