11/28/2005-1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Room:N. Hemispheres (Salon A1) (Dolphin) Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort Orlando, Florida Autodesk Architectural Desktop Functionality for the Autodesk Building Systems User Steven Morse - IMAGINiT Technologies, Inc. ME13-1 You work in a MEP firm and are using Autodesk Building Systems. Great! But now you get a project on which the architect is not using Autodesk Architectural Desktop or 3D and you want to see the project in 3D? We'll investigate the ADT functionality included in Autodesk Building Systems 2005. We'll look at how to draw walls, doors, columns, and beams. Learn shortcuts, tips and tricks, such as seeing through walls, so you can see the entire system you are designing. We'll also see how the interference conditions work with structural objects, such as beams and columns. In addition, see how sections and elevations work. We will also spend some time with the live section and learn how you can work with a smaller set of the building. This will be a fast-paced discussion. About the Speaker: Steven is a Building Solutions application specialist with IMAGINiT Technologies in Portland, Oregon. Steven provides technical expertise in support of AutoCAD, Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Autodesk Building Systems, and Revit Building software solutions. Prior to joining IMAGINiT Technologies, he was the CAD manager at a 120-person architectural firm, while also producing projects and assisting in the creation of construction documents. These experiences and his 25 years of architectural drafting, including 15 years of CAD drafting, help Steven bring a "working professional" attitude to the table. Graduating from Central Community College, Hastings, Nebraska, with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Architectural Drafting, Steven is also certified with Autodesk as an Autodesk Architectural Desktop Certified Expert and as an Autodesk Certified Instructor. smorse@rand.com
Introduction Here s the scenario. You re using Autodesk Building Systems (ABS), but your architect is not using Architectural Desktop (ADT) or 3D. But, you want to use 3D and see the whole building. All you have is 2D drawings or worse yet, paper drawings. What will it take to model the building simply? ABS is very powerful for Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing design and drawing. It also is built on top of AutoCAD and ADT. So the functionality of AutoCAD and ADT is available to the ABS user. With this functionality, you can create a basic 3D architectural model of the building. This allows you to place and view the 3D Building Systems you are designing in their actual context. You can consider their interaction with the spaces of the building and take the building s structure in account when locating piping and ducting. First, let s look at some suggestions to make the process easier and friendlier to your office. Use separate files for each floor of the building. Having a file for each floor allows the files to be smaller, and allows multiple people to work on the project. If the floors are large and have distinct breaks, you can break the floor up into wings or divisions. Take a look at the Project Browser/Project Navigator to assist you in developing files for your project. ABS provides access to two types of template files, ABS Model and AEC Model. Use the AEC Model template files for your architectural model files and use the ABS Model template for all the mechanical, electrical and plumbing files. The ABS Model template has all the architectural objects drawn as screened objects. Now, let s take a look at the Architectural Desktop (ADT) functionality in Autodesk Building Systems (ABS). Building Components Walls The most basic component of a building is the walls. Walls can be drawn by using the Wall tool located on the Tool Palettes in the Architectural Palette Group, Basic Architectural Design Tab. By default the Wall tool will place the Standard style wall. Other styles are available and ship with the product. See the discussion of the Style Manager later in this document. The Standard style wall is a single component wall, meaning there is only one component, or layer of wall construction, in the wall style. The width of this component is set to Base Width and can be changed as you draw the wall. To place the wall in your drawing, drag the wall tool to the drawing or click on the tool. This will start the WallAdd command. Use the Properties palette to set up the properties of the wall, such as the width, height and style. Pick the start point of the wall and pick other points as needed. After you have selected three points, you can use the Close option or the Ortho Close option to close the walls. The Close option will close the walls from the last point picked to the first point picked (similar to the Line command). The Ortho Close option closes the wall using orthographic projections. This can allow you to create rectangle shaped rooms very quickly. 2
Once you have placed your walls you can edit your walls by using the Properties Palette, grips or the right click menus. When you select the start or end grip of the wall, you are presented with dynamic dimensions. Make sure you have the Dynamic Input turned on, or you will not see these dimensions. Look for the DYN button on the Application Status Bar at the bottom of the screen. You can type in the dimension you want or use the Tab key to change the focus of the dynamic dimensions. Another way to create walls is to convert lines, arcs, circles and polylines to walls. This is done by right clicking on the Wall tool, selecting Apply Tool Properties To > Linework. The baseline of the wall is placed at location of the linework. You also have the option of erasing the linework. Style Manager From the Format pulldown menu, you have access to the Style Manager. The Style Manager gives you access to other styles of objects. Drag and drop styles from style drawings to your current drawing while in Style Manager. Or copy styles to the clipboard and paste them into your current drawing while in Style Manager. The location of the style drawings is dependent on the installation type, but typically is located in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\ABS 2006\enu\Styles\Imperial. This folder can be placed as a shortcut in Places Bar on Open Dialog. Most of the styles have materials attached to them to display as a hatch pattern or bitmap. The Material Definitions drawing is located in the styles folder shown above. This location may differ if your installation is different that the default install. Doors, Windows and Openings Doors, windows, door/window assemblies and openings, are drawn using the appropriate tool from the Architectural Palette Group, Basic Architectural Design Tab. The Door tool will place the Standard style door by default, but other styles are available and ship with the product. These other styles are available though the Style Manager as discussed above. The Window tool will place the Standard style window. Openings do not have styles, but have shapes and can be made from profiles. 3
To add any of these, drag the appropriate tool to the drawing or click on the tool. Then you can use the Properties palette to set up the properties of the opening. In the Properties window, set the style of the object, set the width, height and select if you want to use the Unconstrained or the Offset/Center option. Unconstrained will allow you to place the opening where ever you pick. Offset/Center will allow you to specify an offset distance to place the opening from another opening or a wall end. Offset/Center will also allow you to place the opening at the center of the wall segment. Running object snaps may get in the way when you are specifying the opening location. Toggle them off at the Status Bar (OSNAP) or press <F3>. To place an opening that is not connected to a wall, press Enter rather than selecting a wall when the command starts. The opening will not cut a wall when placed in this fashion. Openings can be edited by selecting the object and making changes in the Properties Palette, using grips or by using the right click menus. Structural Components Structural Column Grids Structural Column Grids can be placed at the start of the project so the building can be designed on the grid or they can be added to the building after the design is near completion. You place grids by using the Structural Column Grid tool on the Structural Palette Group, Basic Structural Tab palette. Drag the tool to the drawing or click on the tool. Use the Properties Palette to set up the properties of the grid. Grid can be set up as rectangular or radial (circular) in shape. You can also specify columns to be placed at each of the intersections of the grid when you place the grid. Specify the column style on the Properties Palette and specify the height of the column in the Logical Length. Grids come in as regular repeating bays. You can change the layout method to Manual after the grid has been placed and change the bays to irregular spacing. Grids can have irregular shapes and holes by using closed polylines and using the Clip option on the Right Click Menu. The recommendation is to have the polylines on a non-plotting layer or the same layer as the grid. These polylines need to remain in the drawing for the clip or hole to work. To label grids, right click on the grid and select Label. This will bring up a dialog that will allow you to provide how to label the X and Y axis. The dialog has two tabs, X Axis and Y Axis. Both tabs will need to be filled out for the labels to work correctly. The layout of this dialog is a little different and it is my recommendation to work right to left. Labels have grips that allow you to move the labels around, as if you had two grid lines very close together. It is not recommended that you use the stretch command on grid labels, as it may cause the program to crash. 4
Beams, Columns and Braces ABS comes with three categories of structural members. Of these, Columns are normally a vertical member, Beams are generally horizontal and Braces are diagonal. To add these objects to your drawing, drag the tools to the drawing or click on the tool. Use the Properties Palette to set up the properties of the object, such as style, member type and justification. You can use object snaps to place these objects accurately, but the recommendation is to use the node object snap as the members have a node at each end and at the middle of the object. When you place columns, you are prompted for an insertion point. At this prompt, if you place your cursor close to a grid object, the program will locate the nearest intersection of the grid. At this time you have access to three modes by using the control key. If you pick the grid, the column will be placed at the nearest intersection of the grid. If you press and release the Control key, you can place a column at all the intersections of the grid. The columns will be anchored to the grid and if the grid moves, the columns will move with it. By right clicking on the tools on the tool palette, you can convert lines, arcs and open polylines to structural members. You will still be using a structural member style, but the extrusion will follow the path of the selected object. A tip on doing this is to set the UCS to the plane you want your member be in. Draw the path with lines, arcs or open polylines. Then set the UCS back to World or what ever it was before you changed it. Then convert the linework to the structural member. You may have to change the style and justification after you do the conversion. Structural members have the ability to use trim planes. A trim plane is a infinite cutting plane that trims a structural member to a location that you define on the structural member. You can use trim planes to clean up joints between multiple structural members. For example, use multiple trim planes to angle both ends of a brace in a diagonally braced frame. Because trim planes are infinite planes, you cannot use them to notch, cope, or cut holes in structural members. You can add one or more trim planes to a structural member, change trim planes, and remove trim planes from a structural member to restore it to its original dimensions. Trim planes are based on the start or the end of a member and each end of a member can have several trim planes. To add a trim plane to a structural member, select the member, and then in the Properties Palette, select the Trim Planes worksheet. You can add a trim plane in this worksheet and modify its location and angle. You can also right click on the member and select Edit Trim Planes from the menu to add and edit the trim planes. 5
Structural Member Catalog The Structural Member Catalog is located on the Format pulldown menu, and contains specifications for different types and sizes of standard structural shapes. You can browse the catalog, select a shape and create a structural member style. Both Imperial and Metric sizes are contained and divided into concrete, steel and timber categories. Find the type of member you want, and then in the lower right section, highlight the size you need. Right click on the size and select Generate Member Style, change the name of the style if you want in the resulting dialog box and click OK. The new member style has been added to your drawing. The Structural Group of palettes has 3 palettes that have a wide assortment of structural members on them. The palettes are named Basic Structural, Bar Joists and Members. If you find that you are using the same style all the time, or several styles consistently, you can create a Structural Member style drawing. Add the styles you are using and store the drawing with the other style drawings as discussed in the Wall Styles section of this document. Once you have a style drawing for your favorite structural members, you can place a tool for that style on the tool palette of your choice. 6
Interference Conditions ABS can show interferences between structural members, such as beams and columns, and Building Systems objects such as ducts and pipes. To view the interference conditions, you need to toggle on this setting in the Options (Format pulldown > Options > Building Systems Layout Rules tab). Place a check in the Building Systems Interference Detection Alert box. You can change the color that the interference displays in the color selector to the right. Note that interference checking does not work with walls. It is not recommended you have this on at all times. Only use this when you want to check for interferences. Enabling interference detection while working on the design can slow drawing performance because each time you change an element of the system, the software calculates interference for the entire system. There is also an entry on the MEP Common pulldown menu to toggle the Collision Detection feature. 7
Horizontal, Vertical and Live Sections All of the components we have looked at so far are building components, parts of the model of the building, and are two dimensional in plan view and three dimensional in model view. ABS allows us to use the power of the model to quickly create sections; both horizontal, plan, and vertical; elevations and sections. Both the Horizontal Section and Vertical Section tools are found on the Architectural Palette Group, Basic Architectural Design Tab. Horizontal Section The Horizontal Section tool will create a section line object that will define what is seen in that section. Drag the tool to the drawing, or click on the tool, to start the command. Pick the corners of the section area, input the elevation of the section plane, and enter the depth of the section. Once you have the section line object placed, right click on the line object, select Generate Section, use the Select Objects to pick the objects you want to see in the section, and then use the Pick Point to place the section. This point will be the lower left corner of the section. The resulting section is a two dimensional section of your model. This Section Object is one object and is tied to the Section Line Object you placed earlier. Vertical Section The Vertical Section tool will create a section line object that will define what is seen in that section. Drag the tool to the drawing, or click on the tool, to start the command. Pick points of the line that you want to define the section. This object will allow you to pick more than two. When you have picked all the points, press the Enter key and you will be prompted to provide a length. This is the distance from the line you just created that you want to see in your section. Any objects beyond this distance will not be seen in the section. Once you have the section line object placed, right click on the line object, select Generate Section, use the Select Objects to pick the object you want to see in the section, and then use the Pick Point to place the section. This point will be the lower left corner of the section. The resulting section is a two dimensional section of your model. This Section Object is one object and is tied to the Section Line Object you placed earlier. You can use the grips on the Section Line Object to change the area defined in the section. 8
Refreshing Section Objects If you have moved, erased, or changed objects in your model, you can use the refresh command to update the section. Any new objects added to the model will not be added to the section. Select the section object, right click and select Refresh. The section will refresh. There is also an entry on the View pulldown, Refresh Sections/Elevations. This will allow you to refresh all sections and elevations in your current project or in a folder of your choice. Regenerating Section Objects If you have added new objects to your model, you need to use the Regenerate command to update the section. Select the section object, right click and select Regenerate. In the resulting dialog box, which is similar to one used to create the Section Object, select either the Additional Objects or Reselect Objects. The section will regenerate and the new objects will be seen. You can also use this to remove objects from the section but not from the model. Live Sections One of the more useful uses of Section Line Objects is to create Live Sections. Any section line can become a Live Section. Select the Section Line Object you want to create the Live Section from. Right click and select Enable Live Section. If you are in a plan view, you will not see any changes, but change to a 3D view and you will notice that only the part of the model within the section box remain visible. When you have Live Sections enabled, all the objects are active and you can edit them. This is a great way to limit the amount of objects you have on screen so you can concentrate on a portion of your design. If you right click on the Section Line Object when Live Section is enabled, there will be an option to Toggle Sectioned Body Display. This will allow the area of your design that was hidden to be displayed in a lighter, half-transparent color, or as dotted linework. Live Sections will not display AutoCAD objects, such as AutoCAD based solid or surface objects. Shading modes and materials will display in Live Sections. 9
Isolate Objects/Hide Objects You can use the Isolate Objects to Display option when you have a large drawing with multiple objects and you need to display only a small number of them. You can click the Isolate Objects button either on the shortcut menu of an object or on the drawing window status bar. Select the objects you want to isolate. Right click and click Isolate Objects > Isolate Selected Objects. You can also use the light bulb icon on the right side of the drawing window status bar. Click End Object Isolation to redisplay all objects. This same procedure can be used to hide the objects you selected by selecting Hide Selected Objects. Glass Walls A trick seen used by some users is to use walls made of glass. To do this, you will need to make sure that the drawing that contains your walls has the material named Doors&Windows.Glazing.Clear. Use this material for all the components in your wall, including the Shrinkwrap component. Now when you look at a shaded view of your model, you will be able to see through your walls. Here s one for extra credit. Use the Doors&Windows.Glazing.Mirrored material on the walls. Then render the file in VIZ Render! You will have to try this one yourself! Conclusion As we have seen, ABS is quite a comprehensive package. We have seen some of the architectural tools that are available for you to model your structure. These tools can allow you to create walls, doors, grids, structural members and several viewing tools. 10