• Lumion Transition to Subscription

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva
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    Lumion Transition to Subscription

    End of perpetual licenses on February 14th

    We wanted to let you know that from February 14th, 2023, Lumion will no longer be sold as a perpetual license. This applies to both new licenses as upgrades.

    Subscriptions now offer a more flexible, affordable, and convenient way of staying up to date with Lumion’s new features and content, at no additional cost. This means that with a Lumion Subscription, you have guaranteed access to the latest version of the software, including the upcoming release of Lumion 2023.

    Upgrade Standard to Pro subscription

    Now is the most affordable time for existing Lumion 11 users and older to upgrade your Lumion license. Existing customers of earlier versions of Lumion can benefit from an upgrade to a subscription at a significantly reduced price until February 13th, 2023.

    For customers, this will truly be the last possibility to buy a new one or upgrade to a Perpetual license. Adding a seat to the existing Perpetual license is also possible until February 13th, 2023.

    Lumion 12.5 is now available as a subscription. This means more flexibility and more frequent updates.
    By upgrading to a subscription you’ll be among the first to get Lumion 2023 when it’s released, at no additional cost.

    How does the upgrade from perpetual to subscription work?

    • You still own your perpetual license
    • You retain the same number of seats
    • Always up-to-date on the latest version
    • Includes free upgrade to Lumion 2023

    Can you convert a current perpetual license to a subscription license?

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    You wonder if it is possible to convert a License Key from Perpetual to Subscription without losing your current License Key.

    1. Here's how it works:

    Yes, you can upgrade your Perpetual License Key to a Subscription License Key. You have lifetime rights for your Perpetual License Key and if you decide to upgrade it both License Keys will continue working under the following rules in sections 2 or 3.

    For more information on how the License System works, visit the article below:

    2. What happens if you upgrade a Perpetual License Key to a Subscription License Key?

    2.1: The status of your current Perpetual License Key is set to ‘Upgraded‘ in your Lumion Account.

    2.2: A new Subscription License Key is issued and the Lumion Account is updated.

    2.3: The new Subscription License Key retains the same number of Seats as the upgraded Perpetual License Key.

    2.4: This means that if (for example) your Perpetual License Key has 2 Seats and you upgrade it to a Subscription License Key, an equal amount of 2 Seats can still be used in parallel on different machines.

    2.5: Your Perpetual License Key can still be used if already installed on one or more machines.

    3. What happens to your Perpetual License Key if you cancel your Subscription?

    3.1: Your Subscription License Key will be set to ‘Disabled‘. This means it can no longer be used after the Subscription Term ends. When the grace period expires, status will be changed to ‘Expired‘. See section 3.2 below:

    3.2: Your Perpetual License Key is then reactivated and set to ‘Active‘ and you will only be able to use the Lumion version(s) associated with the Perpetual License Key.

    In case you decide to renew your Subscription License Key during the grace period, then section 1. is applicable again.

    3.3: Important! Lumion files are not backwards compatible.  If you saved your Lumion files in a newer version of Lumion, and you revert to a previous version of Lumion that was associated with your Perpetual License Key, then you will not be able to open the .LS files.

    See also:

    Contact us to learn more about the transition to subscription and available upgrade options!

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    Civil 3D: Label Styles and Fonts

    Posted on by admin

    Are you “The One” who is master of label style creation for your firm? Have you seen this, and you don’t like it? If so, read on.

    The code in question can occur if, within your Text Component Editor, you have font overrides.

    There is a right click option that is supposed to remove any formatting. But you know what? Sometimes it doesn’t work. What to do?

    The Solution:

    1. Ensure you don’t actually have an alternate font selected in the Format page. It needs to match the font specified in the Text Style for the label style. FYI, if you DO have an alternate font chosen, that {\fCalibri code will not go away with this technique.

    2. Copy the “code” from the editor. Ctrl+A. Copy all of it!

    3. Paste into Notepad.

    4. Copy the same code, but from Notepad this time.

    5. Paste back into the editor.

    6. Done!

    Yes, it does work. Why? I’m not sure. There must be some hidden creatures in there somewhere. Notepad does not allow such things to linger about.

    To learn more about Civil 3D Label Styles and Fonts, or if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us and one of our representatives will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

    How Meridian Manages: Auditorium, Hospital, Hotel, Educational Facility & Data Center Documents, Equipment, Content and Meta Data

    Posted on by admin

    INTRODUCTION

    Managing Auditoriums, Hospitals, Educational Facilities, Hotels and Data Center Documents, Equipment, Content and Meta Data is a Challenge to say the Least.

    The 2019 Intelligent Information Management Benchmark Report Indicates:

    INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ISSUES

     

    These issues can cause a loss of productivity to the tune of 21%. To put a dollar amount to this stat poor document management can cost up to $4,000 per employee per month.

    This number only accounts for the actual monetary losses due to poor productivity. The cost gets even higher when you take into consideration potential losses, such as upset clients and missed opportunities.

    If you don’t have a clear and standardized approach to Information Management, your business is likely hemorrhaging capital.

    In this blog, we will show you how Meridian can assist in the Initiation, Planning, Execution and Control stages of managing types of buildings such as Auditoriums, Stadiums, Hospitals, Educational Facilities and Data Centers.

    MERIDIAN FOR AN AUDITORIUM

    An Auditorium is a large building or hall designed to accommodate large audiences and they are used for public gatherings, typically speeches or stage performances. Buildings such as opera, theater, assembly hall, exhibit halls, etc. would also have the same design considerations as an auditorium.

    The Engineering, Construction, Procurement and Maintenance teams require an Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data to Design, Construct, Build and Maintain the Building Structures, Bathrooms, Change Rooms, Furniture, and Maintenance Equipment since these are the Key Components for the Overall Planning, Designing, Building and Maintenance of an Auditorium.

    MERIDIAN DOCUMENT, EQUIPMENT CLASSIFICATION, CONTENT MANAGEMENT CONTENT

    • Building: Architectural, Electrical, Piping, Structural and Maintenance
    • Chairs: Foldable Chairs
    • Lights: Downlights, Wall Mount Lights and LED Lights
    • Audio-Visual Systems:
      • Audio System: Loudspeakers, Mixer, Subwoofer, Digital Sound Processor, Microphones (Wireless / Wired)
      •  Video System: LED Panels, TVs, and Stage Monitors
    • Projectors and Projector Screens
    • Stage: Wood or Concrete
    • Furniture & Fixtures: Podium Tables, Dressing Rooms, Green Room, and Dinner Room
    • Security: CCTV
    • Material & Fabric: Curtains, and Seat Fabric
    • Insulation: Soundproofing
    • Digital Signage
    • HVAC: Heating and Air Conditioning

    CASE STUDY PROJECT: AUDITORIUM

    In this project an Engineering Procurement Construction company developed lightweight and parametric electrical lighting fixtures. The project included creating, reviewing, revising, and approving the documents, content and assigning equipment identifiers by categorizing into 3 Types of Lighting Fixtures- Indoor, Outdoor & Decorative.

    The Engineering, Procurement, Construction team required a single source Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data to manage the Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data to Design, Construct, Build and Maintain the Building Structures, Bathrooms, Change Rooms, Furniture, and Maintenance Equipment since these are the Key Components for the Overall Planning, Designing, Building and Maintenance of an Auditorium.

    MERIDIAN FOR A HOSPITAL

    Hospitals usually are a multi-story building with multiple patient rooms, operation theaters, and a large quantity of medical equipment. The facility aims at delivering a message to patients, visitors one that conveys welcoming, caring, comfort, and compassion, commitment to patient well-being and safety.

    The Engineering, Construction, Procurement and Maintenance teams would require Meridian to manage documents, equipment, content and associated meta data for the design, construction, building and maintenance for the Building Structure, Medical Equipment, Patient Bed, Operation Rooms, and Maintenance since these are the key components for the overall planning, designing and maintenance of a healthcare facility.

    MERIDIAN DOCUMENT, EQUIPMENT CLASSIFICATION, CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    • Building: Architectural, Electrical, Piping, Structural and Maintenance
    • CCTV: Security Equipment
    • Patient Room: Beds, Lights, Medical Trunking; Headwall
    • Operation Rooms: Beds, Stretcher, Medical Equipment
    • Lights: Downlights, Wall Mount Lights and LED Lights
    • Waiting Room: Benches, Chairs and Tables
    • Nurses Station
    • Conference Room: Tables, Chairs, Computers, Screens and Projectors
    • Cafeteria: Tables, Chairs and Kitchen Equipment
    • Staff Locker: Cabinets and Bathrooms
    • Server Room: Computer and Network Equipment
    • Elevators
    • HVAC: Heating and Air Conditioning Equipment

    CASE STUDY PROJECT: 2021 PANDEMIC RELATED PROJECT

    When COVID-19 first occurred like a wrecking ball in early 2020, hospitals were among the most affected. Faced with a huge surge in patients infected with an unknown life-threatening virus, hospitals took immediate action to keep patients and staff safe while quickly moving to adapt to structural needs that were changing by the day.

    From day one, the Engineering, Construction, Procurement and Maintenance teams focused on critical issues like upgrading ventilation, creating isolation rooms, expanding emergency departments, and building temporary structures to handle patient overflow. Due to COVID-19 hospitals had to redirect resources to, many facilities had to delay other construction projects while they reassessed their current needs.

    Most hospital construction projects were impacted in a variety of ways by the pandemic, according to the 2021 Hospital Construction Survey, which included responses from more than 300 facilities professionals at hospitals.

    The survey showed that 76% of respondents have delayed one or more construction projects due to COVID-19, while 29% have canceled at least one project altogether. For projects started before the pandemic, renovation was overwhelmingly the main project delayed, canceled, or fast-tracked. During the pandemic, renovation is also the focus, the survey shows.

    The Engineering, Procurement, Construction team required a single source Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the Building Structures, Bathrooms, Change Rooms, Furniture, and Maintenance Equipment Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data since these are the key components for the planning, designing, building and maintenance of an Auditorium

    The Renovations included the addition of:

    • Isolation Rooms
    • Upgrade & Replace HVAC Systems
    • Upgrade & Expand Laboratories
    • Modified Designs to In Progress Projects
    • Expedited Drawing Process (Create, Review, Modify, Approve, Construct and Build)

    MERIDIAN FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITY: CLASSROOMS

    Educational facilities are buildings or structures used to teach students. It includes Schools, Colleges, and Universities however they can also include Day-Cares, Nurseries, Private Institutions, Fitness Centers, and Sports Venues.

    Designing an educational facility certain aspects like daylighting, accessibility for the students, specification of sustainable and non-toxic building materials, etc. are a high priority.

    The Engineering, Procurement, Construction team require an Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data to manage Documents, Equipment, Content and their associated Meta Data for the Design, Construction, Building and Maintenance for the Building Structures, Classrooms, Bathrooms, Change Rooms, Furniture, and Maintenance Equipment since these are the key components for the overall planning, designing, building and maintenance of an Educational Facility.

    CASE STUDY PROJECT: HIGH SCHOOL

    In this project an Engineering Procurement Construction and Management company completed multi-phased project at a high school throughout the school year. The students were moved around the school to allow construction to continue. The project included hazardous material abatement, demolition and renovation to the library, science room, sports venue, washrooms, common areas and home economic labs. Structural modernization to the exterior, replacing and modifying the windows to allow for more natural light.

    The Engineering, Procurement, Construction team required a single source Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the various types of the hazardous material abatement, demolition and renovation to the library, science room, sports venue, washrooms, common areas and home economic lab Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data.

    MERIDIAN FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITY: SPORTS VENUES

    The Sports Venues are generally multi-level, open space, large walkways, stairs, elevators, and a variety of rooms and large seating areas. A Sports Venue is used for indoor or outdoor sports along with concerts, or other events.

    The Engineering, Construction, Procurement and Maintenance teams require an Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to to manage Documents, Equipment, Content and their associated Meta Data for the Design, Construction, Building and Maintenance for the Building Structures, Walkways, Bathrooms, Change Rooms, Stairs, Elevators, and Maintenance Equipment since these are the key components for the overall planning, designing, building and maintenance of a Sports Venue.

    MERIDIAN DOCUMENT, EQUIPMENT CLASSIFICATION, CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    • Building: Architectural, Electrical, Piping, Structural and Maintenance
    • CCTV: Security Equipment
    • Change Rooms: Bench
    • Lights: Downlights, Wall Mount Lights and LED Lights
    • Rooms: Benches, Chairs and Tables
    • Conference Room: Tables, Chairs, Computers, Screens and Projectors
    • Cafeteria: Tables, Chairs and Kitchen Equipment
    • Staff Locker: Cabinets and Bathrooms
    • Server Room: Computer and Network Equipment
    • Elevators
    • HVAC: Heating and Air Conditioning Equipment

    MERIDIAN FOR A HOTEL

    Hotels are multi-story buildings with a large quantity of guest rooms and amenities. Hotel space type requires flexibility, durable finishes, attention to regular maintenance, and special HVAC systems and lighting. The rooms specially require comfort for the guests and the other areas’ design often involves skylights and generous glazing areas that provide an infusion of natural light which make them prominent areas well suited to serve ceremonial and social functions.

    The Engineering, Construction, Procurement and Maintenance teams require Meridian to manage Documents, Equipment, Content and their associated Meta Data for the Design, Construction, Building and Maintenance for the Building Structures, Guest Rooms, Furniture, and Maintenance Equipment since these are the key components for the overall planning, designing, building and maintenance of a hotel.

    MERIDIAN DOCUMENT, EQUIPMENT CLASSIFICATION, CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    • Building: Architectural, Electrical, Piping, Structural and Maintenance
    • CCTV: Security Equipment
    • Hotel Rooms: Beds, Closet, Lights, Table, Chair and Bathroom
    • Lights: Indoor Lights, Decorative Lights, and LED Lights
    • Restaurant: Dining Table, Chairs, Kitchen Equipment
    • Conference Room: Tables, Chairs, Computers, Screens and Projectors
    • Fitness Centre: Weights and Cardio Equipment
    • Elevator
    • HVAC: Heating and Air Conditioning

    CASE STUDY PROJECT: MARRIOTT: FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES

    The Engineering, Construction, Procurement company completed a remodel and renovation. The project scope included the construction of a public space area and additional guestrooms.

    The Engineering, Procurement, Construction team required a single source Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the various types of Project Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data.

    MERIDIAN FOR DATA CENTRES

    Data centres are home to the computer, network, power, storage, and applications necessary to support an enterprise business. The data center infrastructure is central to the IT architecture, from which all content is sourced or passes through. Proper planning of the data center infrastructure is critical, and performance, resiliency, and scalability need to be carefully considered while designing one.

    The Engineering, Construction, Procurement and Maintenance teams require Meridian to manage Documents, Equipment, Content and their associated Meta Data for the Design, Construction, Building and Maintenance for the Data Centre Server Racks, Power Lines, and HVAC Equipment. Since these are the key components for the overall planning, designing, building and maintenance of a Data Centre.

    MERIDIAN DOCUMENT, EQUIPMENT CLASSIFICATION, CONTENT MANAGEMENT

    • Building: Architectural, Electrical, Piping, Structural and Maintenance
    • Equipment: Hard Drives, Mounts, Racks, Servers, Switches and Routers
    • Power Sources: Battery Banks, Generators, UPS
    • Environmental Control: Computer Room AC (CRAC), HVAC, Exhaust System
    • Data Centre Cabinets:
    • Workstations

    CASE STUDY PROJECT:

    A global Data Centre provided required to a new data hall for a leading cloud services provider with overhead busway. The Data Centre DATABAR system, with the MCMS monitoring system, was installed during COVID-19. Through proper factory safety protocols, The Data Centre was able to maintain the projects required lead times without manufacturing delays due to a single source Information Management System with Meridian’s functionality to manage the various types of Project Documents, Equipment, Content, and their associated Meta Data.

    CONCLUSION

    Inefficient processes can lead to severe inefficiencies with your Corporate, Contractor, Project, Vendor, Operations, and Maintenance Documents, Equipment, Content and Associated Meta Data. You need a robust electronic information management system to make your processes efficient. Meridian features provide robust capabilities for your enterprise-wide data and documents needs while also meeting your compliance requirements.

    The next step is to determine the right Information Management System which is determined by your current Document, Equipment and Content Management pain points and needs.

    To learn more about Meridian solutions (EDMS and CMMS) and how they can help your team, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the SolidCAD Meridian Team.

    Implementing New Construction Tech Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    This story was originally published by FRANK KALMAN on the Bluebeam Blog.

    Despite the temptation to implement new technology quickly, it’s important that there are practices in place to ensure the tool is evolving in the long run.

    ost construction industry leaders would likely agree that implementing new technology can be a complicated process.

    From identifying pain points to researching possible solutions to going about the lengthy process to test and implement the new technology, the process can be painstaking—even though such efforts have largely gotten relatively easier and more accessible recently.

    Still, it’s important for construction leaders to remember that any new technology implementation is a marathon, not a sprint.

    While many focus on the initial dash to become operational on new technology, it’s critical to account for long-term considerations. Even once the initial phase of implementation is complete, seemingly solving the problem, it’s worth maintaining a continuous-improvement approach.

    Here are six things construction leaders can do to ensure they’re taking the long view when implementing new technology.

    Make training continuous

    It’s easy to focus on the initial implementation training when installing a new technology. Construction leaders have by this point spent months (or even years) researching the new tool and orchestrating its implementation.

    Yet, there are several reasons why training should be designed as a continuous, long-term process.

    No matter how well-designed your initial technology implementation training may be, people aren’t likely to retain it all the first time around. Often when taking on new technology, people don’t know what they don’t know—so they retain what’s taught to them just to get by, without fully realizing the context of the tool.

    Revisiting concepts taught in the initial training may be helpful several months after the implementation training. Then, as time passes, additional ongoing training should take place about new features and tools.

    Appoint technology champion(s)

    It’s likely that the initial technology implementation featured a leader or group of leaders responsible for the complex process of overseeing the effort and all its components. This leadership structure should persist long past the initial implementation.

    Depending on the size of your company or team taking on the new technology, this can be one person or several people. A large municipal department, for instance, may appoint a council of strategic advisors to oversee and maintain the long-term efforts associated with new technology implementation.

    These people should meet regularly to craft new training and other initiatives to ensure that the technology’s use is progressing. They should also come from different divisions or disciplines across a company to ensure every perspective is represented.

    Initiate internal user groups

    A great way to embrace a continuous-improvement approach to a new construction technology implementation is to form an internal user group. This group is designed to meet regularly to share knowledge of the new technology and explore new possibilities of how the tool can be used.

    Perhaps the best way to make these groups effective is to make them social as well. Have them meet after working hours so they feel more informal and community-oriented, rather than just another meeting during the workday.

    Devise external knowledge sharing

    Equally as critical may be coming up with ways for external knowledge sharing on new technology. While internal user groups are tremendously effective in expanding a company’s use of new technology over the long term, it’s important that construction firms have a way to bring in external knowledge, too.

    Attending or organizing industry events on new technology, or starting one that brings in like-minded users from other organizations, are all ways to channel external knowledge that will pay dividends long into the future.

    Conduct regular technology audits

    No matter how long a tool has been in place and how knowledgeable people may be on it, construction leaders should get into the habit of conducting regular, formal audits on the technology. Whether you bring in an outside group to conduct the audit or use your internal technology leadership team, doing this ensures that the technology remains effective at improving your firm’s efficiency and solving new problems that arise over time.

    Embrace failure

    Don’t worry if everything isn’t perfect. New technology implementations can be messy. Try to embrace the small failures that will inevitably come, allowing you to iterate to ultimately maximize the value of the new technology. After all, such failures are often the best learning opportunities.

     

    CTC Licensing Model Change – What you need to know!

    Posted on by admin

    With the release of the 23.0.0 version of all the CTC Software tools, CTC has taken the opportunity to update their licensing model.

    Licensing for any of the CTC suites of tools was broken up into tiers of licensing with maintenance attached or differences depending on how many employees were in the company. It was tedious to explain, and not too efficient to implement.

    Starting with the 23.0.0 release of the suites, CTC is moving to a CSL model of licensing. This Cloud Shared Licensing is much more in line with the SaS model of software delivery. However, this is deliberately not the named user licensing that Autodesk has moved to. The CSL model is intended to simplify access to the tools while maintaining the flexibility of the network licensing style of license.

    Put simply, the CSL model is a cloud hosted version of the network licensing most of us are familiar with. Which means there is no need for installing license managers on local servers, all users need is internet access to use the CTC tools. The CSL is hosted on the new CTC website that was launched in conjunction with the 23.0.0 suite releases.

    With the new website, there have been additional efficiencies added by automating tasks like the option to renew automatically and automatic fulfillment of orders. The new website will also give administrators detailed insight into their teams’ suite usage and the ability to control the allocation of licenses with the creation of Groups of users on the website.

    The move to CSL was done for efficiency for everyone. This simplifies and standardizes access to the tools, allows for instant license allocation, offers reporting on usage of suites and tools, and simplifies pricing models.

     

    One thing to note is that the 2022 and older versions of the CTC Suites still only work with the legacy licensing and cannot use the CSL model.

     

    If you have any questions regarding this new licensing model for the CTC Software, your SolidCAD Account Manager will be more than happy to help.

    CTC Software: The Benefits of Cloud Shared Licensing

    Posted on by admin

    CTC Software has enhanced their licensing model in June 2022, all new licensing is facilitated through Cloud Shared Licensing (CSL) now. This shift to CSL means that moving forward the 2023+ releases of their tool sets will only be available through CSL. It marks a big jump in flexibility and tracking of license sharing and puts CTC ahead of the curve in the industry for license facilitation. All you need is an internet connection and access to their website to use your CTC tools now.

    https://ctcsoftware.com

     

    What is Cloud Shared Licensing and how is it different from the Network Licensing or Named User Licensing?

    CSL is NOT at all the same as the Named User licensing that most software has migrated to. We can think of CSL as network licensing managed from the cloud. This is preferable to the network licensing because the license manager doesn’t need to be installed on your server and setup time is greatly reduced.

    Named User Licensing ties the license of the product (A seat of Civil 3D for example) to a user’s email, this is intended to restrict the use of that product to that single user among other thing. CSL is still a pool of licenses that you would use a login to access. So 100 employees could have logins to access a pool of 10 licenses, but each license can only be used by 1 person at a time.

    What does this change mean for my company and me using the tools?

    As mentioned above, this will allow you to have access to your CTC tools with a CTC Account login and access to internet. No need to even be connected to your company network to pull a license from your pool of CSL license.

    Importantly, CSL will still allow compatibility with the latest 5 versions of your Autodesk software.

    On the IT and license management side of thing, CSL is incredibly easy to setup, manage, and report on license usage. Through the CTC website we can access the license portal to set up and assign licenses to user groups, borrow licenses to access offline, revoke licenses, setup auto-renewals, and manage roles & admin rights associated with your CTC products.

     

    How do I manage my licensing now?

    Accessing the licensing portal is done through the https://ctcsoftware.com website and clicking on the person icon next to the shopping cart.

    After logging in, you will be directed to the portal dashboard where you can navigate to licensing to see all your CTC products.

    From here you can invite user, add them to user groups, assign roles, and assign access to your various products.

     

    From within the Autodesk software once the tools are installed on the work station, the user ill just have to click on one of the darker colored tools to bring up the “Product and Licensing Information” dialog box.

    Once you click the Cloud Shared and click Apply, it will bring you to the Sign In window to enter your CTC Account credentials. You will only be required to sign in the first time you access the tools and will give you access to all the tools that you are assigned to in the licensing portal.

    The new Cloud Shared Licensing is the future for CTC Software and I hope this article has shown you some of its benefits. CTC has done a great job with a couple webinars linked below to explain the picks and clicks in more detail for setup and management of the license portal, so I would encourage you to watch them as well.

     

    Note for their Network and Standalone end of life:

    May 1st, 2023: You will no longer be able to buy Network or Standalone Licenses. Only new seats of CSL.

    May 1st, 2024: You will no longer be able to renew existing Network or Standalone Licenses. This marks the point where CTC tolls will only be available as CSL.

     

    Resources:

    CTC YouTube Channel:

    A Comprehensive Introduction to Cloud Shared Licensing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH9X_6PA3Zw

    Administering Cloud Shared Licensing
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg_TnV1wimI

    mk North America

    Posted on by admin
    Success Stories

    mk North America

    Founded in 1988, mk North America is a member of, and North American headquarters for the mk Technology Group. They design, engineer, and manufacture a wide variety of conveyors including belt conveyors, roller conveyors, timing belt conveyors, chain conveyors and flexible flat top chain conveyors; as well as workpiece pallet-handling conveyor systems, and extruded aluminum framing (including guarding and linear motion systems). They offer incredible variety and flexibility, and their products have proven themselves worldwide in a broad variety of applications and industries.

    A Smooth and Easy Transition to Variant!

    The Challenge

    Like many other manufacturers, mk North America uses Autodesk Inventor and iLogic for their product designs. They previously used Autodesk Configurator 360 to make the designs available on their website for customers to create their own configurations but needed to find a new option once Configurator 360 was no longer available. They did diligent research into what products were available and explored all their options. For a while, they considered building their own configurator but realized it would require a complete overhaul of their current systems and workflows, costing them more time than they could spare.

    Once it was clear to mk North America that they would greatly benefit from some outside expertise, they turned back to online research and found SolidCAD’s newly announced cloud-based configurator, Variant.

    The Solution

    Variant was just what they were looking for. Since our online configurator uses Autodesk Forge Design Automation API for Inventor, it can directly leverage iLogic code in existing CAD models. This allowed mk North America to smoothly transition to Variant without wasting valuable time on re-work or any major disruptions to their established workflows.

    Design engineer, Will Peters, spoke about how they were not new to configurators. Since they were already using Configurator 360, almost every other solution they investigated would require massive changes on their end. “The nice thing about Variant,” he explained, “was that we only needed to make some pretty minor adjustments. It operated on the same platform so it wasn’t as full of a process as it would have been with another product.”

    mk North America expressed how impressed they were with the SolidCAD technical team’s expertise and communication. Although they were already very familiar with Autodesk Inventor, they were able to learn more in depth information about what goes on in the backend and how all their systems work together. Ultimately, it was a great benefit to continue working with the platforms they knew, and they are grateful they did not decide to face this challenge on their own.

    An extra benefit to mk North America was our team’s ability to thoroughly assess and understand their needs. “We had looked into a couple different solutions,” explained Kate Nadeau, marketing manager at mk North America, “the big thing that pushed us this direction was that [SolidCAD] was still developing the tool when we signed on. We knew that we would have a voice… Even though the major framework was there, knowing that we would get our needs met was huge.”

    Take a look at mk North America’s instance of Variant called CAD360 on their website to configure your own conveyor today!

    Testimonial

    Variant was an obvious choice for us as we looked for a solution to our online product configurator.

    The tool is very easy to learn and is customizable to your exact needs – which gave us the flexibility to offer a wide range of products in a single online catalog. The user interface is very intuitive and allows us to maintain, update, and improve our product offering in real-time. Along with Variant’s powerful services, the team at SolidCAD has been an absolute pleasure to work with. They are very accommodating and are eager to teach tips & tricks, explain functionality, and work through problems until they’re perfected. Choosing Variant for our online configurator was an easy decision, and it has exceeded our expectations.

    – Will Peters, Sales & Applications Engineer

    Products & Services Used

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    Desktop Connector Update

    Posted on by admin

    If you’re an Autodesk Docs/BIM 360/ACC user, this update is for you. A major update is now available. Previous versions were numbered 15.x.x. We are now on 16.x.x.

    Read on to find out what’s new.

    It is not recommended to have some users on 16.x and some on 15.x. It is not a requirement to upgrade all users to 16.x, but it is recommended due to workspace and permissions changes.

    New Behavior:

    Let’s start out by outlining some new behavior that will stump you if you didn’t know. In previous versions, when a design file is dragged into a Docs folder, all reference files would be uploaded automatically. Now, only the design file is uploaded, no references. There are options, however which I will outline next.

    Upload Files and References tool:

    This is the tool you should be using to upload files. That same design file can be dragged into this new interface and its references will be listed and uploaded. It’s your chance to visualize all file relationships prior to uploading.

    Performance:

    File saving, opening, locking, and other file access tools are now faster.

    Home Screen Changes:

    Current processes can be easily viewed after clicking the DC tray in Windows.

    Select Projects:

    You no longer need to have all your projects displayed and sync’d. Let’s say you’re invited to 30 projects. Previously, all 30 would be shown in Windows File Explorer. Now, only selected projects are shown. Up to 40 projects can be sync’d.

    File Explorer:

    Autodesk Docs is now in line with “My PC”. Also, the default workspace has been changed to C:\users\USERPROFILE\DC.

    File Explorer:

    Most of the usual right click options now exist for folders and files. Delete, create shortcut, etc. One new one could be a game changer. Always keep on this device. Folders and files can be selected to automatically synchronize to your local drive without having to open the file or click Sync. When Free Up Space is used, folders tagged with Always keep… are retained.

    This is significant for al least one good reason: CAD Resource files. CTB, Blocks, Civil 3D Pipe Catalogs, etc. can now be stored in an ACC folder and forced to be sync’d at all times locally.

    File Locking:

    Most non-Autodesk files get locked when opened. MS Word DOCX files, for example. Notepad documents and PDFs opened from within a browser window are not locked.  PDFs opened from Bluebeam or Adobe are locked.

    Free Up Space:

    Using a Windows setting, space can be freed automatically. See this document.

    Sheet Set Manager: Multi-Line Titles

    Posted on by admin

    If:

    • Your sheet titles are too long for a single line in your title block and,
    • You use the sheet set manager to control these titles and,
    • You would like to control where the line break occurs…

    Read on…

    Multi-line attributes are handy when the information needs to wrap to additional lines. This attribute can contain a sheet set field which displays the title of the sheet. The attribute width can be adjusted to any width and the text will wrap automatically.

    But what if we don’t like how the text is wrapped? Maybe we want to dictate our own line returns. Suppose we want this instead.

    It is totally possible, though not at all intuitive. Here are the steps:

    1) Make the multi-line attribute width very narrow, like 1mm.

    2) Edit the title property in the sheet set manager.

    3) Place a space where you wish the line break to happen and place a non-breaking space where you actually want spaces. The red and yellow icons below indicate where the non-breaking spaces are.

    You see, when there are non-breaking spaces, the text following it is forced to reside on the same line.

    Alt+0160 to get a non-breaking space, hold down the ALT button while entering 0160 on your keyboard number pad. You MUST have a number pad; this will not work with the numbers on top of your keyboard.

    Civil 3D: Targets Without Targets!

    Posted on by admin

    Do you use targets to modify the width of a lane or sidewalk? Would you like to vary a daylight slope over a station range? Are you looking for a different way to handle driveway curb letdowns? If you said yes to any of these, the 23.2 update for Civil 3D has a new feature that can help. Read on.

    You probably know that geometry can be drawn, a polyline or alignment, and then defined as a target to change the width of a lane or sidewalk.

    This works well, but there is a new option now. It’s called Corridor Transitions. Essentially, you can get the same result, but instead of drawing that geometry, the widths can be defined in a tabular format.

    1. Select a corridor and choose Edit Corridor Transitions in the ribbon.
    2. Enter values in the panorama that define the transition you need.
    3. Click Apply.

    Here, the width parameter of the LaneSuperelevationAOR is being controlled by the values in yellow. There are 3 stations ranges that define where and how the transition happens. Also, the DaylightMultiIntercept slope parameter is being controlled by the values in green. It transitions from a 2:1 slope to a 1:1 slope between 4+80 to 5+60, then there are 2 other transition regions after that.

             

    To define a driveway curb letdown, use the same procedure, except that the subassembly parameter that is varied would be the curb height. 3 transition regions will define a single letdown.

    • From 0.75 to 0.1
    • From 0.1 to 0.1
    • From 0.1 to 0.75

    Enjoy!