AU 2008

Experiment with Rendered Lighting in AutoCAD 2010

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:48 GMT

I have been experimenting with rendering on AutoCAD 2010 lately as it can be fun creating eye candy and thought I would share one experiment result.

In this experiment I created a faux Las Vegas utra lounge design in 3D with AutoCAD 2010. For my custom light pipe floor lamps I created some vertical tubes made of plastic with a translucent helical orange plastic tube along the length then a base, lamp shade and a light illuminating from the top. I was also kicking around the idea of the lamp shades shaped like mushrooms just to be even more Las Vegas or Alice in Wonder’ish.

Note: When rendering an intensely lit scene in presentation quality, it can raise the office temperature with your computer working hard to calculate all the lighting. ;-)

What was an interesting result to me was the spiral reflection patterns on the marble floor.

As Matt Murphy would say “wicked cool”.

Cheers,
Shaan

Customized Revit Families - Revit Content

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:05 GMT

Although I haven't downloaded this content, it looks to be fairly good quality if it all works as advertised. Although for some items they are overmodelling which may potentially cause issues on larger projects with the amount of detail that is being shown. One would hope they have set the models correctly with coarse, medium and fine displays and that the individual family sizes don't exceed 1MB each.

See for yourself.

We create your customized Revit Families - Welcome to Revit Content

Shared via AddThis

More Revit Components

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:46 GMT

Do you get the idea that Sketchup will actually be eclipsed by Revit for "Design" even by those who think life should be dumb and simple and inaccurate? Uhhh I mean those who use SKP.

Whether for better or not SKP is in most every Architect's hands and still has the perception (and to some degree reality) of usefulness due to the ease of creating those dumb, simple and inaccurate objects (and don't get me started on SKP adding parametrics... That does not make it BIM!!!).

Well, if you still find some people with reticence to fully use Revit because it's "too hard" to learn, or whatever -Boo Hoo- hey didn't they (almost) all go to University? or was that just an excuse for a prolonged Kegger?

But I digress; you may have begun to feel major recognition of the AEC industries' growing adoption of BIM; predominantly through the use of the Revit Platform; a shift in the industry punctuated by the exploding amount of content being created these days from Mfg's and more...

With that in mind here's another nice compilation of Revit Families FOR US and THEM . I like the links section too; though they could have linked to this blog ;-)!!!

Revit rebel Read re-admitted

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:32 GMT

Phil Read has, according to him, been re-admitted as an Autodesk University 2009 speaker. Yay!

Is this a victory for people power? A victory for the blogosphere? I rather think it's just a victory for common sense.

Delivering Mastering Civil 3D to Your Office or Group

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:07 GMT

I've got the roads to San Antonio and to Amarillo, pretty well memorized after all the trips I've made living here for over 20 years. And I know the flight codes for a lot of places, from Seattle to Manchester to Vegas to Kansas City. But it's time for me to find some new places to [...]

Autodesk University 2009

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:21 GMT

I received confirmation today that I will be teaching Implementing Revit MEP 2010 A to Z at Autodesk University in December. I hope any readers I have can attend. I aways enjoy teaching at AU, and this one should be good.

I am still fleshing things out, but I will be sure to cover everything from setting up line weights and plotting to simple, effective Revit families. The last class I taught for implementing AutoCAD MEP came with an 80 page handout. I'm going to beat that by documenting everything I know on this one. Be sure to start making plans to attend, I'm hoping to see you there.

Autodesk University 2009 Proposal Confirmation (Nice!!!) From Programming to Presentation

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:36 GMT

Autodesk University 2009 Proposal Confirmation

Dear Jay,

Thank you for your proposal to speak at Autodesk University 2009. We are pleased to inform you that your proposal has been accepted. Congratulations!

We received an overwhelming response to our request for proposals—more than 1600 submissions from over 700 individual presenters. This response demonstrates the value of AU to our community. Thank you for offering to become part of this important event.

To create a well-rounded and complete curriculum for AU 2009, we found it necessary in some cases to make changes to the proposed class titles, session types, and/or length of sessions. The most likely change is session type because we have added Autodesk University Virtual to our program this year. Please note that the title and description of your class could still change because your submission is going through editorial review.

This confirmation letter does not include dates and times for your class or honorarium (if applicable). That information will be included in the speaker agreement you will receive in a few weeks. Only accepted sessions are listed below. If you submitted more than these sessions, we were unable to include them in the AU program.

Please review the following specifics of your accepted proposal(s) right away and then confirm your attendance at this year’s Autodesk University before Thursday, June 18.

Submission ID	Section Title	Section Type	Expertise
197	From Programming to Presentation: Planning with Autodesk® Revit®Architecture	90-Minute Class	Intermediate

If you have any questions, please contact AU Speaker Management .

What’s next:

Ensure your profile on AU Online is up- to-date.
Within the next few weeks you will receive a speaker agreement and AU Speaker Manual.
We will hold two webcasts in July: one is a speaker kick-off and the other is for AU virtual presenters.
If your class is part of a PowerTrack, your PowerTrack Leader will also hold a kick-off.
The Speaker Resource Center is scheduled to go live in late July.
AU event registration for speakers will open on August 5.
You may want to sign up for the AU Speaker Blog or follow us on Twitter to stay informed on all things AU.

Once all presenters are confirmed, we will contact you with more information and instructions. Thank you for your proposal and the valuable contribution you will be making to this year’s Autodesk University. We look forward to working with you over the next few months and meeting you in Las Vegas at AU 2009!

The AU 2009 Speaker Management Team

Carol Nadler	Patricia Lundberg	Sophie Dupras	Joseph Wurcher
Speaker Manager	Speaker Manager	Virtual Speaker Manager	Content Manager

Check out AU's page on Facebook
Follow AU on Twitter
Build your network of AU contacts on LinkedIn

Privacy Legal Notices & Trademarks Autodesk.com

© Copyright 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

From Programming to Presentation: Planning with Autodesk® Revit®Architecture: We are pleased to inform you...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:14 GMT

Autodesk University 2009 Proposal Confirmation

Dear Jay,

Submission ID	Section Title	Section Type	Expertise
197	From Programming to Presentation: Planning with Autodesk® Revit®Architecture	90-Minute Class	Intermediate

What’s next:

...
You may want to sign up for the AU Speaker Blog or follow us on Twitter to stay informed on all things AU.

... Thank you for your proposal and the valuable contribution you will be making to this year’s Autodesk University. We look forward to working with you over the next few months and meeting you in Las Vegas at AU 2009!

The AU 2009 Speaker Management Team

Carol Nadler	Patricia Lundberg	Sophie Dupras	Joseph Wurcher
Speaker Manager	Speaker Manager	Virtual Speaker Manger	Content Manager

Privacy Legal Notices & Trademarks Autodesk.com
© Copyright 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

AU 2009 Class Confirmation

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:49 GMT

It's official, this will be my 7th year teaching at Autodesk University. I'm starting to actually feel a bit older, which is amazing for a 29 year old (you know I'll never admit to turning 44 this year…).

Classes accepted for AU 2009
The Art of Implementing AutoCAD Civil 3D (second year I've taught this class)
The Road to Success – Corridor Modeling (fourth year I've taught corridor modeling)
A Race from the Field to the Finish Line (a new class for AU 2009 – Using the Survey functionality of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010, something I've blogged quite a bit about).

It's been an amazing year. I can never express how blessed I feel, and I want to thank you. I started I.II.I (1.2.1 Professional Consulting Services, LLC) last year and have managed to stay busy between oceans at a pace I could never have imagined (so much so that I rarely have time to blog anymore, but I'm told that's a good problem). I spoke at Autodesk University 2008, co-authored Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010. The list goes on, I feel incredibly fortunate, incredibly thankful.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Autodesk University, and working with many more of you in the years to come. I'll continue to do my best to offer a level of excellence in technology I think you deserve.

Cheers,
Scott
scott.mceachron@12pcs.net

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Super Speedy Dimensioning!

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:43 GMT

The Americas launch events are slowly winding down with with one last reseller event (Avatech) this week in Dallas. Next week I move on to the Autodesk Imagine Tour in China where I'll get the opportunity to demo the new features in AutoCAD 2010 using the Chinese version of the software (wish me luck with that one!)

Last week I had the splendid opportunity to have dinner with fellow blogger Heidi Hewett and her super technical husband Nate Bartley while in Denver. Definitely one of the highlights of my week for sure! Below is a picture of fabulous Heidi and myself (she's just a tad taller than I am). When you travel all the time - a dinner with friends can make all the difference in the world and I appreciate them taking time out of their very busy schedules to have dinner wtih me!

Heidi is the one at Autodesk who trains me (and others) on the new release each year and she's never too busy to help me figure something out in AutoCAD. I tell her constantly how I could never do my job without her (maybe some day she will actually believe me). Be sure to check out her blog which is always filled with great infomation and AutoCAD tips.

Roger from TotalCAD also took me out to dinner while I was in Houston and that was much appreciated as well. The Houston event had to be cut off at 220 registrations due to room constraints - really great event! And hey - now I know my structural i-beam chart is incorrect (they are very detailed in Houston I'm told).

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Super Speedy dimensioning!

Many years ago the fantastic QDIM Express Tool entered the world of AutoCAD. QDIM, for Quick Dimensioning, is absolutely amazing and can really help you out with a tight deadline. Why dimension one at a time when you can knock out multiple dimensions at once? I always promote being the lasiest AutoCAD operator ever and this is certainly one means of doing it! You'll leave your coworkers in the dust if you can wrap your arms around the QDIM command.

Be sure to chck out my latest Cadalyst video and give QDIM a try - you will wonder how you lived without it!

Highlighting named blocks using AutoCAD 2010s overrule API from .NET

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:25 GMT

This is a nice sample provided by Stephen Preston, who manages DevTech’s Americas team. Stephen has put this together in anticipation of his upcoming AU class on the overrule API introduced in AutoCAD 2010. [I know the final class list...

OT: School Update

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:06 GMT

Well, if you're a subscriber you've probably noticed that my posting rate has gone down a bit here on my blog lately. I've got three or four posts in the queue and just can't seem to find the time to sit down and flesh them out properly.

In addition to the little bundle of joy and his precocious older brother, I have been taking more classes to complete my Bachelor's Degree.

I finished an Associate's Degree back in 2002, but, devoted the next couple of years to financing quality childcare for number one son. ;)

I mentioned last year that I had the opportunity to return to college through a program at work, and I've been very grateful for the opportunity. I have, however, increased my course load. It would take forever to finish if I stayed with taking only one course at a time.

As it stands now, I should finish by the fall of 2011.

I only recently declared my major officially. Organizational Leadership and Technology.
I believe it's sort of a new program in St. Louis University's School for Professional Studies.
Originally, I assumed I'd complete a Mechanical Engineering degree (a second Associate's I'd started years ago when still working on my Drafting Technology degree), but, an education in Management and Computer Science will be sure to prepare me for some very interesting projects, so I'm somewhat happy that it's an option.

So, currently being swamped with homework has hampered my creative writing ability for a bit. When I do get some time off between classes, I'll polish up what I've got (hang in there for me).
You will, of course, be hearing more about the Salary Survey soon as I work on that.

I do have to give major thanks and appreciation to Mike in all of this. He's been really supportive of my desire to complete my education and has picked up my slack around the house (yes, he's actually been cooking, I know!). Seriously, it takes a lot of time and effort to keep a household running smoothly, as well as keeping two growing boys happy, so he's really gone above and beyond.

If you don't have the time or finances (try filling out a FAFSA next fall, who knows what you might be eligible for?), but, still want to educate yourself a bit, try searching for some Open CourseWare. MIT and Yale are two big ones who've been publishing lectures, videos and course materials for the public to enjoy, I'm sure other colleges and universities have some great classes too. And, for those unemployed CAD folks out there, don't forget about the Autodesk Assistance Program if you want to make the most of your time off by making yourself more marketable.

My Visit to Kitchell Contractors

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:30 GMT

In response to my post on Autodesk Design Review and Navisworks Freedom, last Wednesday I visited the office of Kitchell Contractors. I met with ViCon Engineer Calvin Reinhardt, and Senior ViCon Engineer Chad Holbrook. Calvin and Chad work in the Healthcare Division, and one of their current projects involves the Phoenix Children's Hospital. Designs are created in Revit and involve a combination of several other applications - notably Navisworks Freedom and Autodesk Design Review. Their process is state of the art and paperless. It was very impressive. Scott Root, one of their leaders, teaches architecture at Arizona State University. This allows him to bring a blend of theory and practice to their projects. It was great to get out of the house and interact with real customers. Thanks to Calvin and Chad for being great hosts and sharing their insight regarding Autodesk products.

Stump the Chump @ AU 2005

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:00 GMT

Okay, here is a little quiz! Can you name anyone in the photo? How many? All of them makes you a serious Revit trivia guru...or you attended the Revit Mixer at Autodesk University 2005, or...well you get the idea!

Names and relationship to Revit posted tomorrow!!

Revit Technology Conference 2009 - Melbourne

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:00 GMT

RTC also stands for Revit Technology Corporation - coincidence? Hmmm...

I mentioned the 2009 conference earlier this year in THIS POST.I was fortunate enough to attend this conference back in 2006. I still wear my RTC hat all the time!
It is only a short couple of weeks away now. Three years later and I get to attend again finally!! Like last time I am presenting a couple of sessions and I've managed to crack out of my "family editor" mould somehow. I get to talk about something other than Revit families, exciting...for me anyway! Besides I wouldn't want to have to compete with the people presenting family sessions this year anyway, stiff competition!!

The first session, on Friday, is about the new features in Revit Structure 2010. This will be fun because by then I hope to be nearly done doing the technical editing for the 2010 refresh of the Mastering Revit Structure book by Wiley/Sybex and authors Tom Weir, Jamie Richardson & David Harrington. But I digress...

The second session, on Saturday, is "Managing Large Projects" where I hope to "steal" as much information from the attendees as I can...oops I meant share my knowledge with the attendees.

Then I get to team up with my friend and patron saint Wesley Benn to do a free-for-all Revit Tips-n-Tricks session. Here's a small photo that surfaced on the current RTC 2009 site of Wesley and me, thanks for the VB!

To be unlike any other software conference you might attend I've heard we will be giving away livestock for the top five tips or tricks. Maybe I better run that idea past Wesley first?

I look forward to catching up with old friends and making new ones in Melbourne at RTC 2009!!

Autodesk Labs: To log in or not to log in - a follow up

Wed, 27 May 2009 18:00 GMT

In a previous blog posting, I posed the question about requiring login to be able to download technologies from Autodesk Labs. The quandary is that we want to know who downloaded what, so we can follow up with you, but we do not want to turn people away who loathe registration. Some of you thought it was a dynamite idea, one thought it was bit dicey, while still others thought it might hurt. Here's what you said:

	Having to login to download a utility would be fine; however, if you place [all of] your information behind a login, it would greatly decrease your exposure to blogs and news.
	I currently have mutiple Autodesk passwords so a Labs one wouldn't bother me but it would be great if the passwords could be unified. For example it would be great if I am already logged into the subscription page not to have to re log into Labs or to the AU page or the area.
	I think sign in is a good tool for your use. I would welcome it. Updates and additional information would be to our benefit. A short explanation at the sign up screen to the "why’s and what for’s" would go a long way in providing comfort and understanding to the signee.
	Most people would be willing to login to download but not to read about a project.
	@scottsh115 - To answer your login question, you are heading in the right direction.
	It seems like there should be a middle road. If you aren’t logged in, splash up as screen saying, "Please log in for reasons A, B, and C." with a link to log in. After you log in you’re taken to the file. On the splash screen, include a "No, Thank You" button to allow you to just go to the page where you will download the file. This seems better than both alternatives.
	I don't see a huge problem in asking people to log on to download stuff. It will introduce a barrier and reduce participation, but how much is anybody's guess.
	Including a required log in puts up a barrier that some people just won’t want to deal with. I mean, yet another username and password to deal with . I’ve made so many duplicate user accounts on so many sites that have required logins.
	It is often easier to just fill out junk info on a throwaway email account (then it is only slightly more annoying than the repeated form filling out like you have now). This goes doubly when there is a security question you have to remember as well.
	The Autodesk Single Sign-on login involves logging in again, and again, and again, and again... Very annoying, and a definite disincentive to using any site infected with it.

Thank you fro providing this feedback. We will consider this as we move forward.

Conceptual Mass - Defining Area to control width & length automatically

Sun, 24 May 2009 04:51 GMT

In this quick tutorial I've taken a request from Ry on linkedin to produce a rectangular mass family where you can set the area, then use grips to change the length and width whilst still maintaining the required area.

Share the Value of Autodesk University (Special AU Online Offer Ends Soon)

Thu, 21 May 2009 19:00 GMT

Hi All,

There is a special offer for you to share the value of AU content with your co-workers and friends who do not currently have full access to AU Online.

It's easy. Just forward this message to your co-workers and friends who might benefit from the thousands of hours of training screencasts and session materials on AU Online. When they click on the following link, they can register and get immediate access to all AU Online content. This offer is good until June 1, 2009.

http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=promo&code=5n1_116473_09

Thanks for helping us spread the word about the value of learning, sharing, and networking on AU Online.

Wai

Let the Autodesk University Planning Begin!

Wed, 20 May 2009 09:24 GMT

This is the week of Autodesk University planning! The proposals are in, the votes from the public have been tallied and its now time to nail down all the great classes we believe will make Autodesk University 2009 the best yet! Joseph Wurcher and I will be working with all the various content leaders all week as we rifle through a record number of submissions.

I wanted to post a couple of past pictures that I promised I'd include in my blog. These were from my two weeks of presenting in Australia. I had the good fortune to work with KarelCAD and Imaginit and below is a picture of Phillip Amato of Imaginit!

I had to wear my glasses (which I don't like) due to a scratched eye (do I look any smarter?). The crowd in Adelaide was fantastic and below is a pic from that event as well.

I also love a newspaper article that Phillip sent me regarding a customer account, HMPS, who is using Autodesk Inventor to design their food and beverage machinery. There is an embedded video which is interesting - I noticed that they mentioned they were using AutoCAD but they are quite clearly using Autodesk Inventor (fyi).

Click here to see the video

Well I'd better get back to working on Autodesk University (or else Joseph will let me have it!)

AUGI Appoints new Board Member

Tue, 19 May 2009 03:09 GMT

The AUGI Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Jamtgaard as a member of the Board.

Peter has 23 years of experience running AutoCAD in a multidisciplinary environment, and is now focused on heavy steel construction and structural engineering. His current position is Senior Engineer and CAD Manager for Cordeck Sales, Inc. He has served one prior term on the AUGI Board of Directors in 2002/2003 where he also served as the AUGI Guild Manager and AUGI Exchange Manager. Peter is a registered Autodesk developer and has presented at Autodesk University. He holds a B.S. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Marquette, a Masters in Structural Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Wisconsin.

As Peter puts it, “We need to get back to the basics to build the community. The way to do that is by focusing on the member and their needs. Training, support, information, get-togethers, and being the conduit that tells Autodesk what the end-users are asking for.”

Peter joins the board for the duration of a term that was vacated by a prior board member. He will serve in this capacity until Dec. 31, 2009.

Please join us in welcoming Peter to the board.

President Obama: ASU Commencement Address

Wed, 13 May 2009 21:13 GMT

Last night my daughter graduated from Arizona State University (ASU). President Obama gave the commencement address. Since he had only been in office 100 days, ASU did not grant him an honorary degree - igniting much controversy. President Obama addressed the controvery directly in his speech - nothing that it was "much ado about nothing" and that titles, honorary or earned, mean little. Even the title President of the United States means little. Millard Fillmore and Abraham Lincoln both had the same title. Which do you remember? It is the deeds that comprise one's body of work that matter. He encouraged the graduates to go out and make their mark on the world through their actions - not their pursuit of titles.

Conceptual Mass (2010) - Octagon Panels & Mitring

Wed, 13 May 2009 06:08 GMT

This is just a simple little tutorial that talks about how to get your edges to cleanup without a gap for both sides of your panel. I hope someone finds it useful.

Due to some issues with Blogger this took a while to get online...

The Autodesk Sydney Solutions Day Event!

Fri, 08 May 2009 06:39 GMT

First of all...if any of you are living near Dallas...please be sure to join me for the Dallas Fort Worth AutoCAD User Group meeting on Monday night, May 11. Or you might choose to go to the Autodesk Imagine Tour event the following day (also in Dallas).

Second of all...I want to wish our good AUGI friend Bill Adams well as he was recently hospitalized and could use all of our thoughts and prayers. Other than being an active member of the Autodesk Revit community and on the AUGI Board, he is an all around wonderful person. As luck would have it I was actually in Adelaide, Australia, right after he entered the hospital and I managed to squeeze in a visit between events and flights to wish him well. He seems to be getting better daily (thankfully) but still has a long road to full recovery and would definitely welcome any emails you could send to him. He is posting updated info on Bill Adams's blog if you want to follow along.

Send a nice email to Bill Adams to keep his spirits up at bladams@wja.com.au .

As promised...here are some pictures from the spectacular Autodesk Sydney Solutions Day 2009 event!

First pictures are of people signing in for the event.

Below is a picture of their Exhibit Hall (which was always bustling!)

There was quite a crowd going into the event

Pat Williams, Senior. VP of Asia Pacific, offered a nice welcome on behalf of executive management.

Guri Stark, VP of AutoCAD and Platform Solutions, did a presentation on all things AutoCAD!

Buzz Kross, Senior VP of Manufacturing Solutions Divison, (below) delivered a fantastic manufacturing message covering all of our powerful manufacturing products.

and last, but not least, I was the emcee for the morning's mainstage event.

Those in attendance were thrilled with the day's presentations (or at least that is what they told me) and I enjoyed talking to so many different people about their experience with Autodesk products. Even though it was hard work, I was quite pleased I had a chance to participate and hope this becomes an annual tradition!

Have you Voted for AU Classes yet? Today is the deadline.

Thu, 07 May 2009 20:34 GMT

Make sure you login and vote at auonline to ensure that the classes you want to attend are the ones with the highest number of votes. Today is the deadline. Get your vote in now.

Last day of voting for AU 2009 classes

Thu, 07 May 2009 14:34 GMT

I’ve been a bit remiss posting on our plans for this year’s AU. At AU 2007 and 2008 my team organised and ran a separate Developer Track. Last year we had already hoped to fold our classes into the Customization...

AU 2008

Experiment with Rendered Lighting in AutoCAD 2010

Customized Revit Families - Revit Content

More Revit Components

Revit rebel Read re-admitted

Delivering Mastering Civil 3D to Your Office or Group

Autodesk University 2009

Autodesk University 2009 Proposal Confirmation (Nice!!!) From Programming to Presentation

Autodesk University 2009 Proposal Confirmation

Dear Jay,

From Programming to Presentation: Planning with Autodesk® Revit®Architecture: We are pleased to inform you...

Autodesk University 2009 Proposal Confirmation

Dear Jay,

AU 2009 Class Confirmation

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Super Speedy Dimensioning!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Super Speedy dimensioning!

Highlighting named blocks using AutoCAD 2010s overrule API from .NET

OT: School Update

My Visit to Kitchell Contractors

Stump the Chump @ AU 2005

Revit Technology Conference 2009 - Melbourne

Autodesk Labs: To log in or not to log in - a follow up

Conceptual Mass - Defining Area to control width &amp; length automatically

Share the Value of Autodesk University (Special AU Online Offer Ends Soon)

Let the Autodesk University Planning Begin!

AUGI Appoints new Board Member

President Obama: ASU Commencement Address

Conceptual Mass (2010) - Octagon Panels &amp; Mitring

The Autodesk Sydney Solutions Day Event!

Have you Voted for AU Classes yet? Today is the deadline.

Last day of voting for AU 2009 classes

Conceptual Mass - Defining Area to control width & length automatically

Conceptual Mass (2010) - Octagon Panels & Mitring