Author Archive

A Product Review by Michael Anonuevo

Introduction

In preparing to writing an instructional eBook on how to produce Autodesk Revit renderings and walkthroughs, one of the things I did a few months back was conduct a research on computer systems optimized for these types of Revit tasks. It is a subject matter that I know will occupy a chapter on its own in the eBook. I’ve looked at brand names such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Asus. However, I could not find any computer system specifically targeted for Revit modeling. By chance, I ran into a colleague who suggested that I look into BOXX computer workstations (www.boxxtech.com). I had never heard of the company, although I found out later that they had been around for the last 15 years! As a  full time Revit modeler who is always busy creating complex families or writing about them, I never really got into the details of a good Revit computer workstation. And so with this new eBook project, I had a chance to look at a workstation made for Revit. After emailing my credentials and review proposal to a BOXX specialist, I was connected to the right channels and eventually was sent a unit for evaluation.

This article is about the 3DBOXX 4920 XTREME workstation. At the BOXX website, this model is referred to as The World’s Fastest Workstation for Autodesk Revit. On the internet, you’ll find great reviews about this workstation, including its technical details and specifications. To avoid being redundant, the main focus of this review is how effective this workstation is for Revit Architecture users. I will, however, highlight certain features worth taking a look at.

Is this really the fastest workstation for Revit? How can we users benefit from this system? What makes this workstation special from the rest of the pack? How does this computer compare to yours or other workstations? These questions (and many more) are tackled in this review. If you are in the process of upgrading your Revit workstations or want to add a dedicated power workstation for generating renderings and walkthroughs, this article will help you decide which system to purchase.
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In response to Revit users from Australia, UK, Europe and other countries, I’m happy to announce the release of the Metric Editions of my eBooks:

• Creating Custom Revit Architecture 2012 Families, Metric Edition
• Creating Custom Revit Architecture 2013 Families, Metric Edition

They are free with the purchase of the 2012/2013 US Editions. Please click this link to get a PDF sampler containing sample images and Forewords written by Jeff Pinheiro (theRevitKid.com) and Jay Zallan (Perkowitz+Ruth Architects).

by:

Michael Anonuevo
Revit Architecture Certified Professional
www.littledetailscount.com

I just released the 2013 update to my 2012 eBook: Creating Custom Revit Architecture 2013 Families: A Practical Guide for Beginner and Intermediate Users

Join Revit users nationwide and all over the world who have discovered the valuable information in this eBook. There is nothing like this in the market right now. The eBook teaches the efficient ways to create families. It also explains the subtle little details that go with family creation that no other books explain. In response to Revit users from Australia, UK and European countries, I’m happy to announce the Metric Editions of these eBooks. They will be released on or before November 2012. They are free for those who purchase the 2012/2013 Imperial (US) editions.

Book description:

PDF format, 16 Chapters, 777 pages, over 2000 images. All the new 2013 features are explained in-depth. Download my PDF sampler (163 pages) containing the full Table of Contents (2012 & 2013), Forewords by Steve Stafford and Lonnie Cumpton, and sample images here.

by:

Michael Anonuevo
Revit Architecture Certified Professional
www.littledetailscount.com

I’m happy to announce the release of my eBook entitled:

Creating Custom Revit Architecture Families 2012
A Practical Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users

for an introductory price of $19.95. The price includes a free update to the 2013 version of this eBook (slated for release on or before October 2012) and four free Revit families from my website.

Although the book was written with architects in mind ,it is also a useful guide and resource for interior designers, recent architecture graduates, Revit MEP and Structure users, and AutoCAD users transitioning to Revit. It is also a handy reference for BIM managers and advanced users.

Book description:

PDF format, 16 Chapters, 751 pages, over 2000 images. Tutorial files are also included.
Requirement: Basic knowledge of Revit.

Download the full Table of Contents, Foreword by Steve Stafford, and sample images here.

Michael Anonuevo
Certified Autodesk Revit Architecture Professional
www.littledetailscount.com

Alto: Although this word is associated with music, it is Spanish for Tall. The Latin word Altus means high or deep.

Read all about this Alto Saxophone Revit Family and my latest update on 3Dconnexion’s SpacePilot Pro:

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An Autodesk colleague from UK asked me to post this Ad for a position available in Saudi Arabia. If you’re interested, he can be contacted at the address included at the end of this job posting.

MEP Technical Consultant 

An exciting role has just become available in the Award Winning Software Company Autodesk. We are currently seeking an individual with extensive MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) experience. Acting as a consultant you will be providing post-sale technical and business consulting to help drive successful adoption of Autodesk AEC technologies for the (MEP) technology within the construction industry. This key contributor with Autodesk Consulting will be a leader in their domain and will provide customers with process assessments, process change consultancy, project management, facilitate customer meetings, training, implementation, mentoring, as well as create documentation and customer deliverables. He/She will work closely with the channel by providing ongoing support, training and technical advice within the industry. You must be able to work independently as well as be part of the EMEA team. The position offers a variety of responsibilities and be the regional representative for driving MEP across multiple disciplines.

Location: Saudi Arabia 

Responsibilities:

• Assess customer’s current business process, recommend and implement solutions to meet customer’s needs. Work closely with customer to document and standardize their design processes.
• Recommends implementation and best practices for solutions to meet customer business needs.
• Develops, contributes and manages detailed customer implementation plans.
• Develops and conducts professional product training courses in person and via web casts, to accelerate customer adoption.
• Develop systems architecture, implementing cross-product solutions that best fit the customer’s needs.
• Writes deliverable documents including project schedules, procedures guides, flow charts, and best practices guides, agendas, and follow up memos.
• Works with new and existing customers in order to identify unrealized customer needs and promote Company solutions to drive additional revenue.
• Mentor customers to support the new solution deployment. In cases where customer purchases product implementation and support services, this person will provide ongoing consulting throughout the project lifecycle.
• Responsible for supporting sales efforts by developing proposals, writing scopes of work, and estimating resource requirements. Plays a key role in further developing current accounts by identifying complete solutions to meet additional unrealized customer needs.

Requirements:

• Knowledge of MEP design, drawing and detailing experience is required to be successful in this role
• Must have strong experience with leading architectural/MEP design software (i.e. AutoCAD MEP, Revit MEP, Microstation, etc.).
• Good understanding of BIM workflow process between architects and engineers.
• Must be willing to become an expert in the use of Revit MEP, AutoCAD MEP and Building Information Modeling and analysis products.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team of technical personnel, marketing/sales people, project managers.
• Experience working in the Middle East region would be a strong plus.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to drive decisions and get closure on recommendations and issues.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent group facilitation skills.
• Project management experience. Demonstrated ability to lead a team to develop and deliver projects for acceptance within cost/schedule constraints.
• Able to travel up to 75% of the time and enjoy working with diverse groups of people with widely variable technical skills.
• Fluent in Engllish and Arabic is required for this role.

Contact:

Tony Mancino
Senior Recruiter
Talent Acquistion
tony.mancino@autodesk.com

Autodesk Ltd.
1 Meadow Gate Avenue
Farnborough, UK. GU14 6FG

Direct +44 (0)1252 456832
Mobile +44 (0)79124 76567

The SpaceExplorer, SpaceNavigator and SpaceNavigator for Notebooks _ a multiple products review by Michael Anonuevo

It has been two months now since I started using 3Dconnexion’s SpacePilot PRO. Without a doubt, 3D navigation devices are definitely here to stay.

For those of you who just happened to stumble on this article, please read my previous review of the SpacePilot PRO at : http://clubrevit.com/2011/06/15/will-revit-users-fly-with-this-device/.

The way I use Revit has completely changed. I’ve incorporated the SpacePilot PRO and its powerful programmable buttons in my daily work. I am now automatically reaching for it with my left hand. I’ve also learned how to configure the buttons to my advantage. You’ll find out all about this at the end of this article with my follow-up review of the SpacePilot PRO.

I’m happy to tell you that I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of good feedback from readers saying how helpful my article was. And just as I had anticipated, I’ve gotten inquiries about 3Dconnexion’s other models. Well, after communicating with 3Dconnexion, they sent me the rest of their product line. And so guys, here’s the lowdown on the SpaceExplorer, SpaceNavigator and SpaceNavigator for Notebooks…

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The SpacePilot™ PRO _ a product review by Michael Anonuevo

(Disclaimer: I am not connected with 3Dconnexion. I wasn’t asked to write this review nor was I compensated for it.)

One of the new features of Revit Architecture 2012 is its support for 3Dconnexion devices. As a Revit beta tester, I was aware of this feature before this version was released. However, prior commitments prevented me from taking a look into it until last month. Anyway, here are my findings:

The first thing I did was visit 3Dconnexion’s website to learn about their products. In the internet, I read a lot of articles and reviews concerning their product line. Apparently, they have been around since 2001. Their products are popular in the manufacturing industry as navigation tools in CAD/CAM modeling and simulation applications. In the film industry, they are used for navigation and visualization with popular animation software such as Maya, Alias, Blender, etc. Although Autodesk is officially supporting 3Dconnexion’s products, I couldn’t find any information on how they are being used in Revit. A lot of product reviews by design engineers have affirmed their usefulness though. Nonetheless, I was a little bit skeptical. The regular mouse, after all, does a good job as a navigation tool in Revit. My thought then was to get hold of a unit and test it.

Not knowing anything about 3Dconnexion’s navigation devices, I contacted them. I sent an email with my credentials and asked if I could evaluate and review their SpaceNavigator. Within a few days, I was contacted and informed that the company was sending me the SpacePilot PRO. This is 3Dconnexion’s top of the line model.

For Revit Architecture 2012 users, this article is about my experience with the SpacePilot PRO in the two weeks that I put it to various tests. Aside from Revit, I also tested the device with Autodesk Inventor 2011, Photoshop CS5, and Google Earth. I’ve included a few photos and video clips to help you make a decision if you’re contemplating on buying one. I will probably write a follow-up article after I use the device extensively for a few months.

Unpacking the Box

I was surprised when I received the SpacePilot PRO. The package was contained in a 15″ x 13″ x 7″ carton mailing box! I’m like, how big could this device be? Well, after taking it out of its box, it was bigger than what I thought it would be! Take a look (see fig. 1):

Figure 1

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I got my official copy of Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2012 last Monday (April 11, 2011) and immediately tested it by creating this complex family:

So far, so good! Here’s the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7pPwlxGZ8

Michael Anonuevo
Certified Autodesk® Revit® Architecture Professional

Paul Aubin is the well known  Revit guru and author who has written several bestselling  books on Revit Architecture, AutoCAD MEP and AutoCAD Architecture. In 2006, his book (Mastering Autodesk Revit Building) is what got me started on Revit.  This is what he has to say regarding the Revit families on my website:

“There are many ways to approach the task of building Revit content. And sometimes, the little details count! I cannot think of a more aptly named website for the excellent content produced by its founder Mr. Anonuevo. Great care is taken in crafting the three-dimensional details and applying very realistic and believable materials. Furthermore, Mr. Anonuevo clearly understands that good Revit content is not just about 3D. He includes 2D symbolic line representations for the plan views to simplify and help with performance. I got a direct look at his drum set. Now I grant you, this is a big Family file weighing in at 12M. But doing a quick test with about 25 copies, the file only grew to 18M. This is because there are few parameters and formulas in the file. So in 2D views, it performs quite well. And really, when would you need 25 drum sets in a single file anyhow… Now your results might vary if using his casino furniture. There it would be more likely to have many copies, but again Mr. Anonuevo takes advantage of symbolic lines in 2D views and keeps parameters to a minimum. What I like most about his efforts is the amazingly high quality renderings he has been able to achieve. There is a degree of realism here that I have not seen in other Revit content and projects. Well done! Overall I would say that you are in the market for casino gaming content or musical instruments, begin your search with www.littledetailscount.com.”  Paul Aubin_January 21, 2011

When you get the chance, please visit his website at: http://paulaubin.com/

Michael Anonuevo
Autodesk^® Revit^® Architecture 2011 Certified Professional