What Autodesk® Navisworks® Might Do for You

At this point some of you have heard of Navisworks and some of you may have even used it. Navisworks is commonly used by designers for building, construction and factory design. So what is Navisworks?

Let’s look at how Navisworks will help with our design.
In the design industry the project teams can be geographically widespread making co-ordination of the project and the model difficult. The team members may also be utilizing different design software which makes it difficult to bring the different files together.

Navisworks is the heart of any multi-disciplinary AEC project, and enables you to combine 3D CAD data from dissimilar and competing sources into a single model environment. The result is a whole-project view that helps everyone make better design decisions, increases the accuracy of construction documents, and helps predict performance and planning. Once brought together, a single file can be produced that can then be sent to your clients. Using this consolidated file, you can explore your integrated project model using advanced navigation tools that produce a realistic, real-time experience. Real-time navigation capabilities are included in Navisworks.

Navisworks also has advanced visualization features to create 3D animations and renderings to present projects to clients. Users have the ability to configure render settings including materials, lights, backgrounds, and rendering styles. Environment backgrounds can be used to add real-world scenery and there are over 1,000 materials built-in to create an accurate, photorealistic look.

How Navisworks will help with Construction.
The Interference Detection can be a valuable asset to the design, yet it has the most potential when tracking down conflicts before construction. Interference detection allows you to anticipate and avoid potential problems before construction, reducing expensive delays and rework. Clash and interference detection features in Navisworks Manage enable you to perform clash tests against precise pieces of the model to more easily find and resolve conflicts. Navisworks can also link clash tests to 4D simulations and object animations to investigate concern in space and time. Navisworks provides the ability to manage and track the clashes and interferences through to resolution. Reports of the clash tests, including comments and screenshots, can be saved and/or exported to communicate issues to the project team.

Navisworks can simulate construction schedules in 4D to visually express and examine project activities, and help reduce construction delays and sequence problems. The 4D scheduling features enable you to verify building or demolition feasibility by developing construction or demolition sequences that link model geometry to times and dates. You can import times, dates, and other task data from project management software, and link the schedules with parts of the project models. Next, set up planned and actual times to see how close your project is to the actual project sequence.

When working in a collaborative environment, you cannot always guarantee which CAD applications will be used, especially by specialist contractors. This is why Navisworks enables you to combine ANY combination of supported formats, regardless of discipline, in order to create a single project model.

Navisworks has a wide range of 3D CAD file readers and exporters covering all of the major CAD applications including, but not limited to; AutoCAD, Revit, MAX and Viz, Inventor, MicroStation, ArchiCAD, and a number of laser scan formats and exchange formats like DXF, IFC, STEP and IGES.

For the most current list, visit the following web page:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=10578958

This page last edited on Monday, February 14, 2011