Space and Elevation

It's been almost a year - but it's time to start up again...

2009-03-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,
This past year, was an intentional pause on the Blog because we have been at the upstart of a new fabrication solution. We've all known that it will take a bit of time to have enough community participants to make a social media forum/blog work but we've never lost our vision in building and supporting one. With the release of Version 1.o of Fabrication for AutoCAD MEP at the beginning of Winter 2008-09 and the upcoming release of Version 2.0 in conjunction with the Autodesk release of AutoCAD MEP 2010, my sense is that it's the right time to renew our intentions to support a community of early fabrication adopters.

This forum will be Engineering and Fabrication contractor-specific and its focus will be the real and practical elements of fabricating with AutoCAD MEP and BIM methodologies.

I am looking forward to building a community of like-minded individauls and professionals who share our desire to search and discuss practical AutoCAD MEP and BIM solutions.

Dave

Drawing Structural Members in AutoCAD MEP

2008-06-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

Posted by DaveQ on behalf of:
Toby S. Smith, PE, LEED AP
AutoCAD MEP Product ManagerAEC Engineering

Drawing Structural Members in AutoCAD MEP

In addition to all of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) functionality in AutoCAD MEP, there is also all of the functionality of AutoCAD Architecture. This includes typical architectural items such as walls, doors and windows and also several structural members (columns, beams, bar joists, etc).

The product includes Tool Palette tools to draw these items. Change your workspace to Architectural (or right-click on your current Tool Palette and select Architectural).

The tools can be pre-set with various structural member styles (several styles are available in the Styles directory in the Member Styles drawing or they can be created as needed). Pre-defined tools are also available in Content Browser. Open the Architecture Design Tool Catalog and select Structural from the navigation menu on the left. Select either Bar Joists or Members to access the catalogs (Members catalog is shown below).

For more information, search for Structural Member on the Index tab in Help.

If you don’t have the Architecture Design Tool Catalogs available in Content Browser, you may need to install the Architecture Content Packs. To do this, click on Start > Control > Add or Remove Programs, select AutoCAD MEP and click the Change/Remove button. Select the Add or Remove Features option and click Next when the dialog loads to get to the Configure Content Packs screen. Select the Architecture items as needed. Continue clicking Next to install the files.

Welcome Intro to AutoCAD MEP Webinar Series folks

2008-06-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome AutoCAD MEP Webinar attendees to my blog, "Space and Elevation".

This Blog is an open discussion forum dedicated to mechanical engineers and hvac and piping contractors who design and fabricate using AutoCAD MEP or Revit MEP.

I received a great suggestion today from one of the attendees to open up a forum. His first name is Rob and he volunteered to help monitor the site. Thank god for Rob!

Please use the site to ask questions, discuss functionality challenges, share tips, tricks and shortcuts all related to using these two great platforms. From time to time I bet we'll even have real Autodesk MEP engineers and product managers, the guys building the products, visit to share their plans and to ask for suggestions.

The site will be moderated to insure that the discussion threads are kept at a professional level.

Dave

Link for Recorded Follow-up training Session #1

2008-01-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
For those of you who missed Beth's follow-up session or for those of you who did attend and would like to review it one more time, you can download it from this url..

http://www.eccadcam.com/downloads/public/MEPfollowupJAN16-08.zip

DaveQ

First Follow-up Web training

2008-01-08T01:43:00.001-08:00

Here's the time, date and content for Follow-up AutoCAD MEP Fabrication Training
When: Wednesday, January 16 from 3:00 - 4:00pm

To register and receive login details, please send email to dquigley@eccadcam.com

More on Label Styles

2008-01-08T01:41:00.000-08:00

You can find a word document from Beth on Label Styles. Go to http://www.eccadcam.com/downloads/public/mep_training/

Follow-up training modules

2008-01-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

General consensus for follow-up lessons

1. Creating templates
2. Review Setting up HVAC system definitions and routing preferences
3. Creating schedules
4. Creating 3D equipment libraries with smart connections
5. Tagging and Annotation set up

Also, in regard to the timeframe for these 1 hour training modules I received three requests we do the training from 3:00-4:00 pm. Unless, I hear from more than three of you that this is not the best time I will be making our future plans based on this timeframe.

I'm tentaively planning January 16th as the first of a series of follow-up web-based lessons. Please pencil in 3;00 - 4:00 on your schedules. I will include the lesson objectives tomorrow.

DaveQ

Posted Assignment #1

2008-01-04T13:39:00.001-08:00

Once sent to me, I am posting student homework assignments at the following EastCoast CA/CAM download site. http://www.eccadcam.com/downloads/public/mep_training . If you're interested in seeing what your colleagues have been able to do in AutoCAD MEP check it out. If you don't think that you could replicate their work, then you probably need some assistance. Let us know..

Daveq

P.S. Beth plans to review each individual student submission following the due date of January 7th and will provide comments or some additional help/suggestions where needed.

Questions regarding Homework assignment #1 - January 7th

2008-01-04T05:30:00.001-08:00

Please use this post to add any questions that may have come up while working on Assignment #1. Both the moderator and trainers will provide comments/answers to your questions as quickly as possible. Thanks.. Dave

Pictures from Virginia

2007-12-18T04:44:00.000-08:00

Bob and Charlie are ignoring Dave...

Martin's great smile

John demonstrate's his ability to concentrate during a session when a paparazzi broke into class.

Jim and Nick get it!

Yoel is enjoying his first-ever AutoCAD MEP class

Michael and Paul definitely get it!

Follow-on Modules for AutoCAD MEP Training

2007-12-18T04:40:00.000-08:00

EastCoast CAD/CAM, Derek Renn (Kelar Pacific) and Beth Powell are waiting to hear back from you, the students to help us determine what would be the most appropriate web training to follow-on from the December 10-11 (Virginia) and December 13-14 (San Diego) AutoCAD MEP Training. Please share with us what you think would be the most helpful follow-up set of training now that you've returned to your businesses.

Based on the feedback we will finalize our plans during the week of January 7th and will notify you of the topics and the times for the follow-up training. Thanks in advance for your suggestions...

DaveQ

For attendees of the December AutoCAD MEP Training - Homework posted below

2007-12-17T09:43:00.000-08:00

Highly respected AutoCAD MEP instructors, Beth Powell, Derek Renn from Kelar Pacific and EastCoast CAD/CAM instructor, Randy Swaim, facilitate the first-ever contractor-specific AutoCAD MEP Training Class in North America.

Please feel free to comment or share your experieinces (after you returned to your shop) based on what you were able to (or not) bring back from class. We want to encourage you to offer any additional thoughts you've had about the training so that we can continue to improve the experieince.

As a follow-on to the training and to encourage the students to continue using AutoCAD MEP, we have posted a follow-on lesson that can be downloaded from the following FTP site: http://www.eccadcam.com/downloads/public/HomeworkAssignment.zip .

We highly encourage the students from both the west and east coast classes to download the zip file from above.

Follow the basic 3 step instructions for replicating the design. Use the attahced jpg's to guide you through the assignment. Once completed, and if you'd like Please send me, Dave Quigley dquigley@eccadcam.com your completed projects no later than end of the day, Monday January 7, 2008. We will include a review of them at our first, follow-up Web-based training session, date to be set as soon as content for the session is agreed upon (see next posting).

DaveQ

Where it begins...December 17, 2007

2007-12-17T09:28:00.001-08:00

I work for an HVAC, plumbing and piping software business as the company's business development and marketing director. My interest and passion for the industry however goes much deeper than just my job. I was born in to it. My dad built a very successful contracting business in Western Massachusetts and just like my two brothers who came before me, my first eighteen years on this world was spent stocking fittings, pipes and sheet metal every afternoon after school and on Saturday mornings. Of course, my eighteen years in the shop was so much more than just stocking shelves. I lived, breathed and benefited in so many huge ways from this upbringing.

My job, today, provides me the opportunity to meet with HVAC, plumbing and piping professionals from all over the world. It gives me great pleasure of meeting some incredible people and seeing some fairly extraordinary new ways of designing and building in our trades.

I have no idea where this Blog may take us but it will be an adventure. I plan on sharing trade details, information and where the industry seems to be heading. I attend many industry events and for those of you who don't have the opportunity, I will do my best to keep you informed and the highlights of the event or conference. Whenever possible, I'll also post pictures of how some of the very best fabricators are bringing their ideas and design through to fabrication.

My visits to fabrication shops in the US and the UK bring back vivid memories of all the fine and wonderful people I was so lucky to have worked with early in my life.

As a bottom line, this blog is open to anyone passionate about HVAC, piping or plumbing.

DaveQ