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    Customizing the Inventor Marking Menu

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    A few years ago, Autodesk introduced context-sensitive radial menus called Marking Menus, in Inventor. These menus provide a quick and visual way for users to select the most commonly used commands in each environment. Over the years every-day users have no doubt become quite familiar with these menus and the available commands, but did you know you can customize it?

    By default, Autodesk has placed what they believe to be the most common commands in this radial menu however, you know as well as I do that from company to company and even desk to desk, everyone uses Inventor differently. The following are the quick and easy steps to customize this menu.

    How to do it:

    On the Tools tab in the Options pane, the “Customize” button will open the dialog box that lets you modify the 8 commands in the radial menu for a given environment and associated sub-environment. From 2D Sketch to Weldment and everything in between, you can put your favourite commands right at the tip of your mouse pointer.

    Choose the environment and sub-environment you wish to customize the menu for. Next, select one of the eight radial menu options that you want to change (in this example we are changing the “Pattern Component” command in the standard Assembly environment).

    In the menu on the right, search or scroll down to the command you want to add and simply click on it to replace the selected option (iProperties, in this example). It’s as easy as that!

    A

    lso; starting in 2018 Inventor began giving users the option to migrate these (and all other) custom user interface settings when you upgrade to newer releases. So, you no longer need to worry about starting from scratch!

    Why is it called the “Marking Menu”?

    In addition to customizing where your favourite commands are on the right click menus, did you know you can also right-click-drag to the command, without ever actually seeing the menu? The pointer will create a “mark” as you drag your mouse to the location of your desired command, as shown below. This will require some practice but could become quite handy over time when the location of the commands in the radial menu becomes second-nature.

    PART 3 : Change Management (ECR, ECN, and ECO)

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    This is the third in a three-part series of Fusion Lifecycle videos. In this video, we will focus on Change Management with a specific focus on Engineering Change Orders.

    In the previous video, we saw that the Bill-of-Materials was automatically extracted and transferred to Fusion Lifecycle for additional analysis, modification, export and so on. At a future point in time, someone may recognize a problem with an item in the Bill of Materials and wants to initiate a change. In Fusion Lifecycle, they can log a Problem Report. The Problem Report flows through a structured workflow becoming an Engineering Change Request(ECR) and then an Engineering Change Order (ECO).

    When the ECO is approved, Fusion Lifecycle pushes the information back to Vault, where the impacted assembly is changed to a Work-in-Progress state. Designers can then make the necessary design changes and Release the revised assembly.

    PART 2 : Bill of Materials (BOM) Transfer from Vault to Fusion Lifecycle 

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    This is the second in a three-part series of Fusion Lifecycle videos. This video, will focus on the Bill-of-Material transfer from Autodesk Vault Professional to Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle.

    Vault Pro and Fusion Lifecycle can be integrated allowing data to move between the two systems. When Designers and Engineers have completed their work in CAD and Vault Pro, they will Release the assemblies.  The Bill-of-Materials is then extracted from Vault and transferred to Fusion Lifecycle as an Items BOM.  In Fusion Lifecycle, the BOM can be managed by adding or removing items.  When complete, the BOM is advanced to the Approval Stage using Fusion Lifecycle’s Bill of Materials Management capabilities.

    PART 1 : New Project Introduction Process In Fusion Lifecycle

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    This is the first in a three-part series of Fusion Lifecycle videos. In this video, we will review the New Product or New Project Introduction process in Fusion Lifecycle.

    Fusion Lifecycle and Autodesk Vault Professional can be integrated to streamline the Project creation process.  In our example, we will begin by creating a project in Fusion Lifecycle.  Upon approval, Fusion Lifecycle will then automatically create that project in Vault, complete with our defined folder structure.

    Introduction to BIM Project Suite

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    In case you were unable to attend SolidCAD and CTC’s webinar last week here is what you need to know…

    Shawn Zirbes, a Guru for everything CTC, uncovered how the BIM Project Suite allows Autodesk Revit users to automate routine tasks, manage large numbers of content files, generate database information and much more in a lot less time, all within the Revit environment.

    BIM Project Suite is meant for everyday users of all skill levels and used by firms of all sizes. To learn more about the some of key functionalities of the suite, watch the full webinar on our YouTube Channel.

    DIALOG

    Posted on by SolidCAD
    Success Stories

    DIALOG

    DIALOG believes that their passion for design should improve the wellbeing of our communities and the environment they share. DIALOG’s multi-disciplinary team of 700 includes architects, interior designers, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers, urban planners, and landscape architects. They practice across the US and Canada from studios in San Francisco, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.

    DIALOG’s multi-disciplinary team provides their clients with a comprehensive and collaborative approach to design. Their team can overcome the challenges of increased complexity within design and planning with their diverse perspective and expertise for greater efficiency.

    For years, DIALOG has worked on various projects including: designing for urban vibrancy, health and wellness, transportation, education, arts and culture, residential, retail, and commercial. Their vision has always been to think outside of the box and adopt new design technologies that will improve digital collaboration, improve communication among their team and clients, and provide quality services on any project.

    Project Profile

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    Civil 3D Viewports

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    A little tip today.  Have you ever zoomed out within a profile viewport and your surfaces and alignments are not there?  The two viewports shown below are nearly identical except the one on the bottom doesn’t display any Civil 3D plan objects, such as the surface and alignment.  Why is this?  No, layers are not frozen or off in the lower viewport.

    Civil 3D has its Plan Production feature which automates the creation of Paper Space layouts, typically for plan and profile construction drawings.  The way it has been implemented is that your drawing template (DWT) will contain a sample paper space layout containing pre-configured viewports.  And those viewports are required to have set a specific property called Viewport Type.

    In the image above, the top viewport is set to Plan and the bottom is set to Profile.  When the viewport type is set to Profile, Civil 3D plan objects such as surfaces, alignments, and corridors are not displayed.  This is presumably to conserve performance, but if you’re unaware of this feature, it can be confusing.

    Reconcile the Differences Between Parameters live in projects without Destroying Data

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    Let’s talk about Revit families. Are your Revit users pulling families from manufacturer websites, then having to spend project time individually reconciling the differences between the parameters used without destroying existing data?

    Downloaded Revit family content introduces shared parameters into a project that are often times different from the parameters used in the company’s schedule. These differences often cause schedules to display incomplete or inaccurate data requiring tedious, individual fixes.

    BIM Project Suite 2020’s Parameter Jammer uses a two-step process to swap the parameters in the family to reconcile the differences between the parameters without destroying your existing data, saving users time and headaches. The first step swaps parameters that can be safely identified as a match, while the second allows users to map, add or omit parameters that do not need to be swapped.
    Parameter Jammer is user friendly, and was designed so that Revit users who are unfamiliar with the family editor can successfully prepare a family to be scheduled; it also:

    • Uses the schedule to derive parameter needs; and
    • Allows the end user to push parameters into a non-standard family.

    Maximize your Revit project team’s time with Parameter Jammer and the entire BIM Project Suite 2020 by downloading a free software trial and scheduling a demo today.

    CTC BIM Projct Suite 2020 – Invisibility Advisor

    Posted on by SolidCAD

    Find improperly displayed elements in Revit with Invisibility Advisor. Part of the BIM Project Suite, this tool can also identify the cause of invisibilty as well as offer useful information and links to relevant knowledgeable articles for each issue.

    Common Challenges

    Revit users may spend 2-4 hours a week on average resolving object visibility issues

    Revit has various ways of finding objects, and users rarely check all

    Often invisibility can be controlled by multiple factors and multiple users

    Solution – Invisibility Advisor

    Invisibility Advisor searches through almost 60 different factors affecting an object’s invisibility

    Advice is offered to assist with understanding why the object(s) were not visible

    In many cases, an instant ‘Fix’ option is available to resolve the visibility issue automagically

    The Invisibility Advisor can remain on screen while you work, so visibility solutions are available at your fingertips

    ROI

    At even 1 hour per week time savings, Invisibility Advisor can save an average firm $3400/year/Revit user

    For more information visit CTC Productivity Tools to learn more, and download free trial.