Autodesk Unveils 2016 Suites for Building and Civil Infrastructure Industries

Deeper integration with cloud services, usability enhancements and flexible subscription options help AEC and infrastructure professionals meet growing global demand for BIM-based projects

Autodesk today announced the Autodesk 2016 software portfolio of design, engineering, and construction solutions to help drive the industry’s business transformation to Building Information Modeling (BIM).  The 2016 Suites for buildings and civil infrastructure projects offer a host of improvements and new capabilities for Autodesk Building Design Suite, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite  and Autodesk Plant Design Suite.  Increasingly, government agencies and private sector customers around the world are mandating the use of a BIM process.  Autodesk’s Suites for architects, engineers and contractors offer the software and cloud-enhanced services needed for BIM projects, allowing firms who have adopted BIM to remain competitive and those seeking to move to BIM the flexibility to transition with greater ease.  

“The driving force behind the Autodesk 2016 Suites is to accelerate how the built environment is designed and made," said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, IPG Product Group, Autodesk. “Projects today are massive team efforts, with players coming and going, often in dispersed geographies, and requiring different tools on an on-demand basis.  Our 2016 solutions support a collaborative process in more ways than ever before, with expanded cloud services and flexible ways to license our software.  It’s all about supporting a highly adaptive, multi-discipline and dynamic environment by providing the right resources when and where customers need them.” 

Hear a podcast interview [7 minutes, 35 seconds] with Amar discussing the impact of flexible subscription options; how the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2016 helps advance adoption of BIM for civil infrastructure; and what the future may hold five years from now.

Amar Hanspal Podcast

New features available in all Autodesk 2016 Design Suites

AutoCAD 2016  – Enhanced features specifically for the construction industry to help make it easier to coordinate, extract as-built information, and document designs: 

• Attach and view Navisworks models directly inside AutoCAD software, referencing the Navisworks model during the design process to avoid potential design clashes. Take advantage of Navisworks’ vast file format support to bring models into AutoCAD from other applications, further integrating AutoCAD into a BIM workflow.
• Improvements to the drawing canvas in AutoCAD 2016 dramatically improve the visual accuracy seen on screen. AutoCAD 2016 takes full advantage of the latest graphics hardware to deliver a richer, yet faster, visual experience.
• Enhancements to PDF export performance and usability improves their use in communication with stakeholders.  PDFs are smaller but maintain fidelity and are more searchable, retain hyperlinks, and can be attached to drawings more quickly.

Autodesk Recap 2016 – Helps integrate captured data from laser scans or photos into the design process enabling architects, engineers and contractors working on renovation projects to design in context and deliver high quality reports, drawings, 3D models and visualizations based on existing conditions.  For infrastructure projects, ReCap can be used during the design process to visualize current project progress captured via laser scans or photos to help improve accuracy and reduce risk and errors by providing project stakeholders with vital information at the early design stage.  

Autodesk Building Design Suite 2016

The Autodesk Building Design Suite 2016 portfolio of interoperable design software, supporting Building Information Modeling (BIM), and CAD-based workflows, helps architecture, MEP and structural engineering, and construction professionals design, simulate, visualize, and construct better buildings. 

Key enhancements include:

• Autodesk Revit 2016 —The 2016 release of Revit software, included in Premium and Ultimate editions of the Building Design Suite, supports increased user productivity with improved Revit software performance and multiple usability enhancements as well as new features, including:
• New features and settings including navigation during redraw, calculation setting options, loadable family instancing, and faster linked file display that improve model performance
• Usability enhancements that drive user productivity include new tools and capabilities available in perspective views, improved IFC linking, and reveal constraints mode.
• New features include MEP fabrication detailing within Revit with which MEP contractors and detailers can create fabrication-ready models inside Revit using content from Autodesk Fabrication products.
• Multiple improvements to reinforcement detailing in Revit for modeling of 3D concrete reinforcement.

Work more efficiently with improved model performance in Revit.  The Navigation during Redraw feature speeds navigation by interrupting the display of model elements as you move through the model. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

• Autodesk Navisworks Simulate and Manage 2016– Enhancements include: 
• Support for attaching Navisworks models in AutoCAD and overall interoperability features which allow users to review and collaborate with the entire project team with third party software support. 
• Enhanced quantification features include support for 2D PDF sheets, allowing for integrated model and sheet-based takeoff with the most common industry formats. 
• Deeper integration between Navisworks and BIM 360* Glue delivers a ‘cloud-connected experience’, supporting shared Navisworks data and workflows with BIM 360 projects.

New to the 2016 release is the BIM Coordination Model, which helps users avoid clashes in their designs by enabling use of Navisworks models as underlays in AutoCAD.   Image courtesy of Autodesk.

• Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 — A powerful tool to help architects, engineers and contractors create more convincing visualizations, now features tighter integration with Revit. Users can directly import and file link Revit models up to ten times more quickly than before, and with cleaner geometry. Additional enhanced features include improved instancing, additional BIM data, and multiple cameras. 

A full rundown of additional 2016 enhancements for the Autodesk Building Design Suite can be  Downloaded Here. See how Autodesk customers are using the Suite. Hear Sylvia Knauer discuss Autodesk Building Design Suite 2016 in this podcast  interview [6 minutes, 56 seconds].

Sylvia Knauer Podcast

Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2016

Building Information Modeling is increasingly important to the success of today’s civil infrastructure projects. In order to compete, engineering firms need intelligent modeling solutions that help them optimize designs faster, collaborate more efficiently across different teams and locations, and communicate more effectively with clients and public stakeholders, thereby enabling them to better meet project schedule and budget, minimize risk, and win more work.

Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2016 helps civil infrastructure professionals meet these challenges with its comprehensive Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Infrastructure software solution that combines intelligent, model-based tools and connected workflows to help users gain more accurate, accessible, and actionable insight throughout the project execution and lifecycle of transportation, land, and water projects. Infrastructure Design Suite 2016 features enhanced workflows between preliminary engineering and the detailed design phases, better collaboration with extended data exchange capabilities, enhanced project organization tools, and improved software coordination with consistent user interfaces. With Infrastructure Design Suite, the effective use of model-based design, analysis, simulation, and visualization helps design teams overcome complex design challenges and use resources more efficiently, resulting in faster, more informed decision making, and greater material, cost and schedule savings.

Key enhancements include:

• Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D 2016 – Connected workflows between AutoCAD Civil 3D and InfraWorks 360 help accelerate design and minimize rework between the preliminary and detailed design phases. The preliminary design and intelligent data from InfraWorks 360, including roads, intersections, coverages, and pipe networks, can easily be brought into Civil 3D. Data between InfraWorks 360 and AutoCAD Civil 3D are linked, allowing changes made to the InfraWorks 360 model to be reflected throughout the detailed design phase, thus enabling designers to test and optimize design alternatives more quickly.

  Utilize InfraWorks 360 models inside of AutoCAD Civil 3D and take design data back to the InfraWorks 360 model. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

Project teams can now improve collaboration and coordination with extended data exchange capabilities for DGN and IFC files, and enhanced project organization tools for Autodesk Vault Professional 2016 software. The ability to import and export Industry Foundation Class (IFC) and Bentley DGN files for use in other applications improves workflows by enabling broader reuse of information generated during the design, construction, and operation of civil infrastructure projects, and enhances the ability of project teams to use multiple software data sources. 

The ability to create subfolders within object type folders, and create data references to objects in different Autodesk Vault projects, enables AutoCAD Civil 3D users to better organize project objects such as surfaces and alignments. Additional AutoCAD Civil 3D enhancements include improved production drafting tools and subassembly loop support, in addition to the ability to associate and re-associate data shortcuts, create surfaces from point cloud data, generate AutoCAD solids from AutoCAD Civil 3D objects, and target corridor alignments by layer.

  Import and Export AutoCAD Solids to Industry Foundation Class (IFC) files for use in other applications. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

• Autodesk InfraWorks 360 LT 2016–InfraWorks 360 LT software is available as a Subscription entitlement with Infrastructure Design Suite 2016 Premium and Ultimate editions, offering foundational sketching and modeling capabilities for creating 3D models of the existing environment.  It enables users to generate data-rich design concepts that support faster decision making and stakeholder buy-in, thereby accelerating the project approval process.   3D model building is enhanced with the capability to bring together different types of data from a variety of native formats and coordinate systems, then add details such as roads, bridges, and buildings, and enhance with photorealistic rendering tools.

  Improve your visuals and create visuals directly from project data. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

A full rundown of additional 2016 enhancements for the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite can be  Downloaded Here.  See how Autodesk customers are using the Suite. Hear Sherry Kilgus-Kramer discuss Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2016 in this podcast interview [4 minutes, 54 seconds].

Sherry Kilgus-Kramer Podcast

Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016

Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016 provides intelligent 3D modeling documentation and review software.  To meet the growing demands of the industry and the need for designers and engineers to work together across geographically dispersed teams, the Plant Design Suite 2016 provides tools to support multi-discipline workflows and collaboration.  With integrated design and documentation tools, as well as enhanced workflows with data management solutions, Plant Design Suite 2016 allows designers and engineers to efficiently design, collaborate and deliver on projects.   

Key enhancements include:

• AutoCAD Plant 3D 2016:  The latest release offers tight integration with Autodesk Vault to help facilitate collaboration across multiple offices.  The integration provides support for both Autodesk Vault replication as well as replication of the plant project database.  Autodesk Vault manages plant project models, piping specifications and catalogs, and all the documentation to help make project administration of plant projects much easier and reduce administrative time.

  Plant Projects can be fully managed using Autodesk Vault, allowing easier inter-office collaboration. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

• AutoCAD MEP 2016:  AutoCAD MEP 2016 is a new addition to the Suite which helps support faster and easier modeling of electrical raceways and ductwork in plant models within an AutoCAD framework.

  Model electrical raceways and ducting with AutoCAD MEP. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

• AutoCAD 2016:    In AutoCAD 2016, Navisworks models can be externally referenced directly within AutoCAD which allows easier collaboration in plant projects where multi-CAD systems are used.  Complex plant models originating from different offices using different CAD systems can be externally referenced directly making design collaboration more efficient.  Also supported in AutoCAD and AutoCAD Plant 3D is tighter integration with BIM 360 allowing models to be easily reviewed anywhere for faster problem solving.

  Integration with BIM 360 Glue is now made much easier for plant projects. Image courtesy of Autodesk.

A full rundown of additional 2016 enhancements for the Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016 can be Downloaded Here. Hear Ian Matthew discuss Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016 in this podcast interview [4 minutes, 40 seconds].

Ian Matthew Podcast

Availability

Autodesk Building Design Suite 2016, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2016 and Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016 availability and related cloud services vary by country. See details and purchasing options at http://www.autodesk.com/subscription.

* BIM 360 is a cloud-enhanced collaborative construction management solution not included in the Autodesk Building Design Suite 2016, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite, or Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016.  See product information and availability at http://www.autodesk.com/products/bim-360/overview.

**Autodesk Vault is a collaboration and data management software solution not included in the Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2016.  See product information and availability at http://www.autodesk.com/products/vault-family/overview.