Current or future BIM workfow?

I understand the BricsCAD BIM is a work in progress. But can anybody help me understand the current or future workflow of BricsCAD BIM? By workflow I mean how to create (detailed) 2D drawings from the 3D model. It is my understanding that the current version of BIM enables you to create schematic 2D sections which you can then use as an underlay for 2D drafting. And although the schematic sections can be updated if the 3D model changes, additional geometry and all annotation will have to be modified manually.

Comments

  • Spot-on question. AFAIK none of today's BIMs tackle this satisfactorily. BricsBIM just may be first to crack it. It seems BricSys can move faster than most, so it could be sooner rather than later.

    Back in BricsWork (1993 apx) days and even earlier, the ideal vision was Single Building Model (SBM) in which everything would be modelled in 3D, from which 2D working drawings would be extracted as section-cut views, and continually automatically updated as the 3D model evolved. Thus by definition the working drawings could never get out-of-step with the 3D master model.

    This SBM ideal has been steadily abandoned over the 20+ years since, for several practical reasons - SBM is never mentioned today and today's BIMs do not embody that ideal.

    So we're now pragmatically advised to do just as you say - do our 2D details @ say 1:5 by manually 'tracing' them over 2D section-cuts extracted from the 3D master model, which is now only expected to include the level of detail that you'd normally find on a say 1:50 schematic/layout drawing. Yes, that's moderately helpful, in that as the 3D model gets updated, so does the 2D section cut, so that it's fairly easy to spot where the 2D 1:5 detail has fallen out of sync with the 3D master model, and manually update it.

    A sophistication on that, is Hyperlinking in BentleyBIM (AECOsim - whose distant parent was 1993 BricsWork). Those 2D details can be 'infused' back into the 3D master model so that they appear in place within it, complete with all annotation etc. But still the 2Ds fall out of sync with the 3D. In theory it's possible to alter the 3D model by modifying elements in the 2D section cut view - but that's fraught with potential unintended results, and doesn't help much.

    Other non-graphical ways of helping towards this problem area have been developed, too.

    One of the 'practical reasons' for abandoning the SBM ideal is that it's just too compute- and/or graphics-intensive, given today's multi-MB, even GB models, typical in the big corporate architect clients of most of the BIM cos. However, for smaller local-architect/local-builder models, say 3MB, a SBM revival could work well, with today's computers.

    Which BIM co could be interested in that neglected, untapped market?
  •  I had some brief exposure to the Macintosh based "Vector Works" program, perhaps 10 years ago.  It handled this issue by having a dual representation for the architectural blocks.  So, that a door had both a 3D and a 2D block. You could toggle between having the 3D and 2D blocks.  

    I didn't use it much, and so I can't say with any confidence if Vector Works really solved many of the issues of 3D vs. 2D modeling, or its state right now.

    -Joe
  • After having been working in big hospital and university building projects for over 25 years, I would like to make some points on BIM…

    Tom mentions the old and even current content of BIM…being   “an ideal vision Single Building Model (SBM) in which everything would be modelled in 3D, from which 2D working drawings would be extracted as section-cut views…etc”.

    Practically as the concept BIM (Building Information Modelling) suggests, we have to deal with a holistic interdependently associated way of organizing ALL aspects of information of a building project, being it 3D geometry, 2D deliverables or non-graphical information like technical specifications, building regulations and the like, which have space implications and force geometry changes not possible to model !   They occur during the planning process and BIM should then embrace the modelling of the planning process as well !  Based on my professional experience this holistic modelling of MODEL and PROCESS is not possible for the time being, feasible and always desirable.

    The participants are too many, so are the file formats, the complexity of the different building parts of a complex building (not to say of almost every building) and so forth….

    The tasks to be tackled are (if at all possible) :

    What will be the Central Information Building Model (not only the 3D geometry…)for over 10 or 20 participant companies ;

    How should all these companies be organized during the planning process to be able to feed the BIM central Database (geometry + non geometry data !) and communicate ?

    How can the the Central Information Building Model be fed by different CAD and Database or other software used by different companies?

    …and …and …and….

    The working drawings are complex representations of building aspects and features and contain specific or detail information,  annotation and other implementation guidance not necessarily included in the central building model…it can’t be included, it is just too costly or impossible to automate the update of working drawings from a central building model !  and the creation of the Model is even more expensive….

    So I think the state of the BIM art is to keep central ONLY the Data that can be created, changed and updated centrally and relatively easy by all participant companies, within a reasonable amount of time, money and human effort.

    So I think  Roy is correct… An appropriate 3D building model can be created to get the schematics required and bill of quantities and additional geometry and annotation will have to be modified manually to a great extend… !

    One should keep in mind that BIM is NOT ONLY a Building Model (geometry++)BUT a PROCESS between many participants as well !

     

     

     

  • I agree - if 'BIM' means the projects which generate "today's multi-MB, even GB models, typical in the big corporate architect clients of most of the BIM cos". AFAIK all the present BIM cos are focussed on this big project, big corporate (or big public agency), big architect sector.

    As far as I can see, BrisSys is not planning to be yet another one of them, but is feeling its way into a different, neglected, untapped market sector, which is actually much larger, both worldwide, and even in the 'developed' countries. That is, "smaller local-architect/local-builder models, say 3MB".

    Of course, those are two extremes - there is lots of ground in between.

    I suggest that it is this 'small guy' world, even including much of the 'medium guy' world, which needs most help with automation etc, to make localised dispersed work feasible and still technically efficient, perhaps even in a Transition-style https://www.transitionnetwork.org/what future.
  • After having been working in big hospital and university building projects for over 25 years, I would like to make some points on BIM…

    Tom mentions the old and even current content of BIM…being   “an ideal vision Single Building Model (SBM) in which everything would be modelled in 3D, from which 2D working drawings would be extracted as section-cut views…etc”.

    Practically as the concept BIM (Building Information Modelling) suggests, we have to deal with a holistic interdependently associated way of organizing ALL aspects of information of a building project, being it 3D geometry, 2D deliverables or non-graphical information like technical specifications, building regulations and the like, which have space implications and force geometry changes not possible to model !   They occur during the planning process and BIM should then embrace the modelling of the planning process as well !  Based on my professional experience this holistic modelling of MODEL and PROCESS is not possible for the time being, feasible and always desirable.

    The participants are too many, so are the file formats, the complexity of the different building parts of a complex building (not to say of almost every building) and so forth….

    The tasks to be tackled are (if at all possible) :

    What will be the Central Information Building Model (not only the 3D geometry…)for over 10 or 20 participant companies ;

    How should all these companies be organized during the planning process to be able to feed the BIM central Database (geometry + non geometry data !) and communicate ?

    How can the the Central Information Building Model be fed by different CAD and Database or other software used by different companies?

    …and …and …and….

    The working drawings are complex representations of building aspects and features and contain specific or detail information,  annotation and other implementation guidance not necessarily included in the central building model…it can’t be included, it is just too costly or impossible to automate the update of working drawings from a central building model !  and the creation of the Model is even more expensive….

    So I think the state of the BIM art is to keep central ONLY the Data that can be created, changed and updated centrally and relatively easy by all participant companies, within a reasonable amount of time, money and human effort.

    So I think  Roy is correct… An appropriate 3D building model can be created to get the schematics required and bill of quantities and additional geometry and annotation will have to be modified manually to a great extend… !

    One should keep in mind that BIM is NOT ONLY a Building Model (geometry++)BUT a PROCESS between many participants as well !

     

    The BIM concept should be a scalable process of encapsulating Model + Process simplicity rather than the modelling of their complexity at a corporate, mid-size or small scale.

    This means that the BIM functionality of Bricscad should be natural, easy and understandable for the broad base of “BIM participants” or users at ANY project scale. Big and complex projects do not impose or imply complex software to accomplish them and this is very important for every software developer to understand. The BIM functionality should be scalable (both in terms of costs and functionality)  and easy to learn and implement.

    It is just probably that complex software creates additional markets and revenues like training, software maintenance, installation, IT services etc…

    In this sense Bricsys is on the right track by trying to simplify the process of creating a building information model within the DWG environment and through a relatively easy interface and functionality structure. As an example…you start with 3D solids(ACIS) and you can choose if you define them to be walls, slabs, roofs etc. …you are not forced to use “Objects” and configure much more features than required. This is a sort of “BIM Sketchup” ….!

    It remains to see the Bricscad BIM reaching a more or less “final state”, the cost of the BIM functionality for the “final” product and its ease of use.

    Hopefully it wan’t be an add-on cost  like the Sheet Metal functionality in V16…!

    My experience says again “keep it as simple as possible for all BIM participants and don’t require extensive training to implement BIM or excessive reorganization of office practices” because at the end you don’t get better architecture or engineering just by BIMing… !

     

     

     

  • OOPS...sorry for posting my last post once more...error early morning reflection...!
    read just this

    The BIM concept should be a scalable process of encapsulating Model + Process simplicity rather than the modelling of their complexity at a corporate, mid-size or small scale.

    This means that the BIM functionality of Bricscad should be natural, easy and understandable for the broad base of “BIM participants” or users at ANY project scale. Big and complex projects do not impose or imply complex software to accomplish them and this is very important for every software developer to understand. The BIM functionality should be scalable (both in terms of costs and functionality)  and easy to learn and implement.

    It is just probably that complex software creates additional markets and revenues like training, software maintenance, installation, IT services etc…

    In this sense Bricsys is on the right track by trying to simplify the process of creating a building information model within the DWG environment and through a relatively easy interface and functionality structure. As an example…you start with 3D solids(ACIS) and you can choose if you define them to be walls, slabs, roofs etc. …you are not forced to use “Objects” and configure much more features than required. This is a sort of “BIM Sketchup” ….!

    It remains to see the Bricscad BIM reaching a more or less “final state”, the cost of the BIM functionality for the “final” product and its ease of use.

    Hopefully it wan’t be an add-on cost  like the Sheet Metal functionality in V16…!

    My experience says again “keep it as simple as possible for all BIM participants and don’t require extensive training to implement BIM or excessive reorganization of office practices” because at the end you don’t get better architecture or engineering just by BIMing… !


  • Again, I can agree with that. But workflows (and therefore tools) which are unwanted, or have been abandoned as impracticable, on large-filesize projects, may be just what is needed, and still practicable, on smaller-filesize projects.

    Scaleability to projects of all filesize, from huge to small, is a fine wish. But it does seem that the workflows of large-filesize projects have dominated which tools have been developed. Other workflows, and tools to suit, have been considered almost beneath their notice, by the present BIM companies.

    Traditional emphasis on working drawing production will remain big, at the smaller-scale end of building industries worldwide, including in the 'developed' countries. That market has less primary need of comprehensive building INFORMATION modelling encompasing all the stakeholders' inputs, as Konstantin describes.

    The many advantages of 3D modelling, including automation-assistance in working drawing production, would be much appreciated, together with automation-assistance in acompanying documentation - schedules, quantification, specifications. All of that is not so very far advanced beyone what BricsWork set out to provide 22 years ago, but has never been developed. It is a very different emphasis from big-project BIM, at it has evolved.

    If smaller-project BIM would want to also extend up the scale, adding capabilities of large-project BIM, that's fine - but to me there are other missing priority areas to concentrate on - like further development of the geometry creation and modification tools and abilites.
  •  Hello All,


    Glad that you see the initial difference in our BIM approach compared to any other. And indeed the goal is to deliver a real BIM SketchUp - which means: model as an architect without any restriction and at any given moment in time decide to attribute more and more data to some objects in the model - and be able to do this until a full completion of the project, including constant modifications. We continue to enable this within the boundaries of extremely ease-of -use and intuitiveness.


    What I’m surprised about: we have kept “Sheet Metal” within the Platinum version for as long as we considered it not enough matured to become a stand alone. This year we decided it is a mature piece of software and guess what - do a benchmark with really whatever product you find in the Sheet Metal area: you will agree with me that it is an absolute forefront product. 


    We have developed a generic 3D direct modeling technology within .dwg. Our strategy is not to try to compete on a general level with CATIA , NX, ProEngineer etc. Our strategy is to pic out some vertical markets where we think we can play a forefront role by offering a really break through technology and make a difference with existing mainstream software products. But because these will be “vertical markets” it makes no sense that everybody pays a contribution to that while maybe not being interested in that vertical application. So for us it is logic to deliver this as a vertical module extra on Platinum. And be realistic: we are charging 250 Euro for this vertical - please compare with other sheet metal products (price vs quality). 


    We do our utterly best to deliver top notch technology for the best price. Let’s be realistic and do the math !


    Best regards,    erik

  • Hi all,
    thanks for sharing your thoughts about BIM. I am currently trying to switch my workflow to use 3D (interior architecture), so this is very useful to me. I am torn between trying to move to Revit or waiting for BricsCAD BIM to mature.
    Did anyone try the new V16 BIM module? What are your thoughts. I didn't have time, but it looks promising. Splitting up sections and views into different files is great idea, there seems to be reasonable amount of automation in updating changes in section views after the model has changed.
    Tomas
  • Erik thank you for your honesty re the marketing snafu.

    CEO's generally dont directly speak so candidly to their customers  and I salute you for that.

    I have been using Bricscad for 4 years now for architectural design and documents from housing to commercial work and am very happy with it, and the support I have received from your head office and also from Jason Bourhill. Thank you guys. My structural consultants have switched to Bricscad and my MEP guys are about to since I put them onto it.

    Now as far as the BIM module is concerned it still needs some work, but using DWG format, ACIS modelling software, and non-proprietary files is a really sound basis. To be fair I also have Archicad SE. technically it is good, but the cost of upgrades and being tied to a proprietary format is too much. Having said that some of the architectural overlays developed here in NZ could serve as a model or pattern for advanced portions of BIM as it develops.

    I started on Autocad in 1986 and have used solid modeling for building since the time it first became available, and wrote multiple megabytes of LISP to automate tasks. In those days that included writing out layers to disk. As I said to the local Autodesk man you can drive this program like a truck or a racing car. Much of that LISP I have transferred to Bricscad.

    I solved the section/elevation issue 30 years ago by using the DVIEW command with cutting planes...Bricscad has it and it works fine. It auto updates as you make changes.
    And I use the same system for floor plans....no need for 2D blocks. You can easily copy and modify a block if you want a different version (paste as block is very fast)

    Put your text on a separate layer and keep your model in model space incl sections and elevations. V16 seems to miss the point on this....the tools were already there. You can even use the DVIEW technique for construction details, and 3d ones at that if you wish.   Aaah the magic world of wipeouts to conceal unwanted geometry. And the associative hatch and boundary detection to thicken lines makes mincemeat of embellishing cross sections. Sometimes its actually quicker to use a set of simple robust tools and not an exotic

    Now I have had to do a lot of 3d site modelling...and Bricscad comes up trumps. Use a freebie to convert contours to a TIN, turn the 3dfaces to regions, extrude and union them, trim them up.  Slice and push/pull to create a road cutting or building platform you can edit. And I can measure cut/fill quantities from the Properties panel.

    Bricscad needs decent structural and MEP overlays as part of BIM.  Strucplus is good but very old. Much of the LISP goes back to the 90's. Just needs a tidy and you are just about there...would Bricsys buy it out and do this?

    Theres more but gotta get back to these hotels I am designing!

    Cheers

    Ken Taylor
    Designshop Architecture  New Zealand



  • Wow - I don't understand 2/3 of that but it sounds rich (and does ring some bells with the routine I've evolved for designing/documenting buildings entirely in 2D dwg).I want to understand more about what you're saying - or maybe just trust that Brics developers will understand and take note of your real-user insights.
  • I want to start by saying two things:
    1.
    My original post is not about pricing, but of course it is about investment: time and effort (and possibly frustration).
    2.
    I have decided to upgrade to BricsCAD Platinum because I do see the potential of BricsCAD BIM (BBIM).

    After completing the 10 steps of the 'Villa Project' I conclude that the 3D part of BBIM is very usable. The 2D part still requires some work.

    My two main concerns regarding BBIM are:

    The 2D sections are not as sophisticated as I would want them to be. For example I would like to be able to specify multiple hatch patterns (on different layers) for the same material. The current structure of the (SQLite) database does not support this. And everything in the sections is currently on layer "0".

    If you add annotation to a 'raw' BBIM section then associative dimensions are not possible. Although Bricsys does speak of 'automatic alerts' in this context. Maybe future steps of the 'Villa Project' or another project will shed some light here.
  • To help explore the BIM workflow using the new tools with V16 Platinum I've created a simple model, which I've attached. To me the good news is that new features are flexible enough to work within your existing processes. i.e. The new tools don't stop you using your existing methods, generated BIMSECTIONs simply add another tool to the mix, and having played with it it is quite compelling.

    This is some of what I've found out, hopefully you find it useful

    Key things to know
    • BIMSECTIONs are an enhanced form of Section Planes (Live Sections). Once created some properties can be adjusted from the property bar, but you need to open the Drawing Explorer to edit all parameters.
    • When a BIMSECTION is created (using BIMSECTIONUPDATE) it is pushed out to a separate drawing file. By default this file is the same name as the section. You can change the destination file by going to Section Planes in Drawing Explorer (see attached screen grab).
    • When a BIMSECTION is created it uses the properties assigned to the section in generating the 2D view. Again by going to section planes in the Drawing Explorer you can adjust these. This is rather limited, but you can separate the generated view into different layers.
    • These new tools use SHEETSETs. You will benefit a lot more with these new tools if you take some time out to get to grips with sheet set functionality. Actually BIMSECTIONS make using sheetsets really compelling.
    • SHEETSETs is how you control your workflow, and structure your project. Hopefully the attached provides an example of this. This is a good thing, sheet sets are inherently flexible. You can quite happily mix 3D and 2D drawings. This means you can use layouts generated using your existing method, and enhance by including BIMSECTIONs. In the sample attached, I've generated elevations using number of different methods to illustrate this point.

    The layer control of the generated views is currently a weak point, you are quite limited in what you can do. The hatch shown in sections can be controlled from the BIM Compositions bar, but you can't control their colour, linetype. In fact the on my model the hatch was assigned the RGB colour 0,0,0. This is a particularly poor choice, making it impossible to see if your using a black background. However if you return to BIM Compositions you will see that you can assign layers to a composition, and to each of its hatch patterns. Unfortunately this doesn't (as yet) get utilised in the generated views.

    Regards,

    Jason Bourhill

    CAD Concepts 

    SimpleHouse-Export to PDF.pdfSimpleHouse.zip

    imageSimpleHouse.png
    imageSimpleHouse-BIMSECTIONS.png
    imageBIMSections.png

  • Hi Jason,

    Thank you for posting this. This is really going to help. I have realized the power of the new features of V16 Platinum BIM but getting a handle on all of it and then being able to communicate to others was a challenge, which you have made it easier.

    Best Regards
    Rakesh Rao
    Smarter .dwg CAD
  • Yes, that's brilliant - very helpful.

    On the strength of stuff I wrote about BIM on the Brics forum, and also maybe on the Bentley forum, I was seen as an experienced architect-user of BIM, and Erik invited me to address the Munich Brics Conference. In fact, I was writing about how, after lengthy attempts to use Bentley BIM (AECOsim Building Designer), I found it could not model my kind of buildings, so was forced back to 2D Acad, lately 2D BricsCAD. But from what I read, Grabowski etc, v16 BricsBIM looked like the breakthrough needed. Erik confirmed the invitation, and at Munich I talked about the need for a BIM that would go all-out to support 'creativity' instead of mere fast-track routine/commercial documentation; and to support 'the small guy' (e.g. independent architects) instead of focusing on the big corporates. This was well received, because it's exactly where Brics is headed, it seems.

    It's interesting to read Rakesh's blog about the Asian follow-up http://rakeshrao.typepad.com on Smarter .dwg CAD, particularly:
    Erik on BricsCAD BIM. "We are here to play a dominant role, not a secondary one ... We want to do smart things with .dwg drawing an analogy to the success of the Apple devices. Steve Jobs took UNIX as the base, added a smart interface, built an eco-system around it and charted a huge success story. We want to do the same with the .dwg platform, extending its usefulness to BIM".

    "We know we need a simplified UI for BIM" says Erik de Keyser and stressed the need for eliminating dialog boxes & settings in software before you can get a thing done.
    As long 'avoidance of Settings' is not an obstacle to merging the far-too-many overlapping tools - 2D ones, platform 3D ones, dm ones and bm ones, that we have at present.

    I have yet to really dive into v16 BricsBIM, so thanks Jason for a great starter.

    As you pin-point, powerful, almost do-anything 'Resymbolisation' (in Bentley-talk) is indeed one of the big challenges, in the search for high, customisable automation of production of 2Ds from the 3D model, so that the present expectation of having to do almost all detailing the traditional way in 2D, can become less inevitable.
  • ... Good to know that somebody else is experimenting with BBIM.
    One of the things that confused me was the insertion point of generated sections, or rather the position of entities inside these sections. It differs from the results of the SECTIONPLANETOBLOCK command.
    I have now found out that for BIM sections the origin property of the block definition is not always (0 0 0).
    In one of my tests it is:
    (-6200.00000000026 -900.0 -2.27373675443232e-013)
    Notice the Z component.

    After correcting the origin (see code below) the XY coordinates of the points I have measured are as expected, but most have a Z coordinate that is not exactly zero.
    (getpoint) => (200.0 -600.0 2.27373675443232e-013)
    (getpoint) => (-5000.0 2700.0 9.09494701772928e-013)

    Once the origin has been reset updating the section will not change it.

    Code:
    [code](vla-put-origin (vla-item (vla-get-blocks (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object))) "Section_AA") '(0 0 0))[/code]
  • One of the things that confused me was the insertion point of generated sections, or rather the position of entities inside these sections. It differs from the results of the SECTIONPLANETOBLOCK command.
    I have now found out that for BIM sections the origin property of the block definition is not always (0 0 0).


    I guess a support request would be in order here.

    In a similar vein I found when generating multiple sections that the paperspace viewports don't necessarily line up to the same baseline when generated. You also can't set the default layer for the viewport. However you can position the viewports however you like, change layer etc, and BricsCAD will respect these settings.

    Regards,

    Jason Bourhill

    CAD Concepts 


  • At Munich I talked about the need for a BIM that would go all-out to support 'creativity' instead of mere fast-track routine/commercial documentation; and to support 'the small guy' (e.g. independent architects) instead of focusing on the big corporates. This was well received, because it's exactly where Brics is headed, it seems.


    I enjoyed your talk on Architecture and the influence of CAD and BIM has made on it at the Munich conference. It is great to here someone talk so passionately about something they clearly love. I hope that BricsCAD BIM enables you to pursue your dreams.

    Regards,

    Jason Bourhill

    CAD Concepts 


  • Hey, thanks for this work Jason.  Very helpful! 
  • Some further info you may find useful

    BIMSECTION
    • The default Section scale (SectionScale) can configured in SETTINGS. Look in the BIM section.
    • The default view direction of a section plane is governed by PROJECTIONTYPE, which can be adjusted to suit 1st & 3rd angle projection. As this setting is saved in the drawing it is a candidate for adding to a template.
    • BIMSECTION has on screen glyphs that you can use to flip view direction. These are easy to miss on a high resolution screen. You can adjust there size using GRIPSIZE.
    • You can update all BIMSECTIONs at once. Simply select everything in your drawing (CTRL + A), then run BIMSECTIONUPDATE from the QUAD (F12). Alternatively you can go to the destination drawing, and update the view from there.
    •  You can use BIMSECTIONOPEN from the QUAD to quickly navigate to the generated view. The same command also allows you to navigate in the opposite direction back to the model. Alternatively you can also navigate using the Sheet Set manager.
    • By default BIMSECTION planes use explicit paths, creating a separate drawing for each section. Per my earlier post, you can set the destination file of a section via section planes in the drawing explorer. Here you can override the explicit path, an change it to use a relative path, which is what I did in my example.
    • You could create a template that already has the primary BIMSECTIONs established with your preferred settings. This allows you to copy a BIMSECTION, which will retain the same settings. You may like to group the various sections on to different layers to provide a visual clue as to their target drawing. This should work in quite well with making use of SHEETSETs.
    • The various symbols you see on your section planes are blocks. You can find these in %APPDATA%\Bricsys\Bricscad\V16x64\en_US\Support\Bim\Sections. Changing V16x64\en_US to suit your particular version. These symbols come in at a fixed scale, depending on the size of models they may appear to big or small, which I found when I tried using BIMSECTION on a mechanical model. It would be nice if these were annotative, however BricsCAD didn't like it when I tried changing them to this. they went to
    SHEETSET
    Bricsys have actually provide some quite useful tools to get you started with SHEETSETs, which I've tried to incorporate into my simple house example. This is what I found:
    • You'll find the key configuration items in SETTINGS. Look under 'Sheet Sets'. The key ones are the sheet set template path and default new sheet template. This template is the one used when generating a new drawing from a BIMSECTION.
    • If you open the default sheet template 'Sheet-mm-A1.dwt' and look at the blocks in the Drawing Explorer, you will see that the template already contains a Callout and View Label Block. These can inserted by right clicking on a sheet view (section, elevation..) in the sheet set manager and picking on 'Place View' or 'Place Callout'. These blocks already have FIELDs assigned that will refer them to the particular sheet view. You can have as many callouts as you like.
    • Also in the sheet template 'Sheet-mm-A1.dwt' you will find a title sheet block called 'Title', which is the one I used in my example. Again this has a number of FIELDs already configured for use with sheet sets. I recommend that you update this template so it already inserted on a layout. This will give you a much better idea of the potential and power of using sheet sets on your projects.
    • In SETTINGS under BIM you can set the default Section Sheetset Template. The default 'BIM-Section-Metric.dst' has a number of custom fields setup, which will work with the title sheet available in 'Sheet-mm-A1.dwt'.  Hence the recommendation above to insert it on the template
    • The Sheetset Manager provides tools to quickly PUBLISH all your drawings, and to package using ETRANSMIT to send to others.
    Irrespective of whether you use the new BIM tools, I think you will find SHEETSETs a very useful tool in managing your projects. They take a little to get your head around, but if setup well SHEETSETs can save you significant time though the automation.

    Probably obvious, but please note the comments made on BIM functionality are transitory. Functionality may change significantly in future updates. Also they are based on my observations. As my wife will tell you, I can get things wrong!

    Regards,

    Jason Bourhill

    CAD Concepts 


This discussion has been closed.

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Click one of the buttons on the top bar to get involved!