richard k Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hi, I hope some of you guys maybe able to help me. I have recently moved jobs where I am the only full time CAD user and have been promised I can choose a software update (currently ADT 2005) My preferred choice is Revit as I have 3 years experience, but budget is also an issue and Revit is just to expensive. This has got me looking at other BIM options such as Vectorworks, which looks good. Can anyone tell me how the scheduling of the 2 systems compares? Area's, doors, windows, mainly. Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment
J Lucas Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Check this out: Rivit vs VW Quote Link to comment
carefulsmelly Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi, I've used Revit for 5 years, Autocad for 6 years and microstation way back when. Recently I've moved to an office that use VW. Whilst VW claims to be a BIM package I would not suggest using it in that basis for projects of any considerable size. From my experience VW is not nearly as robust or as solid a platform for complex projects with multiple users. In addition the data relationships that you may be familiar with in Revit don't exist in VW - schedules don't auto update, additional fields cannot be added easily to PIOs, the wall tools are slow and glitchy, levels cannot be dynamically changed... Don't get me wrong however, VW has it's place, I just think Revit is a bigger software package and it shows. One last point. VW is often suggested as being more user friendly. At our office those who have used VW for years are disappointed with the latest releases as the software has over complicated what were simple tasks. I too, find many inconsistencies in the software and more importantly come across the term 'workaround' repeatedly when asking how to do things. Sorry to be negative! Quote Link to comment
Dieter @ DWorks Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi, I've used Revit for 5 years, Autocad for 6 years and microstation way back when. Recently I've moved to an office that use VW. Whilst VW claims to be a BIM package I would not suggest using it in that basis for projects of any considerable size. From my experience VW is not nearly as robust or as solid a platform for complex projects with multiple users. In addition the data relationships that you may be familiar with in Revit don't exist in VW - schedules don't auto update, additional fields cannot be added easily to PIOs, the wall tools are slow and glitchy, levels cannot be dynamically changed... Sorry to be negative! I think you don't use VW that much, or you use it the wrong way. I use the VW for large projects and do BIM and it all works fine. It's true that schedules don't autoupdate everytime you change something, but that's not needed, you can update them easily. Also additional fiels to pio's can very easily be added with records and you can change the levels dynamically if you work in a correct way to the layer height and level. For example, if you just want a floor to be higher, just change the layer height, and all will change according to it, if you drew everything correctly to make use of the layer height. I don't want to be rude, but every program has a learning curve. And yes VW has his glitches, but so do all other programs. Quote Link to comment
Bob Holtzmann Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 The Door Schedule in VwA 2011 is greatly improved. Changes in the door object are entered on the door schedule, and vice versa (without a "recalculate" command on the worksheet!). I anticipate a similar workflow on the Window and Finish Schedules as well. From my experience, VwA's door and window plug-in objects are very user-friendly and time-saving. It is very easy to add mullions to a window frame from the Object Info Palette, and re-configure the size and shape of every component of a door or window (frame thickness, door panels, jamb, etc.). Plus, Vw Architect has a manufacturer's specified catalog of doors and windows, so I think the software package is very complete. Just want to point out a couple of positive notes. Quote Link to comment
Christiaan Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 VwA's door and window plug-in objects are very user-friendly and time-saving. Actually they're useless in the UK. Quote Link to comment
Bob Holtzmann Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I would think that customizing doors and windows is a useful feature. Consider, for example, the trim around a door frame -- the Object Info Palette can customize the trim for a plug-in door very easily, for those who choose to use it. Quote Link to comment
Christiaan Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Bob, see these pages for some of the things holding us back: http://needleandmortar.com/wiki/UK_localisation_of_Door_Object http://needleandmortar.com/wiki/UK_localisation_of_Window_Object And these are generally just to make them usable in 2D. Quote Link to comment
Bob Holtzmann Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Thanks for the technical info, Christiaan. I'm not sure how much of it is required to be shown in building models, though. For example, most door frames in Revit 2010 have no stops or frame material in them at all, just the door leaf and the trim (they also cannot be shown as open in 3D). As a general rule, I was told that building modeling should be kept as simple as possible, and that standard 2D door frame detail drawings can take care of the stops and rabbets. File size and time of rendering are the general reason for this. Quote Link to comment
Dieter @ DWorks Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 As a general rule, I was told that building modeling should be kept as simple as possible, and that standard 2D door frame detail drawings can take care of the stops and rabbets. File size and time of rendering are the general reason for this. And that's a rule you should stick too! I also use this rule. When you need to draw something, only draw the things that will show up in your views, and draw them simple when you can. My cabinets for example are full boxes because I never need to require a section on them. Most items on a plan are just a representation of the actual thing and don't need to precisely be like the actual. Quote Link to comment
Christiaan Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 This isn't just about drafting/modelling. It's about scheduling too. Quote Link to comment
Christiaan Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Another example of uselessness: http://techboard.vectorworks.net/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=157437 Quote Link to comment
carefulsmelly Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Ps. You can show doors open in Revit... Quote Link to comment
Bob Holtzmann Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Ps. You can show doors open in Revit... I guess you can, but it's not easy. http://www.forums.revitzone.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=59 Quote Link to comment
carefulsmelly Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 To be fair it's actually very easy. But this is a VW forum and I'd prefer to see VW improve so that there is competition amongst the software, but I'm not sure where VW are headed. It seems a bit jack of all trades master of none. Quote Link to comment
Bob Holtzmann Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 For a jack of all trades, it's pretty good at things like importing PDFs. Autocad and Revit may need to have a feature like that someday. Vw seems to be better at mastering interoperability between file formats -- SKP, PDF, DWG, 3DS, to name a few. Versatility can be a good thing. Quote Link to comment
carefulsmelly Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Oh dear. Revit and AutoCad can do all that and more and more importantly they can create these files types more easily and predictably.But clearly that's not what this forum is about. VW isn't bad, that's clear. But it definitely has some fundemental issues such as door types, notes database etc that until resolved will bug many a user. As for interoperability, dwgs from VW are notoriously poor quality. It would appear that if VW is criticised for having an issue it's the users fault. Quote Link to comment
Bob Holtzmann Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 You're right, Autocad 2010 has a new PDF import function, so I stand corrected. I've used the Notes Database, and have no complaints or problems with it -- I don't know what the issue is with the "many bugged" users. Door Types (and Window Types) would be nice feature for Vw Architect. Most users know that Vw's DWG export is not superior and flawless. My DWG Export workflow includes doing a cleanup in Draftsight, and I haven't had any complaints from the engineers so far. I find that the DWG sheets and viewports export well, while the DWG's text might get oversized in the wrong font. But then again, Autocad always had issues to deal with concerning font size, because the font size is not in points, but in drawing units. I'm not blaming Autodesk for this, it's always been something I had to work with. Quote Link to comment
VincentCuclair Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 As for interoperability, dwgs from VW are notoriously poor quality. It would appear that if VW is criticised for having an issue it's the users fault. From my experience VWs dwg exports are actually quite good, 99% of the complaints come from AC users not being able to use their own software properly, and the things that VWs can't export to dwg are mainly because of AC short comings ie. ADT 2011 still can't have more than one model space per file, what is that?! Don't get me wrong VWs is far from perfect but in this case you're of the mark....... Quote Link to comment
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