Potoshop: CS5 New Feature - Content-Aware Fill

An amazing new feature that will be available in the new CS5 version.
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Ever wanted to erase some element from a picture using photoshop? Depending on the image, this might take ages, because the background might be very complicated to duplicate. Adobe is announcing an amazing new feature called Content-Aware Fill that apparently makes this a piece of cake. See the video below...It even seems to good to be true...


To read more about the new features of Potoshop CS5 go to the PCWorld Article about it. Photoshop CS5 can be preordered at Adobe.com, it will ship around mid-May 2010.


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SketchUp Plugins: Make your Model 3D-Print-Ready

A Plugin to help you turn your models into STL files ready for 3D Printing
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With the evolution of 3D printing technology, 3D Printing is becoming more and more common during the design process. To get good results with 3D printing we need to be sure that our model is ready for it. Sketchup is a great design tool, but you will agree with me that sometimes a model might get quite messy if we are not paying too much attention to the way we model.

CADSpan has a free plugin to convert your model into what is called a "water tight" model. Water tight models are needed for the 3D printers to be able to produce the physical model in one piece. The Plugin also eliminates duplicated and overlapping faces. It basically cleans up the model and lets you export it to the STL file format system that's the standard. See the video below by CADSpan.


The Plugin can be found at the CADSpan website. There is a Free and a Pro Version of it.


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BIM and Real Time Sense-Making

The importance of Real Time Data to imporve efficiency.
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I just stumbled upon this post and video from Jeff Jonas from IBM.



I think it is important for the construction industry to keep track of these new methods and ideas being developed by other industries. BIM, as a process, can help implement in the Project Life Cycle what Jeff Calls "Real Time Sense-Making". No more having the MEP engineer working on an old outdated version of the project, no more calculating costs on lasts months design. If we manage to achieve a full collaborative process, we will be able to share the information right away and be much more efficient.

The process might take a while, I recently talked to my cousin who just finished a big project in Germany, (one of the first projects done entirely with Revit in his company) and he told me that they found a out of limitations and performance problems due to the size of the project. At his office, apparently they found that over 5000 square meters, Revit still has problem handling files (even with 16Gbs of Ram and 64bit machines). For better performance, they had to split the files. The whole BIM idea of ONE central model with all the info was then broken by hardware/software constraints.

I guess it is just about time that computers will be able to handle almost any project size, detailing will be easier and more features an functionality will be added to BIM software packages. By then, Architects, Engineers and Contractors must be already familiar with BIM as a process, because those who don't will be left behind.


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Le Corbusier and SketchUp

Le Corbu recommends SketchUp...
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This is just a silly funny piece of work put together by Paul from Viewsion (Sketchup Ireland blog) to promote the use of SketchUp. I thought it was funny enought to share it here. Enjoy




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Autodesk Products: Poll Results

Just want to share the results of the Poll i recently asked you to answer.
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I recently asked everyone to answer a quick poll to see what software where you using. Although the results are surely a bit bias, since having here more posts about AutoCAD means certainly more AutoCAD users on the site, this are the results in case anyone is interested. Plain AutoCAD wins overwhelmingly over other software products by Autodesk.



Hopefully more and more people will jump on the BIM kart soon, and hopefully too they will show up at CAD-Addict once in a while, as a goal, I'll repeat this Poll every 6 months or so to see if there is any evolution both on the usage of Software and on the reader base of this website. Thanks to all those 58 who took the time to vote, and those who sent me their feedback per email after the poll was closed.


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SketchUp Plugins: TIG Extrusion Tools

A full set of Tools to execute diferent extrusion operations in SketchUp
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I recently posted on some Plugins by TIG:

ExtrudeEdgesbyFace.rb,
ExtrudeEdgesByLathe.rb,
EstrudeEdgesByEdges.rb,
ExtrudeEdgesByRails.rb and
ExtrudeEdgesByLoft.rb.

These are part of a more complete set of Plugins by TIG that contains very other useful tools. The ones detailed here are the ones I found more useful (because I needed to use them), but the others are quite handy too. Installing the full set of tools from here, will add a Toolbar to SketchUp that will allow you to easy access all the Plugins on this set.



Alternatively, you can access them going to Plugins --> Extrusion Tools.

The Plugin Set can be downloaded here.

If you are new to SketchUp chek here to know how to Install SketchUp Plugins.


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SketchUp Plugins: 4D Construction Simulation Plugins

Two Plugins to link Sketchup models with schedules and simulate the construction process
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I was looking around for Plugins to use in sketchup to easily simulate the construction process. I am following a schedule management class, and would like to do a bit more than just the schedule part, but try to link it with a visualization of the construction model based on a simple SketchUp model. I came across two three plugins that seem to do the trick.

The first one, and the only free one, is called onTime5D. On the video below you can see a very brief preview of its functionality. The plugin seems to be in process of development, you can follow up on this on the author's website.



The first second one is called xD Virtual Builder, developed by D-Studio. It can be found at their website: www.4dvirtualbuilder.com. I tried it a bit, but didn't have the time to properly test it. As described in the features, it allows you to import schedule files in xml format from MS Project, Primavera and Asta Powerproject. You can check the Getting Started Tips, and take a look at the video below to get an overview of the Program. Unfortunately, it is not free, there is a free trial, but the cheapest version (without XML import) sells at $59.



The second third one is called Synchro Project Cosntructor. It is not just a Plugin for SketchUp but a full Scheduling and Project Controlling Tool. This is the reason why it is much more expensive, over $800. Nevertheless, it allows to import SketchUp Files and to then use its features to create a 4D simulation of the construction process. It imports MS Project and Primavera Files and seems more complete (it has to for the price!). Find more info on the Product Website and on the following video.


Any insights on these Plugins? Do you know of any free Plugin to create 4D simulations in SketchUp based on Schedules? Please share!


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Revit Basics: Hide and Unhide Objects

How do you hide and/or unhide walls or other objects
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I wanted to hide a wall to be able to see the imported linework below. This took no effort to find out. Simply select the element you want to hide, right click and select Hide --> Element on the right click menu. (it can also be accessed via Ribbon)



See the Element i wanted to Hide, the Wall, and once hidden how I can see the linework imported.


To Unhide Wall, Windows or any other Elements Hidden we need to activate the "Reveal Hidden Elements Button. It is on the lower left of the view.


This will alow us to enter the Hidden Element Reveal interface, where hidden Elements are shown in Redish color and others are faded in Grey.


Then selecting the element and using the right click menu, or using the button on the ribbon, we can unhide them.


The same procedure can be done hiding elements by category instead of single ones, or using filters. We will see that on another post.


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Revit Basics: Control the level of Detail of a View

Set how detailed you want a view to be.
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If you can't see all Layers, Parts of your model, this might probably be because your Level of Detail is not set to "Fine". To change the Level of Detail (LoD), go to the View Tab --> Graphics --> View Properties (See below).


There, go to Detail Level and set it to Fine. (See below)


This is a useful feature that allows us to control how detailed is the model shown. I assume there is a reduction on speed by setting it to Fine, so I guess we must be careful if working with big models. Coarse is the less detailed level, and fine is the more detailed. See below the three Detail Levels for a Window.







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Revit Basics: How to Switch Off Lineweight Display

How can you switch off the display of Lineweights in Revit?
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The time has arrived! My first revit Post. I've been "fighting" with the interface a bit these past fewdays. One of the first things I had to solve was to find how to switch off the lineweights to be able to work with better precision. It didn't take me long, and i know this is probably not even Revit 101, so forgive me for how basic this might sound, but just in case there is someone starting to play with Revit too, here comes the Tip.

You can switch off the Lineweight display by using the View Tab of the Ribbon and going to the far left on "Graphics" and pressing the ThinLine button. Alternatively, and if you are an AutoCAD user you might prefer this, you can simply type TL. A difference between Revit and AutoCAD is that we don't need to press ENTER to use keyboard shortcuts.


I am struggling a bit getting used to the Interface but specially to the fact that I am not drawing lines anymore but modelling a Building, so no cheating seems to be allowed. Good, motivation is there, so hopefully I'll share more useful tips about Revit soon. For now probably very basic, but it is about time!


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Free Online Generic BIM Object Library #02

Trying to find free BIM Objects online? Here comes resource number 02
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RevitCity.com has a very nice set of Families for Revit. What is even nicer is that they have their library organized using the CSI Master Format, so if you know this Format, all objects will be easy to find by they number.


As many of these online libraries their strenght is sometimes their biggest flaw. It contains a great number of Families, but this, can become a problem when searching for some content.
One of the big challenges using Revit that I found so far, is the need to have the right families (quality and quantity). Otherwise, any time you want to place a window or a door, there are so many families to consider that you do not consider it at all. Of course, a BIM Model requires to get more detailed as project phases advance, but beeing able to see what you are doing directly in 3D, makes it kind of hard to leave an ugly door in the model as a placeholder.
I guess I am still too much on the CAD side where a window or a door are just symbols that will be described later, but I definetily find this challenging. How many manufacturers are distributing Families/Components of their products as they use to do with CAD Blocks/Cells?


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SketchUp Plugins: Extrude Edges by Face

Extrude any face along a path. it sound like Follow Me tool? Well it is much better and faster.
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TIG set of Extrusion Tools is great. Another Tool of this set I wanted to show you here is the ExtrudeEdgesByFace.rb. This one allows you to Extrude a face following a line or set of lines (straight or curved). I know this might sound exactly as the Follow me Tool, but it is not. The advantages compared to the Follow Me Tool is that the Face doesn't need to be properly alligned with the profile to be extruded properly. See these two images.



If you want, you can rotate the face and use the Plugin again and the result would be this one.


Another advantage of this Plugin compared to the Follow me Tool is that it allows you to do multiple Extrude Operations at the same time. Like the one below. I selected the Face and all the paths, and in a single operation i got this result.


The Plugin is part of the Extrusion Tools by TIG. You can download them here.

If you are new to SketchUp chek here to know how to Install SketchUp Plugins.


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