RobiNZ CAD Blog

@ AU, are you? Autodesk University 2011 #AU2011

As I write, according to the countdown on Shaan Hurley’s blog, it is a mere fifty six days and five hours until Autodesk University 2011, Las Vegas, begins. However another deadline is approaching rapidly if you are thinking of attending and haven’t registered yet. General Registration opened mid September but if you register by October 11th you can save up to us$500 on the 3 Day pass. Although I love attending AU it seemed a remote possibility this year. However that changed last week with some assistance from Autodesk Public Relations, via the AutoCAD Blogger Council, in the form of... Read more →

A CAD geek walks into a bar… This is my Life

A CAD geek walks into a bar… is not the start of a joke but just one of those small world coincidences that happens when you live in a small country. A couple of years back I went along to Auckland Skeptics in the Pub expecting to meet some interesting new folks (and did) with no idea it would converge with my Autodesk world. About the same time TVNZ were screening a futuristic local drama production: This Is Not My Life. It was set in a fictional seaside town “Waimoana”. This was filmed using a business park near my work... Read more →

Revit User Group Wellington–September Meeting Announcement

Wed 28 Sept 2011, @Productspec HQ, 14 Holland Street, Wellington 5.30 - 7.30pm We've had a great response to our RUGWELL survey and Matt will run through the results. Collaborative BIM in Action, by Richard George (GHD) Richard's talk is all about his and GHD's experience in Collaboration. He will show us through GHD's 3 Squadron Helicopter Simulator building for the New Zealand Defence Force (plus other examples). Note: If you don't work in isolation this will be interesting and is a must-see for all the engineers out there. Door Schedules, by Grant (Caduceus) Let's work out the best way... Read more →

Autodesk & Instructables?

My first reaction to “Autodesk Acquires Instructables” was ”Why would they buy an old Pixar movie?”. I then realised it wasn’t “Incredibles”, duh!, but still had no idea what an Instructables was. Phillip Torrone’s post on Make, which I found via tenlinks.com, is a nice summary of the Instructables community, how it could fit with Autodesk products and speculation on why Autodesk have acquired it. It also has some useful examples of the perils of other corporate community acquisitions: MAKE | Autodesk Acquires Instructables: What It Means for Makers The big news this week was “Autodesk Acquires Instructables.” It’s taken... Read more →

Revit User Group Auckland — September Meeting Announcement

Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 5:30 PM Jasmax, 2 Marston Street, Auckland BIM Estimation, Bills of Quantities and Tender info with Revit & CostX This meeting is not just for Revit users. If you share information with Tender/QS function or consultant who is not using BIM/Digital estimation please feel free invite them. Use the "+ visitors" on your Meetup RSVP to give us an indication of numbers for for catering & facility purposes. Please join us from 5.30pm: 6:00pm : Welcome and Introduction 6:05pm : Presentation: Tony Shaw (Exactal) & Darrell Edwards (Mainzeal) Generate automatic quantities from 3D BIM models to... Read more →

Autodesk Labs Project Spark – Revit for Everybody?

Autodesk Labs recently announced the Project Spark technology preview. Based on a Revit Technology Platform Spark previews a simpler leaner Revit aimed at new entrants to the world of Building Information Modelling. Some might say, in a Jeremy Clarkson voice, this is a Limited Technology Revit with features aimed at a user wanting to move from a CAD LT to BIM LT workflow. So what is Spark? Project Spark is based on the Revit Architecture code base, but does not support conceptual design, analysis, rendering, advanced collaboration tools, or expose an API. So it is Revit, but not quite Revit?... Read more →

Design Review Uninstall/Install Issues due to C++?

Beyond the Paper, DWF Blog, has the solution to a problem which caught me out recently. During a machine update I attempted to remove Autodesk Design Review 2011 prior to installing Building Design Suite 2012 and got a C++ related fail message from the uninstaller. The details & suggested fixes are here: Recent Design Review Uninstall/Install Issues Related to Microsoft Visual C++ - Beyond the Paper Autodesk Design Review customers are having trouble uninstalling and installing the latest three versions of our software related to a recent Microsoft Windows fix (KB2538424 “Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package... Read more →

Autodesk Suite Advantage Virtual Event

Autodesk are hosting an on-line session featuring Design Suite Application portfolio. If you want to learn more about applications you use, show the boss something new or just figure out what some of those new tools in the Design Suites do check it out! There is a mix of live and on demand events covering a wide variety of General Design and AEC/Plant & Process Industry applications. Autodesk See the Suite Advantage Virtual Event. Be among the first to See the Suite Advantage of the latest Autodesk® solutions, including our comprehensive new design suites, and how they can help you... Read more →