Archive for Revit

Autodesk University 2013 – #AU2013

by Walt Sparling
December 10th, 2013

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Another educational trip to Vegas for #AU2013! This is the third year in a row that I have been fortunate enough to attend Autodesk University in Las Vegas, Nevada and each year is more educational then the last.  This year my focus was more on customization, and Revit knowledge and as usual I have a lot to brain dump when I return home.  Although there were many classes that I did not get to attend (over 700 available), the ones I did attend were very good.

If you did not get to attend this year, it does not mean you have missed out, as much of the information is available online by just creating an Autodesk account if you do not already have one – if you do, just login.  Handouts and presentations are posted from the majority of the classes on the Autodesk University website at http://au.autodesk.com/.

Much of the AU experience though really has to be experienced in person.  Behind all the handouts and Powerpoint presentations were very knowledgeable and experienced instructors/presenters that brought the paper to life.  Although many are instructors in their day jobs, many were everyday product users like you and me.

The days started around 6:00am as you awoke and headed off to breakfast and concluded around 5:30 for classes. After that you head out for a few more hours for the evening events and vendor showcase.

Some of the funner the things you did miss out on were the nightly parties and events meant for networking and relaxing after each full day of data gathering.  The two biggest events being the AUGI annual beer bust on Wednesday evening and the closing Autodesk party on Thursday.

The weather was cold (28F on Friday) compared to my home state of Florida, but if you spend most of your time inside like me, it won’t matter.

Overall I had a great time, I attended a few evening events and enjoyed hanging out with some friends I do not get to see very often otherwise.  The final party was not anything like last years event, but was still a good time with lots of food and beer/wine.

I hope to make it again next year.

WES

P.S.  A special thanks to Autodesk and AUGI for another great year.

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Categories AutoCAD, Business Development, Personal Development, Revit, Training
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Autodesk University 2012 – Follow-Up

by Walt Sparling
December 7th, 2012

 

 

In my previous article I talked more about my personal experience at AU 2012 and included some whining.  I am sure being sick the later half of the week did not help my attitude.  I wanted to follow up with a bit more on some specifics of why AU is such a great event to attend and what you can get out of it.

This is only my third time attending AU, but have wanted to go every year for as long as I can remember – it’s just hard to get some companies to foot the bill for the experience, especially when they hear it is in Las Vegas.   If you are an Autodesk product user (and that covers a lot of software users), AU is a the mecca of events to learn more about your software and what is coming down the road for your industry.  If like me, you have trouble getting your bosses/manager to approve and finance the trip, start working on them early – like now!  Let them know what a great event you missed and how other industry folks are raving about the experience and what they learned.   Check out Lynn Allen’s video on the benefits of attending AU and get the  Convince Your Manager Tool Kit from the AU site and start planning now.  Keep in mind, your a professional, and avoid the traps in Las Vegas – there is plenty to do at the event that has nothing to do with the Casinos and the strip.   If you do get to go focus on what the event is about so that maybe next year you will get to go again!

So what does AU off that makes it so worthwhile?  Below are just a few of the items that I see/saw:

  • Industry forecasting of what is coming down from Autodesk and where my industry is headed
  • Tons of classes with experienced instructors on a variety of Autodesk software – way more than you could possibly take
  • Huge peer networking opportunity to make connections with others that do what you do
  • Learn about new products from various vendors that are not even on the market yet
  • Talk directly to the manufacturers about your experiences and questions – not a help desk person from India
    • During one lunch I sat with and discussed AutoCAD with a lead Autodesk tester
  • Tips and tricks from some of the best.  I sat in two Tips/Tricks sessions that had over 500 people in each one!
  • Time away from your job to actually focus on the technology that you use everyday, instead of trying to figure it out during production
The hot items this year that I saw were cloud based work, Revit optimization and coordination and a lot about creativity.  I do not know of many folks using the cloud, but it is gaining ground every year.  Revit it seems is getting in to more and more offices and is gaining more acceptance.  I am even thinking of submitting on a basic AutoCAD to Revit transition course for next years AU.
AU Virtual:
If you couldn’t go or went but did not get to sit in all the classes you wanted (like me),  there is AU Virtual.  For non AU attenders, sign up for a  free account at AU Virtual and check out the keynote videos and and classes from AU 2012 and start learning for free.
Hope to see you next year at AU 2013!
WES

 

 

Categories AutoCAD, Business Development, Change, Efficiency, Revit, Standards, Training
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AutoCAD 2013 / Revit MEP Learning Resources

by Walt Sparling
August 24th, 2012

In a previous post I listed some videos for AutoCAD 2013 by Brian Benton and Revit MEP 2013 by Simon Whitbread, all published through Infinite Skills. Below are some additional resources that combine Blog articles, Videos and websites. I will update this post as new ones are found. If you have found some useful resources that you would like to share, send them to me and I will get them posted or add them as a comment to this post.

WES

AutoCAD 2013:

Added Resource Link

08-24-2012 Lynn Allen’s AutoCAD 2013 Tips and Tricks Booklet

08-24-2012 Autodesk’s Features Demos/Tutorials

08-24-2012 Lynn Allen’s AutoCAD 2013 – “See What you have been Missing”

Revit MEP:

Added Resource Link

08-24-2012 YouTube – Starting a project in Revit

Note: There are tons of videos on YouTube that show you “how to do something”.
Go to Youtube.com and enter a search for a topic you are interested in.

08-24-2012 Club Revit video on New Revit MEP 2013 features

Categories AutoCAD, Personal Development, Revit, Tips - AutoCAD
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AutoCAD 2013 / Revit MEP – You Got it, but do You Get it?

by Walt Sparling
August 7th, 2012

Upgrading to new software, especially technical software like AutoCAD can be a tough transition.  If you’re a few versions behind, it can be quite daunting and frustrating when dealing with the new tools and interface.  I know of  at least five firms that I work with that are making the leap from older versions of AutoCAD (2005, 2006 and 2008) to the current 2013 version of AutoCAD and two are taking the leap into Revit.

With such big leaps comes big learning curves and unfortunately many will opt to just get it back to how it looked before rather than take on learning the new tools and features that the software offers.  There are productivity gains to be made for those that take the time to learn them and I hope the firms I know and the many others out there that are making similar upgrades try to learn about some of the new tools available.

As I put together  training material for our staff, I will also post some of it here, at least on major things that might help others along with their journey.   Some  items I foresee I will post about will be on the interface, customization, menu conversion from older versions, and new tools and tricks.

I am not sure on the suspected release of the 1st service pack for 2013, but I typically don’t recommend making the full move to production usage until it is released.  Each new software has bugs and you don’t want to be the one discovering them on active projects.

Some Training Videos:

Below are three videos that I currently recommend for anyone making the transition to the new AutoCAD or Revit MEP software. These videos are all distributed by the same company (Infinite Skills) but are by a couple different authors.

AutoCAD 2013

The first is AutoCAD 2013 by Brian Benton.  Brian is another old-timer in the CADD community, and is very well known for his technical skills.  Brian is a fellow member and contributor to AUGI, maintains a blog, has written multiple books and has done a variety of training videos.

You can learn more about Brian here.  This video covers the latest version of AutoCAD, version 2013 and is written in such a way that it benefits both the novice AutoCAD user and someone who just needs to get familiar with the new features of 2013 and possibly a refresher for commands you have long since forgotten.  For those that use AutoCAD  LT, he does a version for that as well. – $99.95 / $9.99 for IPAD streaming **

Advanced AutoCAD Techniques

Advanced AutoCAD Techniques The second video, also by Brian Benton is written based on the 2011 version of AutoCAD, but the topics covered are useful in almost any version.  Although I have used many of these techniques and tools myself over the years, the reminder and refresher on some long since forgotten was great and the detail on some that I have never used was very helpful.  This is another good deal to add to your reference library for only – $99.95  / $9.99 for IPAD streaming **

Remember – no matter how long we have been doing things and how much we think we know, we can still learn about tools and techniques that make us more productive by stretching and enhancing our skill sets.  Sometime we just need to re-evaluate how we’ve always done it.

Revit MEP 2013

The third video is on Revit MEP 2013 and is by Simon Whitbread.  I stumbled on this one while searching for MEP training videos for the electrical engineering company I currently work for.  To stay competitive and keep up with the current business trends in our industry, our company is diving into Revit MEP.  Although the company has been doing AutoCAD since its inception over 17 years ago, Revit is another beast entirely.

In order to get up to speed quickly, we are doing a multifaceted approach to training that combines formal classes through our local reseller – (Imaginit), videos and written reference material.   After watching some of the sample videos, this one made the cut and will be added as another training tool in our arsenal.  If you’re getting in to Revit and video training is an option, $99.95 is a very good deal for something you can watch over and over.  With dual screens and headphones, this is a good way to get your feet wet as you follow along.

These are just a few resources I found and as I find new ones I will follow-up.

For those that are making the move, feel free to share your experiences here by posting in the comments section or putting out some questions or issues that you are having.  Remember that you have to register to post and if you are wanting to keep up with future posts via your email, subscribe to the blog or follow me on Twitter.

WES

** 08-11-12 Note – When I originally wrote this article, I was looking at the Infinite Skills store through their IPAD app and did not put it together that the $9.99 version was IPAD only and the downloadable video was $99.95.  Thank you Brian, for straightening me out.   Sorry for any confusion or inconvenience.  Savings like this for the streaming content make an IPAD even more worth while.

Categories AutoCAD, Business Development, Personal Development, Revit
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