New this year is support for Windows 11 and macOS 26 Tahoe.

The same platform consistency extends to ARES Touch on Apple iOS and Google Android, and, of course, ARES Kudo runs in a modern web browser regardless of operating system. This “One CAD” experience means users can deploy ARES at work on a Windows workstation and continue to work on the go with a M5-based MacBook Pro. It also means schools can run ARES Kudo beautifully on Chromebooks in Chrome, just as effectively as in another modern browser on Windows.

Key Takeaways in this Feature 

• The ARES 2027 CAD ecosystem is the ultimate competitor to Autodesk AutoCAD; ARES products map directly to AutoCAD’s desktop, web, and mobile lineup. 
• ARES 2027 CAD ecosystem distinguishes itself for its AI generative capabilities: AI-assisted block creation, voice input AI features, and A3’s new strengths in “editing” and creating CAD entities, and more.
• ARES uniquely features both BIM-to-DWG automation capabilities, plus extensive cloud-based drawing automation that now works directly from its desktop solutions.
• ARES can now streamline BIM-to-DWG workflows with discipline (A+S+MEP) management control, reflecting how real BIM projects get coordinated, plus full support for Autodesk Forma Data Management (CDE) integration.

These are the big takeaways, but we dive deep into many of these aspects in our Product In-Depth below, plus be sure to read our Closing Remarks and references to other key articles. 

Part One — The AI Pivot

This year, Graebert has pivoted even harder toward AI technologies, though the company has already been at the forefront of AI within the broader CAD market. Architosh has written extensively about ARES in the past, including its A3 AI agent in ARES Kudo. (see: Architosh, “ARES Kudo adds BIM Drawings Automation and AI—Challenges AutoCAD,” 5 May 2027)

Graebert’s aggressive push into AI is not surprising given the rapidly rising importance of artificial intelligence in everyone’s lives. But it is especially critical for Graebert, given competition from its primary rival, Autodesk AutoCAD. For the Berlin-based “middle power” in the CAD world, competing with an industry “super-power” like Autodesk is no easy feat. ARES has managed this by being early, innovative, and aggressive.

The 2027 versions of ARES continue this AI push with new generative AI capabilities and a more even deployment of its AI and automation features across its desktop and web-based platforms. In this article, we explore those advances in detail.

Compatibility Focus

While several major native DWG CAD competitors operate in the broader CAD market, Berlin-based Graebert remains the most direct and interesting “dueling opponent” with Autodesk AutoCAD. This is not to say other competitors lack unique strengths—they do—but Graebert has challenged US-based Autodesk head-on rather than leaning primarily on industry-vertical differentiation. The result has been striking, with AutoCAD displaced inside major companies in Japan and South Korea. (see, Architosh: “ARES and AutoCAD — Locked in Global Duel for DWG Supremancy,” 23 April 2025).

Competing head-on means ARES Commander competes with desktop AutoCAD, ARES Kudo competes with AutoCAD Web, and ARES Touch competes with AutoCAD Mobile.

Both Autodesk and other DWG CAD platforms have introduced AI capabilities that overlap with ARES’s A3 AI-agent features in some areas and diverge in others. This product’s in-depth article, however, focuses on Graebert’s AI features and largely avoids direct comparisons with competitors’ AI capabilities.

Readers curious about Graebert’s AI and automation advancements in the ARES Trinity of CAD solutions should sign up for the company’s June event (see: Graebert neXt event, 3 June 2026 – highly recommended to register here!)

Part Two — AI Highlights

Meet A3—ARES’ AI Assistant

Graebert’s AI agent, called A3, is partially built on OpenAI’s technology—the same technology behind ChatGPT. It was first introduced in March 2024 as part of the desktop solution, while Architosh later covered its arrival in Kudo. (see: Architosh, “ARES Kudo adds BIM Drawings Automation and AI — Challenges AutoCAD,” 30 Mar 2025).

210 – A3 is a marvelous assistant and teacher and will guide the user’s queries about learning or how-to-do commands in ARES products with all possible answers, giving the users an education in both command-line and menu and toolbar-driven workflows. (click on image to expand large, typical all images)

As we noted a year ago, A3 has a commanding knowledge of how ARES products work and can provide step-by-step instructions. When multiple methods are available, A3 provides the steps for each approach. Because I learned this year that OpenAI’s technology powers A3, I asked it how to perform tasks as if I were a CAD user from another platform learning ARES for the first time. (IMAGES 210-211)

211 – Menu highlighting, when paired with A3’s CAD assistance, greatly helps the ARES user (new or veteran) execute commands they may be unfamiliar with.

Unlike Gemini, ChatGPT, or other general AI tools on the Internet, A3 is built directly into ARES. Its instructions are paired with user-interface highlighting, showing users where to find specific menus and tool buttons. This works multiple levels deep: A3 highlights a button, then, after you click it, highlights the next-level button, and so on.

As someone who has used several CAD/BIM/3D tools in professional practice and reviewed dozens more, I can honestly say that moving in and out of different CAD solutions over long periods naturally leads to forgetting how things work. This year, while using A3 to test features, it dawned on me how powerful an AI assistant like A3 can be at minimizing the switching costs of moving from one platform to another.

When starting a new conversation with A3, the assistant provides sample query suggestions, such as “What is a markup?” or “Show me where the hatch feature is.” A regenerate button produces three new suggestions each time. But here is a thought I had: “Why not make these suggestions part of a structured learning path for ARES—especially one aimed at users coming from specific tools such as AutoCAD, Solid Edge, Vectorworks, or BricsCAD?”

MORE: Graebert neXt 2027 Event Page

Given A3’s ability to connect answers to UI highlighting, this seems like a strong future opportunity as AI technology continues to evolve, with training that can provide more structured in-situ guidance and learning lessons.

A3 can also help customize the ARES user interface, answer general concept questions—such as “What is a custom block?”—perform unit conversions, function as a calculator, and respond to industry-specific prompts. For example, it can suggest layer names for an architectural drawing. (IMAGE 214)

214 – Industry knowledge is also a domain specialty of A3 in ARES Commander 2027 and ARES Kudo Professional. I was able to ask A3 to create layers in a blank file and make them conform to an industry standard. A3 prompted me back, asking for clarification on several good points, and with final answers, proceeded to create all the layers I needed in my drawing file. (see IMAGE 215 for results)

After generating an industry-standard layer list for an architectural drawing without interiors, structural, or MEP requirements, the obvious question becomes: wouldn’t it be useful if A3 could actually create all those layers?

In ARES 2027, it can. With one command next to A3, and after about 25 seconds, all my layers were created. (IMAGE 215) Because A3 can create layers from within the context of a chat session, users may naturally wonder whether it can create almost anything in the drawing or inside the ARES user interface.

215 – A3’s ability to create layers was one of the more practical and impressive AI features tested.

The short answer is no. A3 can create entities in a drawing and create items such as layers, but it cannot do everything yet. For example, it cannot change the background color to white or black directly from chat. Instead, it shows you the steps to make user interface changes.

A3 remains particularly strong at locating UI features. This is why I made a point of using A3 more deliberately this year when testing new features in ARES 2027 products. I have to say, A3 seems super solid in helping with the guidance aspects of learning ARES.

New Multi-Task Prompting

New this year in ARES Kudo is A3’s ability to perform “Editing” commands, including the creation of drawing entities. These features were already present in Commander last year and include commands such as selecting all polylines, arcs, or circles in a drawing. Users can also ask A3 to select all lines with a specific lineweight.

A3’s multi-task prompting enables selection and modification in a single prompt. For example, A3 can select all lines with a specific lineweight and change their color to blue. It can select all blocks on a named layer and rotate them by 30 degrees, provided the layer is cited precisely.

In one test file, I asked A3 to select all entities on layer 0—a common cleanup and block-control task—and it performed the task efficiently. (IMAGE 220)

220 – A3 Can select entities on a specific layer, for example, I asked to find any entities on layer 0, and it did that perfectly.

In another test, also executed in ARES Kudo Professional 2027, I asked A3 to select all entities on layer C-MUEBLES and change their line color to yellow. It completed the operation in a single prompt. (see images 221–222, and click on all images to make them large).

221 – Select entities and change their line color, part 1.

222 – Select entities and change their line color, part 2.

Although Graebert does not heavily emphasize this point, A3 can also create elements—not simply select them and perform actions such as changing lineweight. To begin a first line, A3 needs a coordinate point for the start point. In my first test, I supplied both start and end coordinate points for the first two lines and also instructed A3 to assign a specific lineweight and place them on a specific layer. A3 handled this without issue.

In another test, I again provided a coordinate start point for the first line. From there, I could command A3 to create new lines from the start, end, or midpoint of existing lines. It even handled a prompt like this:

“Draw a new line from the midpoint of the second line you created right on the x axis another 15 feet, then up on the y axis to a distance set parallel to the first line. Then draw a new line from the end of that line back to the endpoint of the first line you drew [sic] for me.”

A3 achieved the goal impressively. Notice a few things. First, my prompt contained a grammatical error in the last sentence, but A3 understood the intent. Second, I used natural language expressions such as “draw up,” “a distance set parallel to the first line,” and “the end of that line.” A3 accomplished all of this, including registering distances based on vertex points described in natural language.  (IMAGE 227)

227 – A3 can also create CAD entities. It can draw for you. This kind of capability is very early for AI and CAD, but it strongly suggests a more captivating future of commanding your CAD program to assist in drawing production.

Truthfully, asking A3 to draw these lines is not faster than drawing them manually. But the point of the test was to see how well A3 could interpret plain-language drawing directives. One can imagine using AI itself to create vastly more complex prompts, pasting them into A3, and seeing what happens.

For one final test, I wrote the following prompt in another app and pasted it into A3:

“Begin a line at 5,5,0 and draw that line 20 feet right on the x axis. Next draw a second line down on the y axis 20 feet. Then a third line left on the x axis 15 feet, then a fourth line up on the y axis 6 feet, then from the end of that line draw a line to the start point of the first line. Next draw a line from the midpoint of the first line down on the y axis 10 feet, then begin a new line from that line endpoint to the midpoint of the second line.”

The result was fast. It took exactly 16 seconds to execute the prompt just described and draw the objects, followed by about 2–3 seconds for A3 to describe what it had created inside the A3 palette. (IMAGES 227-228)

I then used A3 to change line colors by referring to the lines in the order they were created, using terms such as “first” and “last.” (IMAGE 228)

228 – A continuation of a more elaborate prompt for A3, described above, with A3 fully understanding terms like “first” and “last” in reference to already AI-produced lines.

While my examples—even the most advanced one—may seem primitive, they represent a shift from manual geometry creation to high-level orchestration: from explicit manual creation, to deterministic tools that follow drawing instructions, to declarative tools where users describe what they want.

New: Voice Interaction in Kudo

In considering the broader implications of deterministic and declarative AI tools in CAD and BIM, voice input could have a meaningful impact on speed. Typing takes time. Speech is often faster.

New in ARES Kudo Professional is the ability to talk to A3 using your voice.

230 – ARES Kudo’s A3 supports voice input. But you must first give it permission.

231 – A view of the voice input in A3’s palette.

Inside Kudo’s A3 palette, users click the microphone button at the bottom. Kudo then asks for microphone permission. (IMAGE 230) Users can speak to A3, which listens and converts speech into written prompts. The user then clicks the arrow button to execute the prompt.

I asked A3 to select all entities on layer 0, then asked it to change that selection’s line color to yellow. (IMAGE 231)

New: Command Recommender in Commander

Another new AI feature is Real-Time Command Recommendation. In the lower-right corner of the ARES interface, the Command Recommender palette lists six commands most likely to be used next. This AI-powered widget is based on Graebert’s own AI engine, using smart algorithms that analyze user interactions and command history in real time.

240 – The AI Commander Recommender is in the lower right of this image. This feature is handy, and we understand it will continue to advance. It is based on Graebert’s own AI technology.

In one 2D workflow, I created a series of lines forming a closed, complex triangular shape. The Command Recommender suggested likely next commands such as Delete, Move, Pan, Hatch, and Rotate. I selected Rotate and performed the command, after which the recommendation list changed. Some commands, like Pan, appear to remain in the palette continuously, but overall, this new feature seems quite useful.

New: AI Text Tools

New this year in ARES Kudo Professional, and previously available in Commander, Kudo’s MText editor now includes AI-driven tools for translation, writing refinement, spell checking, and summarization.

Users can access these AI abilities with Note and SimpleNote entities. This differs from using A3 to translate text, though A3 is also fully capable of doing so.

New: AI-Assisted Block Generation

One of the more intriguing AI uses in ARES this year is AI-assisted block generation. This rapidly evolving feature is part of A3’s cloud-based technology. Because it runs in the cloud, Graebert can deploy the same AI capability to both the desktop-based Commander solution and the browser-based Kudo solution. (IMAGE 250)

250 – AI-assisted block generation is “generative AI” inside ARES. This technology is highly useful for certain kinds of things you must draw.

The AI responds to “prompt descriptions” of the desired block and generates three versions. These initial results are non-vector graphics. The user selects the preferred option, saves it as a block, names it, and the AI translates it into a vector CAD object. (see IMAGES 251 – 252)

251 – Asking A3 inside the Trinity Block library to generate a Land Rover in top and side view.

252 – The finished product, the new AI-generated block of a Land Rover.

AI-assisted block generation appears best suited for complex elements such as furniture, site objects, trees, or cars in architectural drawings—items that can be time-consuming to create manually. Importantly, the process in ARES 2027 is generative and appears to create geometry in a “unit-less” environment. When the block is placed into the drawing, users can scale it before final placement, in addition to the normal block-insertion options.

Looking across the AI features in the ARES 2027 ecosystem, Graebert has further differentiated itself from DWG CAD rivals by positioning ARES as an AI-generative CAD leader, while A3 remains strong as an AI-driven assistant. These are two distinct sides of AI in CAD, and both benefit the user.

Part Three — BIM, Automation, and Cloud Processing

Online Drawings Automation — Now in Commander

While AI assistance helps users learn and get more out of CAD software, and generative AI helps users create content faster, Drawings Automation represents another major facet of Graebert’s competitive differentiation from Autodesk.

This year, the online automation features shown in ARES Kudo last year have come to ARES Commander. While the specific functions—such as DWG Drawing Compare—can be performed manually, online automation offers several key benefits:

• Server-based processing — saving the local computer from being tied up during the process, so users can continue working.
• Batch processing — enabling many files to be processed at once, with email notification when complete.
• Scheduling — allowing single or multiple tasks to run at specific dates and times, such as after work hours.
• Recurring jobs — enabling repeated processes, such as converting a DWG file to PDF every night and saving it to a chosen cloud storage provider.

Drawing automation processes include:

• DWG Drawing Compare
• DWG Data Extraction
• DWG Export to DWF, DWFX, JPG, PNG, SLD, SVG, or TIF
• Convert DWG to PDF
• Convert PDF to DWG
• Convert DWG to DGN — MicroStation format
• Convert DGN to DWG
• Print Sheet Sets (.DST) to PDF — (A new automation this year!)

To access Drawings Automation, users go to File > Online Automation. The automation dialog opens, where users select the desired process. (see list above and IMAGE 260)

260 – The Menus method to activate drawings automations in ARES Commander 2027. You can also activate from the Cloud palette, which is also where you can implement the BIM-to-DWG automation process.

The first automation I tested was DWG to DGN, configured as a recurring scheduled conversion. I then performed an immediate DWG-to-PDF conversion. The automation job status appears on the right, while an Open in Browser button opens the automation jobs in the ARES Kudo cloud system. (see IMAGES 261-262)

261 – Inside the drawings automation settings window. This is where you select your particular setup for your automation process.

We covered this window in detail last year as part of our ARES Kudo focus. (see, Architosh: “ARES Kudo adds BIM Drawings Automation and AI — Challenges AutoCAD,” 30 Mar 2025) Drawings Automation Jobs are listed with their template, job ID, status, creation time, and actions column. The status column provides a color-coded indicator, while recurring jobs are marked in orange in the template column. (see IMAGE 262)

262 – Automations in progress with status indicators and more. This window’s functionality largely remains the same this year.

Users can also initiate drawing automation from the Cloud Storage palette. Right-clicking a selected file opens a drop-down menu with the same output options for Drawings Automation, including BIM-to-DWG automations.

Finally, ARES automations can notify users when a process is complete. In the images above, note the checkbox for email notification. This is what the resulting email looks like in your inbox. (IMAGE 263)

263 – Email notification that your drawings automation process is complete.

One final note: a new automation job type this year is Print Sheet Set (.DST) to PDF.

Advanced BIM-To-DWG: Multi-Discipline Support

One of Graebert’s unique features in ARES Commander has been its ability to ingest BIM files—Revit and IFC—and automatically create DWG drawings for documentation. For example, an MEP engineer working in 2D CAD with ARES Commander may receive a Revit model from an architect. The engineer can use ARES Commander to automatically create floor plans, exterior elevations, and sections, then develop MEP construction plans from those DWG files.

In previous versions, each new BIM file received from a project stakeholder or collaborator produced separate plans, generating redundancy. Now, ARES Commander manages linked BIM models from different disciplines as part of an integrated project. Users can also configure drawing generation to include only selected disciplines, such as Architectural + Structural or Architectural + MEP.

This better reflects real-world BIM coordination workflows based on federated model coordination. And a few final points. ARES 2027 this year supports Revit formats from 2011 through 2026. And it also works with IFC files. (see also Forma Integration section below).

Smart Linking

Also new in 2027 is Smart Linking technology, which optimizes path management for external references, or XREFs. ARES now alerts users when critical location changes affect referenced drawings. This provides a more proactive way to manage broken links before they impact workflows. Few things are as frustrating as broken references right when a drawing must be printed.

Part Four — Collaboration and Performance

ARES has strong collaboration features thanks to its Trinity concept, which enables cloud-connected workflows linking desktop, web, and mobile for better teamwork. Teammates can be on site using ARES Touch, adding input to files that colleagues can immediately address back in the office.

Across devices and operating systems, ARES offers multi-user collaboration with solid session handling, version control, password-protected and date-limited file sharing, plus commenting and markup features that include voice notes, stamps, and photos from mobile devices. You can read more here. (see, Architosh: “ARES Trinity — A Review of the Industry Leading DWG CAD Software,” 2 Mar 2023)

Autodesk Forma Integration

This year, the ARES 2027 ecosystem adds integration with Autodesk Forma Data Management, formerly Autodesk Construction Cloud. Like other cloud systems, Autodesk’s CDE—common data environment—can now store ARES DWG files. Users connect to Autodesk Forma from the Cloud Storage palette in Commander or through the ARES Kudo web interface.

300 – Autodesk Forma integration.

Importantly, the Drawings Automation tools discussed earlier also work with files stored on Autodesk Forma Data Management. This includes automation of DWG drawings from Revit models in ARES BIM-to-DWG workflows. It also includes ARES’ BIM-to-DWG automation features. Revit files stored in Forma Data Management (FDM) can be linked to the BIM-to-DWG automation in ARES. When BIMRELOAD automates ARES, it produces new DWG files from the BIM model, and it can do this each time the BIM model is updated or whenever the automation is desired.

ARES Kudo Professional 2027 also supports connectivity to Autodesk Forma directly in the browser, including the free version, which supports viewing and commenting on files stored in Forma.

Drawing Insights in Kudo

Introduced this year, Drawing Insights helps users understand which collaborators have worked on files. Users can see who accessed, renamed, or shared a file. (IMAGE 310)

310 – Drawings Insights is a new feature this year in ARES Kudo Professional.

When a file is modified, Drawing Insights notes who modified it and the specific day and time.

Speed Gains

This year, Graebert says ARES Commander 2027 is dramatically faster than last year’s version. COPY operations are up to 50 percent faster, and version 2027 opens files up to 20 percent faster. The most noticeable gains, however, may come from 9–25 percent faster navigation.

For readers’ edification, in the CAD/BIM industry, the thresholds for perceived performance roughly break down as follows:

• Less than 10 percent — users may feel “placebo” speed gains; improvements are largely imperceptible.
• 15 percent — users notice gains in heavy commands, complex REGEN operations, or 3DORBIT workflows, but overall productivity rhythm remains similar.
• 20 percent — the “aha moment” or industry benchmark, where responsiveness becomes clearly noticeable.
• 50 percent or higher — transformative, often comparable to replacing a three-year-old workstation in the 1990s and 2000s.

This means ARES Commander 2027 delivers performance improvements at or above the “aha moment” level, especially on large and very large files. The larger the work, the more users will feel the gains. Zooming and panning are up to 20 percent faster on large drawings.

Commander 2027 also introduces extended multi-threading for SAVE, AutoSave, and CLOSE operations. These commands now run in the background instead of blocking the user interface.

AI and Admin Controls

A final note concerns collaboration within teams and organizations. Graebert has introduced a centralized administration layer for all AI features, addressing the primary concerns of enterprise CAD environments: security, privacy, and cost.

Area Note

AREANOTE was first released in ARES Commander 2027 SP0, was previously available in ARES Touch, and is now available in ARES Kudo.

The tool gives users a simple way to calculate areas quickly and represent them with color and variable transparency. Area regions can also be named, and their calculated area displayed, with user control over variables such as font size, color, and transparency.

500 – AREANOTE is a new command for ARES Kudo Professional that allows the user to quickly calculate areas and represent them in color regions.

The image above shows the new feature in ARES Kudo Professional 2027, but the tool works the same way across ARES products.

Competing with LT — Support for Print Styles in ARES Kudo

We have written in the past that Graebert views ARES Kudo not as a competitor to AutoCAD Web, but as a full-blooded competitor to AutoCAD LT. Why? Two reasons. First, Kudo is far more feature-rich than AutoCAD Web. Second, Kudo is so feature-complete that, despite running in the browser, it essentially matches AutoCAD LT’s capabilities.

When these two products compete, ARES Kudo scores points by being cloud-hosted and offering cloud-specific features. AutoCAD LT scores points by handling much larger files faster, since it is not browser-based. But Kudo previously had one workflow disadvantage: no support for print styles. In ARES Kudo Professional, print styles are now supported.

ARES Kudo users can now take advantage of the new Print Dialog box, including print style support. With print styles, users can maintain one set of line colors for optimal screen contrast and another set for PDF-based printing.

Because AutoCAD LT supports equivalent plot style systems—CTB and STB—this was previously one disadvantage for ARES Kudo when competing for LT users. ARES Kudo Professional now supports both color-dependent CTB and named STB plot styles. It can create these styles anew and also ingest existing (.CTB) and (.STB) files from AutoCAD, helping ensure printed PDFs look as intended from the original AutoCAD setup.

ARES Kudo Professional lets users create, edit, and manage print styles—just like LT—not merely apply them, as in AutoCAD Web.

Finally, ARES Commander can now export drawings in STEP format, not just import STEP. This round-trip capability strengthens workflows involving SOLIDWORKS, Inventor, PTC Onshape, and other MCAD systems.

Closing Remarks

ARES 2027 shows Graebert continuing to sharpen its “Trinity” strategy around a unified CAD experience across desktop, web, and mobile. The practical value of this approach is not merely platform breadth, but workflow continuity: users can move between Commander, Kudo, and Touch with a consistent DWG-centric experience. That remains one of ARES’s strongest differentiators, especially for organizations that need flexibility across Windows, macOS, Linux, browsers, tablets, and mobile devices.

The larger story in this release, however, is AI. A3 is no longer just a help assistant that explains commands or points users toward interface elements. In ARES 2027, it increasingly becomes an active participant in the CAD workflow—selecting entities, modifying geometry, creating layers, responding to multi-step prompts, and even supporting voice-driven interaction in Kudo. AI-assisted block generation pushes this further by moving Graebert into generative CAD territory, where natural-language prompts can produce reusable vector-based drawing content.

ARES 2027 also strengthens Graebert’s competitive position through automation and BIM-to-DWG workflows. Bringing online Drawings Automation into Commander gives desktop users access to server-based batch processing, scheduling, recurring jobs, format conversion, and sheet-set PDF output without tying up local machines. Meanwhile, advanced BIM-to-DWG improvements—especially multi-discipline support and Smart Linking—make ARES more relevant to real-world federated BIM coordination workflows where not every participant works natively inside a BIM authoring tool.

Taken together, ARES 2027 is not a single-feature release but a strategic one. It advances AI, cloud automation, BIM interoperability, collaboration, performance, and Kudo’s ability to compete more directly with AutoCAD LT. Graebert remains a smaller player than Autodesk, but ARES 2027 demonstrates how a focused competitor can move quickly, differentiate boldly, and continue expanding what native DWG CAD can become in an AI-accelerated, cloud-connected era.

The post ARES 2027 Deep Dive: AI, Automation and BIM-to-DWG Workflows appeared first on Architosh.

“It ties into the Vectorworks advantage,” explains Darick DeHart, chief product officer at Vectorworks. “Our feature is both vector- and raster-based, and that ties into the complications of developing it. But our hidden-line output is completely vector-based—so the depth cueing there is based on line weight.”

That statement signals a quiet revolution that advances the state of the art in BIM and CAD graphics. While most BIM platforms—Autodesk Revit among them—approach depth cueing as a purely raster-based fade, Vectorworks’ dual-engine system adds precision and control at the line level. It allows designers to fade or taper lines as they recede in perspective, layering that atop pixel-level transparency or fade-to-white effects.

Designers can bring instant clarity and spatial depth to their drawings with automated Depth Cueing in Vectorworks 2026. Line weights, tonal values, and pixel transparency adjust dynamically based on object distance in both Hidden Line and Shaded viewports, reducing the need for manual adjustments. Image courtesy of Vectorworks.

The result is not just image-making—it’s the fusion of drafting and rendering into one expressive continuum.

Two Renderings, One Vision

This duality—vector clarity meeting raster richness—has long been part of Vectorworks’ DNA. In 2026, it reaches a new synthesis.

“When you have a viewport, you can have a foreground rendering and a background rendering,” adds DeHart. “It’s literally two renderings in the same viewport.” The company’s viewport technology has always offered a layered rendering pipeline, but 2026 refines how both halves communicate.

“The types of viewports that our users really leverage this dual-rendered technology are in rendered exterior elevations and 3D sectional views,” notes Rubina Siddiqui, senior product marketing director.

Dual-rendered viewports combine crisp vector linework with rich shaded textures—allowing designers to convey structure and atmosphere in a single unified image. Image courtesy of Vectorworks.

For users, it means a drawing that breathes—line work conveying structure, shaded color carrying atmosphere. The new sliders for both raster and vector depth cueing give intuitive, non-technical control. Fade to white, fade to transparency, and taper lines by distance are all accessible to users in seconds.

“Other products have depth cueing, but the combination of raster and vector is unique,” DeHart continues. “When you compare our raster to others—like Revit—their depth cueing just fades out. In Vectorworks, pixels can fade to white, or there’s transparency at the pixel level.”

It’s a seemingly small distinction with large consequences: nuanced legibility without technical friction. Advanced graphics remain accessible—even to first-year users.

Healthy Files, Healthy Models

If Depth Cueing speaks to visual sophistication, the new File Health Checker speaks to model integrity.

“A simple thing is maybe an object that’s made out of a lot of tiny line segments,” DeHart explains. “The Health Checker is going to try to compose it for you.” Every longtime experienced Vectorworks user knows exactly what DeHart is talking about in that statement. These kinds of issues exist in all CAD programs, but the company has turned its attention seriously to giving users the power and automation to optimize the health of their files.

The new File Health Checker palette automatically scans, flags, and resolves common geometry and resource issues, helping maintain clean, high-performing models. Image courtesy of Vectorworks.

The new palette automatically scans, flags, and—in many cases—fixes common issues that slow performance or corrupt geometry. With a checklist interface, each flagged item links directly to its location in the drawing.

The system currently runs fifteen diagnostic tests grouped under Geometry, Settings, and Resources—from far-from-origin objects to overly dense polygons or complex hatches. One specific handy health check will be to find issues with Vectorworks files that have very large texture sizes or high hatch complexity. Both fall under Resource checks, but they add file-size bloat and can frustrate users.

“Importing Revit files from consultants and dealing with complex hatches are some examples,” says Siddiqui. “Those are the kinds of things that do get flagged with the Health Checker.”

While it’s not a Solibri-style model audit tool, its extensible design hints at potential. “This was designed to be expanded,” DeHart notes. “It could evolve in that direction, but I think it will instead evolve to be supportive—kind of like tech support, helping users find common problems.”

Hugues Tsafak, vice president of product development, adds that the underlying platform was intentionally built for scalability. “It could evolve into something more like Solibri if we felt that was the right direction,” he says.

Marionette, Python, and Clean APIs

Beyond visualization and health, Vectorworks 2026 continues its quiet modernization under the hood. Marionette, the company’s visual scripting environment, receives updates that keep it aligned with the core SDK.

“It mirrors and builds on our SDK,” DeHart explains. “With every version of new SDK calls, Marionette must also be updated. We cleaned up some older calls and added newer Python libraries.”

Marionette remains fully Python-based, maintaining a bridge between parametric modeling and open-source extensibility—an ongoing nod to Vectorworks’ philosophy of designer empowerment rather than constraint.

Sustainability Dashboard

Vectorworks 2026 also introduces a Sustainability Dashboard, a visual platform that unites three new sustainability tools with the existing Embodied Carbon Calculator.

The Sustainability Dashboard transforms project data into visual insight, uniting embodied carbon metrics and new sustainability tools for early-stage, data-driven design decisions. Image courtesy of Vectorworks.

“This is also a platform that could be developed more in the future,” DeHart says. “It complements our worksheet technology. It pulls data from the model like worksheets can do, but in this case, it’s a more graphical representation.”

The Dashboard transforms numeric worksheets into visual insight—bridging performance analytics with design storytelling. “It’s all part of our data strategy,” DeHart adds. “The goal is that all objects can report things to worksheets so you can utilize and check for appropriate data.”

The Embodied Carbon Calculator itself remains grounded: volumes of materials multiplied by published coefficients from university research tables established for industry standards. But placed within a dashboard, that information becomes both quickly communicative and actionable—an early signal of Vectorworks’ intent to visualize sustainability data as fluidly as it does geometry.

Assemblies, Attributes, and Fine-Grain Control

Another subtle yet significant advancement in 2026 appears in door and window assemblies. Designers can now combine windows and doors into unified units with shared sills and apply distinct graphic attributes at different detail levels. The ability to create and manage mixed assemblies enables architects to undertake larger projects, particularly when facades feature complex arrangements of doors, windows, panels, and even wall segments.

Siddiqui gives us a good example of the use of mixed assemblies in retail architecture, specifically storefronts. By combining discreet doors and windows, users can better manage, edit, and position these elements within their building’s wall systems.

Mixed assemblies are now easy to create, edit, and manage, including with styles. They can also include panel wall segments.

Related to the mixed assembly technology, Vectorworks 2026 also adds more granular control over the 2D graphics of 3D BIM elements in doors and windows. “Previously, you had one attribute for the sill,” DeHart explains. “Now, if the sill is visible in low detail, you can define those attributes separately. “It’s just greater control over the graphics of what you see.”

Tsafak elaborates: “It’s giving you more fine-grain control over the graphic attributes at 2D levels of detail.”

This refinement epitomizes Vectorworks’ long-held belief: control should expand without complexity. Attributes now appear in tabular form—clarifying relationships between components and detail scales.

Smarter Worksheets and Adaptive Tables

For architects and landscape designers alike, worksheets remain mission-critical tools in their arsenal. This release introduces an elegantly simple solution to a persistent problem: breaking large tables across sheet layouts. Part of the core updates in Vectorworks 2026, users can now slice their worksheets, position multiple slices each with header rows, and automatically set resizing layout capabilities.

“Before, users would use viewports to capture different parts of a table,” Tsafak explains. “As tables grew, they had to go back and adjust those viewports. Now that problem goes away.”

“You can slice the worksheet and position the parts where you need—they auto-adjust as tables grow or shrink,” he adds.

DeHart confirms that the improvement originated with architects but benefits every discipline. It’s one of those little-big features that define usability maturity.

Cloud Intelligence and Revit Interoperability

Vectorworks 2026 also extends its Cloud Services capabilities—pushing more workflows into high-performance remote processing.

“We’ve always used cloud processing for export,” DeHart notes. “But now we have import. We have Revit import processing on the cloud and IFC import processing in the cloud.”

This dual-direction approach means time-consuming file translation now runs off-machine—saving local resources and ensuring compatibility. Siddiqui explains why it matters: “We need to support all those stages between Revit versions. The ODA library allows us to do that.”

“Technically, it’s quite interesting,” DeHart adds. “Even the ODA library is set up to support a particular version, but on the cloud—because we have more control—we can switch libraries dynamically for whatever version we need.”

It’s a nuanced engineering feat that directly benefits architects juggling consultant models across staggered Revit cycles. But it also gives Vectorworks-based architects a killer advantage because dealing with multiple Revit versions and older versions is a pervasive challenge in the industry that the company has mastered via cloud computing.

Tsafak explains: “There are things that you can do in the cloud that you can’t do anywhere else.”

Final Thoughts: A Usability Renaissance

Beyond headline features, the 2026 release is filled with user-experience refinements: floating contextual control improvements, enhanced Quick Search, and the newly refined worksheet UI treatments beyond the splicing features.

“There are a ton of little UI updates that make the program just so much nicer to work with,” Siddiqui says. “Longtime customers will really notice.”

In aggregate, these refinements mark a maturity phase: Vectorworks advancing not only in capability but in coherence—how the pieces fit together into a seamless creative environment.

Depth Cueing, File Health Checker, Sustainability Dashboard—all reflect a singular trajectory: technology tuned to human perception. Vectorworks 2026 isn’t about complexity for its own sake. It’s about allowing designers to think visually, reason spatially, and act confidently—whether drawing depth or data.

When asked what new features they are most excited about for users, DeHart doesn’t hesitate. “We think the worksheet splitting is really exciting,” he says, smiling. “It just fits so nicely into existing workflows.”

And that may be the defining phrase for this release—fit. Depth where you need it, intelligence when you want it, and an interface that feels ready for whatever design futures emerge next.

The post Deeper Dimensions—Vectorworks 2026 Redefines BIM Visuals and Data appeared first on Architosh.

Before we get started, we would like to remind the reader that the German (Berlin-based) ARES CAD ecosystem is the largest and most potent competitor to AutoCAD from US-based Autodesk. If you haven’t heard of ARES before, it is because you are likely a new Architosh reader. We have covered this German CAD software since the company beat Autodesk to the punch and delivered a true, native DWG CAD system for the Mac. In fact, we have written extensively about Graebert’s ARES solutions.

Taking on LT

The Autodesk versus Graebert competition is similar to that of other technology rivals. Intel versus AMD is a good comparison because of the David and Goliath size comparison. Yes, in this case, Graebert is David to Autodesk’s massive Goliath. In the biblical story, David hurls a single slingshot stone at Goliath’s head, hitting him in the forehead, from which he then falls unconscious. From there, David then cuts off his head.

For Graebert, the battle is not so singularly decisive. Each year, the Berlin-based developer extends its technical leadership in at least one crucial dimension. ARES Kudo took on AutoCAD LT last year, jumping up a weight class from “browser-based” CAD to tackle the capabilities of a “desktop-based” AutoCAD LT, but still in the browser. This year, ARES Kudo continues its match-up with LT but introduces powerful new automation functions, including BIM to 2D drawings features found previously only in ARES Commander.

MORE: Product In-Depth: ARES Kudo 2025—Takes Aim at AutoCAD LT

In addition, there are significant new updates in ARES Kudo, like artificial intelligence in the A3 palette, a better Version History Manager, new version Compare capabilities, and the new ability to create Blocks in Kudo and add them to the Trinity Block Library for your entire organization to utilize.

All of these features will be showcased at Graebert’s upcoming Graebert NeXT virtual event on 24 April 2025. The global virtual event is free and available in two sessions across multiple time zones. For readers who utilize 2D CAD processes and all AEC BIM professionals, the NeXT virtual event is a must-attend event in the year to learn about the state-of-the-art in DWG-based CAD/BIM technology.

For the rest of this article, we will focus on the primary new additions to ARES Kudo this year, starting with the new Automation technology.

Unique Automations in DWG

The new ARES Online Drawing Automation feature set includes capabilities previously available only to ARES Commander, its desktop-based DWG CAD sibling. Some of the most useful and powerful automation in ARES products is related to processing BIM models into DWG drawings. This is unique technology that rival AutoCAD does not have. 

ARES Kudo can now ingest a BIM file (Revit or IFC) and automatically create floor plans, exterior elevations, and building cross sections, just like its big sibling application, ARES Commander. These DWG drawings include automatic elevation and section markers across the views, automatic dimensioning, and automatic room, window, and door labels. However, unlike its big sibling application, ARES Commander, ARES Kudo implements this process in the background on the ARES Cloud—on cloud servers—thus not tying up local compute resources. 

BIM to Drawings is just one of the many automation job types available in the updated Kudo. The cloud-based CAD system can also parse BIM files (Revit or IFC) for their rich data, delivering (.csv) files that can be further worked with or edited inside Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, or queried by programs like Microsoft’s Power Query and BI Platform for data analysis.

01 – ARES Kudo’s new powerful cloud-based Automation job features. The list is extensive and will grow.

For AEC professionals who need to work with Revit or IFC BIM files but need to generate their work in 2D CAD, ARES Kudo offers a compelling new option. Using a tool they can run anywhere on any computer, they can ingest BIM models in Revit and IFC format and auto-produce native DWG files they can immediately work with.

The complete list of automation job types is shown in Image-01 above. The four BIM jobs are BIM Data Extraction, BIM Data Extraction (Custom .det), BIM to 2D DWG Drawings, and BIM to 2D PDF Drawings. This last option provides a scenario for collaboration.

Working with a BIM model, a collaborator can auto-generate 2D plans, elevations, and building cross sections as a set of PDF files from which they can markup and annotate in their PDF markup tool of choice—be that Bluebeam Revu or the markup functions in tools like Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC).

Additionally, while PDF is often used for markup in the construction space, as we have noted before, one of the ARES ecosystem’s strengths is its excellent onboard markup and collaboration features, where some users prefer to manage their markup and annotation workflows in native DWG. (see: Architosh, “Japanese AEC Giant Selects Graebert ARES CAD Technologies—Learn Why,” 8 Mar 2022.) The advantage here goes beyond the addition of voice markup and stamps—unique features of ARES Touch—but drives at the heart of staying inside a native DWG CAD tool for both office and field activities.

Outside of BIM workflows, the ARES user can now automate other processes, including file conversions like Bentley Microstation DGN to DWG and the opposite direction of DWG to DGN. This makes working and collaborating with civil engineers easier. Last year, we tested the import of a large city plan in DGN into Kudo, and it worked wonderfully. Now, this process can be automated.

Similarly, DWG to PDF and PDF to DWG are also automation job options, the latter being the most immensely useful. Lastly, the DWG Drawing Compare functions can be automated, where the user selects two files as part of the process and generates a compare drawing, which can be saved-as’d as a unique file.

The real power of the new automation capabilities is the ability to schedule them (like overnight) and set them to recurring schedules (daily, weekly, et cetera).

Another essential thing to mention is that these automation processes happen on a server in the cloud, not on your local computer, which is not the case for similar automation running in ARES Commander. This means you can “go about” working in ARES Kudo in the web browser without any compute load being placed on your system; all the processing is taking place on the ARES Cloud.

The Automation Process

The process of implementing automation in ARES Kudo begins with a new automation job. The user hits the New Job button on the Online Drawings Automation window. A popup window emerges where you define your automation job. The user selects a job type from a drop-down menu listing automation job types. Next, they can name the output file. In my test, I named my output file “first data extraction.” Next, you select a template. I selected the default. (see images 02 – 03).

02 – Starting a new ARES Kudo automation.

03 – Next, the user selects an automation job type.

Next, you select whether the job is a “one-time” job, a “recurring” job, or a “scheduled” job. Next, select to receive a notification when the job is completed. Finally, up under the Parameters there is a First file button. Select it and choose your Revit or IFC BIM file. Next, select the Output Location button at the bottom. (see image below for complete setup).

04 – The complete automation job setup. All fields are now complete, and files are located.

Now I can hit the Start button. Once this happens, the Drawings Automation Jobs screen appears, and you can view all of your automation jobs. Each row is a distinct job. The Used Template column lists the type of automation job you selected. There is a Job ID, Status, Creation time, and Actions column. The Status column says my job is “queued” in orange. The Actions column contains two buttons, one of which is Delete and the other Clone the job.

05 – Drawings Automation Jobs main list window. All your automation jobs are listed here, past completed, in-process, and scheduled. Icon buttons under Actions allow the user to clone a job and pick different files or target locations for automation process job files (that is, where completed automation files go).

If I select “Clone the job,” the automation jobs settings palette appears. From there, I can make adjustments, such as choosing a different file or changing to a scheduled automation setting. In most cases, when a user clones a job, they will likely select a different file, rename the output, and keep all other settings the same.

BIM to Drawings Automation

While data extraction from Revit and IFC files via ARES Cloud will be valuable to certain ARES users, converting BIM model files to drawings (floor plans, sections, and elevations) will be especially useful for other types of users.

Testing these automation features works the same way as noted above, starting with the type of automation job you want. In my case, “BIM to 2D DWG Drawings.” You can see all my settings in the image below.

06—The BIM to 2D Drawings job looks like this: a Revit file has been selected as the source for my automated 2D drawings.

Starting the 2D drawing automation took me back to the Drawings Automation Jobs window (image 5), where all my automation jobs are listed.

This time, you can see that the data extraction job is complete, and the status column reads “Done” in green. You can also see the scheduled status of the new drawings automation job, and under the orange schedule button, the time remaining (a countdown) is displayed. This all looks pretty slick.

From the Actions column, I can select the Folder icon to navigate automatically to the Output location I selected for this job. My BIM Data Extraction job is inside a folder. While I am conducting these tests using the ARES Kudo Cloud, I could just as easily manage this process using another cloud storage provider, such as Dropbox or Box. One advantage ARES Trinity solutions have over Autodesk is a wider, more robust set of cloud connectivity options. (see, Architosh: “ARES Trinity — A Review of the Industry Leading DWG CAD Software,” 2 Mar 2023)

Sharing Automation Output

ARES Kudo shines over its competitors in several areas—even if only slightly, but critically. One such area is sharing files and data with others with more granular permission structures than its primary competitors. But what this means is that you can share your automation results with others on a case-by-case basis. While you cannot build notifications into your automation jobs yet, you can ask for a notification when the job is completed. This appears like this in your email inbox. (see image below).

07 – Notification from ARES Cloud showing that my automation job, in this case, DWG Drawing Compare, has been completed. See more below on other Compare functionalities.

From this email notification, one can jump into the Automation page and go directly to the directory of the result. Upon opening the result—in this example, a DWG Drawing Compare file—a comment can be added within the file using the onboard commenting function using the @mentions, from which your contact person can then be notified automatically via Kudo.

Another way an automation job could auto-notify a collaborator is if your output folder is one inside a third-party cloud system that supports notifications when a folder’s content is updated. Both Box and Dropbox allow such email notifications, for example. In both cases, collaborators follow a shared folder or sub-folder. Notifications can be set to occur in real-time or as daily summaries. When a file inside the folder is changed, new files are added, or files are deleted, auto-notifications are sent out.

Thus, the total workflow looks something like this. Imagine a BIM manager who works with a structural engineer who uses AutoCAD or ARES Commander. The BIM manager could set up a recurring scheduled workflow that automatically converts a Revit file into 2D Drawings and drops the results into a shared folder on Box with the notifications set such that the shared folder automatically emails the structural engineer of changes. If this happens overnight, the engineer will receive an email daily in the morning notifying them of updated drawings.

Now if the structural engineer was using ARES Kudo also, with the latest features the engineer could quickly produce a Drawing Compare from the previous day’s work by the architect to understand the evolving changes. But more on that new feature in a moment.

Automation Examples

The ability to set up scheduled and recurring automation is delightful and immensely useful. Teams and their files can be scheduled for end-of-week PDF and Drawing Compare automation outputs so managers can check drawing progress and review and send PDFs to project collaborators. The next two images illustrate an example of output. 

Essentially, Graebert’s technology is both 2D and 3D DWG native CAD technology, so it can not only import 3D CAD files but it can also understand Revit and IFC BIM models and know how to evaluate the levels (plans), all external elevation views, and necessary building cross sections.

07 – An example of how a Revit file is parsed and fully understood as BIM data and then utilized to create 2D DWG CAD drawings.

Below, we can see the automated output from ARES Kudo in the creation of all the plans, elevations, and building cross-section views. The main benefit of Graebert’s BIM to 2D Drawings technology is its various levels of automation. For starters, while you can export out to DWG from inside Revit, Revit itself doesn’t give you automatic dimensioning and labeling. As a project evolves, one can lose a lot of time just updating these annotations.

08 – An example of the output from BIM to 2D Drawings in ARES Kudo.

The second benefit is that 2D drawings created with BIM tools like Revit often lack the detailed resolution needed for construction drawings. Instead of using the 2D drawing capabilities inside BIM tools like Revit, users could complete the drawings leveraging thousands of previously drawn DWG CAD files. As the designers evolve the building design in Revit, CAD professionals can complete the drawings, receiving new updates through the automated process. New data can come in as xrefs and overlaid with current data, or Drawing Compares can help aid the process of what has evolved in the prior days.

There are many use cases for BIM to 2D drawing automation, such as when an architect has a service provider laser scan an existing building. The point cloud is often ingested into Revit on the service provider’s side, and they provide the Revit file to the architect’s office as part of the deliverables. As common as this workflow is in the United States, it doesn’t mean Revit is the end value point. In many cases, DWG output from the Revit file is needed.

It is in this scenario that ARES Kudo’s BIM to 2D Drawings automation can play a role. Additionally, in this exact situation, those architects not using BIM or using a different BIM other than Revit may need both the Revit and IFC files but also, or preferably, DWG files. Furthermore, AEC contractors and sub-contractors do tremendous work in 2D CAD worldwide and need DWG files from BIM data because their output—whether for internal layout and planning drawings or for contractual and necessary shop drawings—needs to be in 2D DWG CAD.

New Artificial Intelligence A3 Palette

ARES Kudo gains the new AI-powered A3 palette. You can ask A3 questions through text prompts like talking to ChatGPT. A3 knows all about ARES Kudo and can guide you through learning the program. It also knows about CAD and BIM, in general.

It makes specific suggestions at the bottom of the palette. For example, one prompt (question) suggestion was, “Give me the steps for importing a Revit file.” In such an example, ARES A3 must know how Revit works to provide key steps, and indeed, that is exactly what A3 knows. In another example, A3 suggests the question, “How can I undo my last actions?” 

09—In another example, A3 suggests the question, “How can I undo my last actions?” Clicking on the results in the next image below.

Having all knowledge of how ARES CAD technology works, the artificial intelligence palette A3 answers the command in step-by-step instructions, including the use of menus and keyboard shortcuts. In fact, it will give you multiple ways of achieving things, even if there are more than two ways. Moreover, when it comes to helping the user learn how to accomplish things in ARES Kudo, A3 will also highlight user-interface elements as part of its answer. Notice, for example, in another use of A3 to help understand the zooming function, the answer is provided (see right side of lower image) while also highlighting the menu and tool icons involved in the zooming functions (answer) shown in the upper left of the image below.

10 – See how A3’s AI-powered helpful answer also includes highlighting the user-interface (UI) elements used in the zooming process.

A3 is also rather smart in its knowledge of the CAD industry. One such question suggested was, “what is the difference between CAD and CAM?” It also answered a similar question about CAD and BIM. When I asked A3 what some leading BIM software programs are, it listed all the key ones in the marketplace.

Another external knowledge A3 understands is industry knowledge. I asked it a question about how many Queen bricks were needed to build a wall that was 200 feet long, 15 feet high, and two bricks wide. It provided a detailed accounting of all the mathematics calculated. To check the result, I asked ChatGPT 4.5. The results were very close, likely due to some rounding. So A3 told me such a wall would require 41,272 queen bricks, which measure 7 5/8 x 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″.

11 – A3 can serve as a handy industry knowledge assistant and calculator helper in solving math problems that are common in your work.

ARES A3 is also bilingual. It can translate and give you the names of things in other languages. In fact, it speaks more than 50 languages. Now, the reader may be astute about the large language models (LLMs) out in the industry and the various AI options and integrations that are possible. Today, ARES Kudo is leveraging the ChatGPT artificial intelligence model. Still, the company tells me that they have coded for flexibility, and in the future, A3 could switch to other options like Google’s Gemini or could even use multiple AI agents from various companies all at once. Graebert also insists that A3 is just the first small step in artificial intelligence and that future AI functions will understand elements in drawings and models. 

New Version Compare Features

In the past, users have been able to elevate a local file and make it the latest version within the version history with the Version Manager palette. Additionally, once drawing data is part of the version history, the Version Manager palette features the ability to perform Drawing Compare functions on various versions of a drawing. 

12—The updated Version Manager palette adds a few key features, the chief one being the ability to run the “Compare to Active Version” option. You can also give versions a specific name.

New in ARES Kudo this year is the ability to run the “Compare to Active Version” option, thus enabling the user to compare the current file and its many “past versions” with its “active version” for better revision tracking. In the case of working with teammates, another person on a team may develop an alternative plan, and this colleague could even use AutoCAD instead of ARES. With the ability to open up any AutoCAD drawing, ARES Kudo could open that file and add it to the version history in the Version Manager. It would then sit at the top of the versions list in the Version Manager. Using the new Name field this particular version could be singled out with a unique name.

To compare a drawing a colleague may have done in AutoCAD to a version you may have done inside ARES, the next step after those steps just mentioned is to run the “Compare to Active Version” option from the drop-down menu in the blue Compare button at the bottom of the interface.

13 – In this image, a specific version (11) was “promoted” as the key design reference at that time. Any future work will then be compared to this particular version of the drawing’s history. (see next image).

The version history technologies in ARES are some of the strongest features and advantages over rival DWG CAD solutions. Every time a file is saved using the Save command, a new version is added to the Version Manager with a different V-number. A date and time stamp and the author’s name (Member) is also shown. The ability to save a name attached to the version is also important. In the example above, a colleague using AutoCAD produced a different scheme that now wants to be the scheme going forward. Upon adding that drawing to the version history and elevating that scheme to be the latest version in the Version Manager, we can name it appropriately.

14—With the added work done to the file, we can now do Drawing comparisons between the “active” version and the earlier “promoted” reference version.

The Version Manager can hold hundreds of versions of a file that have been worked on for weeks or months. Using the Compare drop-down button, the user can compare any two versions using the Drawing Compare functions. If a file from the past is of particular use, the user can right-click and open it from within the Drawing Manager. It will open only as a View-Only mode drawing. If the user wants to advance that particular version or archive it, they can download it as a separate DWG file, leaving the original version untouched in the Version Manager.

With this new ability to run Drawing Compares on different versions of the same drawing, more advanced multi-party workflows are possible. When colleagues are working together on the same file and advance it separately with various changes and options, going back to earlier versions can be critical. A client may prefer an older design or layout. An engineering consideration may require reverting to an older layout or design. And even if some versions of the same drawing are touched by AutoCAD as opposed to ARES, it doesn’t matter as you can easily incorporate the AutoCAD versions into ARES and add them to the version history in the Version Manager.

15 – Differences are minor in this latest design layout. The image shows the palette’s ability to edit the colors for differences, as well as clouds, which can be turned on or off. Clouds can be rectangles or shaped clouds.

The Compare functions themselves are as follows: Once two versions are compared or an older version is compared to the active version, a new drawing appears, highlighting differences in customizable colors. The default “green” is for new items, “red” is for deleted items, and all “grey” drawn elements are common to both drawing versions. You can toggle through the differences with the arrow keys forward and backward to explore each variance between the drawings. And the Compare itself can be saved as a separate DWG drawing or exported as a PDF.

Final Items and Closing Thoughts

Finally, the latest ARES this year adds in the new ability to “create’ Blocks and not just work with them. Additionally, created blocks can also be shared and added to the Trinity Block Library, Graebert’s name for the cloud-based collection of Blocks that an entire organization can tap into. Where in the past, a Kudo user could utilize Blocks created by users on ARES Commander or AutoCAD within their organization, now they can also contribute to the creation and sharing of Blocks with all teammates.

In closing, ARES Kudo continues to distinguish itself in the market with its numerous advantages over its DWG CAD rivals. This year’s addition of the new ARES Online Drawing Automation feature set opens up new user cases for the software. Managers in AEC organizations that work primarily in 2D DWG CAD solutions yet must dovetail their workflows with Revit or IFC BIM files now have a way to mass automate BIM to 2D drawings production, whether that be in PDF or DWG. This can significantly open up and streamline their operations. Those producing shop drawings in 2D DWG CAD can leverage Kudo to ingest the Revit files directly and benefit from automated plans, elevations, and sections complete with dimensions and labels. They no longer need to ask for architects or engineers to export out DWG files for them; they can obtain the latest Revit or IFC model file instead. 

ARES Kudo Profession is a license that combines Kudo with ARES Touch for field-based workflows. Graebert says there is a growing group of new users who do not need the full power of ARES Commander yet need to work with a full feature set on DWG drawings occasionally. This class of user often is a senior manager who interacts with projects on building sites or on factory floors and, thus, in these settings, wants to leverage ARES Touch’s mobile-first functions combined with Kudo on any computer (often a laptop) they carry around with them while working.

16 – A final view of the Drawing Compare features in ARES Kudo. Colored items in both the plan and elevation showcase differences between versions. With this process now part of scheduled automation, BIM and CAD managers can organize weekly updates for directors and principals to oversee project progress.

For this user, the ability to create and share Blocks brings teammate parity to the organization for the manager. They are no longer a second-class citizen in the drawing creation process just because they draw far less than dedicated engineers or architects. Additionally, this type of user gains added powers through the automation functions where they can leverage scheduled workflows like Drawing Compare to keep them up-to-date with progress back in the office. The new ability to do compares with different versions of the same drawing file is key to this process. For a more illustrative example of a Compare, please take a look at the image above where an entire building facade showcases differences between two different versions. (see image 16).

Finally, the new AI A3 features are a key addition, not just because rival solutions and ARES Commander already have AI technologies but also because ARES Kudo is stepping up into a much more capable CAD system that can replace a dedicated desktop solution. Learning this new solution becomes critical for expanding its adoption and growing market share. And a growing market share it has. One thing that the Graebert ARES Trinity ecosystem has going for it is its superior feature set and superior price. Combined these two metrics mean that the return on capital—as measured in investment in IT technologies—continues to rise while organizations combatting rapidly rising software licensing with little to show in new features that streamline operations falls.

Said again with a bit more detail, return on capital (ROC) is critical to any company’s longterm competitiveness, especially capital investment in digital technologies for organizations that compete with rivals across dimensions that are themselves digital-dependent. All CAD/BIM-based organizations digital-dependent. And the return on investments in digital technologies is rather simple to measure. In particular, what are your efficiency gains now achievable based on a new investment (in a tool or update) as compared to the cost of the new investment? In the case of ARES technology, from our analysis the German CAD company continues to advance new efficiencies faster than its technology costs rise for its customer.

Editor’s Note:

For further insights and examples of ARES Kudo’s compelling CAD features, readers can also read our product review from last year or watch the webinar :  ONLINE CAD IN DWG | ARES Kudo Product Review with Anthony Frausto Robledo (Architosh)

To learn more about the new ARES Online Drawings Automation features in ARES Kudo, make sure to join the Graebert neXt event on April 24, 2025.

The post ARES Kudo adds BIM Drawings Automation and AI—Challenges AutoCAD appeared first on Architosh.

“Email has always been a cornerstone of Newforma,” says Brian Guidotti, Product Manager. It’s one of the main reasons customers find us so useful before discovering the wealth of additional benefits and features we offer.”

Newforma Konekt

Newforma’s PIM, well known in the AEC market, is an on-premise solution called Newforma Project Center. However, many of their customers wanted all cloud-access SaaS versions and last year, Newforma delivered with the introduction of Newforma Konekt.

MORE: Newforma Announces ‘Newforma Konekt’—Cloud-based Future

“We will still have Newforma Project Center and we will continue to maintain that,” added Guidotti, “Even though our new flagship product is in the cloud as Newforma Konekt.” Guidotti also notes that not all clients can use a cloud-based solution due to government projects or other security reasons, including data residency compliance. “From our perspective, there will always be a need for an on-premise PIM.”

But Newforma Konekt isn’t just a cloud version of the same software solution in Project Center. It features BIM issue tracking and management based on the integration of BIMTrack®, which the company acquired in June 2023.

Newforma Konekt features BIM issue tracking and full standards-based BCF compatibility workflows. (see the image further down for the same BIM issue inside the Newforma component inside Autodesk Revit).

“We wanted to bring the PIM world and the BIM together and merge both worlds into a unified solution,” says Guidotti, who noted that with the acquisition, Newforma doubled the size of its software development staff and gained a new office in Quebec, Canada.

Before we jump into the benefits of BIMTrack inside Newforma Konekt, it might be helpful to review all the benefits of Newforma Konekt to the Architosh reader.

Newforma Konekt—Solving Email

One of the biggest challenges for AEC professionals is combating data siloing. In other words, preventing the data from being locked into silos that don’t provide pathways to that data for every member of the team. Another challenge is that decisions happen inside of email, and tracking those decisions is very hard. A third challenge in AEC email is managing the many attachments that fly around between AEC parties as part of the building delivery process. Those attachments contain invaluable information and fall into various categories like RFIs (requests for information) and Submittals. Logging RFIs and Submittals is a critical process in the AEC workflow stream.

This screenshot from my demo with the Newforma team shows Microsoft Outlook with the Newforma Konekt integration (see the side panel on the right). Notice the project tagging under the cursor position. (click on images for larger view, typical)

Newforma Konekt addresses these challenges at a very high level of sophistication and efficiency. “We want to make email a resource that works for you by creating a unified historical record for the project but for email,” says Guidotti. “The truth is our industry makes decisions inside of email—’Yeah, that looks good!’ While that should be an RFI, it just doesn’t happen all the time,” adds Guidotti. “So we want to be able to capture all of that.”

Once Newforma Konekt’s email plugin is added to a firm’s Microsoft Outlook email client, AEC users can manually file emails to the project directory, including their attachments. “Our plugin technology works for Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook for Web, and it also works on mobile versions of Outlook so users can work in the field with their smartphones,” says Guidotti. An architect can use their phone as an RFI generator from inside Outlook, for example.

The Newforma Konekt add-in for Outlook means the user can file a specific email as an RFI or Submittal to a specific project. Once that is done, every user with access to that project can perform global searches and find project information that may have only been communicated via certain teammates. The system essentially unifies project information for the whole team regardless of who was a part of the original email communications. Newforma Konekt’s search technology makes finding and quickly accessing emails that much quicker. The platform’s deep search and filtering ability empower users to dive deep into their project inboxes, allowing them to search by file type and for information inside attachments, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, ZIP, DWG, DGN, DWG, TXG, MSG, and EML.

What the Submittals high-level overview looks like in Konekt.

While filing emails is a manual process, users can automate it by including a project email address in the communications. “We have a lot of customers who put the project email address into the CC field for everything they do,” adds Guidotti. And a really cool feature is that Newforma Konekt can automatically file a bunch of older emails in a thread after the newest one in that thread is chosen to be filed.”

Konekt—Files, RFIs and Submittals

When it comes to centralizing data and the subject of files, Guidotti said Newforma manages it a few different ways. “Companies store files based on their needs,” he adds. “If you are a Microsoft shop and use Teams, then you automatically use SharePoint for where your files live.” “What we do is link to SharePoint; we don’t make copies of your SharePoint data.”

With bi-directional linking, Newforma Konekt enables users to work with and manage their files from either inside the platform, while they are managing project information, or directly inside their SharePoint directories. Since it is bi-directional, whatever happens in one happens in the other.

Newforma Konekt authenticates users from their Microsoft Single Sign On (SSO) account, so if you don’t have access to something in SharePoint, you won’t see it in Newforma Konekt. And one of the best parts of the platform is that it logs everything. “One of Newforma Konekt’s best abilities is to show you a log of everyone you have shared a file with, including the exact time of day (not just the date) and who downloaded the file.

Newforma Konekt and the RFI management section of the application.

Newforma Konket’s File Manager is very robust and can access files from Microsoft SharePoint and Autodesk Docs.

For CA functions like RFIs and Submittals, Newforma Konekt allows users to manage and process workflows for both fully. Email notifications let other project stakeholders stay in the loop, including reminders for assigned items. Fields for both RFIs and Submittals auto-populate, streamlining the workflow in many cases.

Additionally, with the Newforma Konekt Microsoft Outlook add-in (plugin) users can forward and respond to both RFIs and Submittals from inside Outlook. New API integration between Newforma Konekt and Procore means both RFIs and Submittals can be initiated in Procore, processed and responded to in Newforma Konekt, and then automatically updated in Procore.

Newforma Konekt has an integrated 3D model viewer with full BCF workflow integration capabilities. This means architects and AEC pros can manage BIM issues via a BCF workflow process directly inside Konekt with direct linkage to Revit BIM models. (see below).

An issue in the AEC industry is that contractors use different cloud tools made for them versus those made for AE professionals. “We live in a world today where an issue can be created in Newforma Konekt,” adds Guidotti, “The contractor can take that issue, create an RFI inside of Procore, assign it to a Newforma Konekt user—let’s say it is you—it already comes in as a pending new RFI. I then forward it to my sub-consultant and they will eventually reply to me in email, where I can see the email reply and also log it as a response inside of Newforma Konekt. Once I’ve reviewed it and submitted my official response, it goes back to Procore automatically.”

BIMTrack in Konekt

Newforma Konekt works with IFC files and is integrated with Autodesk Revit. Users can schedule automatic updates that push the state of the Revit BIM model to Newforma Konekt. So, on Fridays’ for example, the latest BIM model can be pushed into Newforma’s cloud-based platform, where a client or stakeholder can review it with the new 2D/3D Viewer.

“This is really great because now not everyone needs a Revit license to look at the model as it progresses,” says Guidotti. “Many of our customers tell us that their owner clients want to go in and see the model, and now they can.”

Thanks to the integration of BIMTracker, which Newforma acquired in 2023, users can view their project BIM model directly inside Newforma Konekt, creates issues in the BCF format and assign or distribute those issues to users who can see and resolve them back in the model. “We are also working on a mobile viewer so you can work off your iPhone,” adds Guidotti. This would presumably work in tandem or inside the current Newforma Konekt Mobile app for iOS and Android.

Here is a view of Autodesk Revit with Newforma Konekt integration on the side panel at right.

Guidotti noted that the mobile version is really cool and with the viewer on the mobile app, users could even use the app for punch lists (issues of a specific type) or RFI creation.

Openness and Connections

The beauty of cloud-based solutions like Newforma Konekt is API connections to other tools like BIM authoring solutions, including Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks. You can also import a IFC or PDF file directly. From Navisworks you can convert clash items into Action Items within Newforma Konekt.

Other API connections to Newforma Konekt include Oracle’s Aconex, Procore, ProjectWise, and Bluebeam. Guidotti said that as for Bluebeam—where Newforma Project Center has a connector to Bluebeam Studio—”We actually have a relationship with Bluebeam where we have quarterly business reviews. When they are ready, we will be ready…and we want to have Bluebeam in Konekt once they have their Bluebeam Cloud APIs available to us.”

Other BIM connections include Graphisoft’s Archicad, Nemetschek’s Solibri, Tekla Structures, and AutoCAD. “We want our customers to be able to use their favorite tools,” says Guidotti, who emphasizes that both BIM Track (which they acquired) and Newforma share the same openness philosophy. Guidotti emphasizes that Newforma wants its customers to have not just the most information but the best organized and managed information.

The post Newforma Konekt—Cloud Solution Merges PIM and BIM Worlds appeared first on Architosh.

A New Context—Taking on LT

So, what does it mean for ARES Kudo to compete with Autocad LT? And why is that even important?

Starting with that last question, the importance of ARES Kudo taking on LT means that ARES, Kudo as a web-browser delivered CAD system, essentially matches all the core capabilities of LT but with advantages that come naturally from the cloud. There are—of course—a few disadvantages. (More later…)

The strongest benefit of the cloud—and there are many to choose from—likely relates to the post-Covid-19 context. Let’s face it: our lives are different now, and we are not going back to the way things were before January 2020. Some days, we work from home; other days, we work at the office, the factory, or the job site. 

A full view of the title hero image above shows the new ribbon user interface, a major new feature that Architosh discusses in detail below. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

In this new context, we have a choice about how to compute. Enterprises can provide all employees with laptop computers to tote around (there are downsides to this), or increasingly, employees can utilize computers at their home whether enterprise-purchased, partially subsidized, or not. 

It is in this context that cloud-based software offers real advantages. An ARES Kudo user can jump onto just about any modern computer—even a Chromebook or Linux—and do real professional CAD work. 

Professional CAD—ARES Kudo

From the very beginning, ARES Kudo has long captivated us at Architosh. However, despite its rather complete feature list, ARES Kudo seemed destined to be a dueling partner to AutoCAD Web, Autodesk’s most stripped-down version of venerable AutoCAD. 

The difference now is that ARES Kudo 2025 has gained a new ribbon user interface that instantly elevates your sense of the application. Whereas prior, the user interface reflected a certain class of CAD users doing more limited work inside Kudo, the new ribbon UI exposed in version 2025 speaks to the experienced power user. It is meant to make a desktop CAD user think about whether a web browser-based CAD tool might add value to their workflow without taking away anything major from their typical “workflow needs.” Having said that, we might ask what are the typical workflow needs of a common LT user?  

The answer is most simply put as a user who needs comprehensive 2D drafting toolsets for generating 2D CAD drawings. 

There has been, and will always be, a large body of professional CAD users whose workflow needs require only 2D drawing. Many of these users only work on projects where the files are not very large or complex. Moreover, many may also have little use for certain kinds of automation or advanced capabilities. 

It is this class of users that Graebert now appears to be aiming ARES Kudo. It no longer just competes with AutoCAD Web but is looking to steal away LT users by offering them comparable features combined with the unique benefits of the cloud. 

New in ARES Kudo 2025

ARES Kudo 2025 delivers a comprehensive set of (.dwg) native CAD features, including powerful 2D CAD drawing and editing tools. And like LT it can also view files in 3D. Aside from the powerful Trinity features that we wrote about a year ago, Kudo’s 2D CAD capabilities get supercharged this year in the area of blocks. (see: Architosh, “ARES Trinity — A Review of the Industry Leading DWG CAD Software,” 2 Mar 2023).

New in Kudo this year is the ability to leverage the power of dynamic blocks—whether created in AutoCAD or custom blocks created in ARES Commander, it’s desktop big sibling.

Blocks (In ARES)

For readers without an AutoCAD background, “blocks” are drawing components (such as lines, arcs, text, hatches, etc) that are grouped together for easier manipulation. Dynamic blocks—created in AutoCAD—are different than static blocks because they provide editable parameters that enable the block to rapidly alter itself without drawing these alterations. 

ARES Kudo previously supported AutoCAD blocks in addition to its own native equivalent. Now, in this version, a user can ingest and use a dynamic block created in AutoCAD. This adds a power feature to Kudo that was previously only found in ARES Commander (the desktop competitor to full AutoCAD) and is presently not a feature in AutoCAD Web. 

The new in-place editing of blocks is shown here. See the detailed testing section of this review for more. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

More useful still, ARES Kudo 2025 will allow a user to do “in-place” editing of an ARES component (Graebert’s other name for a “block”) and propagate that change to all instances of that component. Moreover, a user, when editing a block definition, can also see nested blocks in a hierarchy. This is a new feature in ARES Commander 2025 but also found in ARES Kudo 2025. 

To add further firepower to ARES Kudo, 400+ dynamic blocks are provided in the Trinity Block Library and are available to Kudo users. 

New Ribbon User Interface

While the new block technology and features are immediate power features, the number one item that gives ARES Kudo 2025 a bold new feel is the new ribbon user interface. This makes the CAD experience immediately similar to desktop CAD (whether comparing AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD, or ARES Commander). 

The new user interface (ribbon-based) transforms ARES Kudo. The previous simpler UI is still available for users as an option. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

The German software also boasts graphically stunning new icons with a color accent that makes the icons more understandable. Whether viewed in white mode or the more attractive (or serious) dark mode, the new user interface exposes more tools across the top of the interface and instantly presents itself with serious CAD gravitas. (we test out the new UI options in the section below).

QR Codes, DWF, User Mentions and More

One of the most modern features in ARES Kudo in this version is the ability to insert QR codes in your drawings. Those familiar with QR codes know they open up to web links, and in this case, those links can also be shared View-Only links through ARES Cloud. 

QR codes are an example of “cloud-based” features, and so are User Mentions. Social media and Slack users know how to tag someone using the @ symbol, and now you can in ARES Kudo in the Comments palette where via, ARES Cloud users, can collaborate with each other with shared drawings and libraries. 

Also new this year is the ability for both ARES Kudo and ARES Commander to engage in “take-over” session handling together. So what does this mean, you might ask? So, taking over a session means user B can ping user A and ask for editor control of a file. Last year, this was introduced for ARES Kudo alone, but this year, an ARES Commander user (user A) can work in the office while an ARES Kudo user (user B) can work from a home computer in the kitchen and can alternate editing rights control, taking turns with each user editing the drawing in a collaborative approach. Or perhaps user B is a user on the go at an airport—the same thing!

Both users A and B use notifications—which are very fast—to request editorial control of the file. In this way, despite great physical distances, they can work together in concert on the same drawing file. What if user A takes a break without saving their work? ARES Trinity’s session handling means that after 25 minutes of file inactivity, the file is automatically saved, and user B can now gain editor control of the file without having to request it.

ARES Trinity session handling has powerful advantages over other CAD systems because it manages session handling for cloud storage providers like Google Drive or OneDrive that don’t block two users working on the same file at the same time on accident. This is unique to ARES Trinity and a key benefit that ARES Kudo—and its sister apps—have over its chief rival.

Finally, we mention the new DWF read and save functionality. This provides added capability, especially on the save side. Let’s now jump into some of the direct testing of the new features in the next section. 

Testing ARES Kudo 2025

The new ribbon interface

The new ribbon style UI organizes all the ARES Kudo tools across the top, organized into clear groups with a group name like DRAW, MODIFY, ANNOTATION, et cetera. Each group consists of two rows of tool icons (buttons), now visually rendered with a color accent of orange plus the existing white from the previous version, all on top of a dark gray that contrasts with black lines to define UI regions and the menu bar itself that sits atop the ribbon UI. (see below and further below).

The new ribbon-based user interface. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

Clicking on the menu options loads different tools into the ribbon UI. The Home menu, for instance, includes DRAW, MODIFY, ANNOTATION, LAYERS, PROPERTIES, and TOOLS regions. If your browser window is not wide enough, a slider bar appears at the bottom of the ribbon. Most modern displays are plenty wide enough. At the very top of the UI in the upper left is the hamburger icon where Save As lives, along with Kudo’s various settings options. Clicking on the ARES Kudo icon itself takes you to the ARES Cloud home page from where you manage the files in your cloud account, et cetera.

The new ribbon user interface transforms ARES Kudo. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

To turn the ribbon style UI off and go back to the old UI option, you visit the Preferences settings under the User Account (upper right). Why this setting about the UI is not under the Options > System Options settings is baffling to me. That is where you go to adjust other key items about the user interface, such as the Model Background Color and Display System Crosshair. Perhaps it is because the settings under My Profile are vastly simpler, and thus, the Ribbon interface is more easily findable. 

Another final aspect of the new user interface is that you can minimize the toolbar across the top. There is a very clear icon on the far right of the ribbon. Click on that icon makes the ribbon disappear. The menu stays, and once you click on a menu item, the ribbon toolbar then appears until you click on the model space again. As for the two different user interfaces now, what they have in common is the bottom section of the user interface. The single row of control icons consistently lists the Sheet Manager and model space and paper-space sheets. Then comes palette snap guide management and visual rendering type settings. Finally, the Command Line lives by default in the bottom lower center, floating above grid, ortho, polar, and other similar settings.

In essence, the big advance with the ribbon user interface is it brings out all the tools under a more common menu command organization and will be familiar to ARES Commander and AutoCAD users alike.

The New Blocks Functionality

Before jumping into testing the new Blocks functionality, it is worth repeating that Autodesk Dynamic Blocks have an equal in ARES Commander. These are known as Custom Blocks. New to ARES Kudo this year is the ability to work with both. 

Dynamic Blocks from AutoCAD and Custom Blocks from ARES Commander have added grips with built-in option settings for more intelligence. ARES Commander—which this review is not focused on—allows the user to create Custom Blocks from scratch or convert AutoCAD Dynamic Blocks to Custom Blocks, keeping all parameters. That function is not available to the ARES Kudo 2025 user.

The new support for AutoCAD dynamic blocks gives ARES Kudo much more power as it can leverage over 400 dynamic blocks inside the Trinity Block Library as well as others the user adds. See the TLB palette at the right in the image above. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

To add a new AutoCAD Dynamic Block to your drawing, you can open the Trinity Block Library (TBL) in Kudo. Inside the Arts Center floor plans, I have decided to insert trees in the courtyard. The Insert menu reveals the extensive tools and palettes for working with blocks. Selecting the Trinity Block Libary button opens the TBL on the right palette; it contains 12 categories with about 50 dynamic blocks in each category. From “AEC Outdoor_new,” we select one of the tree blocks. 

Scaling is one method dynamic blocks can quickly function for users, allowing quick edits to a block’s scale. Use the arrow grip for this parametric adjustment. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

With the dynamic block selected, I can now see different grips. The circle grip enables rotation. The arrow grip is for dynamic scaling, and clicking and dragging reveal stepped-sized increments to change to. A second triangle icon with a bar activates a drop-down menu revealing different visibility states or tree options. 

Different iterations within dynamic blocks present entirely different geometry, allowing for multiple graphical methods of denoting a tree in this CAD file. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

There are many use cases for dynamic (custom) blocks, and having this ability in Kudo not only matches LT but fundamentally gives Kudo desktop CAD utility. Take a look at this Tiny House project. In the building section and elevation, these intelligent parametric blocks are utilized to great effect. Multiple bed configuration options enable quick design edits. 

Different bed options exist inside this dynamic block.

A different bed type has been selected in this dynamic block.

Likewise, common electrical and similar symbols can be intelligent blocks, enabling the user to switch out light types without having to grab and place a different static block or, even worse, draw a new symbol altogether. 

Rapidly change a downlight fixture to another fixture type using dynamic blocks.

From the drop-down menu, a new type of light has been selected, and the block updates.

Such intelligent blocks have other powers too, such as smart orientation based on other elements. For example, this dynamic block of a car can automatically reorient itself so that the wheels are always connected to a line (presumably the ground or street plane). This capability was found most useful in a bidet block example, where moving the bidet to a different wall automatically turned it to the correct orientation. 

Dynamic blocks can intelligently relate to constraints. In this example, the user can move the block’s control point to another line and the car reorients automatically (see gray lines).  (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

The second new power feature in ARES Kudo related to blocks is the new in-place editing. From the Insert menu, visit the Edit Component button under the COMPONENT tools. Select your block, click Edit Component, and then hit the green checkbox on the Edit Component palette far right. 

A rapid block editing test shows how the Edit Component functions work.

Once the block has been edited in place, the save function updates all instances of the block.

A Zoom to Bounds checkbox will change the zoom factor. Now the background edit color is turned medium grey. All lines are white. Selections are light blue with typical grips on the vertices. Draw to edit and then select the Save Component button. All instances are now changed. 

After editing and saving the component, all instances of the block are auto-updated. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

The new ability to edit blocks in place while also creating new static blocks essentially gives the ARES Kudo user dramatically more powerful CAD features than the previous version. The one ability that wasn’t quite functional despite a tool icon for it was the ability to export a block to a file. Architosh was working on a beta release of ARES Kudo 2025. We hope to see this feature soon after the initial release if it doesn’t make it into the initial release. 

Other than that, working with both new block feature sets went smoothly and added much more capability to ARES Kudo. 

QR Codes and Other New Features

While the block features are the biggest area of improvement this year, Kudo gains other critical new features. The best of these relate to the benefits of being cloud-based. 

When working with others, ARES Kudo now supports @mentions in comments. The @ symbol checks for users in your organization (in your licensing) and, secondly, whoever has access to that file in the cloud. This means if you share it with someone outside your organization, once you tell Trinity, the system recognizes their name/address and can then use @mentions. Every @mentions triggers email notifications as part of the collaboration process and notification settings. 

Using the @ symbol mentions teammates and others who have been granted access to the drawings in the cloud through Trinity. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

The mentioned functionality adds power to what is already a superior collaboration system in ARES Trinity. We have written a very in-depth feature on Trinity here. (see Architosh, “ARES Trinity—A Review of the Industry Leading DWG CAD Software,” 2 Mar 2023). As Architosh has noted in the just mentioned reference article, email notifications are a powerful part of the ARES Trinity collaboration features, especially when on the go or out in the field with just a smartphone. Using ARES Touch, you can see what a comment is all about in the drawing. Alternatively, sometimes commenting doesn’t require looking at the drawing at all. You can reply to a question from a teammate back in the office working on a drawing. 

The notifications icon lives in the best location in the interface—right above all your common tools. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

Once that response back in the commenting system works through the cloud, it appears instantly in the Kudo user interface. Our tests showed the notification in the ARES Kudo interface moving faster than moving from one browser tab to another. The Comments icon lives in the right spot—just above the main menu and ribbon tools you use most. It’s rather easy to see. 

Lastly, QR codes work like stamps in many ways. You literally insert a QR code into the drawing in a location of your choice. During the creation of the codes, you enter target URLs, but you can also select the same Share Drawing links that you typically can create in ARES Kudo.

The new QR codes offer practical innovations for downstream users of CAD drawings. Note that from a print or PDF, a QR code in the title block will enable the scanner of that code to access the latest drawing version. QR codes can also be set to “fixed date/issue” versions—note the latest version, which is an alternative benefit. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

QR codes can, therefore, link to either the latest version of the drawing—useful for some types of collaborators—or to a printed (frozen) version of the drawing.

Kudo Advantages

While AutoCAD Web has some unique features that ARES Kudo does not—mainly the Trace feature—ARES Kudo 2025 definitely has a large list of differentiators over its rival. The biggest differentiator is ARES Trinity and all the cloud-based features that distinguish Trinity from its main rivals. User access control rights, session handling, and its history features are all unmatched in the DWG CAD world. 

An ARES Kudo user also has the ability to manage user rights, determine who can view and edit, and the ability to grant or revoke access or set passwords and time-outs on access. But Trinity features aren’t the only differentiators between these rival web apps. 

You can now import a Microstation DGN file and insert it as a block in ARES Kudo 2015. This massive city CAD file consists of multiple DGN files inserted as blocks. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

ARES Kudo has a truly robust Layers palette with filters, layer states, isolate layer, layer preview, and a layer manager. It supports the insert and editing of table data and the use of DGN and PDF as underlay Xrefs. These do not display in AutoCAD Web, even if they display properly in AutoCAD or LT. You can also import Microstation’s DGN file format, convert it to DWG, and insert it as a block. And PDF can be converted to DWG. There is more, but this is a strong list of advantages ARES Kudo has over its main US-based rival. 

Cloud Advantages Over LT

So Graebert has taken ARES Kudo up a weight class—to use a boxing metaphor. In boxing terms, the Berlin-based CAD innovator sees Kudo as the reigning champion among DWG CAD rivals delivered through the web browser. Without any serious competition, ARES Kudo—despite its lightweight nature due to being browser-based—is now aiming for LT. 

But can ARES Kudo really hold its own against AutoCAD LT? 

When it comes to large and very large files, ARES Kudo will be no match for LT. This is the built-in weakness of browser-based software systems that are graphically intensive. However, most of our self-produced or provided test files were under 4 MB. We also managed to load a 25 MB file, but it took nearly two minutes to load. Most users will work with files under 5 MB. For example, a home office project that was heavy on custom millwork was similar in size to the shop drawings produced by the millwork shop itself. That file was 1.5 MB and ran extremely well. It was only that size, by the way, because it was exported to (.dwg) from a non-DWG CAD/BIM program.

This 1.5 MB file was exported from BIM software and contains highly detailed plans, elevations, and custom cabinetry drawings. The file was performative and ran very well across both model space and paper space functions. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

Therefore, the performance advantages of desktop CAD tools like LT will be rather limited in scope to the target audience of ARES Kudo. At the fundamental professional 2D CAD production level, ARES Kudo 2025 will be perfectly adequate for most project tasks. And what if it is not? Asking Graebert directly, they will refer you to ARES Commander, its powerful desktop sibling. (more on licensing cost in a moment).

For example, the advanced settings for higher security, view-only links, expiry dates, and password control are powerful features included in any license of ARES Kudo. And view-only links—which are reportedly very popular with ARES CAD users—work at the receiver end without the need to set up an account. A client, for example, can not only view and scale drawings but can print to PDF. It is only when the user wants to comment that signing up for a free ARES Trinity account becomes necessary. Again, the advanced session handling, take-over editing sessions for two users working simultaneously, and comprehensive commenting features that now include user mentions in the comments—all deliver key collaboration advantages that LT simply does not have. 

Architosh Final Thoughts

ARES Kudo 2025 delivers best-in-class abilities to work with blocks in a native (.dwg) web browser-based CAD system. For users who frequently work with AutoCAD files that contain dynamic blocks, this year, ARES Kudo gains the ability to leverage those intelligent assets. Moreover, it can also work with custom blocks created in ARES Commander. To summarize, Kudo users can use, edit, and create static blocks, use the Edit Component feature to do “in-place” editing of blocks to rapidly modify all instances of a block, use and place AutoCAD dynamic blocks and ARES custom blocks (ie: “intelligent” blocks), and well as leverage over 400 dynamic blocks in the Trinity Block Library.

Drawings Compare is a desktop-class-based feature delivered in a web-based CAD system. (click on the image for a larger view, typical)

This really adds power to the leading browser-based DWG CAD tool and builds on key features from last year, such as PDF import and conversion to DWG, DGN import and conversion to DWG, and the ability to insert DGN as a “block” as we saw in the Long Beach, CA, city file above. Last year, we saw the Drawing Compare feature, which includes not just the standard red-green approach to color coding differences but also a highlighting color feature. Most of these features are missing in AutoCAD Web, hence the analogy of moving up in a weight class for Kudo.

When you add these unmatched features to the ARES Trinity-based features discussed above and detailed here in another article, ARES Kudo truly now stands in a league of its own. As a cloud-based browser-based product, one never needs to install any software. It is always available from any computer. For those working with CAD files well over 10 MB, they can simply get a full Trinity license and leverage ARES Commander 2025. 

That brings us to ARES and its very strong licensing technology and pricing. So what does ARES Kudo cost per year, and how does that compare to LT? 

ARES Kudo is USD 120 per year per user for full functionality. Adding ARES Touch (mobility pack) elevates the cost to USD 200 per year. ARES Trinity adds ARES Commander for USD 350 per year per user. AutoCAD LT (which includes AutoCAD Web and Mobile) runs USD 505 per year per user. Both options are rather very affordable and provide value. The difference that matters is in the technology, and this is where Graebert’s ARES technology makes its mark over its key competitor. 

Editor’s Note:

For further insights and examples of ARES Kudo’s compelling features, readers should join a free 20-minute webinar I will lead on 18 April 24 at the Graebert neXt event.

The post Product In-Depth: ARES Kudo 2025—Takes Aim at AutoCAD LT appeared first on Architosh.

Why is this a big deal worth a lengthy discussion?

It’s a big deal because the “I” in “BIM” stands for “information,” and to get at critical information—and recall from this article here that “information” sits on a spectrum between “data” and “knowledge—one must have that information smartly organized. When data isn’t well organized, you can’t get to information. And if you can’t get to information, you can’t get to knowledge. That’s a big problem in a knowledge economy and a bigger issue in an emerging one with artificial intelligence at its center.

A Data Difference

Many industry design professionals falsely assume that nearly all programs in the CAD-BIM industries work with data in more or less the same way. While, to some degree, that may be true, some platforms have clear, legitimate reasons for data differences—or how their software platform manages data differently than their rivals. Vectorworks is one such program.

Part of the “data difference” exists because the company has BIM tools for multiple design industries—not just architectural professionals. Yet another reason is that Vectorworks’ development philosophy—manifest in its mantra “design without limits”—has long been about flexibility.

Vectorworks 2024 gains additional strengths in its existing Data Visualization capabilities, thanks to its latest data feature updates. (Image: Vectorworks, Inc.)

“We are a design-based BIM software company,” contends Martyn Horne, “and we have flexibility across the platform. We have several areas where flexibility makes a difference—from the breadth of our modeling tools, the differences we provide with our presentation capabilities, and the multiple routes for working with data. It all comes back to this idea about flexibility.”

Vectorworks’ history helps explain its emphasis on being flexible. From the beginning (Minicad days), the software served many types of CAD professionals. Architects were just one of the larger groups. It learned to develop “flexible features” to meet the needs of a diverse set of users before it eventually developed “industry vertical” software built around its advanced BIM-CAD Vectorworks core. Now, the company is tightening its workflows, isolating tools, and guiding users in particular workflows within a more industry-specific and Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) paradigm.

Regarding managing data, some industries have divergent needs and methods compared to architectural professionals operating within the BIM-centric AEC industry. Martyn Horne explains:

“We can work with existing tree reports from landscape architects,” noting how different landscape design professionals manage some parts of their workflows compared to architects. That data tends to be alphanumeric tabulated data but in particular formats and layouts germane to that industry. So the data difference for us is we fully embrace and support that industry’s specific data needs and the result is we have superior data flexibility built into Vectorworks’s core.”

Data Interop

Being a modern BIM authoring application, Vectorworks has world-class file interoperability (in and out). “We have several ways of bringing in industry-standard data, everything from IFC, Shapefiles from a GIS perspective, and even several proprietary routes to get data in, adds Horne.

Before getting into the data differences in detail, it should also be noted how Vectorworks has long supported numerous open standards around data interoperability. Vectorworks, for example, is a champion of Open BIM. It has long supported open database connectivity via ODBC drivers. This industry standard makes it possible to access data from any application, regardless of which database management system is handling the data.

Vectorworks 2024 introduced cross-platform, truly round-trip, live syncing between Vectorworks structured data connected to objects and BIM objects and Microsoft Excel.

And Martyn Horne adds, “We very recently introduced very specific Excel referencing, which means we can link data live right in Excel. It means being able to bring data in, change the data [in Vectorworks] from an external perspective, and automatically update that date within Vectorworks,” he adds.

This latest data capability is a bit like the proverbial “icing on the cake” for an already robust data story. Most BIMs just manage to allow data worksheets to be exported out to Excel format, or to import them in. Having them “live linked” bi-directionally is a market-leading feature.

Data Sheets—A Data Dashboard

To really understand the data difference in Vectorworks, we need to pull the cover off some of the features at issue.

Vectorworks has long had its useful Object Info Palette (OIP). The OIP is a small palette that presents the user with an object’s essential data, from a 2D object’s area and perimeter to a 3D object’s volume and surface area.

The OIP organizes all object data under three tabs: Shape, Data, and Render. The first tab is dimensional by nature, but it lets you change an object’s class and layer settings and give an object a specific name. The second data tab is like the information dashboard inside Vectorworks on an object-per-object basis. You can attach a custom data record or IFC data to an object.

Data Sheets and their fields appear inside the Object Info Palette (OIP). Click to enlarge the view.

However, since version 2020, you can access and utilize a Data Sheet in the OIP when working with objects. A Data Sheet is a group of fields that the user can select from within the Data tab in the OIP and enter data. What those fields are depends on which data set is attached to that object type. Therefore, what fields the user sees depend on the associated data set, and these can be standard Vectorworks parameters, IFC fields, or custom fields defined in a custom record you attach to an object. You can also use formulas in data fields, but more on that later.

In the example images below, a named Data Sheet is referred to as LOD 100. At this level of detail (LOD), the only key data aspect about a wall is its “location.” Another image shows a Data Sheet named LOD 200, which includes additional data fields the user selects from drop-down menus. And LOD 300 is shown on the right. A user can create multiple Data Sheets associated with specific objects that are linked to named custom data sets.

The new Data Sheets features in the Data Manager are quite powerful. For example, they allow you to assign “ranges” to data fields, and these can be things that relate to building codes or other standards.

“Let’s use the example of a door,” says Luc Lefebvre. “Say you assign all door objects to a data mapping that includes ranges in a Data Sheet. Now you can click on a door object, and in the OIP (Object Info Palette), if the door width or height or some aspect doesn’t fit into a range value—like maybe the minimum width to meet ADA—it will highlight in red in the OIP.”

“One thing that is cool about the Data Sheets,” notes Lefebvre, “as you know, the dictionary of IFC data fields may not be as user-friendly as one might imagine. With the Data Manager and Data Sheets in Vectorworks, the user can rename those IFC fields so they are user-friendly inside the OIP (Object Info Palette). That makes it much easier for your team to understand what fields are referring to.”

A concept of view of how IFC standards can be remapped to custom field names in the OIP. This makes IFC more user-friendly and more clear to end-users when working with BIM data over the life of the project. Click to enlarge the view.  (Image: Vectorworks, Inc.)

“And because you can start with a specific Data Sheet like the LOD 100 example,” adds Horne, “when working on a team, your team is presented only with levels of information they must deal with at that phase of the project, rather than getting all that information at the very beginning.”

Data Manager-Data Mapping

The Data tab in the OIP can grow in complexity over time, a really unique feature of Vectorworks. It can show more levels of data for each object type as the project progresses. In some cases, an object may be a non-standard BIM object or custom object and have no or little data assigned to it at the schematic or preliminary phases of design. Later on, such objects can get data assigned or mapped; they may get standard object parameters data, IFC data, or custom data mappings that do or do not convert over to IFC data mapping. The system is entirely fluid and flexible.

“We have spoken about the level of detail (LOD) in BIM processes, but some objects don’t fit industry standard BIM object types in IFC,” says Horne. “This is where class-based mapping is very powerful and flexible. Even at an earlier stage where you are dealing with masses and volumes that aren’t yet industry standard BIM things but will be down the road, class-based mapping provides a streamlined way to getting data around those types of objects.”

Class-based Mapping

Horne and Lefebvre remind me that some building types, like museums or retail spaces, include a lot of custom-built items that challenge IFC object standards. “These elements are ideal for class-based mapping,” says Horne.

Other examples include custom furniture, smart walls and assemblies with AV items, media objects, and other similar custom-built non-standard BIM objects. Not everything in architecture is a wall, slab, roof, or window.

An image of the Data Manager where data mapping is managed. Click to enlarge the view. In Vectorworks 2024, there are multiple methods to map data to objects, including highly efficient and flexible “Class-based mapping.”

“It’s about flexibility,” says Horne. “Data isn’t just used in the BIM process, we are more than just a BIM software company; we offer multiple routes to design.” This is where the industry vertical solutions come in. Vectorworks Landmark is the market-leading BIM solution for landscape design professionals, including master planners and urban design professionals. Their data needs are unique from architects despite engaging in the BIM process. Vectorworks Spotlight is the leading CAD platform for entertainment and AV design professionals. BIM is even less central to this vertical sector, but data management associated with objects is as intense as a building.

The industry verticals have encouraged a type of “nimbleness” with data management in Vectorworks, while its powerful 3D modeling capabilities have predated much of the BIM revolution.

“People tend to think of BIM and parametric object types and the data that is tied to those types of objects,” says Horne, “but we have much broader modeling capabilities, as you know, and that enables our users to be highly creative in developing in 3D what I would call non-off-the-shelf objects for their architecture. Here, you can apply data to such objects, whether non-BIM data or part of the BIM data process.”

Dynamic and Formula Mapping

“We have already established we have data mapping by class, and we can also have automated mapping by object or location of object,” says Horne. In this, we have this ability to create dynamic auto-mapping.”

This means that when a user assigns a class to an object, that object will get data mapping automatically applied to it. Likewise, if that object is on a certain layer, the same thing can happen. This automation of sorts even applies to an object’s material assignment.

Data visualization is a powerful natural extension of Vectorworks’ flexible command of using data. Architects can use data visualization as part of their BIM model quality assurance. (see next section below). (Image: Vectorworks, Inc.)

“The Data Manager allows you to put in simple IF statements,” adds Luc Lefebvre. “Similar to the kind of thing you would do in Excel or inside Vectorworks’ worksheets, these IF statements condition what happens to data mapping assignments.”

Quality Assurance

Users can even put in “conditionals” on an object’s dimension fields. The Data Manager supports the same type of Excel-like formulas like “greater or less than or equal values.” Again, you can use these formulas to dynamically calculate data and input that into specific fields, which, in turn, draw data from multiple fields. Consider, for example, the required area and minimum dimension for an emergency window in a bedroom per the fire code. It’s not just the minimum width and height but the area. All these conditions can be tested, and the result figure can be tested against a range value. If it fails, the OIP can show the result in a red color, or the same calculation can be used as part of Vectorworks’ Data Visualization features to graphically illuminate quality aspects of a building design or BIM model.

Data Visualization

Data visualization has become table stakes in the leading BIM authoring tools for a few years. Yet, its power and usefulness are directly tied to how streamlined and easy it is to assign all key objects in a model the appropriate data.

“Data visualization is part of the sum of all of these data differences,” emphasizes Horne. “There is this continuity throughout Vectorworks in how we address data. Just like we have long had these Excel-like conditional functions in our worksheets, they are all now available in the Data Manager as part of our data mapping processes. And data visualization uses these same conditionals on the data that gets mapped, dynamically applied, or entered via the OIP,” adds Lefebvre.

An example use of Data Visualization in Vectorworks, operating on data associated with function and unit types for a multi-story building mixed-use building, including a graphical breakdown of residential unit types.

He emphasizes that data visualization is key to doing solid quality assurance (QA). “You can, for example, set up a data visualization to highlight any objects that don’t have IFC data mapping,” he says. “Used this way, it can help you before you send an IFC file to a consultant. It can help you ensure fire ratings, ADA compliance, and other critical model quality checks are in place.”

Closing Thoughts

It is important to note that Vectorworks’ BIM history, while long, overlaps with a longer history of serving design professionals with a 2/3D CAD tool across multiple industry sectors. This history has much in common with tools like AutoCAD, except Vectorworks successfully transformed from a CAD tool to one of three or four globally leading BIM platforms.

To put this in sports terms, tools like Vectorworks, AutoCAD, or Microstation were like decathlon or pentathlon Olympic athletes—capable of excelling in multiple events. When BIM emerged in AEC, it introduced a whole new event. It was like introducing NASCAR to the Olympics. Imagine Caitlyn Jenner suddenly needing to become a race car driver while maintaining elite decathlon skills.

In this context and with this history, we can understand how the data difference in Vectorworks feels quite natural. The program supports established BIM standards while featuring data management agility necessary for its legacy users and vertical industry users alike.

The post A Big Data Difference—Vectorworks Sets Itself Apart with Data appeared first on Architosh.

“With great power comes great responsibility,” says Uncle Ben as advice to the young Peter Parker, who is just becoming Spider-man. While Marvel Comics’ metaphors only go so far, in real life, architects recognize that BIM can be vastly more powerful than 2D CAD. The challenge is scaling up control of that power.

As BIM models take on more data to serve more roles and stakeholders, confirming that data has been appropriately entered, conforms to particular firm or project standards, or meets ADA or building code requirements becomes more difficult.

Solibri Inside

This is where Solbri’s technologies—and Solibri Inside specifically—come into play.

“Solibri Inside is reducing the risks of doing BIM,” says Luc Lefebvre, Product Marketing Manager Architect, Vectorworks, “making sure as an architect, you are bringing better products (models) to the process.” It is also helping architects do better design due to the checking mechanisms involved. “This is about quality assurance,” he adds.

Quality assurance in BIM is a key focus of the Nemetschek Group’s daughter company Solibri, and the group has three BIM platforms directed at architects, of which Vectorworks is one.

When Solibri Inside runs checks—like checking for critical door clearances—elements in the BIM model are highlighted during the modeling checking process.

“There are thirteen different brands in the Nemetschek Group covering the entire life cycle of construction and infrastructure projects,” says Darick DeHart, Chief Product Officer, Vectorworks. “The Solibri Inside service offering has been an intentional effort to connect the inherent value Solibri brings to BIM projects directly within Nemetschek’s major architecture design brands.”

As a conscious impetus by the group to deliver a common feature or functionality across the Group’s BIM authoring tools, Solibri Inside, by the very SaaS nature of its formation, is fundamentally also something that can be made available to the broader BIM market. Solibri Inside is an API (application programming interface) that delivers a subset of Solibri features to a host BIM application.

Solibri the Big Picture

Solibri began as BIM model checking software, helping BIM users like architects confirm and ensure various aspects of the BIM model and associated data were entered correctly according to standards. Technically, Solibri is quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) software.

Solibri software is used by every stakeholder in the AEC/O industry, with Solibri Office as the core product for model checking and collaboration. Using Open BIM standards like IFC and BCF, Solibri Office can aggregate BIM models from virtually all major BIM platforms across AEC industry disciplines and check model data far beyond clash detection.

Solibri Site offers a sub-set of the features of Solibri Office oriented at just what professionals on the construction job site require—such as data extraction for take-offs, tagging, and labeling of elements in the BIM model to run classification-based model checks. And Solibri Anywhere is a free version aimed at the doers of construction, the sub-contractors, and site people who need to see what needs to get built.

A view of Solibri Inside and the default checks that are featured with the plugin.

So where does Solibri Inside fit into this product mix?

Solibri Inside is aimed at the designers using BIM authoring tools from the Nemetschek Group (like Vectorworks). Where before a Vectorworks user would have to export their BIM model to IFC and open it in Solibri Office, now the SaaS-based Solibri Inside technology brings model checking directly inside the host application.

Using Solibri Inside

“There is a lot to learn in BIM model checking,” says Luc Lefebvre, “and architects are not usually familiar with it. So with Solibri Inside for Vectorworks, there is a pathway toward model checking, and if the user wants to move toward Solibri Office—which is more about Open BIM integrated workflows and automation—Solibri Inside is a good starting point.”

Darick DeHart says, ” The default checks in Solibri Inside are universal in nature and offer a demonstration of what can be achieved with the varying rule sets available.”

A detailed video here explains how the user runs BIM model checks with Solibri Inside. In short, the software requires, initially, an export of the Vectorworks model to IFC. However, this runs in the background, and issues discovered in the checks remain listed in the Solibri Inside palette (technically a web palette) for the user to review. Upon selecting issues found in the checks, selected items appear highlighted in the Vectorworks BIM model for the user to address.

The user can optionally save issues directly from within the Solibri Inside window, converting them into BCF issues that are logged inside Vectorworks’ native BCF Manager. These issues can then be assigned to other individuals or stakeholders to address as part of a more comprehensive BCF workflow.

Solibri Inside provides a web interface for the user to edit the default checks. Customization of new rules is a capability that is provided as added value for your paid subscription to Solibri Inside.

Solibri Inside: Advanced Knowledge

The checks listed above are pretty universal. You can discover, for example, whether a fire-rated wall has information about its rating entered correctly. The same is true about IFC properties and whether or not the data is entered correctly.

“The checking is based on IFC, and if we want to get more technical, it is using a subset of IFC that has been developed by the Nemetschek Group,” says DeHart. He says that Solibri Inside, as a SaaS product, is not even storing the model, but rather “it is just reviewing the data against the rules and sending the information, the results of that check, back.”

“So that is why you don’t see it in Solibri or some Solibri window,” adds DeHart. “And the idea of the simplified IFC is that over time we will be able to do quicker and more responsive checks—something that would go on in the background while you are modeling.”

It is important to note that Solibri Inside does not require BCF in any way. “It has its form of a lightweight issue management capability,” says DeHart. If the user gets back dozens of issues—too much for that user to address directly—they can escalate those issues to a proper BCF issue and convert them from within Solibri Inside to BCF formatted issues. “From there, you would use Vectorworks‘ BCF Manager and the BCF workflow to manage and work on the errors,” says DeHart.

“One way of thinking about it is it’s like a project manager red-marking a drawing and gives various fixes as tasks to staff,” chimes in Lefebvre. “So Solibri Inside can automate this checking and find these issues, and then convert them to BCF issues using the BCF Manager to assign these specific tasks to people with descriptions and instructions about how to resolve the issues.”

Closing Comments

Solibri Inside is also useful for checking LOD (level of detail) in BIM requirements. “With Solibri Inside,” says Lefebvre, “the more advanced rules customization could enable customers to manage the LOD in a BIM process, ensuring that the required level of information is met for each phase.”

Solibri Inside features inside Vectorworks Architect, showing BCF functionality features.

DeHart emphasizes that IFC definitions are many-leveled, and the rules can be customized to fine-grain search and check objects for various IFC data inputs. This is where the precision is dialed in.

Another final benefit of Solibri Inside, DeHart emphasizes, is “this is shared space that firms can use to create reusable standards. These allow this checking to be moved from project to project.” When your solution is SaaS and lives in the cloud, it can reach everybody regardless of where they work. And that helps architects design better buildings, deliver more conformant IFC data, and ultimately deliver the quality assurance everybody in the BIM process seeks.

The post Solibri Inside and Vectorworks—Advancing BIM for Users appeared first on Architosh.

How, you might ask?

On the market side, the Berlin-based CAD developer was the first to bring native DWG CAD to the Mac platform beating Autodesk’s return to the Mac by a few months. On the technical side, ARES Kudo leads the CAD market in web browser-based native (.dwg) CAD. We will touch on other aspects of leadership later on in this review.

What is ARES Trinity?

Graebert uses the word “Trinity” to define its ARES CAD ecosystem of solutions that span desktop (ARES Commander), cloud-web (ARES Kudo), and mobile (ARES Touch). When we mention “ecosystem” in this review, we mean Trinity.

This ARES ecosystem of products uniquely in the CAD market fully converses with each other with a level of features and benefits not entirely matched by any other CAD competitor. In this in-depth review, we will dive deep into all these features—some more deeply than others based on their unique value benefits.

Preamble — ARES Licensing

ARES Trinity has a sophisticated set of flexible licensing options. We will only go over some of them in detail. However, I will explain my particular setup, the Flex Cloud license. Like other ARES Trinity licenses, it includes access to ARES Commander, ARES Kudo, and ARES Touch but with the additional benefit of sharing it across multiple users.

Our hero image is shown here to enlarge and inspect. Note the Ribbon interface is now on the 2023 ARES Commander for Mac version. We discuss why later in the article. (click to enlarge images)

The beauty of the Flex Cloud license, which I will go over in more detail below, is that it works like a flexible network license wherein you can have unlimited numbers of users sharing a certain number of licenses, but they are not constrained to a LAN. Instead, it works through the cloud, and this provides the benefit of added flexibility.

Before the Flex Cloud license option (which is new), users had all of these options: subscription licenses, perpetual licenses, and flexible network licenses. And they still do.

Ten Key ARES Features

Architosh has reviewed ARES Commander in the past, so this in-depth feature will not dwell on all aspects of ARES Commander, the desktop version of ARES that competes head-to-head with other native (.dwg) file-based CAD programs.

Instead, I’ll focus on the following ten key features wholistic to Trinity and explain why below:

1. New Flex Cloud Licensing
2. Synchronization of Files
3. Comments and Markups
4. User Access and Rights Control
5. Sessions Handling
6. Email Notifications
7. Version History
8. Share View-only Links
9. Trinity Block Library
10. Work on Any Device

This is an extensive list of features to touch upon, so this review will be lengthy. I will try to be as succinct as possible. You can use the links on those ten topics to jump to specific pages in this two-page review. For insights and a demo of these ten key features, readers should join a free 30-minute webinar I will be offering on 13 April 23 at Graebert neXt event.

One: New Flex Cloud Licensing

While some companies may have on-premise (on-prem) concerns about intellectual property control, most modern businesses will likely favor the new Flex Cloud license. The answer is obvious. We now work from home more than we did before the global pandemic. But even before that, some firms have employees traveling far to job and client locations, even in different countries or continents.

A Flex Cloud license does come with a slight premium. The price of three (3) Flex Cloud licenses equals that of five (5) Annual plans for Trinity. Recall that Trinity means user access to ARES desktop, web, and mobile versions. I won’t bore you with the economic benefit line, but sharing a three-user Flex Cloud license saves you money if you have five (5) or more users.

Image 1 — My two users are named within a 3-person Flex License setup.

In my example, Graebert set Architosh up with three (3) Flex Cloud licenses, and each user can be identified with a name. To begin with, I wanted to simulate two separate employees, so I will name them Architect-1 and Architect-2. (see image 1)

A beautiful benefit of ARES’s Flex Cloud license emerges when your firm has many users, and the firm does not want the IT admins to manage licenses for everyone assigning them one by one. Who wants to bother with all that work? Instead, under a Flex Cloud license, an admin invites an employee from the Graebert Customer Portal via email.

From the Admin Space of the portal, the Permissions menu item displays specific ARES products and their license and permission serial numbers. At the bottom, you can see the “Assign users to a select permission” field, whereupon you enter a colleague’s email address and click “Send email notification.” This is how an Admin would manually assign and unassign licenses if you don’t buy a Flex Cloud license. But if you have many users working only a few hours per week, the Flex Cloud license is enabling you to share automatically your license among all the users you invited to your organization.

Aside from possible cost savings, another reason for the Flex Cloud license comes down to unique features capable of it. Unlike the Flex Network license, the Flex Cloud version provides access to cloud-powered collaborative features special to Trinity.

Flex operates through the cloud; there is nothing to install besides the ARES Commander app. Flex Cloud works with both local files and cloud-stored files. And the Flex Cloud license lets users invite others to view and comment on files online via ARES Kudo in View-Only Links mode. That, too, is not possible with a Flex Network license.

One advantage to Flex Network licenses is they can be Perpetual licenses. Flex Cloud licenses can only be Subscription licenses. So there is the main trade-off. The reason is that Flex Cloud includes the Trinity license, which means cloud-based interconnections between ARES Commander on the desktop and ARES Kudo and ARES Touch, which are cloud-based apps. Cloud-based services cannot be perpetual by their nature.

Another way to think about it is this: Perpetual licenses reflect the 20th-century practice of computing on discreet desktop computers. The 21st-century “cloud era” adds two additional device types (smartphones and tablets) and the cloud-delivered app via the browser. Such a system is better served with a subscription.

Two: Synchronization of Files

ARES Trinity has powerful cloud connectivity features giving users robust cloud storage access options and file synchronization capabilities. These are most important for today’s remote work reality.

Before setting up a cloud storage provider, you can use the ARES Kudo drive. In fact, after creating a quick test file, I discovered that sample files are placed by default into your ARES Kudo drive folder.

Image 2 — To add third-party cloud storage, you hit the button to the right of the ARES button, top left, in the Cloud palette.

To connect to a third-party drive, like Google Drive, you hit the button to the right of the Open ARES Kudo button upper left in the Cloud Storage palette. (see images 2-3) Doing so brings up a web browser window where you see various cloud storage connection options.

Once I set up my Google Drive, I created a new ARES folder. Working with my test file, I then saved it to the linked cloud storage folder. Once completed, I am now able to test out file synchronization features.

Image 3 — ARES Trinity features industry-leading cloud connectivity options.

My test account enables me three users, and I have ARES Commander running on a Mac and a Windows PC. Using the “Art Center floorplans.dwg” file, I will imagine my second account as a remote colleague working with me to update this plan. (see plan images below.)

My first task is to add some additional seating on the exterior directly across from the interior cafe space. (see image 4). I do this, then close the file. A bit later, my colleague working on a Mac (it is me!) opens up the file. We can see the file under ARES Commander on the Mac. Notice the UI differences, as this is the Mac version. (see image 5) Also, note that in the upcoming 2024 release of ARES Commander for Mac and for Linux, they will both acquire the new Ribbon UI that already exists on the Windows version. This is good because the Ribbon UI is contextual and dynamically changes based on what the user is doing. (see here image top of the article)

Image 4 — Adding some tables and chairs off the cafe space and saving the file.

Image 5 — This is the second user’s screen running on the Mac with the non-Ribbon interface option showing.

My colleague on the Mac edits the tables putting them into a new layer just for tables on the exterior, and leaves me a comment in the Comments palette about what to do next. Before we go into Comments and Markups, let’s summarize File Synchronization.

Setting up Cloud file storage options is very easy in ARES. The “Cloud+” icon button loads up ARES Kudo Cloud Storage main page in the browser. (see images 2-3). Select your cloud storage options, and away you go. Disconnecting accounts is easy as you hit the “X button” underneath a connected account.

Managing files in the Cloud palette is robust. You can do basically everything from creating folders to generating directory structure, renaming, cloning, deleting, and downloading files. You can also download entire folders.

If a colleague has opened a file you already have open, they will get a warning message. ARES alerts the user for a potential conflict of two or more users accessing the same file simultaneously. Additionally, if there is ever a technical slip-up, the ARES system will create what is known as a conflicted copy, and this gets labeled in the Cloud palette file directory.

Users working on files together must coordinate to avoid conflicting copies and problems. (see my thoughts on this in the Conclusions section) But the system is designed to help safeguard data.

Three: Comments and Markups

In my example of using two machines (a PC and a Mac) to work between two users, I quickly tested some markup tools and the Comments palette to test the file synchronization features noted above.

ARES Trinity has robust markup and commenting across its ecosystem of products. In ARES Commander, there is a Comments palette. A user can add a new Comment about the drawing as a whole or a specific element. The palette at the upper left provides two button options–Create a New Comment Thread or Create a New Markup. (image 6-7)

Image 6 — The Comments palette is on the far right. Note a series of comments and the potential for replies to comments. Note also the highlighted chairs. See note on next image.

The first option is relatively straightforward. You give your new Comment a title and a description. You can also select Add entities, allowing the user to select entities in the drawing about which the Comment’s subject matter centers. I am impressed with this ability because a Zoom icon used later will help a colleague zoom automatically to the entities under discussion in the comment. (image 7) This functions similarly to BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) features in BIM tools—taking you to where the action is.

Image 7 — With entities attached to Comments, a Zoom button in the palette lets the user zoom directly to the attached entities under discussion.

Once a user creates a comment, gives it substance in its text, a title, and a description, and attaches entities, then the user hits the Save button in the lower right. Because you can zoom to a specific set of entities using the Comments palette, one could actually use this feature to save various views of the drawing at specific Zoom levels–even if just temporarily for working in a particular area. (see images)

Image 8 — You can use the Zoom to entities feature to actually create “saved views” within your drawing to get the user quickly to where they need to work. A comments trail between teammates can then take place, leaving a “work diary” about that part of the drawing.

Colleagues can respond to your comments directly by typing in the Reply field. They can respond by clicking a Check Box icon next to the Zoom icon. That changes the status of the Comment to “resolved.”  A filter feature in the Comments palette enables the user to change what is visible in the Comments palette based on status, type of comment, and sub-type info (such as entity comments.) (see image 9)

Image 9 — The Comments palette and the Filter feature. This editor would love to see saved filter sets for a faster filtering function.

Users can also add a special comment type that adds pictures, voice recordings, or stamps. Stamps say things like Approved, Confidential, Draft, Final, For Review, and Rejected, and you can create custom stamps. While stamps can be helpful, I wonder why these “stamp” statuses are not built into text comments via a simple drop-down menu.

Attaching pictures seems immediately valuable. But there is a difference between attaching images on the desktop versus ARES Touch. On the iPad running ARES Touch, there is a slicker workflow for using the iPad’s camera to attach images. On the desktop, you will navigate to where images are stored to attach pictures.

Image 10 — Attaching pictures to Comments means you can attach pictures to entities in the drawing. Imagine all pieces of furniture in a plan have an attached photo and web link to the manufacturer. This is easy to do in ARES 2024.

What happens is you end up with PR icons on the floor plan, corresponding ideally to where a photo was taken. That is an acceptable methodology. However, you may want to attach pictures to entities like furniture in some workflows. You don’t need the PR icon using Zoom to entities function in these workflows. What happens now is you Zoom to the PR icon, whereas in the Comments tool, you Zoom to entities, and those entities are highlighted in blue for clarification.

Despite these critical comments and feedback, ARES Trinity provides powerful and beneficial markup and commenting features.

Four: User Access and Rights Control

Architosh has a long tradition of not mentioning competitors in product reviews—preferring to say “the competition,” for example.

In some cases, however, it underserves the reader too much. Regarding Graebert’s chief competitors in the native (.dwg) CAD file space, who feature a type of ecosystem, it must be stated that only Autodesks’ AutoCAD product line has a similar ecosystem to ARES Trinity. BricsCAD, while unique in many ways, does not.

The ARES ecosystem is broader and deeper than its rival(s) in several ways. User access and rights control is one example. Supported platforms and devices are another.

Image 11 — Note the Sharing options button in the Cloud Storage palette file directory. This brings up the next screen, the image below.

In ARES Commander, cloud technology for sharing access to files functions differently than the competition. With ARES, sharing copies of a CAD drawing through third-party cloud service providers is unnecessary. For general everyday workflow purposes, the ARES user shares a file for viewing and markup only, or they share a drawing for full editing purposes. Users can achieve these tasks directly from the Cloud Storage palette inside ARES Commander. (see image 11 – 12 view-only link, but the user has permission to Print to PDF.)

Image 12 — The file sharing and access control options palette under the ARES Sharing link options. User access and rights control are unique features of ARES Trinity.

Select a file in the Cloud Storage palette and select Sharing Options. A Sharing options window will appear. If you share via a third-party cloud like Google Drive, type in a person’s email address and hit the Add button. Then under the Role drop-down menu, choose to grant this user access rights such as Viewer or Editor. (see image).

Image 13 – This image shows the Role selection drop-down menu inside the sharing function related to files connected in the third-party Google Drive setup.

Select the ARES Sharing link method if you want to share a drawing with someone as a Viewer. Copy the share link URL into your email program and send it away. That user will then click the URL from their email and launch ARES Kudo into “Viewer only” status. Some additional options for more user access control include expiring the URL link at a specific date or 30 days or never, plus password protection for added security and allowing Print to PDF capability.

Those are unmatched industry features in the world of DWG CAD. We have several more to highlight, like session handling and more, so click below to continue this feature article. 

next page:  Session Handling and the Remaining Ten Key Trinity Features

The post ARES Trinity — A Review of the Industry Leading DWG CAD Software appeared first on Architosh.

Years before the global 2020 pandemic, Autodesk began leading the way in cloud collaboration so teams across disciplines, industries, and regions can work together more easily. With numerous cloud offerings, Autodesk customers can work successfully from home and other remote situations. Its flagship CAD solution—AutoCAD—has also evolved to accelerate and mature its cloud technologies and features.

Summary: The AutoCAD Product World

Autodesk’s AutoCAD offerings span desktop, web, and mobile app solutions. Most users will still prefer to do all their heavy 2D creation and editing on the desktop application. At the same time, AutoCAD Web is one of the few offerings on the market that further democratizes access to DWG data via the modern web browser regardless of the computer platform. (1)

Mobile AutoCAD apps for Apple iOS and Google Android enable users to bring DWG data to the job site and integrate measured and verified field data into the DWG CAD file.

A critical purpose of AutoCAD Web—which includes access and use of AutoCAD on mobile—is to serve as a collaboration tool amongst various stakeholders. Data from one stakeholder is passed through the cloud to other stakeholders via a seamless marriage of robust cloud technology, integrations, and an AutoCAD app built around the idea of the right tool for the job. 

Right Tool for the Job: Case Study One

At Autodesk University, a session on the new AutoCAD Web offerings highlighted new features and capabilities via two case studies. In this article, I will highlight both to illustrate how the latest AutoCAD technologies streamline the nature of remote work, emphasizing a broader definition of remote work.

Remote Work means broadly working apart from teammates and collaborators, not simply what it meant during the COVID pandemic when workers were sent home. That was a “virtual office” context, whereas working apart can mean many things, like taking a brief walking break to a coffee shop and while at a local Starbucks getting an anticipated update from one’s project manager about one’s latest work.

Let’s imagine the scenario.

Picture an architecture firm designing a new home for a client. The project manager has acquired the new home design requirements and requested the latest floor plan from a drafter in the firm. The drafter working in AutoCAD on the desktop saves the newest version of the design to AutoCAD web and mobile—essentially pushing it to the cloud.

Scenario One – Both the project manager and the drafter from the architecture firm utilize AutoCAD on the desktop but also AutoCAD Web and Mobile and leverage the power of the cloud for faster and more seamless collaborative workflows. (Image: Autodesk) (click to enlarge, typical)

The project manager isn’t heading back to the office but instead heading home early. Upon arrival, the project manager opens AutoCAD on the web via the web browser on her home computer. From there, she can see the latest work from the drafter. The project manager can see errors that need fixing and can fast-track changes that need to be made from the most recent client meeting.

The project manager can work from home using AutoCAD Web and Mobile to stay on top of progress and issues on the job. (Image: Autodesk)

What are the options in the old way of working to deal with these changes versus today?

Before the latest cloud and AutoCAD updates, the only course of action would be to wait until the next day to come into the office and relay the design changes and errors found in the latest plan. Fast forward to today’s AutoCAD Web, the project manager selects to jump into the errors spotted in the plan and fix them herself using AutoCAD Web and Mobile’s core editing tools. She quickly makes those minor adjustments fixing a door’s swing direction, editing some walls, and working with AutoCAD Blocks to adjust the furniture layout.

After dinner, the project manager jumps back into the AutoCAD Web, using the AutoCAD Mobile tools running on a powerful Apple iPad Pro with Apple Pencil. Intent on getting down the notes on the client’s changes, the project manager opens a Trace (a key new feature in the recent AutoCAD technology) where she can safely add direct feedback to a DWG without altering the drawing itself. Working with annotation and markup features (like revision bubbles) and the new Sketch command, the project manager uses Apple Pencil to draw arrows, leave freehand writing notes, and more to aid the drafter in tomorrow’s work.

Using the power of Trace technology inside AutoCAD products means stakeholders can quickly communicate markups, get notifications about them, and monitor the status of input across the project stakeholder system.

It is essential to note the acceleration of work that has taken place thanks to these cloud-based technologies. The project manager completed her day with a combination of work in the early evening and then a bit later before bed using different devices: AutoCAD Web running on a Mac laptop in the home office and AutoCAD Mobile on an iPad. After completing all these tasks, the latest information was saved to the cloud and ready for colleagues tomorrow.

The next day the project manager was free to head to another meeting first thing rather than coming into the office to collaborate with her drafter. The drafter understood the new requirements and edits from the information left on the Trace by the project manager the night before.

Let’s look at another case study example.

Right Tool for the Job: Case Study Two

In this example, an architect works on a new restaurant layout with an interior designer. The architect uploads the existing conditions floor plans to AutoCAD Web. Then she can go to the field to verify the space in person using an Android tablet running AutoCAD on mobile. Upon inspection, she notes that several plan conditions are slightly different than the existing plans indicated. She decides to fix these minor adjustments while on-site using the editing tools in AutoCAD on mobile.

In this second case study example, both the architect and interior leverage the power of Trace feature technology on AutoCAD Web and Mobile to streamline collaboration. (Image: Autodesk)

Other observations are added to a Trace for later consideration by the interior designer. The architect shares observations in notes and freehand sketches on the Trace because the Trace technologies are deployed throughout the AutoCAD product line.

With these updates now saved back to the cloud, the architect notifies the interior designer, who then begins adjusting his concept ideas for layout items. Later in the week, the architect returns to the job site for another meeting about HVAC issues. Notified about a new layout plan by the interior designer, the architect opens that drawing from within AutoCAD Mobile on her Android tablet. With new realizations about some HVAC requirements, the architect sees that the new layout plan is nearly perfect but needs a small, suggested change to accommodate relocations of the restrooms.

AutoCAD 2023’s Trace feature technology mimics the analog logic of “tracing paper” for markup and iteration while leveraging the power of cloud technology for more seamless multi-stakeholder communications. (Image: Autodesk)

This time, the architect uses the Trace tools in AutoCAD Mobile to freehand her ideas about these changes and save them up to the cloud. The next day at home, the architect logs into AutoCAD on the web on her home computer and begins to lay out the restrooms in a new location on the plan. While at a coffee shop, the interior designer receives the notification of the architect’s latest plan, and he opens to review the changes on AutoCAD on mobile his iPhone. He now knows he has new opportunities to increase the restaurant’s seating capacity and looks forward to spending the day optimizing the restaurant plan for the client.

Case Study Observations

In both case studies, colleagues’ workflows have been accelerated and compressed into faster time intervals. Despite different locations between offices, homes, job sites, and coffee shops, working apart no longer means losing time and opportunity.

In the first case study, the project manager saved time as she didn’t need to head back to the office to relay information to her drafter. She could use any computer and tablet at home to summarize changes and prepare that information for her drafter ahead of the next business day. This also liberated her schedule to optimize a next-day client meeting further. In this case, travel is one of the most explicit forms of efficiency optimization when liberal use of cloud technologies is deployed evenly across firms.

Autodesk’s AutoCAD Mobile brings the power of the cloud and AutoCAD technology directly to the most personal of your computing devices—your smartphone. Now wherever you are, you can stay in touch with colleagues, clients, and other project stakeholders with engagement in collaboration workflows. (Image: Autodesk)

Another observation is the power of capturing field information in AutoCAD on mobile, using technologies like the AutoCAD Trace and leveraging device technologies like Apple Pencil on iPad. In the second scenario, the architect of a restaurant project works with an existing DWG plan file produced on the desktop where it is most efficient to produce. The mobility of a tablet is ideal for viewing that plan file in the field and making quick comparisons, measurements, markups, or even edits. The old alternative way of working is to bring paper-based plans into the field and make markups on paper. That process is inherently slower.

Working with AutoCAD Web and Mobile

Autodesk rightly considers its AutoCAD product line an excellent example of a modern software app—built for a computing ethos that has long shifted the center of computing to the cloud and mobile.

AutoCAD on the web is supported on 64-bit Windows or Mac computers running Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. AutoCAD on mobile is supported on iOS, Android, or Windows 10 on mobile devices and tablets. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT system requirements require relatively recent versions of Mac and Windows operating systems.

Closing Thoughts

AutoCAD on the web and on mobile is purpose-built for today’s remote workforce and attendant agile workflows. They are built around the idea of precisely providing the right tools for the job and, more than that, keeping user interfaces clean and streamlined and putting the focus on task-speed optimization.

AutoCAD Web is a standalone product (which then comes with mobile), or the two products come with complete AutoCAD subscription offerings–making AutoCAD a leading value on the market. There is even a free view-only (non-subscription) version of AutoCAD Web for stakeholders who only need to view CAD data. All of this means greatly enhanced flexibility for project teams, colleagues, and stakeholders to configure their DWG workflows to fit their exact needs.

Notes

1. To see which specific web browsers and operating systems AutoCAD Web functions on please visit this link.

The post Flexible Modern Workflows with AutoCAD Web and Mobile appeared first on Architosh.

The Vectorworks BIM/CAD platform has arguably one of the best digital tools to cope with the global pandemic when it struck in 2020 (see: Architosh, “Pandemic Footing—Flansburgh’s Deft Response to Remote BIM Workflows,” 18 Aug 2020). From our informed view, it has had exceptional development velocity. In other words, the pace of new features and “critical forward” innovations in the Vectorworks BIM/CAD platform is almost unrivaled among its peers.

Vectorworks Cloud Services

With remote work has come the need for more powerful cloud tools. This is where Vectorworks Cloud Services plays a critical role in boosting the performance and capabilities of users on its platform.

Vectorworks Cloud Services is a more extensive array of tools, features, and capabilities than we realized when we started our task of looking into them. This article is about exposing those to industry readers. Let’s begin by quickly outlining Vectorworks Cloud Services.

Vectorworks Cloud Services consists of technology and software developed specifically for cloud-based workflows. These workflows include collaboration—arguably the most pressing workflow change since the global pandemic. Other workflows focus on presentation capabilities. And finally, there are workflows focused on performance enhancements.

Performance Enhancements

Vectorworks Cloud Services enable users to push resource-intensive workloads, like rendering viewports, panos, and animations, to Vectorworks Cloud Services so that their local machine is freed from these computationally intensive tasks. This is a performance enhancement on two levels because it enables the cloud to work on a problem for you while your computer addresses other workflows. Secondly, the hardware in the cloud at AWS (Amazon Web Services) is likely more powerful than local user hardware.

Presentation Capabilities

A feature many need to be made aware of is the Virtual Tours features in Cloud Services. The latest update to Vectorworks 2023 added new features to Vectorworks Cloud Services, and regarding Tours, this means added file compatibility with various 3D models, PDFs, images, and more.

Vectorworks Cloud Services comes with Vectorworks, enables project stakeholders to access critical information across a full-spectrum of devices, from smartphones to desktop workstations, working across all major operating systems and the web. (click on images to enlarge)

We have not mentioned the specifics of Vectorworks Cloud Services software, but it includes the Vectorworks Nomad app for mobile devices, the desktop app for collaborating with team members, and the web portal (accessed through your web browser) to share project files with collaborators and to access presentations in Cloud Services itself.

Back to Cloud Services and presentations, users can create Boards and Tours. With Boards, users can pin videos, 3D models, 360-degree pano images, 2D images, or PDFs to other images, et cetera. Think of it as pin-up time at the office or in the studio in architecture school, but it’s virtual and in the cloud for others to view.

With Tours, users pin 360-degree pano images to each other to create an immersive walk-through experience.

Collaboration

Regarding Cloud Services and collaboration, there are two types to discuss—collaboration amongst all project stakeholders and cooperation between the Vectorworks users on a design team. For the latter, Vectorworks Cloud Services plays an ever more prominent role in Project Sharing (discussed below in some detail because it is pretty important).

A screenshot showing the Vectorworks Cloud Services collaboration benefits in action.

For the former, all project stakeholders can collaborate using Vectorworks Cloud Services, accessing shared folders containing PDFs, interactive 3D models, renderings, animations, presentations, virtual tours, and panos. Users are provided essential markup tools and can leave comments attached to their markups.

Better Project Sharing via Vectorworks Cloud Services

As we just discussed, the global pandemic has changed everything about AEC and much of the rest of the world. For architects working remotely, Vectorworks Project Sharing, when conducted over Vectorworks Cloud Services, offers further advantages users should know about.

“Because we know extra things about the system, we can be more informative to the user,” says Dave Donley, director of product technology at Vectorworks. He notes that controlling the whole stack means better logging so they can diagnose situations better. “We can tell them informatively in alerts that if they copy a file that way, they will run into trouble. Dropbox or other major cloud storage providers couldn’t tell them that.”

For quite some time now, Vectorworks has recommended Dropbox as their preferred third-party cloud solution for project sharing. They both provide LAN Sync and Delta Sync technology, whereas others like Box Drive, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive may only provide Delta Sync. LAN Sync saves time when multiple users work together through Vectorworks Project Sharing. Instead of passing the changes to shared files up through the cloud, the technology bypasses the Internet altogether and communicates over the local area network (LAN).

Vectorworks Cloud Services recently added this LAN Sync capability to its existing Delta Sync technology—matching both Dropbox and Resilio in these regards. But Vectorworks Cloud Services—which runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS) like most of the world’s top cloud storage providers and leading cloud apps—offers additional benefits.

Cloud Services excludes (.vwxw) files (working files) from syncing since those are never shared. If you work from home, your working files are only attached to your local computer and need not clog up directory folders. There is still an override to turn it on, but Vectorworks advises against it.

Vectorworks Cloud Services gives users a comprehensive set of presentation tools for cloud-based access to presentations. These include virtual Tours and Boards for multi-media style collaboration and presentation with stakeholders.

Cloud Services’ web portal also prevents the restore function of prior (.vwxp) project-sharing files in order to force the user to use backup (.vwxp) files created by Vectorworks. This ensures that working files are recreated after the restore. And finally, Vectorworks can detect when someone opens a regular (.vwx) Vectorworks file inside a Cloud Services’ shared folder and prompts them that project sharing is recommended.

These and future advantages will likely make Vectorworks Cloud Services a superior cloud solution over leading cloud storage providers for Vectorworks Project Sharing, with one caveat. And that is storage. Dropboxes and OneDrive today offer better economics on storage, but Vectorworks itself is considering increasing storage quotas, and that may change this calculus.

Vectorworks Cloud Services and Development Strategy

Interestingly, Vectorworks’s advice with Vectorworks Cloud Services and other third-party cloud storage providers is for its users to consider using both. Moreover, Cloud Services has integrations with third-party storage providers, including Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and others.

What are the benefits of using both, you may ask?

Third-party cloud storage providers provide more storage at lower costs, yet Vectorworks Cloud Services offers unique benefits like the ones discussed above regarding Project Sharing and others. And those others are a big deal. For example, Cloud Services provides built-in Viewers for file formats like PDFs, 3D models (.vgx files), pano images, and 360-degree movies. Dropbox and its rivals do not offer such things.

Using both, though, will likely come with project directory challenges. It would mean dual project directories—one for Cloud Services and one for a third-party storage provider like Dropbox. The good news is this challenge can be solved by integrating a connection between Vectorworks Cloud Services and Dropbox and Vectorworks provides detailed help and guidance on that task.

Markup and CDEs

Regarding Common Data Environments (CDEs) and cloud platforms for collaboration and markup, Vectorworks’ orientation is much more pluralized. “We are not building a platform,” says Steve Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, Vectorworks. “Our focus is more on connecting and using the cloud to take advantage of our desktop,” Johnson mentioned. One of those clouds Vectorworks Cloud Services may link to is sister company Bluebeam and its new Bluebeam Cloud platform.

“Yes, some of our customers need connections to other cloud solutions, and the Bluebeam folks are making a big move in the SaaS environment,” he adds. “Making these connections easy and smooth is a theme of what our Vectorworks cloud technologies are about.”

While connecting out is an essential strategy, Vectorworks Cloud Services does have its markup tools, including in Nomad on mobile. So, any project stakeholder can access PDFs and other documents via a shared link. And there is a commenting capability. But when it comes to BIM projects—especially Big BIM—the intensive collaboration and markup take place inside the BIM Collaboration Format (BCF).

“I think the upgrade to BCF support in Vectorworks 2023 is important to mention,” adds Dave Donley, “because if you look there, we support about half a dozen BCF databases.” Donley describes some BIM professionals’ preference for entering the BIM model virtually to discover, track, collaborate, and manage changes. “Maybe BCF will ultimately be more important for this shared collaboration workflow transformation,” Donley suggests.

Nomad and the Field

At the moment, Nomad, the mobile application from Vectorworks, doesn’t yet support BCF collaboration, but this is something on the development roadmap. Cloud Services and Nomad liberate users and project stakeholders to bring data into the field, capture field data, and bring it back to the office.

Nomad is different than, say, Bluebeam Revu on iPad that you take into the field or deploy on the contractor’s side. While it does feature markup on PDF files (drawings, shop drawings, product cuts, etc.) and similar functions to Revu, Nomad can view and navigate BIM and 3D models stored in the Vectorworks Cloud. And it can do so with Apple’s AR technologies for real-world setting-driven design evaluation only made possible through augmented reality.

Redshift Rendering (in Cloud)

With Maxon, a sister company to both Vectorworks and Archicad, the two dominant BIM solutions from Nemetschek have embedded rendering technology from Maxon. And this includes Maxon’s new Redshift Rendering engine technology.

But only Vectorworks, with its Vectorworks Cloud Services, enables cloud-based rendering services that extend to the advanced Redshift Rendering engine. “We upgraded our servers with the advanced GPU hardware to support Redshift,” says Donley. Steve Johnson adds that pushing off the more intensive rendering tasks is a way to optimize the utilization of your local hardware by not being tied down while doing this computer-intensive work.

Closing Comments

With such extensive Vectorworks Cloud Services capabilities, I asked Steve Johnson if users are aware of and using all of these abilities. “It’s a good point, but we have a home screen now, and we have made our Vectorworks Cloud Services front and center, so hopefully, that drives awareness.”

Statuses are shown in this window in Vectorworks Cloud Services, including a view of a pano rendering processed file.

Vectorworks Cloud Services offer an impressive array of features. During my interview with Johnson and Donley, I learned that the company is using macOS Servers at AWS to address specific functions that capitalize on industry-leading Apple technologies, like the photogrammetry to 3D models technology not yet mentioned in this article. An older feature, actually, Donley says they swapped out open-source photogrammetry code for Apple’s new code because it is so much better. Even Vectorworks users on Windows tap the power of Apple’s advanced LiDAR technologies when using photo-based data to create 3D models. This reality-capture technology is growing in importance in AEC.

And Donley says that more advanced Apple technologies can be distributed to its Vectorworks users on Windows via the same method of taking this computing out through the cloud in Cloud Services. And this cloud benefit works both ways. For example, faster GPUs on Windows hardware at AWS can deliver renderings to Mac and Windows Vectorworks users alike.

It’s a rather clever trick, using the power of the cloud to bring unique vanguard technologies from Apple to its Windows users while using the benefits of the PC ecosystem to get bleeding-edge GPU power to its Mac users. “And that is just the beginning,” urges Steve Johnson because there is much more to come soon.

The post Apple’s Leading-Edge Plus PC Hardware Ecosystem Deployed on Vectorworks Cloud Services appeared first on Architosh.

Tect is a new type of platform for solving the 2-3-sided market dynamics that currently limit the capabilities and performance of the architectural specification process in the AEC industry. Architects and designers who recommend and specify products can better serve their clients and project goals when they can access critical information at every stage of the project without the sales pressure. It’s free to join for AEC professionals and funded by building product manufacturers. Sign-up now to be first in on the platform.

Tect founder and CEO Bob Habian, an architect who has worked on both sides of the industry, says that his new platform functions with the simplicity of a Google search paired with the benefits of a two-sided market platform. What’s a two-sided market platform you may use and enjoy today? Some big ones include Uber, Airbnb, Match.com, and many others. But with Tect, there’s a twist. “Unlike a classic two-sided marketplace with buyers and sellers, the building industry is better served by what we call a three-sided marketplace, (with buyers, sellers, and influencers), because manufacturers generally sell their products to contractors, who buy products based on the influence of design professionals,” says Habian.

A Three-Sided Problem

Today’s AEC industry relationship between architects and manufacturers is a classic three-sided market problem itching to be modernized for the 21st century. But you may be wondering how?

The answer is to use a software platform that allows influencers to connect easily with supply-side manufacturer experts at the earliest stage of a project to properly select and understand how best to implement their products into the design documents well in advance of the project’s procurement or buying stage by contractors.

Let’s first look at a classic problem that happens today. An architect gets a new commission that takes her into new territory. She must find technical answers that only manufacturers can honestly answer. The solution: Google searches, phone calls to busy colleagues and peers, and reach-outs to the manufacturers she already knows, hoping they have a recommendation.

A screenshot of Tect, which works on multiple devices and is built on leading-edge cloud technology with a 21-part patent. The Tect platform has been beta tested by real architects and designers and streamed around their critical feedback. It works through the web, there is nothing to download, install, or manage.

That process takes a lot of time. And based on recent research conducted by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), two-thirds of architects believe the current product selection method is broken. (see: The Architect’s Journey to Specification)

The Tect platform matches architects’ specific questions with pre-qualified experts from manufacturers. Architects enter keywords into a Google-like search box. Targeted results are then displayed, and architects can filter search results by categories like location. From there, they can contact these experts directly by phone or email in both open or stealth mode.

Inquiry over Advocacy 

In a typical sales pressure environment, a product rep may begin by advocating for the manufacturer they represent rather than simply inquiring into the nature of your problems. Even if they are decent listeners, you tell them a little about your situation, and they jump into full advocacy mode rather than inquire more deeply to suss out all the issues and challenges you genuinely face.

With Tect, the manufacturers inside the platform will go through not just pre-qualification but the TectAcademy, an educational onboarding process for manufacturer experts to learn how to best respond to architects searching for expertise about materials and products for architectural specification.

The benefit for manufacturers is they shift their focus from chasing projects and opportunities to building trusted relationships that begin through a matched-up union between expert and architect. The intermediation process embedded in the platform technology removes the false positives—that is, it cuts out or substantially reduces the time spent chasing projects where manufacturer products don’t fulfill the design goals.

Positioned As Experts (Not Sales People)

That’s just it—that’s where architects are positioned once they start looking for expert advice. At that point, they understand their design goals for the project; what they don’t understand is whose products meet the technical requirements of their design goals.

Architects may need to fully understand the nature of the technical requirements that naturally pair with their design goals. This is why engaging with manufacturer experts earlier in the process greatly benefits the project. In fact, based on the AIA research we mentioned earlier, 87 percent of architects want help from product manufacturers at every project stage, starting at the schematic design phase. Bob adds: “The problem with manufacturers and reps who resort to sales pressure is that architects are not the buyer. We [architects] need to make objective and informed decisions, yet finding a product expert who understands how to provide objective and trustworthy support without a sales pitch, is a recurring challenge.”

The Economics (Win-Win)

Architectural readers may be wondering if such a platform would cost them money. The answer is no. Tect is a free platform for architects and design professionals.

Architects in the US alone have over 200,000 professionals making millions of product decisions annually. By 2025, the global construction market will reach USD 16.6 trillion. And building products represent 40-50 percent of total construction costs. With that kind of influence on sales of manufactured products, why should architects pay for anything?

The product manufacturers need to court the architects who decide “buying” in the industry. With Tect, manufacturers pay to place their experts on the platform and in the TectAcademy already mentioned.

“The manufacturers understand that all of the activities they undertake in joining the Tect platform will position them as experts across targeted product categories,” says Bob Habian, founder and CEO of Tect. “They position themselves for success in building long-term relationships with the demand-side architects, and they do so at a cost much lower than attending trade shows and traditional customer acquisition routes.”

The benefit for architects is quicker access to technical answers when they need them. And this costs them nothing. They don’t even need to download an app; Tect is a SaaS (software as a service) delivered via a web browser. Architects can sign-up now while the platform is in the final development stage.

What Architosh Thinks

Tect App, Inc. is an exciting new entrant into the AEC/O technology landscape. It is different than a conventional new software solution; Tect addresses the unique challenges of a three-sided marketplace and focuses on making it easy for people to connect directly rather than getting too caught up in the technology itself.

We won’t delve further into describing two or three-sided market platforms now. If you are interested in such things, we encourage you to subscribe to our Xpresso newsletter, which covers more AEC/O industries economics discussions. The critical thing is the Tect platform mixes vital components of Google Search, LinkedIn, and dating websites like Match.

If you silently laughed when you read that last part, take heart in this fact. At early stages, architects may want answers from manufacturers without the potential unwanted follow-up. Tect gives architects a stealth mode option to obtain expert feedback anonymously. That feature alone is why every architect should consider looking into the Tect Platform.

Perhaps the most impactful thing about what Tect App, Inc. is doing is that they have made significant partnerships within the industry—with architecture students (the profession’s future) and the AIA in the United States. Earlier last year, both the AIA and the AIAS reached out to Tect to align their efforts to better understand how to deliver benefits to their members.

Part of the Tect team with AIAS architecture students who did partnership and reach-out work with Tect at the 2022 AIA National Conference. Both the AIA and AIAS are partners with Tect and understand how cloud platform technology can better intermediate the complexity and inefficiency of traditional 2 and 3-way market mechanisms—the same way cloud platform technologies have changed the nature of how we get rides home from the airport (Uber), find vacation homes (Airbnb), and find our future partners in life (Match.com).

The AIA understands the power of intermediated technologies that offer game-changing economic benefits. The technologies that make up the Tect solution, by the way, received a 20-claim US patent issued earlier this year.

Everyone who recalls their first Uber ride may remember the powerful combination of significant differences and considerable familiarity. The Tect platform seems perfectly aligned to capitalize on this same phenomenon. Your old relationships aren’t going to go away; it is the nature of your new ones that are going to change. The long-term result is the industry will slowly morph into a more time-optimized relationship between influencers (architects) and sellers (product manufacturers). And that is going to benefit everybody.

The post Tect—A Promising Platform Can Provide Key Gains for Architects and Manufacturers Alike appeared first on Architosh.

“AutoCAD Web is for customers that need to transform their business to be more digital and enable their distributed workforce,” says Dania El Hassan, Director of Product Management, AutoCAD.

The New Normal

Initially launched in the summer of 2020, AutoCAD Web technologies helped millions of customers adjust to the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, today the current product offering reflects a mature refinement of how remote work actually functions and how businesses in both AEC and manufacturing have adapted to the “new normal.”

That new normal means project professionals and their project stakeholders seek and expect anywhere, any device access to their project data. And companies today are busier than ever and seeking streamlined methods of getting all participants to impart their expertise and roles no matter where they are. “AutoCAD Web empowers our customers to access collaborative workflows that bring teams together to review and edit their CAD drawings no matter where they are,” adds El Hassan. “Users can view, edit, and share drawings from their browser or mobile device without the need to install any software.”

AutoCAD Web In Action

Users log in to the software via their Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browser on either Windows or Mac computers. Their DWG files can then be opened from Autodesk Drive, Autodesk Docs, or one of several leading cloud storage providers such as Microsoft OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive.

Dania El Hassan, Director of Product Management, AutoCAD, Autodesk. (Image: Autodesk / All Rights Reserved).

AutoCAD Web provides core AutoCAD technology so that users can review, edit, and even create drawings for concept and feedback. Users can access block technology and utilize external references. And AutoCAD Web supports the powerful Trace layer technology so users can review and add feedback directly to the drawing (not a PDF) without altering the existing file. The user or teammates can then act on the Trace layer’s content by incorporating, revising, or editing at their discretion.

Autodesk’s Trace technology functions similarly to actual trace paper, functioning in the same spirit. All of AutoCAD’s common tools can be used on the Trace layer, offering a safe, non-destructive layer where others can collaborate. And because Trace is also featured in AutoCAD mobile versions, this technology is ideal for folks working out in the field.

Edit and create drawings online with AutoCAD Web, a new subscription offering from Autodesk.

“We have seen experienced engineers, project managers, and CAD and BIM managers use the applications to review, markup, and provide valuable feedback directly into the drawing,” says Dania El Hassan. “Construction professionals spend a lot of time in the field,” she adds, “so they really benefit from AutoCAD Web to take precise measurements, verify dimensions, make quick edits, and mark up drawings even when offline.”

AutoCAD Web the subscription includes AutoCAD mobile apps so users can stay in touch with AutoCAD workflows no matter where they are. (Image: Autodesk / All rights reserved)

That last point is a crucial one. One cannot always count on solid Internet access at AEC job sites. Readers need to understand two aspects of AutoCAD Web’s Trace features. Firstly, multiple participants can draw into the Trace layer and add feedback and propose edits. Secondly, the Trace layer also enables those collaborators to add their feedback directly within the drawing file for greater context. From this perspective, the Trace feature acts as a feedback resolution triage space.

Modern Workflows

Modern workflows demand flexibility on all fronts, from how the software works to how users gain access to their tools and data. And speaking of modern, AutoCAD technology is some of the most current software code in the CAD industry, leveraging state-of-the-art agile development and fully leveraging the latest operating system technologies from Microsoft, Apple and Google.

The new inclusion of AutoCAD mobile versions with AutoCAD Web subscription means that stakeholders who need access to AutoCAD but don’t need to author AutoCAD files themselves have a multi-device onramp that is both cost-effective, affordable, and flexible.

Users of AutoCAD Web can measure and take dimensions and take comparisons from the field or factory floor.

AutoCAD Web fully supports AutoCAD Blocks technology, including their creation.

AutoCAD Web works with all the leading cloud file solutions in addition to Autodesk Cloud.

“We’ve seen customers across all phases of the lifecycle use AutoCAD for everything from concept sketches, suggested design changes, as-built drawings, and maintenance of equipment and buildings,” says El Hassan. “It’s fast, efficient, and gets the job done for busy professionals.”

Our Closing Thoughts

By enabling direct markup attached to the CAD drawing in the Trace layer, collaborators can provide rapid feedback loops to AutoCAD authors back in the office and other stakeholders in the field. This is a more streamlined and faster process than PDF-based collaborative workflows and a must-test compelling option for firms with dominant DWG-based CAD technology workflows.

AutoCAD Web is ultimately about collaboration technologies that democratize CAD data to all users and stakeholders, meeting them where they are on their terms and on their devices. (Image: Autodesk / All rights reserved)

The new subscription offering will likely boost and drive AutoCAD usage vis-a-vis new classes of users who are instrumental to CAD-driven projects in AEC and manufacturing but yet don’t know AutoCAD itself.

When we look at how collaboration is taking place today and witness so many first-generation computing practices, it only makes sense that these folks, in particular, consider all-digital practices. What Autodesk is offering is a streamlined collaboration and CAD workflow that ties together all stakeholders regardless of what computing devices they use.

The post The New AutoCAD Web—Streamlined Collaboration for CAD Professionals appeared first on Architosh.

Architects, engineers, contractors, and building owners have many photography needs. These extend from photo-documenting existing buildings before new renovations or additions to using photographs during building construction phases to substitute for and complement site visits by architects, engineers, and building owners.

Photography Challenges in AEC

Photography has always played a pivotal role in the building industry. One of its most important uses has been in photo-documenting existing buildings before their renovations and also prior to their demolition. Historic structures, in particular, must be carefully documented with photography. When the devastating 2019 fire broke out in Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral, those charged with its massive reconstruction relied upon extensive documentation of what was once there but now needed to be reconstructed.

The RICOH THETA X is the newest member of the THETA camera line and can shoot advanced 360-degree spherical panorama images in high resolution. The unit can mount on a tripod. Its companion software for smartphones enables remote shutter control as well. (click to enlarge)

Even buildings far less critical than France’s most famous cathedral face common disasters like fires or earthquakes and require reconstruction. Having photographed a building extensively is quite an endeavor. One challenge is missing information on parts of a building that turn out critical but were never captured in a photograph. The limitations of traditional photography center on the need to take hundreds of images with appropriate overlaps and dozens of recentering to make sure every part of a building’s environment is captured.

This is where RICOH THETA X’s camera solves problems. The THETA X is an advanced 360-degree dual-lens spherical camera. With just one click in the center of a room, the entire room is captured in a 360-degree spherical image.

MORE: Architosh & RICOH THETA X Webinar: Digitizing the job site with 360-degree images (Sign-Up!)  (or view on Architosh’s Vimeo channel)

Architects, in particular, when visiting job sites, are typically over-tasked with on-site responsibilities, often leaving them tight schedules to photo document construction activities. Typically, architects arrive on-site and go directly into meetings or walk-through sessions with construction and owner teams. Then they take photos after they meet with the remaining time they have. The THETA X can save architects (and contractors and engineers) lots of time by covering far more of the building in less time than, per se, the architect’s iPhone.

Another thing that gets missed in on-site photography is the ground plane and the ceiling plane. This is where 360-degree photography helps address this often-overlooked coverage.

THETA X — In Detail

The THETA X is a multi-purpose camera able to shoot still images, 360-degree spherical images, and video. Still images can be captured in 11k or 5.5k size (11,008 x 5504 or 5504 x 2752 pixels). Videos range from 5.7k to 2k in 30-60 fps. And you can live-stream (via USB) in 4K format at 30 fps for up to 25 minutes. By updating to the latest camera firmware, 2K format can live stream for up to 24 hours. Depending on the format size, you can shoot up to 220 images under one battery charge or generate 30 – 55 minutes of video. Video time per recording is up to 25 minutes for 4K at 30 fps.

This close-up image shows the 2.25-inch LCD screen which is a unique feature of the RICOH THETA X model. The user interface works with swipe gestures to navigate around the camera’s controls. Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth form connectivity of the camera to computers and smartphones and the unit ships with a USB-C cable for battery charging and data transport.

The THETA X comes with plenty of internal memory. At 46 GB, it can hold up to 11,500 still images in the 5.5k format or 4,600 photographs in the 11k format. There is also a microSDXC memory card slot on the unit. Most users in AEC/O will be transporting their photography to project directories on the LANs, cloud storage, or CDE (common data environment) software systems as a matter of standard protocol. Still, it is nice to know you can store many images in the unit’s internal memory.

Users can upload their work to the theta360.com website, dedicated to sharing 360-degree images. This public site might be workable for some AEC/O users, while others will want to share with clients and colleagues with more controlled access. There is the ability to link to various cloud services dedicated to or supporting 360-degree images, such as the virtual tour service, RICOH360 Tours.

RICOH360 Tours lets users share and set up a virtual tour of an environment, ideal for real estate and property management or facilities professionals. This same offering can also be of benefit to architects. RICOH360 Tours enables the embedded tours into existing websites like an architecture practice’s website. (see this Tours example).

Reality Capture in AEC

RICOH360 Projects is similar to its Tours offering but is oriented directly at the building industry. This is a next-generation all-in-one reality capture and communication platform that digitizes the job site. This system mainly links your 360-degree photographic output to drawings (floor plans) for remote off-site monitoring.

The RICOH THETA X camera works best for AEC/O professionals when paired with Ricoh360 Projects, a dedicated cloud-based software system for construction professionals.

This system lets you compare 360-degree spherical photography taken over time, with date and time stamps data fully displayed. You can even use basic markup tools over these images in RICOH360 Projects to collaborate with project stakeholders and colleagues.

RICOH360 Projects lets construction professionals remotely monitor construction projects via 360-degree images. Images are time and date-stamped. The software allows the side-by-side comparison of images. As you rotate in one of the images both images rotate at the same time—allowing AEC pros to review what things looked like on the construction site at various stages of the construction schedule.

Architosh will take a deeper look at RICOH360 Projects and use cases utilizing 360-degree technology in a separate report soon.

THETA X Explored

RICOH has several software applications that conjoin with the product line’s THETA X and other THETA units. There are apps for the desktop (Mac and Windows) and apps for your smartphone (Android and iOS).

The THETA X, like all THETA units, supports tripod mounting, so you can position yourself directly in the room where you want to shoot and take yourself out of the image by shooting remotely using the app on your smartphone.

There are actually two different apps for the smartphone. THETA+ is for photo and video editing, social media sharing, animations, time-lapse creation, and picture-in-picture generation. The RICOH THETA app is for remote shooting and unit management and also can manage and share images, including to social accounts.

MORE: Architosh & RICOH THETA X Webinar: Digitizing the job site with 360-degree images (Sign-Up!) (or view on Architosh’s Vimeo channel)

The THETA X has a built-in GPS and A-GPS for accurate position information embedded into 360-degree photos. This data could be helpful for AEC/O industry apps that ingest photos and locate them on drawings of the building or project site. However, RICOH360 Project and RICOH360 Tours do not as of yet support GPS data.

We just mentioned “animations” a few paragraphs ago. If you are wondering what we mean by that, the THETA+ app can create an animation experience of a 360-degree pano. Why would you want to do this? You would want to make an animation of a 360-degree pano experience for web and social media platforms that do not support embedded panos, like Instagram. You may also want to include animated panos in PowerPoint and Keynote presentations.

THETA Models

We have discussed the THETA X unit in this article because it is the newest unit in the product line and includes a 2.25-inch TFT color LCD screen with an auto-brightness adjustment function. Ricoh has been developing this product line since 2013’s release of the THETA m15. There are now seven THETA models in the lineup, including the flagship model, the THETA Z1. The primary differences between units are image size (resolution), internal memory capacity, and battery performance. The THETA Z1 features raw format function plus a 1-inch sensor ideal for low light conditions. Thus this camera is the premium model.

While the THETA Z1 is the premium flagship model, the latest THETA X unit uniquely features the large 2.25-inch TFT color LCD screen and touch interface that any iPhone or Android smartphone user will be instantly familiar with. Small and lightweight and with a protective case, the unit can easily slip into a briefcase, coat pocket, or purse for great portability.

The units have microphones to record audio into your videos. The first units were monaural, while the Z1 unit has 4channel audio. Interestingly, the THETA X is also monaural. Again, the THETA X is the only unit with a large LCD screen. The units also support wireless and Bluetooth, but the connections vary. The THETA X supports Bluetooth and wireless LAN connection. Each THETA device comes with a USB cable to connect to your computer, used for charging the unit’s battery and data transfer.

Final Thoughts

Another thing to mention about the THETA X is its ability to generate HDR images (HDRI). These 360-degree HDR images are used as background images in rendering software applications. HDRI is created by mixing or blending several images of the same scene with different exposures, storing the RGB color values with floating-point precision. Notably, the brightness is recorded in each pixel. This brightness data generates the light from HDR images in rendering software programs.

The THETA Z1 and SC2 models also have HDR shooting functions but the HDR image of the THETA X model has more natural and accurate color qualities, which are better suited for rendering backgrounds as well as interior scenes on virtual tours.

Now we see that for the AEC/O market, architects especially have another valuable use case for the RICOH THETA X camera. One can use it to take site photos in 360-degree spherical panorama as HDRI that can be used to render HDR backgrounds for architectural rendering software. Not only does the THETA X capture the actual site conditions but also its real-world light data.

To summarize, the THETA X is the latest unit in RICOH’s popular THETA camera product line. While the cameras can be used purely for fun and entertainment, the THETAs have been built with professional utility in mind. RICOH is especially focused on the building industry, where spherical images can be shot by hand or by tripod (using your smartphone as the remote shutter) and serve to economize processes on the job site that is today managed with conventional photography.

AEC/O users can save time in processes such as field surveys, progress site reports, resolving site conditions remotely, and construction progress scheduling.

Architosh will be publishing a real-world case study article on the RICOH THETA X in the near future, but this article gives you an in-depth view of what the THETA X can do today. For more information, visit theta360.com.

Join Webinar

To learn even more about the Ricoh THETA X camera system and Ricoh360 Projects for AEC workflows, sign-up for our free webinar (live or on-demand). (or here at Vimeo)

Learn how the THETA X can work with Matterport and hear from a panel of architects and builders about the importance of photography on the construction job site and how 360-degree images solve a multitude of challenges when incorporated into other digital workflows and systems.

The post Product In-Depth: Ricoh THETA X for the AEC Industry appeared first on Architosh.

Clarity—Its Role

Clarity is a product aimed squarely at the BIM Coordinator role in AEC firms using Revit as its BIM platform. The software has had four main functions: automation, model health, business intelligence, and room and equipment data. A new module just released this year addresses programming and space planning.

“This product goes back ten years, says Matt Mason. “We were looking at the people who serve firms in the BIM Coordinator role, and these folks seem to spend a large part of their time doing repetitive tasks.” Such tasks include the generation of DWG exports for consultants or producing PDF sets for next-day morning meetings. These basic tasks that all architects and engineers must do on large jobs can take mind-numbing hours per week.

Clarity enables BIM Coordinators to fully program and automate such tasks. “On just a medium-sized Revit project, this can take a half-hour, says Mason. “On a big Revit project, it can take a lot more time. Clarity is saving people a ton of time.”

Clarity can automate dozens of tasks across multiple functional categories. It can automate both exports and prints, including into file formats like DGN (Bentley), DWF, DWG, FBX, GBxml, COBie, IFC, Navisworks, and of course, PDF. It can also batch datasheet PDF books, send Revit schedules to Excel format, export Revit View images, including Room Images export.

BIM Models—Their Needs

High-functioning BIM models need attention, and dedicated BIM Coordinators best serve this role. Clarity comes with tools to power this process. BIM Coordinators can run Model Metrics, its Model Performance Advisor Report to gain insights into areas of a Revit model that are not meeting good practice standards. More than 60 metrics can be analyzed. (see Image 02 below)

Image 01 — Clarity can fully automate multiple types of tasks it can perform, shown here across its Task Timeline window.

“People in the BIM Coordinator role have it tough; if a lot of staff are working on a project and the coordinator manages five or more projects, it is hard for them to spend much time in the models checking things and eyeballing if best practices are being followed,” says Mason. “Clarity’s tools streamline this process.”

Firms using Revit and experiencing persistent slow-downs on models as the project proceeds through time would clearly benefit from IMAGINiT Clarity.

Another area where Clarity helps streamline tasks is in “model exchange” and management tasks. Clarity can simplify, clean, and fix links in Revit models.

Setting Up Clarity

Clarity installs on a Windows Server on your firm’s LAN. There is also a new cloud version of Clarity that runs on Autodesk Forge. The on-premise server version is one that Mason characterizes as light enterprise software.

Image 02 — Clarity delivers several tools aimed at BIM model metrics, optimizations, and performance advisory reports. These ensure optimal Revit model performance in organizations.

Clarity sends its marching orders to “task servers”—machines on the LAN running Revit (and optionally AutoCAD). The actual Revit models or AutoCAD files can exist elsewhere, including network (LAN) folders, on a Revit Server, Autodesk BIM 360, or Bentley ProjectWise. This flexibility is what is appealing to Revit users. Mason said they still have many customers committed to ProjectWise, for example, while the global pandemic pushed many Revit firms to BIM360.

Clarity has a growing list of “targets” for its output locations. When Clarity generates those PDFs at midnight for the next day’s morning meeting, the output locations include not only network (LAN) folders, BIM360, ProjectWise, and FTP; they also have support cloud players like BOX, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft SharePoint, MS Teams, Procore, and BIMTrack.

During AU with the big Clarity update, the company also announced integrations with Egnyte and deeper integration with Google Docs. They also have a Bluebeam integration which they hope to have active in the near future.

Image 03 — Clarity also includes a 3D Revit model viewer, as shown here highlighting a searched object in the project and providing data viewing of that object.

Clarity Cloud launched back in June of this year. This fully hosted version of Clarity can automate much of the same tasks as Clarity running on-premise. It can handle repetitive Revit, AutoCAD, and BIM 360 tasks, saving BIM Coordinators hundreds of hours every year.

Clarity Cloud runs on Autodesk Forge, which Mason said is still a “relatively young” product. The on-premise version of Clarity is still a more powerful version as Forge itself has limits as to what it can do.

“The Autodesk Forge side, in terms of automation, is still early. For example, you can’t print PDFs well, which is something people want,” says Mason. “Forge is really sitting in for the task server machines that are on-premise,” he adds, “and the benefit of those machines is you know the hardware, you know what they are capable of doing and how they perform because they are just like your production workstations.”

Some small to mid-sized customers may prefer Clarity Cloud, a solution that features a per-usage billing model while eliminating upfront hardware and IT-related costs. As Forge matures and its functionality and tasks are improved, the cloud version may offer new advantages over the on-premise version.

next page: Space Programming Module 

The post Clarity for Revit Workflows Brings New Space Planning to Automation Software Suite appeared first on Architosh.

Since our last look, Trimble has modified SketchUp’s product offerings. SketchUp Studio—SketchUp Pro with Sefaria features and technologies included—no longer exists as a product. Sefaira is back to being a separate product. And to make things more interesting, Trimble has developed PreDesign as a set of climate-responsive design technologies packaged into a web app that comes with SketchUp Pro licenses.

MORE: Product Review: Trimble SketchUp Studio 2020

PreDesign operates at an entirely different level than Sefaira. It does not technically work on your SketchUp models or use them in any way in its generative data and calculations.

Why PreDesign

One reason Trimble developed PreDesign is to bring climate science down to the level of the average architectural practice. While tech-forward and large firms use Sefaira’s technically advanced (but complex) tools, most architects need a more uncomplicated pathway to implement climate-responsive design strategies in their day-to-day work.

“What we observed is that in talking to architects and watching them start their projects, there wasn’t much research at the start as we had expected,” says Andrew Corney, who formally was Product Director for Sefaira. “We were quite surprised at how many designers immediately start doing design in 3D in SketchUp and how they didn’t have the tools available to do some basic consideration of climate and how it affects their buildings.”

Corney noted that if one looks at the top ten AIA winning projects, one will find all kinds of energy-related data, wind roses, and similar charts. Still, in talking to actual designers, you soon find out the designs can have less connection to the data than imagined. “Drawing the dots between what the charts are telling you and what the design is about was missing,” says Corney.

Trimble saw an opportunity to fix this. More than that, they felt there was an opportunity to provide a low-barrier entryway to bringing climate science into the design process in SketchUp and draw the dots for them since architects weren’t doing this or thinking about it.

Initial Failures

Sefaira was already a tool that the average architect didn’t feel technically capable of managing. Specialists and larger firms have staff with building science degrees, sustainable design degrees, and computational-design degrees. These folks are naturals for Sefaira’s vast power and more complex user interface.

In Trimble’s earliest attempts at PreDesign, they started with a much more technical product, but not as technical as Sefaira. The beta group of over 100 architects found it challenging. “In the first round of feedback, people were saying things like ‘this is too complicated,’ ‘this is too scientific,’ or ‘it doesn’t feel like me,’ ” says Corney.

“So in the second round, we realized we needed to visualize solutions more, and in a way that is non-specific and can be applied to any project,” says Corney. “It was also important that PreDesign wasn’t forcing the architect to go down a particular path.”

Continuing to work with the beta group, Trimble eventually arrived at the PreDesign application we have in front of us today.

In-Depth with PreDesign

PreDesign is a free web application included with a SketchUp Pro license. You access the web application from SketchUp Pro via a menu selection, or you can launch it from the web browser if you are logged into your Trimble account online.

Corney says that most architects want to understand a given environment and its potential impacts on a building at the early stage of design. And yet he says, “I think the experiential is what architects are more familiar with talking about; they are not so familiar with talking about BTUs…but rather in terms of helping them tell the story they would normally be telling but with an environmental data backup.”

To walk you through PreDesign, we will create a new study ourselves.

SketchUp’s PreDesign features are not actually inside of SketchUp the application. However, that is how you begin when you go to the menu File > Start PreDesign. The PreDesign application will then pop up in a web browser window with three Demo Studies shown and a button labeled “Create new study.” A help button popup also links to the PreDesign Forum, Guides, and other items.

Initiating a study in PreDesign is rather straightforward. The primary goal is locating your site and selecting your source for weather data.

For this review, we will select to create a new study. Options for studies include Office, School, or Residential. The process begins with locating your project on Earth. I have typed in Boston, Massachusetts. The weather data source can be based on Satellite or Weather Station. If you select the Weather Station button, a drop-down provides you with a list of all nearby weather stations. I have chosen Lawrence Municipal AP, which is in the historic industrial city of Lawrence. Upon selecting the location, a study is created and listed on the PreDesign home page. Once you click on your study (in my case Architosh House – Boston), SketchUp PreDesign generates an analysis. (see image).

Boston has a warm and humid continental climate. Here are the four seasons described per environmental characteristics with temperature ranges.

As you can see from the image above, Boston has four very distinct seasons, from humid summers to very cold snowy winters. Average minimum and average maximum temperatures for each season are indicated.

The goal is to use the following generated analysis data to help design your project to be responsive to climate science data and optimized for human comfort. There are five major areas the program walks the user through, including Architectural Response, Glazing Ratio, Shading, Toplighting, and Outdoor Spaces. Each season has information on design guidelines for how the architect can adapt the design strategies to increase human comfort and respond to the local climate.

For example, in Boston’s spring season, people want to be outside, and the frequency of occupation for this project type falls to 24 percent versus 57 percent during the winter. Most humans will want to be outside to enjoy the spring weather. Architectural guidance includes ways to “take the inside outside” via the use of large openings to connect to outside areas, large glazing ratios, and shading where needed. At the same time, winter season guidance suggests massing with limited articulation (e.g., think New England colonial houses, which are basic rectangles). An occupation hours percentage chart indicates when architectural responses are most important.

Types of design responses to the environment over the year per response or strategy.

The next section is Glazing Ratios. An analysis is run and produces a calculation of heat loss potential measured in heating-degree days per year and an overheating from sun value measured in overheating hours per year.

We have 3,208 heating degree-days per year in heat loss potential in the Boston metro region. Heat loss through glazing is determined as “high,” as is the impact on glazing ratios. As you toggle between different orientations (north, south, east, southwest, etc.), the effects of the sun on overheating due to glazing is determined for you. In the south orientation, heat gain through glazing is rated as “quite significant,” but the impact on the glazing ratio is rated as “moderate.” Whereas, for the southwest orientation, the effect on the glazing ratio is rated as “high.” Hours of overheating per year are calculated for each orientation.

Potential heat loss through glazing and detrimental heat gain in the summer months via glazing is calculated in this section. The lower part of this section runs through dozens of glazing strategies in technical detail.

The rest of this particular section focuses on providing strategies around glazing, showing an optimal vs. typical strategy situation with an extensive range of optional strategies broken down by filter selections. To help the architect make the best decisions regarding glazing, the filters allow the user to toggle through different combinations of filter selections, including glazing insulation value, glazing frame material, glazing solar control quality values, and exterior shading options.

Optimal versus typical glazing strategies and resultant max glazing ratio. The lower section contains filters on glazing assemblies (systems) to build various options and have the software generate maximum glazing percentages under those configurations. This is section is incredibly useful for designing energy-efficient buildings.

For a Triple glazed, low-E, non-metal, no shading but great glazing solar control glass, maximum glazing ratios are as high as 73 percent. Adding partial shading—which would be beneficial in summer—is of less value as maximum glazing is still limited to 73 percent. Dropping out the low-E component but keeping the argon fill for triple-glazed glazing limits maximum glazing to 57 percent, a significant drop.

So the filters allow the architect to explore the impacts of using triple glazing versus double-glazing, argon fill or not, and a whole range of other metrics around building glazing. You still have to design your building freely, but now you have percentages as guides to work with and data about the quality of your glazing systems needed to meet these numbers.

Data on annual solar impact is displayed under the Shading analysis section of the app, helping you make intelligent decisions about shading strategies. All shading strategies considered in the software are purely architectural. Trees or natural shading strategies are not factored into the software at this time.

Various shading strategies are displayed and ranked for the user to evaluate for their appropriateness to a given design situation, including facade orientation.

Clicking on the cards for each type of shading strategy will present the user with a results overlay graph of how the device impacts shading. For example, clicking on the Eggcrate shading strategy for the East Facade orientation shows that little direct sun hits the glass, except in the earliest morning hours. A brise soleil option shows that much more sun hits the glass, but generally, all glass is shaded after mid-morning hours. Notably, the overlay easily enables you to see through the shaded section to ensure that red zones on the chart (which means detrimental sun) are blocked, while yellow zones on the chart (which means frequent beneficial sun) are not.

The shading overlay options can be visualized against building orientations laid on top of the classic solar path diagram. The red, yellow, and blue colors correspond to the detrimental sun (red), beneficial sun (yellow), and mostly cloud, passive sun (blue), and dark gray the areas shaded by the device under question.

This part of PreDesign helps the architect test each type of shading device for each solar orientation of the building and evaluate shading needs. In the Double Overhand approach, we can see that all the red zones are blocked while the majority of the beneficial sun (yellow zones) are not blocked.

next page: Two more Features and Closing Thoughts

The post In-depth with Trimble SketchUp’s PreDesign Technologies appeared first on Architosh.

Economics of Viewports

CAD, 3D, and BIM users are all familiar with waiting for the screen to redraw. One simply cannot do the next operation until the screen has refreshed. Earlier this year, a Boston-area Autodesk reseller told me that the cumulative sum of wait times—that is adding up all the tiny slices of time—for screen redraws totaled between 30 – 45 minutes per day. Architosh’s own test-based estimates have been closer to 20 – 30 minutes per day, so for the below exercise, we will take 30 minutes a day.

If we divide the total economic revenue generation per architect in say my firm, where I am an associate principal, the value of 1 minute a day is approximately USD 2.00. On a weekly basis, 30 minutes is worth USD 300. For a staff of 10 architects? USD 3,000. And for that year for that staff of 10? USD 168,000.  That is a significant amount of money. 30 minutes a day of wait time is 1/16th of total production time (assuming 8 hours per day).

So taking essentially 6.25 percent of all time applied to the total production in a firm and applying that to annual revenues, the amount is very meaningful. If a firm of 20 generates annual revenues of USD 4 million per year, 6.25 percent is USD 250,000.

AMD’s new Viewport Boost technology, introduced as part of the new AMD Pro Radeon 6000 series GPUs, offers targeted and intelligent performance speed-ups for AEC applications like Autodesk Revit, 3ds Max, and Epic’s Twinmotion, and Unreal Engine 4. It works across all Radeon PRO GPUs, not just the latest units like the W6800 shown above.

The value creation opportunity for accelerating workflows so that cumulative wait times shrink is clearly there. The reason why 3D and CAD professionals don’t seem to feel that understanding is because they don’t do just one operation per day and wait for 30 minutes; they do 3,000 plus clicks per day accounting for a thousand plus operations per day—waiting noticeable seconds to even a minute for the next function to be executable.

Imagine if every architect’s workstation took 30 minutes to launch every morning. That would be stunning, right? That would truly have management frustrated with the economic madness of such a situation. Simply stretching that much time out over the day across thousands of operations seems to make it vanish. But it really isn’t gone.

Viewport Boost

The economic argument for investing in accelerating your graphics on-screen has just been laid out for you. For those readers doing photo-realistic rendering most of their day, that 30 minutes per day might look ridiculously low. You already know the reality of long wait times. As architects and designers working in BIM get more involved in raytracing photo-realistic rendering workflows, their daily wait times are increasing, not decreasing.

Working in OpenGL views and now including real-time raytracing into your BIM workflows is undoubtedly going to increase wait time. This is why AMD’s Viewport Boost technology is so important and while we will go over it in some detail in a moment.

In short, AMD’s Viewport Boost technology is designed to help speed up the interaction experience when moving around real-time rendered 3D or BIM models. “Visually-dynamic viewport workflows demand more GPU resources,” says Jamie Gwilliams, Senior Business Development Manager, AMD, “and often these are the same scenarios where users may observe lower frame rates, stuttering, and a lack of real-time interactivity.”

What Viewport Boost technology does is intelligently recognize these scenarios and adjust the viewport resolution in real-time to improve responsiveness with minimal perceptible visual impact on image quality.

Viewport Boost by AMD is software technology that is application-specific and boosts viewport rendering frame rates and interactivity leading to less stuttering, viewport stalls, and faster and more fluid interactivity in visually rich rendered workflows in Revit, 3ds Max and Twinmotion.

So if a BIM or 3D user is actively engaged with real-time rendering in tools like Twinmotion, for example, Viewport Boost will smartly drop the resolution down to up to 50 percent in order to keep interactively very high and immediately responsive. The user has full control to set the minimum dynamic resolution the application viewport will drop to. Stuttering, stalling, and otherwise clearly waiting are all forms of user experience (UX) wait times.

Real App Workflows

AMD’s Viewport Boost technology is turned on via the AMD Radeon Pro drivers associated with AMD’s Radeon Pro GPUs for Windows systems. Viewport Boost does not apply to the new Radeon Pro 6000 series cards for Apple’s Mac Pro. This is not because of graphics APIs or underlying operating systems, but rather selecting applications that can benefit the most from it.

AMD’s Viewport Boost technology is strongly aimed at AEC workflows. These include Autodesk Revit (BIM), Autodesk 3ds Max,  and Epic’s Twinmotion (real-time, interactive rendering). It also works in Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 (for DirectX 11 projects only).

In our review of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 GPU, we tested this feature via Twinmotion file testing. We were curious how it can impact tools like Revit which are so CPU-bound. Jamie Gwilliams of AMD explained it this way: “In Revit 2022 and newer, we’ve found that maxing out visual settings, including enablement of transparency, can create GPU-limited scenarios that benefit from Viewport Boost.”

We had Twinmotion set up to ultra settings and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600 powered our modest scene incredibly smoothly. We also tested Twinmotion with Viewport Boost in Twinmotion and measured marked improved FPS rates.

Gwilliams told Architosh that Viewport Boost technology is a pure software-delivered feature, which is why it works with all Radeon Pro GPUs, not just the latest 6000 series. “We’re really excited about expanding Viewport Boost support. Soon we will be expanding support to newer versions of Autodesk Revit and 3ds Max,” says Gwilliams. “We’re eager to look into support for more applications in the future.”

AMD’s Return on Investment

AMD’s Viewport Boost technology shows that the company is innovating in clever ways to maximize the accelerating potential of GPUs. Recall I said that a Boston Autodesk reseller said the average wait time was closer to 45 minutes per day. For really large BIM projects and complex models, when Revit settings are fully maximized for visual fidelity, waiting up to 60 minutes a day is fully possible. But with Viewport Boost, every single pan, zoom, walk-through—any kind of acceleration of the model relative to the viewport camera—is intelligently degraded in resolution just enough to make the viewport instantly reactive and responsive.

MORE: Product Reviews: AMD Radeon Pro W6600 GPU for Workstations

So what might that be worth in dollars and cents?

If the average Revit user is waiting 45 minutes per day for screen redrawing to complete (the point at which the user can take immediate interaction with any new function), at USD 2.00 per minute, that amounts to USD 90 per day or USD 25,200 per year. It is difficult to pinpoint what percentage Viewport Boost can capture back in total time, but even an extremely modest 5 percent gain back is still worth over a thousand dollars.

In closing, BIM, CAD, and 3D users cannot take action until the screen has finished redrawing from the last action. We pan and zoom incessantly between each command, getting our viewpoint on our objects set up first before our commands. What Viewport Boost is doing is keeping your workflow fluid by taking away the stalls and stutters and thereby reducing total wait time every day. It is a unique technology designed specifically for AEC pain points and one that pairs wonderfully with AMD’s latest market-leading workstation GPUs—like the Radeon Pro W6800 shown above—GPUs that as we have noted before, provide market-leading performance for the dollar.

To learn more about AMD Viewport Boost go here.

The post AMD’s Viewport Boost Feature—3D and BIM Acceleration Technology appeared first on Architosh.

The W6600 delivered some impressive stats in our benchmarks and real-usage apps tests. (see: Architosh, “Product Review: AMD Radeon Pro W6600 GPU for Workstations,” 1 Oct 2021) The new AMD Radeon Pro 6000 series GPUs offer hardware-accelerated raytracing engines, competitive to comparables by NVIDIA. They presently deliver arguably the best performance per dollar offering in the workstation GPU entry-mid-level market segment. 

In the RDNA 2 Architecture

The AMD RDNA 2 architecture improves upon RNDA by up to 54 percent, with performance gains attributed to design frequency (clock) increases, power optimizations, and performance per clock enhancements driven by the new AMD Infinity Cache. 

While the previous RDNA GPUs were also built on a TSMC-based 7nm node, improvements in chip manufacturing have improved that enhanced 7nm node helping to boost overall chip efficiency. For better power optimizations, RNDA 2 introduced pervasive fine-grain clock gating, aggressive pipeline rebalancing, and improved the routing for data paths to move data more efficiently—all lessons that came to RDNA 2 from their Zen era CPU chip development. 

AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture for its GPUs is shown here in detail. Notice the “RA” in each Compute Unit. This is dedicated hardware for raytracing on DirectX Raytracing, Vulkan, and other real-time raytracing APIs. On the Cover image: The Infinity Cache provides quick access to massive data, speeding up overall GPU performance.

Overall, AMD tells Architosh that the combinations of power-saving techniques in RDNA 2 yielded 30 percent per cycle per compute unit and up to a 30 percent frequency boost at the same power level. 21 percent of the 54 percent improvement over RDNA GPU performance is attributed to performance per clock enhancements, largely due to Infinity Cache. 

Infinity Cache

So what is Infinity Cache, you may ask? Infinity Cache is a large L3-level memory cache that sits alongside the computational units (CUs) along the far side of the GPU. It sits between the DRAM on the GPU die package and the GPU core with its compute cores (including embedded ray accelerators). 

Infinity Cache technology offers up to 2.4x greater bandwidth per watt than just GDDR6 memory alone, as in the previous RDNA generation GPUs. This technology leverages what AMD learned from its Zen architecture for its CPUs. This architecture has propelled its latest Zen 3 CPUs ahead of rival Intel and currently holds industry-leading benchmark crowns in both single and multi-core CPU performance. The first instance of the Infinity Cache was used on an AMD EPYC CPU in the server space. 

Infinity Cache is a powerful memory fabric technology that links directly to processing cores on chips and offers a massive pool of relatively fast-to-access data. This is so much better for the GPU than querying much slower GDDR6 memory. 

Ray Accelerators

Another critical aspect of the RDNA 2 architecture is the emergence of hardware-based raytracing acceleration. By adding a fixed-function Ray Accelerator engine to each Compute Unit, AMD RDNA 2-based graphics cards optimize real-time lighting, shadow, and reflection realism with DirectX Raytracing (DXR). 

A really big part of the excitement in RDNA 2 architecture from AMD is the new hardware-accelerated raytracing technology.

Additionally, when paired with AMD FidelityFX, a technology that enables hybrid rendering, developers can combine rasterized and raytraced effects to ensure an optimal combination of image quality and performance. By duplicating each Compute Unit and Ray Accelerator, they can efficiently work on parallel jobs from the software, such as displaying images on the screen. 

In the RDNA-based generation of AMD GPUs, pro apps are rendered using the GPU with the execution of the raytracing happening in software (on the GPU). Now RDNA 2 brings dedicated hardware to the task of real-time raytracing. For readers of Architosh, this means that your pro apps, when they are tapping into DirectX Raytracing (DXR), AMD’s RadeonProRender, or Vulkan raytracing APIs, will fully utilize the Ray Accelerators. 

A final note. This latest RNDA 2 architecture is specifically designed to accelerate raytracing calculations to boost offline rendering performance even further, plus real-time raytracing in real-time applications like Epic’s Twinmotion, which Architosh included in its review of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600. 

Closing Comments

AMD’s RDNA 2 Architecture offers both professionals and gamers technology that goes toe-to-toe with its chief rival in NVIDIA. With AMD tapping into critical technologies from its Zen architecture for CPUs, the company offers specialized features like its Infinity Cache. That technology alone accounts for a sizeable performance speed up. 

As we saw in our recent review, AMD’s latest set of professional RadeonPro GPUs with RDNA 2 Architecture provide industry-leading performance per dollar value. It’s exciting to think about where AMD is headed, given its fantastic progress in the CPU wars with Intel and how it is bringing its innovation to bear in the GPU arena. 

The post AMD’s RDNA 2 Architecture—Behind the Radeon Pro W6600’s Stellar Performance appeared first on Architosh.

However, there is an even higher chance you have never used it yourself. That’s because the traditional version of ProjectWise descends from the pre-SaaS era of technology, and the more significant majority of architects and engineers in the AEC world work in small to medium-sized firms. Bentley Systems aims to fix that.

ProjectWise 365—For Smaller Firms

To address this issue, Bentley has created ProjectWise 365, an entirely SaaS (software as a service), web browser-based solution for AECO digital project delivery. However, specific market targets are not the only reason why ProjectWise 365 exists. It turns out enterprise-sized AE firms—who are ProjectWise users—are also utilizing the same cloud services included in the new ProjectWise 365 solution.

“The nature of ProjectWise 365 is that it can scale from very small workgroups of four or five people up to large projects and enterprises,” says Victor Alvarez, Director of Marketing Programs, Bentley Systems. In fact, Robert DeFeo, ProjectWise 365, Product Manager, Bentley Systems, also noted that for enterprises using the traditional version of ProjectWise, they often use ProjectWise 365 for subcontractors, project owners, and other external stakeholders. That being the case, ProjectWise 365 is primarily targeted at small to medium engineering and design firms. And as a result of the pandemic, subscription fees are waived until September 30 to help AEC users adjust to remote work collaboration challenges.

ProjectWise 365—CDE Basics and What It Does

ProjectWise 365 enables a “common data environment” (CDE) for AECO customers and can provide a single-source of truth for building and infrastructure projects. Importantly, the cloud-based solution is accessible from any modern web browser on any OS. There is also a mobile field app that is used to manage and access data in ProjectWise 365; you can also use your iPad’s web browser (Safari) to access the cloud services through the web.

Generate issues directly from a PDF markup session, using standard drawing markup tools such as revision bubbles, et cetera. Publish an issue and assign it to a responsible party for resolution. (Image: Bentley Systems / All rights reserved.)

For design professionals, the field app for ProjectWise 365 works with cellular data connections and does not require a WiFi connection. “As long as the app is configured to use cellular data…” says DeFeo. “We are leveraging technology from our SYNCHRO construction mobile application, to enhance the ProjectWise 365 field app with the ability to download content, comment/markup in the field, even if disconnected and upload once reconnected.” In a nutshell, ProjectWise 365 is built around an anywhere, any-time, any-device development philosophy.

Out of the box (an expression for sure in a cloud app), ProjectWise 365 offers all project stakeholders a secure place to store, find, and share project information, including metadata like audit-trail information. Contractual exchanges like RFIs, submittals, and transmittals are all supported. And most important, ProjectWise 365 generates issues, handles issue assignment, resolution, and reporting. Contractors, for example, can create an RFI (request for information), assign it to an individual on an AE team, attach markup PDFs, and explanatory text information. The architect or engineer then gets notified through email produced from ProjectWise 365, or the software’s extensive dashboard user interfaces, many of which are customizable.

An image showing Deliverables Management functionalities, seen here on the Apple macOS platform. Bentley ProjectWise 365 is a web browser (SaaS) application and is available across multiple browsers and operating systems, in addition to dedicated mobile app tools. (Image: Bentley Systems / All rights reserved.)

And speaking of “markup.” ProjectWise 365 has multi-user concurrent design review capabilities, and PDF compare functionality. “You can create an issue as part of the markup,” says DeFeo. “And we just released PDF Compare. With all of this integration with Microsoft Teams, and our ability to have a live session, we think this will allow users to substitute Bluebeam Studio with ProjectWise 365.”

DeFeo noted that most Bluebeam users primarily leverage their markup capabilities. “We feel that the primary use for Bluebeam is the live design review session, which can be substituted now with our PDF markup tools inside a ProjectWise 365 live session.”

Bentley and Microsoft have a partnership around ProjectWise 365, but DeFeo said that it is not exclusive. “Any live session where two different teams can have a PDF document up, and they can talk about it, review it live online … whatever collaboration service they want to use will work.” It means teams could use ZOOM or GoTo Meeting or something else, but Microsoft Teams has integrations that add levels of seamlessness.

next page: ProjectWise 365—3D and BIM Viewing

The post Bentley’s ProjectWise 365 Has Gone SaaS—Brings Broad Market and Platform Appeal to AECO Industry appeared first on Architosh.

Unfortunately, stayed connected to cellular networks can be significantly challenging in today’s rapidly evolving urban environment. This is where ADRF (Advanced RF Technologies, Inc.) comes into play, producing technologies that enable advanced “in-building” wireless solutions that keep people connected during business as usual or during emergency-based situations.

Connectivity Challenges

Most of us likely experience a cellular signal drop on our smartphone at least a couple of times a week if we are moving about like the average person. We tolerate it and gripe. But in many enterprise, industrial, and first-responder contexts such drops can’t be tolerated or make or break situations.

Take physicians working at hospitals. “Now that physicians have their own practices, they obviously have their own phones and they need to be in constant contact with their offices,” says Greg Najjar, Director of Businesss Development at ADRF, “so they tell the hospital ‘if I don’t have phone signal, I can’t work there.’ ”

This is just one example of many, within multiple markets, where ADRF is installing wireless technology solutions to keep people connected. The core problem is that inside buildings, stadia, and infrastructure—like transportation tunnels—cellular signals weaken and disappear and that is simply untenable in the modern context.

The drivers compounding these challenges vary, but the first primary detriment to cellular signal strength is material density. As buildings get larger or go underground, cellular signals cannot penetrate multiple concrete floors, foundations, and landmass underground. A secondary but emerging issue with respect to modern architecture is low-E glass utilized in today’s newest buildings. Designed to keep out, or in, ultra-violet (UV) spectrum rays that transmit heat energy, low-E glass feature coatings that disrupt the transmission of higher frequency radio bands. So the coatings in the new glass skyscraper you may wishfully want to move your company’s offices to may, in fact, confront your workers with cellular-connection issues.

Finally, advancing building and safety codes increasingly require more, not less, public safety communication systems within larger structures. Police, fire, EMT and other first-responders operate specific radio bands for their own communications and safety codes governing public safety communications systems ensure that first responders have signals for their own bands in areas like stairwells and elevator shafts and mechanical spaces deep inside structures. “In a commercial system you typically need about 95% coverage LTE Reference Signal Receiver Power coverage throughout a building for the carriers,” says Tim Breeman, Senior DAS Engineer at ADRF. “For public safety buildings, you need 99% coverage that includes stairwells, elevator shafts, and mechanical rooms.”

Solving the Cellular Challenges

ADRF solves all these challenges and future-proofs for others with their suite of DAS (distributed antenna system), repeaters, and antenna hardware solutions.

The way the systems work is a donor antenna is positioned in strategic exterior location and supports all commercial carrier and public safety frequency bands, including upcoming bands new to 5G. This is wired (RF line) to a DAS head-end and, or, a public safety repeater unit, often low in the building in a communications equipment space. From there DAS remote units are distributed throughout the building at different floors or locations and hard-wired using an optical line. The optical line connects the DAS units, speeding the delivery of connection communications, while ceiling-mounted antenna on each floor, project the wireless signal that keeps users always connected. Exact configurations vary on building type and situations. A single donor antenna can be the point-connection to commercial carriers and public safety bands and yet feed the overall system throughout multiple discreet and separate buildings. (see images below).

ADRF’s diagram explains how their cellular technology works inside and among several buildings. (Advanced RF Technologies / Architosh. All rights reserved.)

ADRF’s DAS unit is a 5U unit that fits into a common data server rack, along with other building communications or AV equipment. “We are modular, you can support the bands you need from day one, and we are future-proofing so you can add other bands in the future,” says Greg Najjar, of ADRF.

The antenna layouts inside buildings vary based on what bands are being supported. “The higher the bands the more dense the network is going to be because the higher bands are less effective at transmitting through as many spaces and especially less effective through materials,” adds Tim Breeman, of ADRF.

Looking at the 5G Question

This brings up the 5G question. For some consumers the very notion that 5G carries a bigger number than 4G implies that the band frequency for 5G is higher. But that is not necessarily the case. “It depends on who is providing the 5G—what carrier,” says Breeman. “If you are talking Sprint, they are using the 2.5 GHz band, if you are talking T-Mobile they will likely using 600 MHz or millimeter wave.”

On the often misunderstood issue of 5G safety, Breeman says: “Any band can technically support 5G technologies and carriers are utilizing bands that have been used for years, such as 600-2700 MHz, so there shouldn’t be a concern. The software designers of network planning platforms, such as iBwave and RanPlan, also have limits set to make sure a system is within the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines. As new bands (3.5 and 28/39 GHz) are added, these safety RF exposure limits will also be updated.”

A picture of the ADXV Series rack-mountable unit. This unit is capable of transporting frequencies from 600 – 2600 MHz plus VHF and UHF regardless of protocol or modulation. It also ensures that all public safety bands in the US and Canada are supported.

Breeman reiterates how the higher bands are often the ones being impacted by the newer low-E glass in urban skyscrapers so this is something that architects designing buildings need to discuss with their communications consultants and vice versa while a building is being designed.

Najjar says that part of the issue too is that newer buildings with low-E glass in tight urban environments are creating disruptions through reflecting RF (radio frequency). He mentioned that the software called RanPLAN that simulates RF environments can provide decision support in the design and development process.

Closing Comments

Najjar says that while there are many market segments where their company is growing the commercial real estate segment is among the strongest. “There is just a lot of people working there,” he adds, “their need for coverage is outstripping the cellular carriers’ ability to support every building.”

Part of the challenge is the increased load on networks in the era of IoT (Internet of Things) where more equipment—in addition to more people’s smartphones and devices—are talking to the Internet. Smart Cities and Smart Buildings require constant Internet connnections, and this is drivig up demand for better and faster networks inside buildings.

An image of a Healthcare installation model, showing how ADRF’s equipment is typically deployed throughout and outside a building. (image: Advanced RF Technologies / Architosh. All rights reserved.)

When I asked Greg about WiFi and its future in competing with 5G he had this to say: “From our perspective, there are several issues that come into account with WiFi,” he says. “Currently, the celluar networks are moving at a much faster pace than the public WiFi networks, and even LTE today is faster than most public WiFi networks.” Another issue is that WiFi requires stopping and connecting through a web window and sign-in process. People love the always on and seamlessness of cellular connections and 5G is just going to be so much faster.

“We just need several high-profile systems for clients in urban environments,” says Najjar, “and they don’t generally have WiFi systems anymore, just a guest WiFi system. They asked for a cellular network. Hudson Yards in New York City is a perfect example.”

ADRF is responding to the demands of the market and the evolving communications technologies that are behind more intelligent and always connected people and infrastructure. “From a connectivity standpoint…we just amplify the cellular signal from your provider so the connection to your devices are always on,” says Najjar. “So as you go from building to building, in and outside and back in again, your device just stays connected the whole time. This is the future-ready solution that we provide.”

[Editor’s note: Image of New York City, 2014, copyright, Daniele Pieroni, Wikipedia Commons]

The post Smart Cities Tech—How ADRF Addresses the Always Connected Challenge appeared first on Architosh.

“For our engineers and detailers to handle their workloads they needed to be local,” says Israel Sumano, senior director of infrastructure at Southland Industries, a design-build MEP firm that also does fire suppression. Sumano is making the case that proximity to construction sites is hugely beneficial for not just a design-build MEP firm but any firm. “Being able to go directly into the field to observe a situation or problem has great advantages,” he says.

VDI + GPU As The New Agility

Before implementing a VDI solution from Workspot, Southland would spend considerable money on deploying IT infrastructure for even just a couple of MEP engineers. “Not long ago we found talent in Chicago for a project and needed to spend $150,000 for deployment infrastructure just for the two of them,” says Sumano. “It would have cost the same if they were ten of them, but we had to put in the infrastructure for just two of them.”

Confidential Data Center, Maryland. Mechanical room for a large data center. (Image: Jeffrey Sauers / Architosh. All rights reserved.)

That infrastructure required the expense of powerful workstation-class computers, multiple 30-inch displays, but the large expense was the powerful server, local network, and its cost of connection to the Internet. They needed a server and connection that could store and replicate large CAD and BIM files, sometimes as large as 40 gigabytes.

“Before we went to VDI we were replicating 50 terabytes in real-time to 17 different locations across the country,” adds Sumano, “and the hardware needed to support that kind of workload is what the expense is.”

Workspot’s Cloud VDI and GPU workstations have given Southland Industries greater agility as a company. This means they can recruit and hire the best talent from just about anywhere as well as onboard new employees faster through a virtualized desktop experience. “In the past, there was a lot of work that went into getting a machine ready for a new user,” says Sumano. “We put processes in place so that everyone who is using these VDI solutions is using the same footprint across the company. We have a master image, and all we have to do is turn on a machine and that user is ready to go.”

Southland’s VDI + GPU Solution

Southland, as one of the country’s largest MEP+F design-build firms, has over 2000 users across engineering, CAD, and BIM roles, including managers. “We do very large projects across the United States,” says Sumano, “for example, we rebuilt the Pentagon after 911.”

Their typical engineer or detailer is running the Autodesk AEC suite of tools, with heavy usage of Revit, AutoCAD, and Navisworks. While some tasks are still best handled in 2D CAD, the majority of their work is done in BIM (Building Information Modeling) applications. The Autodesk suite of tools is installed in every VDI instance.

By having a virtualized desktop environment, their staff can access BIM models that are upwards of 40 GBs far quicker on a day to day basis using the VDI solution from Workspot. The actual files for the company live on Microsoft Azure’s cloud. Revit Server also runs on Azure, and all of this is accessed through the VDI client software from Workspot. Revit models may exist in C4R (Collaboration for Revit). Before Workspot’s VDI solution just replicating a large BIM model to a local engineer’s workstation could take an hour to cache. “When we open the same model from the VDI instance in Azure it opens within five minutes,” says Sumano, “because the data links between Azure and Collaboration for Revit (C4R) are much bigger than they are at the job site.”

Image showing Revit modeling of MEP systems typical of the work involved in Southland Industries projects. (image: Southland Industries / Architosh. All rights reserved.)

Sumano is making the point that up in the cloud the data pipes between major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and Autodesk’s cloud tools and apps are enormous compared to the bandwidth-constrained pipes common to the last mile that a remote office or job site may have. “Even for native cloud apps like C4R,” adds Sumano, “the modeling and models perform better when they are all in the cloud.”

Southland Industries tried two to three VDI solutions for about five years before settling on Workspot. They even tried building their own VDI infrastructure at one point in time. “We finally tested Workspot last year for six months and went live last fall,” adds Sumano, who is experienced with installing VDI solutions from other vendors like Citrix.

Southland needed capable GPU performance, and this was something the virtualized environment with Workspot and Azure provided. In other solutions they tested, the GPU was often shared between users. “But with the Azure solution there is a dedicated GPU per user,” he adds.

Looking Down the Road

Sumano says that the company is very happy with the agility the VDI solution from Workspot provides. While the various costs are now in different buckets, the greater agility a successful VDI solution provides is going to start hitting the bottom line soon. While he acknowledges that the AEC industry is slow to adopt technology change, he advises that change management is always a critical step to deploying a system like VDI + GPU.

The post National Engineering Firm Becomes Far More Agile with VDI via GPU Workstations appeared first on Architosh.