AceCAD BIMReview
Categorised annotations, consisting of a leader and a colour-customisable text box, always face the user, regardless of model orientation
In the past year, AceCad has reinvented itself as a provider of BIM collaboration and project management tools. We look at its latest release, a low-cost, multi model, BIM project review and communication tool. by Greg Corke
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BIMReview is designed to or years there was only BIMReview be used across the entire one real choice when it AceCAD AEC sector, from architects, came to co-ordinating Product: BIMReview BIM managers, engineers and reviewing multiSupplier: AceCad Software and fabricators, to contracdiscipline BIM models. That was Price: £350 Website: bim-review.com tors, site managers, customNavisworks. Launched by ers and suppliers. Lightwork Design and bought by A key part of the software Autodesk in 2007 Navisworks is undeniably powerful, but has historically is its ability to bring in data from a variety of sources. In addition to industry-standard been quite expensive. While it took a while for the AEC market formats like IFC, CIS-2, STEP and IGES, to catch up, there are now a number of lower AceCad has developed good links to Revit cost alternatives. Last year Tekla launched and Tekla Structures. Here, bespoke plugBIMsight, a free to download collaboration ins allow users of Revit and Tekla Structures tool, and more recently Gehry Technologies to export their models to BIMReview’s began a preview of GTeam, a cloud-based native BSWX format. Those modelling to an exact co-ordinate 3D collaboration platform (see page 24). Another new BIM project review tool is system should not have any trouble co-ordiBIMReview from AceCad Software. It is nating multiple models. However, when they new, as in the sense of it has just been do not line up, models can be adjusted for released to market, but not in terms of the scale, size and orientation — by eye or by underlying technology. BIMReview is an dialling in values. Typically this will be evolution of AceCad’s mature StruWalker architectural, MEP or structural models, but product, originally a companion to the steel could also be different sections of a particufabrication software, StruCad, which was larly large project. BIMReview is 64-bit, so in theory there is bought by Tekla last year. BIMReview is one of a range of new prod- no real limit to model size, as long as your ucts from a new look AceCad Software that workstation has sufficient memory and a focus on the wider AEC market, from multi- 64-bit operating system. We tested on a more moderately specified discipline design to procurement, all the way 32-bit Windows machine with 3GB of RAM to construction. AceCad describes its new collaborative and an entry-level professional 3D graphics BIM project review tool as a visualisation card. This handled most models well, but wrapper for rich BIM model data. It can co- larger models became a little sluggish in 3D ordinate all types of BIM models, visualise and the machine sometimes ran out of memdata in many ways, detect clashes, annotate, ory when combining three IFC models: a and perform construction planning — and 20MB architectural, 20MB structural and a complex 200MB MEP. all this for just £350. 20
September / October 2012
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Once inside BIMReview there are many ways to visualise the BIM data. Entire models or specific components can be made transparent using a neat slider that controls how see through they are. This is very useful for looking inside buildings, perhaps to reveal the MEP model or specific components such as columns or stairs. Models can also be cut away using clipping planes in any orientation. There is full control here, with everything happening in real time, so it is easy to drill down to expose a specific section of a building. For presentations, the tools are pretty basic, but do the job. Materials can be assigned to the model to add realism. It is nothing fancy, and certainly not photo-realistic, but can be a good way of communicating material choices for buildings. For context, background images and terrains can also be included. Models can also be exported to Google Earth. To add a little more spice to presentations, animations can be created. Simply move the model around to define points (key frames) that the camera follows. Then click play. It literally takes a few minutes to produce a decent animation, which can then be exported as an AVI or WMV file.
All about the data BIMReview is not just about visualising BIM models. It is all about the data, where the model acts as a 3D index to the underlying attributes. Users can enquire about any object within the model and it will instantly bring up the embedded information. It is also possible to visualise a model thewww.AECmag.com
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