Good Connections Magazine

G O O D CO N N E C T I O N S | FA L L 2 0 1 4 9 A s a truss designer, you have to meet daily quote deadlines and stay ahead of production. As a production manager, you must ensure your crew has the proper informa- tion to cut and assemble the right trusses. As a sawyer or truss assembler, you rely on automated saws and tables to manufacture quality trusses. How did we do all this before we had computers? Some of us remember hand-drafting truss drawings and noting the plate sizes to use at each joint. The truss industry began to employ 3D building information modeling (BIM), in which objects are constrained to levels and planes, long before BIM was popular. Today, production homebuilders are beginning to realize the benefits of 3D modeling. You can help customers use this powerful tool to grow their businesses and make your job easier. By using a computer to "virtually" build a home, including all the structural options, builders can determine costs, order the right materials for each lot and reduce the time it takes to move buyers into new homes. That means more jobs annually for you. Component Manufacturer Jobs As a truss designer, you must generate truss calcs, material lists and shop drawings to meet daily production requirements. You pour over prints for correct dimensions, option selections, wall heights and plane information. You confirm loads and codes, making sure all load paths are addressed. Lumber is cut from your output, and errors result in back charges, repairs and reduced profitability. You have several options to "get your job done:" Paper and pencil – Limits data reuse, but you can draw trusses and layouts and hand-calculate design and takeoffs. 2D line-based CAD – Limits data reuse because you must manually draw the truss layouts (plans) and hope you catch everything. 3D building modeling – Creates a 3D model using virtual objects such as walls and planes to generate output as a byproduct of inputting the right geometry, correct options selections and load information. The design intent is fully captured. Production Builder Jobs Many production builders still use 2D CAD to complete their jobs. However, a 3D solution could automatically generate the output they need for every home built: • You generate truss and panel plans that automatically produce shop drawings, truss calcs, cutting and material lists. • Builder customers could produce floor plans that automatically generate sections, elevations and quantity takeoffs. VisionREZ is Alpine's residential BIM plug-in for Autodesk's Revit building design software that production builders use to optimize design and construction workflows. Revit is a 3D virtual building modeler with fully parametric relationships for walls, floors and roofs that are constrained to levels and planes. VisionREZ adds residential design tools to generate accurate construction documents (plans) based on correct options selections. This produces complete quantity takeoffs and makes your job easier. Ask your Alpine sales manager or software consultant to set up a demo of the exciting VisionREZ for Revit 2015 Construction BIM solution for your customers. n Steve Bumbalough oversees Alpine's AEC BIM solutions on the Autodesk Revit platform. Based in the Grand Prairie, Texas, office, he has more than 25 years of experience designing, engineering, manufacturing and installing fabricated wood structures. VisionREZ for Revit 2015 Helps Production Builders Grow Their Business By Steve Bumbalough, Product Manager, Alpine TECHNOLOGY TIPS Component manufacturer design process Production builder design process I N P U T S Building Geometry Option Selections Loads and Codes P R O C E S S 3D Building Info Model Design (Construction BIM) O U T P U T S Floor & Roof Plans Sections & Elevations Material Takeoffs I N P U T S Building Geometry Option Selections Loads and Codes P R O C E S S 3D Building Info Model Design (Manufacturing BIM) O U T P U T S Layouts Truss Calcs Cutting & Takeoffs

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