Mac CAD/3D News: Maxon, Graphisoft and Solibri announcements

Maxon of Germany Announces Contest Web Site

Maxon of Germany, the makers of the award-winning CINEMA 4D software, have announced a new website—WinC4D.com. The new site is a contest site where digital artists utilizing Adobe After Effects (AE) and CINEMA 4D Lite can compete in theme-related animation contests.

CINEMA 4D Lite is a limited version of the full award-winning 3D package from the Nemetschek AG subsidiary company.

“Since it was bundled in After Effects last year, Cinema 4D Lite has garnered a lot of interest from 2D artists excited to explore 3D design. Unfortunately, busy designers don’t always have free time to develop additional skillsets,” said Paul Babb, president and CEO, MAXON The Americas. “We came up with the idea of WinC4D.com to give them motivation to explore integrating 3D into their After Effects workflow.”

To learn more and enter the contest go here.

Graphisoft Wins Dual Honors at AIA National in Chicago

GRAPHISOFT has announced that it has won two BEST of SHOW awards at AIA National 2014, being recognized by this publication for its BIMcloud technology for our BIM category and for its BIMx Docs for the Mobile category.

“We are pleased and honored ArchiCAD 18 with BIMcloud™ and BIMx Docs were selected by the Architosh editors for BEST of SHOW awards,” said Steve Benford, GRAPHISOFT North America managing director. “BIMx Docs and ArchiCAD 18 are yet again proof positive of GRAPHISOFT’s ongoing commitment to providing the AEC space with tools that support creative design and enhance workflow.”

To learn more about these honors and the other honors at AIA National, visit here.

Solibri releases new COBie Extension Package for Solibri Model Checker v9

Solibri of Finland, has raised the bar on data quality with its new COBie Extension Package for Solibri Model Checker (SMC) software. The COBie extension package provides the most effective process available to collect, validate, visualize, and export COBie data. The extension has two components: COBie platform and resources for local requirements, e.g., UK specific resources.

01 – An image of Solibri BIM software for model validation and checking. (image courtesy of Solibri. All rights reserved.)

COBie is a framework to organize and structure data from BIM models. The COBie data is then used to populate CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Management) systems with the information necessary to operate and maintain a facility. With COBie, contractors and constructors are able to prepare and submit structure, computer-based information rather than the current practice of providing a pallet full of disparate paper files. With an estimated 80 percent of the lifecycle cost of a building being in its operation, the ability to harness accurate information to manage and maintain assets is absolutely vital.

Solibri makes three software packages for BIM: Solibri Model Checker (SMC) is the flagship product that features second generation class detection technology; Solibri Model Viewer (SMV) is a free software that everyone within the construction industry can use, featuring platform independent model viewer technology that works across both PC and Mac and allows you to view IFC models. You can use it to open all Standard IFC files as well as Solibri Model Checker files. The third software item is Solibri IFC Optimizer which is again a Mac and PC free software that file size optimizes IFC files, making them incredibly smaller and thus faster to work with and share across the Internet.

To learn more about Solibri go here. http://www.solibri.com/