Posts from "Wood Framing Wall" category

How to set up collaborative Revit models & project standards

There are certain professional catchwords used in AEC offices, production facilities, and on sites. While they are supposed to get your cognitive problem-solving gears to start turning, they instead make you want to roll your eyes and go do something useful whenever you hear one of them.

One such word is efficiency – a word so overused that the only purpose it has left is to show how serious you are about the matter at hand. Still, we should try to rehabilitate and recapture its objective meaning because, let’s face it, efficient is one thing AEC professionals can agree that the design process should be.

What do we really want to say when we talk about ‘efficiency at the drawing board’ or ‘efficiency on the construction site’? From experience and having spoken with a fair number of architects, engineers, builders, manufacturers, and developers, the consensus is that efficiency is about reducing time spent modeling, scheduling, or inputting information and using it for solving problems instead. Because, to put it simply, a staff’s brainpower can be put to better use than filling in schedules. The people of an AEC outfit are capable of solving design, logistical, technical, and interdisciplinary coordination issues, so that’s what we want to free them up to do.

In this blog post I’m going to go through the key focus areas when it comes to managing BIM processes and Revit models and getting the most out of them. If you’re interested in watching a webinar on this topic, I hosted one in May 2021 that I invite you to watch.

Graves Lumber gets wins from BIM with AGACAD framing suite

This U.S. lumber yard adopted BIM with the help of AGACAD Wood Framing software for Revit^®, enabling it to provide more value-added services for general contractors and increase the efficiency of many of its own processes.

Client Profile

Graves Lumber is a large U.S. supplier of building materials and construction services with over 120 years of history. Based in Ohio, the company is also active in surrounding states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Wood/Metal Framing for Revit: The most significant enhancements of 2020

During the past year, we implemented over 40 updates to our Wood Framing and Metal Framing BIM software for designing walls, floors, and roofs of prefabricated timber and light-gauge steel-framed buildings in Revit®.

These updates include new features, enhanced sample families, and requests made by clients that benefit many of our users. In the spirit of sharing BIM advances, we walk through over 30 of them now in the hopes that this summary will be of use to not only current users but also Revit users generally and those who may be considering making the switch over to a BIM workflow for framing design.

We’ve put a lot of work into our Wood Framing and Metal Framing BIM software over the past year to make sure it continues advancing to meet the needs of architects and structural engineers around the world. Click a topic in the list below to auto-scroll down for more about it.

By the way, we also hosted this webinar in June 2021 that goes over most of the features enumerated below.

Framing Openings in Revit Easily Using the Cut Opening Tool [WEBINAR]

The importance of coordinating and designing openings in Revit should not be underestimated. Whether for doors, windows, structural, or MEP systems, it must be done accurately, as quickly as possible, and be readily adaptable to design changes. Setting up a system where such tasks may be performed easily, however, can cost considerable man-hours.

Here’s the good news: AGACAD has developed the software and workflow that allow Revit users to automatically insert openings based on clash-detection analysis. Once openings are generated, the software naturally accommodates them so that, for example, a duct passing through a wall is taken into account.

We invite you to sign up below for this free 30-minute webinar on August 26^th during which we’ll show the process that streamlines the insertion of penetration holes in the context of a timber or light-gauge steel framing project.

The webinar will be held twice, so please register for the session that’s more convenient for you. Content will especially be of interest to architects, engineers, BIM managers, out-of-box Revit users, and designers of wood or metal walls, roofs, or floors.

Best Practices for Starting to Frame in Revit [WORKFLOW]

Want to frame walls, floors, and roofs quickly in Revit®? Our Wood Framing and Metal Framing BIM software for Revit streamline the framing process for architects, structural engineers, and framed building contractors and provide a wide range of options for modelling framed buildings.

The great thing about our framing software is that we’ve built best practices right into the tools, based on the insights of leading users. Those just starting out with our framing tools, however, sometimes feel overwhelmed doing the initial setup for a new project. That’s why we’ve pulled together these best practices, which will help even experienced users navigate more confidently from the start.

In this blog post, you‘ll discover the essential steps for getting your project started on the right foot. We’ll start from the very beginning of the workflow so new users can start working on their own projects with confidence. And if you’re a seasoned user, knowing these steps will reinforce techniques with which you may already be familiar.

These essential steps – along with other useful recommendations – were also given in our recent webinar, so be sure to check that out for more visuals and explanation.

Modeling Recommendations

1. The Wall/Floor/Roof structure should be layered the way the parts of the framing will be modeled, e.g.:

New Wood/Metal Framing Version: Framing in Groups, Part Assembly Creation for All Framing Layers, Floor and Roof Dimensions and more

The newest Wood/Metal Framing version for Revit has been released, bringing the capability of working faster within big projects and improving users’ daily framing and dimensioning routine!

Note to Current Users: be sure to download the latest updates by clicking the red dot in the TOOLS4BIM Dock, and start benefitting from these new features today!

Our team at AGACAD continually strives to make work easier for designers of framed buildings. In order to address the growing needs and popular requests from our user community, we are pleased to announce the latest updates for our Wood and Metal Framing products.

These enhancements make our framing tools for timber and steel more flexible and enable you to have more control over frame design. As a result, you’ll be able to save time and avoid workarounds, both of which are key components of reducing stress when it comes to putting BIM into practice.

Released for Revit versions 2022, 2021, 2020 & 2019

While we usually only support the three latest Revit versions, in this release we have exceptionally provided an update for 2019 because we still have clients on 2019 for whom these features are important.

Without further ado, check out the latest major features described below and, again, make sure to download these updates via the TOOLS4BIM Dock. A list of minor improvements and bug fixes is included at bottom.

AGACAD Solutions Compatible with Revit 2022

To those who’ve been waiting to hear this announcement – thank you for your patience! Our BIM Application Engineers have been testing the Tools4BIM DOCK* against Revit 2022 to ensure complete compatibility. And now we’re pleased to announce that our BIM Solutions and Tools4Revit Add-ons are all ready to use with Revit 2022!

The Best and Fastest Way to Start Framing in Revit [WEBINAR]

Would you like to be able to design wall and roof frames easily in Revit®? Our Wood Framing and Metal Framing BIM software for Revit empower architects, structural engineers, and framed building contractors to do exactly that and much more. These powerful add-ons give Revit users a wide range of options for modelling framed buildings.

Beginners who are just starting out with our framing tools might feel overwhelmed doing the initial setup for a new project. We have good news – you can speed up framing projects by using best practices, which will help even experienced users. Attend this webinar and you’ll find out the essential steps to kick-start your project, get familiar with the user interface, and see a typical workflow for framing and generating schedules and cut lists.

This free 30-minute webinar will go live on July 15^th. We hope you can join us! Sign up below.

Our powerful Wood Framing and Metal Framing design software for total-precision framing in Autodesk® Revit® is continually improved based on the input of framing professionals all around the world. But even though best practices are built-in, it still takes time to get familiar with the tools. So come and join this free demonstration on how to start framing single and multi-layer timber and steel walls, floors, and roofs for prefabrication and on-site construction. Starting from an architectural project to generating shop drawings. Let’s do this!

The webinar will be held twice, so please register for the session that’s more convenient for you. Content will especially be of interest to architects, engineers, BIM managers, out-of-box Revit users, and designers of timber- or LGS-framed buildings.

Smart Views Activation Instructions for Current Users

News of interest for current users of Precast Concrete, Wood Framing, or Metal Framing: our new Smart Views tool is included, gratis!

If you have one or more licenses of any of our products listed below (Revit version 2022, 2021, or 2020), then Smart Views is included:

New Smart Views Tool Released for Revit Users

AGACAD has a brand-new tool available that makes project documentation easier for architects, MEP engineers, and structural engineers who use Autodesk® Revit®. Our newest product – Smart Views – lets you create any number of views with automated dimensions for selected elements in Revit without creating an assembly.

Smart Views is especially suited for Revit users who need to make drawings of sections and elevations of any building element, all the way from preliminary design stages through to a detailed design. It could be for a cast-in-place concrete wall with MEP openings or just a casework, a wood-framed wall or window, an elevation of selected walls, or a section of a particular connection.

So whether you’re an architect, structural engineer, or HVAC engineer, Smart Views is here to make your documentation tasks in Revit easier. And faster. That’s why we made the tool: to remove some stress out of your daily work.

Great news for current users!

If you are a current user of our Precast Concrete, Wood Framing, or Metal Framing design software, we have included Smart Views in your existing license(s), free of charge! See the ACTIVATION INSTRUCTIONS.

Not a current user of AGACAD’s Revit and BIM tools? We warmly invite you to out Smart Views for free – please scroll down for instructions.