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#78033 by Ted B
Tue May 12, 2020 8:40 pm
To my shame, I bearly understand what they even are...

I haven't been in an Autocad environment in over 20-years, and haven't used an Autocad workstation in nearly 30-years. Revit was just coming out when I switched to Datacad as my primary CADD system, so I've never used Revit. I don't even really understand or use the 3D capabilities of Datacad. I do use Sketchup Pro and Layout so I'm thinking this is similar to the SU Warehouse?

My personal experience is most of the Warehouse entities are too-complex for my base needs. People seem to relish the complexity of objects for their own sake. I just need a low-polygram count toilet or vanity thank-you-very-much And so I don't pay for symbols or components. I just can't financially justify them from a business standpoint. And for the amount of time-expended looking for something, I can just create a reasonable facsimile there-of.

There's always market for innovation, it's inevitable in CADD. I just have no feel for how many use 3D Datacad to its potential. These days I primarily use Datacad when I need accurate 2D drafting for site plans, floor plans, sections and details. For anything 3D, or for textual or graphical elements, I use Sketchup and Layout.
#78034 by pjdixit
Wed May 13, 2020 1:23 pm
Hi Ted,

Based on your input it seems 2D capabilities of DataCAD suffices almost all of your needs. That seems to be the case for most if not all Architects on this forum. As per this article 20% architects solely use 2D capabilities, 30% use mainly 2D and some 3D functionality - https://www.theengineeringdesign.com/2d-architectural-drafting-is-not-dead/

Blackbee3D (https://blackbee3d.com/) or BIMSmith (https://market.bimsmith.com/) might not offer much value to architectural firms content with 2D capabilities.

However larger Architectural firms who leverage 3D for renderings, interior decoration, digital renderings for marketing and sales will find such services more useful.

There is already significant effort to take it even further with 4D (3D + Internet of Things (IoT)) data visualizations. For example Research Project Dasher (https://www.autodeskresearch.com/projects/dasher) or Simulation Hub's Autonomous HVAC CFD (https://www.simulationhub.com/blog/the- ... s-hvac-cfd). However, those solutions make sense for larger projects and large firms who are working on a construction project with a much wider scope.

As adoption of such tools becomes more prevalent in coming years, I believe Architectural CAD models will need to convey more information than 2D representation. Architectural CAD models will be repurposed for use-cases which were non-existent just a few years ago. For example, superimposition of IoT Data from various sensors for building monitoring for efficient energy usage, HVAC/CFD Analysis, 3D printing.

Image
#78038 by Mark Bell
Thu May 14, 2020 5:49 am
PJDixit wrote "However larger Architectural firms who leverage 3D for renderings, interior design, digital renderings for marketing and sales will find such services more useful."

It's not just the big firms that do this work, from my experience and observations, at least over here, it's the majority of practices, small to large and is just an expected part of the process these days. Also add in VR/AR fly-through animations, cost scheduling and engineering integration and you get a sense that the bar keeps getting raised as more is expected over tighter time frames.

"As adoption of such tools becomes more prevalent in coming years, I believe Architectural CAD models will need to convey more information than 2D representation. Architectural CAD models will be repurposed for use-cases which were non-existent just a few years ago. For example, superimposition of IoT Data from various sensors for building monitoring for efficient energy usage, HVAC/CFD Analysis, 3D printing."

I agree with what you note above. DataCAD's smart entities and smart symbols provide some of this workflow even if it is at a basic level. From what I see with competitor firms using full BIM platforms, their main use is to create a 3D model to 'extract' the plans, elevations and sections and 3D renders.....which can also be done in DataCAD. Designing and working in 3D, I have found, also helps resolve and understand the site and building more than just orthographic drawings. 2D drawings are still used for documentation with the BIM software so it's not all 3D. All this can be achieved competitively with DataCAD. Having access to a large library of 3D/2D building and manufacturer components similar to the weblinks provided quickens the 'drag and drop' process when designing or documenting. I've run 2 different offices prior to my current one over the last 30 years and we've almost always worked in 3D/2D to deliver projects. DataCAD has a lot of time saving features so it's using the right combinations to maximise efficiency. It can't compete with the mainstream BIM systems with the level of sophistication, but they are more complex and time consuming to set up and use, and I'd bet the majority of users don't fully use what those systems are capable of. Each to their own, but the industry is moving ahead at a quicker pace as technology keeps improving, and in my experience, clients and market expectations require more of the glitzy stuff. Another source of free 3D models of varying quality is Trimble's https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/

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