The 2D to 3D Transition Taking the Leap

The 2D to 3D Transition – Taking the Leap

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UT11084

The 2D to 3D Transition—Taking the Leap Michael Bruce DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations, LLC

Learning Objectives Learn how to map out and navigate the important bridges that must be crossed in order to achieve a successful

2D/3D transition

See a comparison of Inventor and Revit software in order to determine which platform will be most beneficial

Discover the importance of personnel selection that will ensure a smooth transition

Bring home successful strategies that will enable your organization to be productive while making the 2D-to-3D leap

Description This class will address the challenges many businesses face when deciding to make the transition from a traditional 2D AutoCAD software environment to a 3D modeling platform, such as Inventor software or Revit software. We will examine the factors that go into making decisions regarding when to begin and planning on how to make a smooth transition that minimizes disruptions in business activity, while maximizing the productivity advantages 3D modeling and documentation provide. We will also review some of the difficulties (specifically related to personnel) that await transitioning companies. The presentation will bring real-world insight from the presenter’s experience in a 2D/3D implementation of Inventor software in an electric utility manufacturing and supply company. The class will conclude with a question and answer session.

Your AU Experts

Michael Bruce is currently a substation designer / structural steel modeler and detailer for a high-voltage substation engineering and procurement firm based in Pineville, Louisiana (DIS-TRAN Packaged Substations, LLC). He was selected in 2009 as a co-developer for what originally was the company’s 3D transition experiment. That experiment has now become one of the electric utility industry’s premier examples of how 3D modeling and documentation is being applied using several Autodesk, Inc., products, including Inventor software, Vault software, AutoCAD software, Navisworks software, Design Review software, and A360 cloud-computing platform. He has over 40 years of construction-related experience in all types of businesses, including oil and gas drilling and production, industrial fabrication, commercial construction, water/wastewater facilities, and electric power transmission and distribution. His interests include emerging technologies and their uses and development in the real world. He is an accomplished machinist, welder, and woodworker.

I would like to acknowledge my colleague, Brant Cook who, like me, weathered the many storms we encountered on our journey. Without him, our transition would never have been as successful as it has become. He continues to serve as one of our lead Substation Designers.


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Learn how to map out and navigate the important bridges that must be crossed in order to achieve a successful 2D/3D transition

We have decided to try 3D, so why don’t we just jump right in? In most cases today, learning how to use new software is as easy as buying a book or watching an internet video or even asking a friend or colleague. Unfortunately, with Engineering and Design software it usually isn’t that easy. One of the most expensive mistakes companies make when choosing software is to get it, do the install and hope that you can figure it out, without giving consideration to questions like:

• How will it be used?

• Who will use it?

• Is it the right solution?

• Can it add to increased productivity?

• Will it help me get a competitive edge?

• What impact will it have on my customers?

• What impact will it have on my employees?

• Will it increase my bottom line?

All these questions and many more are part of the planning required when moving from a 2D AutoCAD environment to 3D offerings like Inventor or Revit. As the theme for AU 2015 is “The Future of Making Things”, you will quickly realize that everything related to that future requires moving to the virtual world for our design and engineering personnel. In fact, our current design processes and workflows are going to change dramatically. Today at some companies, the design engineer or technician is not only working out how to design a product or a facility, he or she is also working as the manufacturing engineer, because the 3D models they are creating, provide the information required to operate all types of machine tools and even robots. We have all seen or heard of the amazing advancements in 3D printing or additive manufacturing. Without the 3D software that generates the models, none of these new manufacturing technologies would even be practical, not to mention cost prohibitive.


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“Planning……..what is that?” Ever heard that statement around the office? Of course it is usually used in a facetious way indicating that our “careful planning” was not as careful or planned as well as it should have been. Obviously no one plans to fail. Sometimes we simply are not aware of all the pitfalls that may face us entering uncharted waters. Moving to 3D software is a brand new world for most of us. In some corners it is considered be another technological revolution, just as AutoCAD was when it was introduced in 1982. I do think that moving from pencil and paper was a much greater challenge since the computer was relatively new as well. It definitely took a long time for the transition as many companies did not even attempt to implement CAD until the 90’s. Affordability and economies of scale were also an issue at the time, and similar to the early adoption of 3D today, only large companies were financially able to implement it.

Early days. In 2010, our company decided to take the leap. In 2009 I had been experimenting with the new 3D functionality of AutoCAD 2009 and found the results to be very helpful as designing steel structures in a High Voltage Substation can be a little challenging at times. The workflow was very different, as I was creating geometric shapes instead of drawing lines, but with only a few commands to learn, I managed to make good gains in productivity. I still had to transfer the dimensional information from the model to the 2D drawings, so it was extra work, but because I didn’t have to make the usual top, front and side views in the design phase, it was basically a wash timewise. What was very beneficial was the ability to see my design at different angles in space, helping to make meaningful changes that I might not have seen in the 2D environment. From that time on I was hooked and started to model the more complex structures and used those models to detail and check our structural steel designs and details.

AUTOCAD 3D & 2D


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The word spread through the company about what we were doing and got the attention of our president. Right away he recognized that this technology could transform our business in many ways and potentially give us a significant competitive advantage. We called up our local Autodesk representative, got the jaw dropping tour of Inventor in action, asked for volunteers to try out the software, (only Brant Cook and I volunteered) and the rest, as they say, is history. Unknown to me or my colleague was that the ensuing year would be the most difficult and stressful 12 months we had ever experienced in our careers.

Here we go……. The first order of business was to map out an implementation plan. We thought we had a good way forward initially, however, not knowing all of the many powerful features of Inventor, we underestimated what would become two important obstacles:

1. The Learning Curve - The capability of Inventor to design anything, from cars to drilling rigs to

medical devices, left us unsure what was the correct workflow for our company’s products and services.

We were not aware of any other Substation Engineering & Procurement firms who were using Inventor

the way we were, so we had to spend a lot of time sorting out all the possible work flows to determine

the most productive ones. We also had two types of applications that had to work together and

complement each other. The first involved the design, modeling and detailing of structural steel

supports which we determined was the best test case and where we would see the most benefit from

3D modeling. After all, up until then we had successfully used AutoCAD for this, but the 2D environment

coupled with the traditional steel detailing process of drawing to proportion and not scale, made the

work highly labor intensive from both the detailing and checking aspects. Adding all the Electrical

Substation components to those structures along with both rigid and flexible conductors and other

miscellaneous equipment was our second application and we wanted them to be brought together so

that modifications to the steel structures had an immediate effect on the Electrical equipment and vice

versa.

2. Not enough time in the day - The second challenge was finding the time to do all of this

experimentation and investigation while meeting the production demands of our department. We

essentially had 4 steel detailers/checkers (I mostly had the checking duties) and a manager and Brant

and I were tasked with the 3D transition. I should point out here that our implementation plan was

more of an experiment than a commitment and if we didn’t get up and running successfully in a certain

period of time, AutoCAD would win the day and we would dump 3D (our company is kind of results

oriented). Our initial goal of creating the 3D models and associated fabrication and construction

documents for an average wind farm substation was supposed to be 6 months. One year after we

started the endeavor we presented our first product to management. Suffice it to say that everyone in

the room was blown away that day and we finally crossed what would become many mountains of

varying degree and size. Feeling like we had spent the last year in a combat zone, Brant and I had

successfully taken the leap.


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It bears mentioning here that many times Brant and I felt like Lewis and Clark. We knew the general

direction we needed to go, but without a guide, we ended up going down many paths that were

blocked, causing us to double back and try new ones. Pioneering was not always a fun job, but it was an

adventure and there was never a dull moment. (I’m the one with the telescope )

LEWIS & CLARK (AKA COOK & BRUCE)

About those questions… Another very important lesson we learned was that in the initial planning stages we didn’t ask enough questions. Most of them we didn’t know to ask until later on, but the answers to them can save transitioning companies a lot of wasted time and money.

Here are a few more:

• Evaluate your current operation and work flow using 2D. Does it support just Engineering & Design or are there other operations which are dependent on those documents like Manufacturing, Shipping or Sales and Marketing?

• How is your Engineering department structured? Is it individual project/product or is it a team environment?

• How many disciplines are involved? Engineering only? What types? Do you contract out? How about you’re drafting department? What type of scheduling software do you employ? Do you have Project or Product Managers? What about Purchasing or Quality Control?


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Got any suggestions?

Oh, just a couple………..dozen. Actually, I think our experience was somewhat unique. We are in an industry that is generally highly regulated where things have been done a certain way for a very long time. With the advent of renewable energy initiatives like wind and solar power, other industries are having an impact by bringing in some of the latest technological advances and virtual design is just one of them. Also, our work flow of using large assembly models with structural steel detailing is not the norm from what I have researched. Early on we did look at using Revit with what is now called Advance Steel, but being able to literally do everything on one platform was more appealing.

• Simplicity will pay big dividends! Keep everything as simple as possible, especially as you develop productive work flows. 3D modeling software has a lot of doors (tools) to enter and different levels to navigate and it is easy to get lost. Also there will most likely be different file types to work with (Inventor has 4 basic ones) instead of just a .dwg file like in AutoCAD. You should also keep in mind that there are going to be many people involved with varying skill sets and intelligence. Believe me, 3D is challenging enough without having your resident genius taking the reins. That person will be very useful later on, so don’t lose them.

• Your trial software period (more about software shortly) should be preceded by training that is designed to do what you do. Modeling and documenting (Autodesk speak for drafting) widgets that XYZ company makes has no relevance with what you are making. After our 2 week training period of making hydraulic cylinders and scissor lifts we were asking ourselves how are we going to build Switch Stands and Deadends (High Voltage Electric Support structures those who are not in our industry)? Learning how to model what you do will not only assist in deciding which software to use, but will help you gain a better understanding of your new work flow and see the challenges you will face in your transition. If the software doesn’t feel right, try something else. You usually have a 30 day trial period. Take advantage of it. The problem Brant and I faced was when we returned from training, there was a pile of work to get done, so we had to switch gears (mentally). We put on our AutoCAD hats and went to work…….for a few weeks and really did not touch Inventor during that period. What happened? We, or should I say I, (Brant is a lot smarter than me) forgot a lot of what we had spent two weeks learning and had to literally start over. If you have to go back and use AutoCAD after training, make certain that you work in the 3D software every day. This really applies to Inventor, but I am sure Revit or Fusion users will have the same issues. The work flow is so different that I cannot stress it enough.


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• Training – Do not skimp on this extremely important aspect. It is the one issue that can literally blow up your transition. We did not have enough of it and in fact, had we had more, we probably would have finished our first Substation a lot sooner than a year. The same substation today takes about 2 weeks from scratch, depending on the scope. If we copy from one we have already done, modify it and have all the parts we need in our library, just a few days, drawings included (sorry, I mean documents). Canned training (YouTube etc.) is okay, but a thorough understanding of your software and its capabilities should be completed by key personnel who will administer and manage the implementation long after the initial training is complete or your consultant leaves and again that training should be based on how you will use the software.

• Hardware considerations – I think it goes without saying that computers today are extremely powerful and even the most inexpensive machine can do a lot. However, if you think you are going to build a substation with all of the associated documentation with your current AutoCAD driver you are in for a shock. While you may not need the most expensive machine on the market, you will need something in the $2,000 to $4,000 range. 3D modeling software is very RAM dependent. With Inventor, it will be important to have at least 16 MB. Most model file sizes are measured in the number of occurrences of a part in a particular assembly. Our file sizes are always usually in the 1000 to 5000 range and sometimes we have very large projects that are upwards of 20,000 parts or more. The project below was our first Substation. It has over 21,000 occurrences, 1761 files and took a few minutes to open on my high end machine.

OUR FIRST SUBSTATION IN INVENTOR - 2010


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Autodesk has information on certified vendors and operating requirements for the various software packages on the web. It is definitely worth a look.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534

A word of caution here - start small. In an effort to impress our managers and show them what Inventor was really capable of, we picked one of the most difficult and largest projects we had. It took many frustrating hours, weeks and months to get this station together. We had almost decided Inventor would not offer the productivity we needed when we discovered in one of the Inventor product forums, that there are ways to work around all the issues surrounding large assemblies. Again, it was what we didn’t know that made our transition that much more difficult. And, by the way, do a project you have already done. You will have enough on your plate without worrying about making schedules and deliveries while trying to navigate new software and new work flows.

• Other software considerations – There are other software programs that must be considered when moving to 3D. If you are using Autodesk Vault now you are way ahead of the game. Digital prototyping software like Inventor requires the ability to store files and arrange them based on their relationships with other files. More simply put, Inventor assembly files are parents and those parents may have children (other assembly or part files). When the files are moved it is important to keep the families together or they will get lost and your files will not open without them. In addition, the linked nature of parts, assembly and drawing documentation files require that your .dwg files stay in the families as well.

Unless you are a very small company with one or two users, you will have to consider networking. AutoCAD .dwg files are essentially single files and can be stored on any network on your companies’ server. When someone needs that file, they can go to its location, open it, make changes and save it. With Inventor, the drawings file must be checked out of Vault, revised and then checked in to maintain the linked relationships.

Additional software like Autodesk Design Review, Navisworks, 3ds Max and other collaborative offerings may be required to complete your 3D modeling and documentation activities. Currently, Autodesk offers Design Suites that are geared toward various industries that include most of the software you will need to enhance your 3D experience. Product Design Suite comes with all the above and more including AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical, Recap and Showcase. For those of you in the Utility spectrum, you may also want to consider Substation 3D from Autodesk partner Automation Force. We are currently using this software which runs on Inventor for more complex operations like Static Protection, Below Grade Grounding and Conductor placement.

http://substation3d.com/Index-2.html

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534

http://substation3d.com/Index-2.html


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• How will other Departments within your organization be affected? – This is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of taking the leap. In our case, we were initially focusing on our Steel Detailing operations when we decided on using 3D. It was a natural progression to ultimately include our Substation Design group which develops the equipment lists and places all of the electrical equipment in our scope. They are also responsible for General Arrangement, Foundation, Static Protection, Below Grade Grounding and Lighting Plans and Elevation drawings depending on our scope of work. Although we included the substation equipment in our test model, we were not really sure how we collaborate in bringing the different disciplines and their associated models together. It took some time and a lot of brainstorming to meld the workflows into the final product, but we now have a very smooth operation.

We currently do not have any other departments that interact with us regarding our actual models or drawings, but we have plans to integrate Proposal, Project Management and Purchasing in the foreseeable future. We also have started doing some of our own manufacturing, and are looking forward to the challenges that will bring as well.

• Time……if you don’t have it, don’t start – Nothing will derail your transition more than not devoting enough time to see it through. If possible, it would be to your advantage to have a Transition Manager that can devote their entire time to implementation activities. If not, make sure you choose someone who is good at multitasking and can juggle two jobs at a time. This individual does not have to be a CAD guru, but they must be knowledgeable enough to operate the software thoroughly and able to train your personnel effectively. Although one of your existing managers might fill the bill, managers are rarely daily users. They are generally engaged in day-to-day business operations and do not have the time to dive into the software. As stated earlier, 3D modeling software can be extremely complicated and you must have someone who can focus all of their attention on working out productive workflows, developing libraries, integrating software and hardware and managing the transition team along with a dozen other tasks.


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Last, but certainly not least, it is very important to make your transition as smooth as possible without disrupting the current business you are trying to improve. This may require a slower implementation plan, but will allow your operations to function properly. Here, I recommend a team approach that allows a small groups of employees to go through training and acclamation to the new software and then be given real projects that are fairly simple and easy to rescue if they stumble a little along the way. The other personnel will continue to use your current design methods until they are ready to transition to the new software. This process would continue until all teams are transitioned allowing your projects or products to be updated along the way.

See a comparison of Inventor and Revit software in order to determine which platform will be most beneficial

What is 3D anyway? Our discussion now turns to the software. By no means am I attempting to give an exhaustive presentation of Inventor and Revit software platforms. That is for those doing the hands-on labs. Our intent is to take a general look at two of the most important tools in the Autodesk arsenal and explain how 3D modeling can be accomplished in different ways. In fact, if you look carefully at the Autodesk Product line, you will discover that virtually every product there has some element of 3D in it. Those of you who are using AutoCAD right now have the ability to create 3D models the same way I did 6 years ago. Although the models have no intelligence and are fairly crude, they are good for brainstorming or rough layouts by those who may not have the more advanced software.

One of the significant differences between Inventor and Revit lies in how each one performs relative to its own modeling environment.


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• Workflows - Revit, for example, has a similar work flow to that of 2D AutoCAD. Lines are placed in a plan view on preselected floor levels and are populated by whatever building part you want them to be. Building walls are the most common selection but you can also choose many other types of vertical structures from family libraries.

The Inventor workflow for creating the same wall is similar, but is done using sketches and extrusions also similar to the AutoCAD 3D modeling environment.

To add bricks to the wall, Revit changes the family to a concrete wall with a brick exterior. In this elevation view you can see the wall needs to have its start level modified.


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Inventor has 2 options: It can create the wall and select a material from the library to make it appear like a brick wall, this is an Inventor part file (.ipt) ……


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….or you can virtually build a brick and assemble them individually in what is termed an assembly file (.iam). This is an example of Digital Prototyping and is what makes the two software platforms so very different. The brick has real world properties assigned to it.


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• Drawing environment - Another example of their differences lie in the way each one handles the drawing (documentation) environment. Although both platforms use camera views to place and orient the objects on the sheet, (this is how the models and drawings are linked, as the model changes the view the camera takes updates) Revit’s drawing environment is designed to create drawings that emulate those generally used by those in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) industries.

Inventor, on the other hand, uses a standard product drawing approach, but can be customized to look and feel like the Revit drawing if need be. It is one of the many ways which Inventor can be customized for any product and industry that makes it appealing and why we chose to use it. Revit can be customized as well, however, most users will confirm that customization in Revit is a little more work.


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• Productivity Tools – Inventor and Revit employ different types of tools to speed up the modeling and documentation process. For example, both employ Parametric Modeling, where values are pre-determined to make major changes in the model. In Inventor we use this approach to adjust bus heights, phase spacing and other dimensions. One change in the parameter makes the same change everywhere the parameter is used.

BUS HEIGHT IS NOTED TO BE 21’-0”

BUS HEIGHT IS NOW 27’-0”


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Another very important tool we use in Inventor is Copy Design. This feature, used in conjunction with Autodesk Vault, allows entire substations, including models, parameters and documentation to be copied, renamed and used to create other projects. We use this tool extensively where we have several projects that are similar and are able to hit the ground running to help speed up their completion. It is also employed on individual structures when we have one structure we have completed that can be used on another project with just a few modifications.


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• Discover the importance of personnel selection that will ensure a smooth transition

• Platform Fatigue. Our third learning objective takes us to one of the most complex aspects of the 2D to 3D transition. The selection of personnel for your leap has some known and unknown challenges that can make the process increasingly more difficult. We spoke earlier of the type of manager that should be chosen for the move to 3D and I think the same kind of qualities apply to the software users. They must be able to multitask while learning new systems and new ways of doing the job they had been doing in 2D. They also must be team players and willing to collaborate with others as your company modifies its engineering and design operations.

Brant and I had volunteered to take on the role of “developers” but really didn’t know what that entailed. At first, everything was new and extremely interesting, however, in time that faded and we were faced with many problems that we did not know how to deal with. The biggest challenge was in learning how Inventor worked while we were still having to complete real projects in AutoCAD. Our typical day would begin very early, hoping to get in a little Inventor time, so that when everyone else arrived at 8 we could start our production work. At that time, and really ever since, our department was faced with ever increasing workloads. We would usually work through lunch, again for some development time, and then repeat our morning routine of “getting the work out” and then stay after 5 to try and make some headway with the transition.

This constant back and forth from AutoCAD to Inventor would cause us to lose focus on one or the other or both, and in so doing we found ourselves mentally drained at the end of each day. We realized later that many simple issues in Inventor that we could not figure out initially, became difficult for us from something I have termed “platform fatigue”. This comes from the way our brain gets accustomed to one work flow and then is forced to “change gears” and adapt to another. Getting AutoCAD users to move to the “ribbon” tool bar originally was seen as a way to help acclimate them to other software offerings like Inventor and Revit. Unfortunately, the “classic” tool bar was allowed to remain an option and I suspect many users could not, or likely would not, adapt and few really became ribbon users, at least that was the case in our company. It would have been more productive to allow us to spend all of our efforts on the transition and in so doing we would have completed our initial project in a lot less time.


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• AutoCAD Wizards.....

I knew in the beginning that we would have problems with certain employees who did not like the 3D initiative, but I was surprised to learn later on some of the reasons why. My instinct told me that they were somehow jealous of the work we were doing and wanted to see us fail, but it wasn’t until we started to train these employees on Inventor the real reasons emerged. These were our “AutoCAD Wizards” who were so fast and productive that many of us stood in awe as we watched them masterfully bang away at the keyboard like modern day Beethoven’s. This distinction was very important to them and they took great pride in their skills. When they were introduced to a whole new set of workflows, it was clear to them that they had a lot difficult learning ahead of them and were not willing to master a new craft. There is no doubt that most transitioning companies will have some employees who are not able to adapt for various reasons. An attempt to work with them should definitely be made, but some will not be able to grasp the technology.

• All Managers are not on board……

This issue is probably more difficult to resolve than the individual employee who can’t or won’t make the leap to 3D. In our case, the manager Brant and I were assigned to, was very skeptical that Inventor could replace AutoCAD and we felt we were not being completely supported in our task. He didn’t come right out and say it, but when projects fell behind, we heard it was almost always attributed to the transition activities. This individual also spent many years with AutoCAD and had significant difficulty adapting to the Inventor workflow.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that everyone associated with the 3D effort be 1000% onboard, especially management. Also, you will find that ramping up to full implementation could take some time, so there will be others in the organization, outside your department who are not involved, who may be negatively affected by the transition. They must understand the importance of the effort and be included in understanding all the benefits of 3D. It would be a good idea to have frequent transition updates so all personnel are aware of how they might be adversely affected. We even let some clients in on our activities, so that they understood their schedule was being affected by something they would definitely benefit from in the future. Keeping EVERYONE in the loop will go a long way towards alleviating negative personnel issues downstream.


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Bring home successful strategies that will enable your organization to be productive while making the 2D-to-3D leap

Obviously our experience in taking the leap is still unfinished. It took us a lot longer than it really should have due to some of the reasons we have outlined above and many we did not have time to share. Each company has to look at its own operations and determine what it is out of this new and affordable technology they want to achieve. Here are a few important lessons learned you can take back to your firms that will help you navigate the 2D to 3D minefield:

• Thorough and instinctive planning – Ask those important questions that will help you define what it is you want to do. How it will affect all concerned and set realistic goals that you want to achieve.

• Internal assessments - Spend quality time evaluating your current operations and determine how 3D can improve them. Bring in a consultant, if possible, who has implementation experience to get you started in the right direction.

• Software and hardware evaluation – examine the existing Autodesk product line and determine which 3D modeling approach would work best for your organization. Research companies in and out of your industry and see what they have done. Use the Autodesk certified hardware lists to get the right systems to run your software.

• Carefully vet and choose key employees to manage the transition and give them the time they need to do a complete and thorough job.

• Keep it simple – start small. Try to avoid the temptation to build the proverbial city of Rome in a day. Do a lot of tests with workflows. See how they affect the other company departments, vendors and customers.

• Put added emphasis on quality training. Avoid the 2D workflows as much as possible while learning 3D. Make sure all employees are learning through testing and that they are following company standards for modeling and documentation. Avail yourself of AU online materials. They have a wealth of information on almost every subject. Visit the 2D to 3D website @ http://www.autodesk.com/solutions/2d-to-3d

Thank you for your interest. Any questions, please feel free to email me: mbruce714232gmail.com

http://www.autodesk.com/solutions/2d-to-3d

Documents

The 2D to 3D Transition Taking the Leap