Details & Wall Sections

[HP Sauce]

In an attempt to reverse-engineer the example BIM given here on the NNA site, we're stuck working out what they did for details and wall sections.

So if you're using BIM and the supplied PIOs, how do you create window sills/heads/jambs in detail for example?

Also, the example section viewports show all building elements in a single grey hatch/pattern. This is of no use to us or our contractors. Is it possible to create sections/wall sections etc that show useful block coursing and so on without having to overlay much?

[Jeffrey W Ouellette]

The Window and Door PIOs are objects whose geometry must accommodate a wide variety of styles. As such, there is a limited amount of detail, or accuracy of detail, based on any particular, much less all (100+) manufacturers.

A prudent BIM approach is to use the tool to approximate the geometry as close as possible, enter the appropriate data into the data fields of the object, and then using the annotation space of the section viewport, a viewport at a larger scale, further "embellish" the view with line work, symbols, or imported PDFs, that more accurately describe the condition.

Currently, our walls do not contain such material-specific detail that would enable the automatic rendering of masonry coursing, thus the use of overlay work is necessary. The wall section next to the general view section is meant to illustrate that by suppressing/overriding the default section values and allowing the user to overlay pertinent information.

Edited December 4, 2008 by Jeffrey W Ouellette