Evolve Be2012 Abd4u (1)

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

MAKING AECOSIM BUILDING DESIGNER WORK FOR YOUNigel Davies

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

#BeTog2012@NigelPDavies#NigelisGreat#BIMDemiGod

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

WHO ARE WE?

• Nigel Davies• 20 years’ experience in Engineering and Architecture• Chair of the AEC (UK) CAD & BIM Protocols• Co-chair of the UK BIM Managers Forum• Regular writer and presenter

• Evolve Consultancy• CAD & BIM Management Services• Technology integration• Project support

• Bennetts Associates, FCBa Studios, KPF, John McAslan + Partners, Marks Barfield, Ramboll, RSH+P, Wilkinson Eyre…

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

WHO ARE WE?

• Image of ABD bookAvailable

NOW from the Bentley

Institute bookshop!

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

WHERE IS EVERYTHING?

• Program• C:\Program Files (x86)\Bentley\AECOsimBuildingDesigner

V8i\AECOsimBuildingDesigner• No ustation.exe• -wsBB_DISCIPLINE=

• Workspace• C:\ProgramData\Bentley\AECOsimBuildingDesigner

V8i\WorkSpace• BuildingDatasets

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

WHERE IS EVERYTHING?

• mslocal.cfg%if exists (Drive:/Path/COMPANY-standard.cfg)_USTN_WORKSPACEROOT = Drive:/Path/_USTN_SYSTEMROOT = ${_USTN_INSTALLED_WORKSPACEROOT}System/

%elif exists (//network/path/COMPANY-standard.cfg)…%elif exists (LocalDrive:/LocalPath/COMPANY-standard.cfg)…

• COMPANY-BuildingStandards.cfg%if defined (BB_DISCIPLINE)…%if ($(BB_DISCIPLINE) == "BuildingDesigner")DG_CATALOGS_PATH > $(TFDIR)datagroupcatalogs/datagroupcatalogs_architectural/DG_CATALOGS_PATH > $(TFDIR)datagroupcatalogs/datagroupcatalogs_structural/

%endif%if ($(BB_DISCIPLINE) == "Architectural")…

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

WHERE IS EVERYTHING?

• Standards / Systems approach• System = BuildingDatasets\Dataset_US

TF_DATASETNAME = Dataset_US

• Standards = BuildingDatasets\CompanyEmpty unless necessaryCOMPANY_DATASETNAME = COMPANY

COMPANY_TFDIR = $(TF_DATASETS)$(COMPANY_DATASETNAME)/

• Project-specific modificationsPROJ_DATASET = $(PROJECTDIR)_Resources/BIM/

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

WHERE IS EVERYTHING?

• Out of the box dataset configuration is done at PCF level• BuildingSample_US.pcf• Avoid large PCFs• Transfer configs to COMPANY_BuildingStandards.cfg

• So, what if you have custom datasets…?

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

UPGRADING

• DataGroup Transformation Utility• Use for identifying (& fixing) “orphaned” objects

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

UPGRADING

• DataGroup Catalog Upgrade Utility• Not really an upgrade… moves/renames catalog files• Do this manually… Cannot control what is added

• Dataset Upgrade Utility• Searches the Workspace for invalid DataGroup definitions• Run this on old XML files to ensure system is up-to-date

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

UPGRADING

• Part Rendering Upgrade Utility• Finds Parts with .pal materials & maps to .dgnlib assignments• setting\MaterialMapping.set• TFDIR_SETTING? (No exposed variable)

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

UPGRADING

• Space Part Upgrade Utility• Upgrades DataGroup Spaces to use correct definitions

e.g. ObjectMaterial (Part) propertyPAZ Part Mapping• Remaps Part definitions• Useful for customising PAZ files to company-specific Parts

BXC Part Mapping• Edits .BXC files using Excel

Dataset Part Validation• Looks for missing Parts in Frames, PAZ, BXC & Cparts• Get a copy of TFXML2XL.exe

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

COMPANY-SPECIFIC PARTS/LEVELS

• TFXML2XL

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

UPGRADING: EXISTING PROJECTS

• Don’t• Unless you have plenty of time• Unless you know exactly what you’re doing

• Re-configure ABD to point back to the old Dataset• At PCF level

COMPANY_TFDIR = $(_USTN_WORKSPACEROOT)TriForma/$(COMPANY_DATASETNAME)/

PROJ_DATASET = $(PROJECTDIR)_Resources/TriForma/

• To avoid complexities with unified datasets:%if ($(BB_DISCIPLINE) == "Architectural")_BB_DISCIPLINE_LOCK = 1

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

BUILDING VIEWS

• This is where it gets complicated…• Bentley-supplied seeds:

• MS_DRAWINGSEED_LIBLIST(Do not load as part of MS_DGNLIBLIST)

• MS_SAVEDVIEW_EXCLUDELIBS

• A Saved View seed defines View Attributes• A Saved View seed points to a Drawing Model (&

Sheet Model)• A Drawing Model seed defines Reference file settings

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

DRAWING SEED ORGANISATION

DrawingSeed.dgnlib

Saved Views Drawing Models Sheet Models

PLAN VIEW SEEDView Attributes

Building SettingsBuilding Rules

Clip Volume SettingsView Seed Options

View Range Presets

PLAN MODEL SEEDAnnotation Scale

Reference SettingsLevel Display

Level Overrides

SHEET MODEL SEEDSheet Size

Sheet BoundaryDrawing BorderLevel Display

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

DETAILING SYMBOLS

• Before you begin you need your custom Detailing Symbols• These are used by the Saved View seed• MS_DETAILINGSYMBOLS_CELLLIST

Contains the cells, not the styleThe style needs to be in MS_DGNLIBLISTPut them in the same file to avoid confusion!

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

DETAILING SYMBOLS

1. Open the DetailingSymbol dgnlib2. Import the product Detailing Symbol Models

(or copy the dgnlib to start with)3. Rename them to be clear which is custom4. Open each Model in turn

Reference your detailing cellsModify to suit

5. Create a company style (copy Default)6. Assign the right cell to the style

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

DETAILING SYMBOLS

1. Want the text to align with the symbol?• Don’t specify Terminators

(Your “wing” model needs all the graphics)• Section Callout…

2. Don’t want a solid leader? (without having to “Create Gap”) • Set the Leader to colour 255• Plan Callout…

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

BACK TO BUILDING VIEWS…

• Helps to have a reference model• If you don’t have one, build a quick sample

1. Place a Callout without using a Seed• Tick “Create Drawing”• In the same file • Set Discipline• Set Purpose• Set default Annotation Scale

2. Set Saved View properties• Set View Attributes (e.g. Rules)

3. Set Reference settings (if required)

ABD4UBE 2012, Philadelphia, PA

THANKS, YOU’VE BEEN A GREAT AUDIENCE

e nigel@evolve-consultancy.com@NigelPDaviesfacebook.com/EvolveConsultancy

Free!