The AECOsim product team is pleased to announce the availability of AECOsim Building Designer CONNECT Edition x64 Update 2 (v10.02.00.35) on Fulfillment Center and for update through the CONNECTION Client. The product is available in six (6) languages -Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Italian and Spanish) and includes fourteen (14) regional datasets - Australia, China, Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Neutral Metric, New Zealand, Swedish, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States (Imperial & Metric). This version incorporates several new productivity enhancements as well as user requested fixes. It also includes updates from MicroStation CONNECT Edition Update 7. Please refer to the "What's New Highlights" section below for some of the product updates and enhancements.
Update via CONNECTION Client:
If you have AECOsim Building Designer CONNECT Edition already installed on your computer, you can incrementally download and install AECOsim Building Designer CONNECT Edition, Update 2 from the CONNECTION Client. It will replace any earlier versions of the product. Sign into the CONNECTION Client to view and apply your Application updates. If needed, please refer to the CONNECTION Client help for more information on installing the update.
Download from Fulfillment Center:
If you would like the full installation of AECOsim Building Designer CONNECT Edition x64 (Full) Update 2, please follow these steps to download it from Fulfillment Center:
The Fulfillment Center can also be accessed through the CONNECTION Client. Open the CONNECTION Client from the system tray and select CONNECTION Center. Scroll down the “My Support” section and select the “Software Downloads” portal. This will take you the Fulfillment Center.
Important installation requirements and notices are found in the Readme.
What's New Highlights
The Place Railing Tool includes several new placement and modification options. Railings can be drawn as if you were placing a smart line, or you can select edges from a slab and place railings anywhere along those edges. You can also still select existing line strings or stairs to create railings. For Railing Modifications, there are new options to "Delete Railing Vertex", Insert Railing Vertex" or "Move Railing Segments". The Railings also include new edit handles at each vertex and rail segment midpoint, plus a flip railing glyph. Moving the midpoint edit handle inserts a new vertex. Moving the midpoint edit handles while simultaneously pressing the <Ctrl> key will change between linear and curved segments. Another new and useful modification tool is the "Add Railing Segment" tool. this adds railing segments to existing railings by extending the line/arc strings used to create the original railing. This is especially useful if you want to continue a railing from the end of a stair. Lastly, the preview in the Railings Settings dialog is live, not a static image.
Slope settings are now available on the ribbon when placing pipe components. You can change slope options from the ribbon while you are routing pipe runs. Previously, the ribbon option Apply Slope only applied the most recent Apply Slope tool settings.
A new Structural property Column Location allows you to query and report locations of columns relative to active grid systems. The locations of columns are reported in the Schedules dialog. For instance:
· A column placed at the intersection of two grid lines E and 3. Column Location is reported as E-3. · A column placed on a grid line F, but at a certain distance away from grid line 3 (in the negative Y direction). Column Location is reported as F-3 [0:0, -14:2 1/2]. · A column placed at a location that is not directly on any grid line. Column Location is reported relative to the nearest grid line intersection (grid lines F and 3) as F-3 [10:8 13/16, 12:0 3/4].
A new option appears on the section picker for Structural column, pile, and pier placement tools. When selected, additional controls are provided to enter custom round/rectangular section definitions.
A new Base Offset control on the Beam and Column component Section Orientation options sets the Z axis distance between the elevation of the active Floor Manager reference plane and the elevation of the component being placed.
The full capabilities of Energy Simulator's HVAC Systems tools are now enabled in AECOsim Building Designer. This includes the added ability to design your own HVAC Systems and HVAC System Components. Previously, you could only select predefined HVAC systems. System creation options now appear in the HVAC Manager: HVAC Systems tab. Two utilities are activated; Designer Toolbox and Component Designer. These provide options to manage and create HVAC system components and options to connect components to systems respectively.
A new technology preview option IFC4 Design Transfer View, is now available in the Model View Definition drop down of the IFC Export dialog's Output tab. When selected, IFC export uses parametric representations to provide highly detailed information for downstream applications regarding the construction of the elements exported from AECOsim Building Designer.
A new option By element elevation is available on the Assign Models to Spatial Containment dialog's Floor drop down which when selected, creates IFC floor entities based on the elevations of the exported AECOsim Building Designer elements rather than existing floor definitions.
iModel 1.6 is the default iModel publisher version installed by AECOsim Building Designer. AECOsim Building Designer CONNECT Edition Update 2 supports publishing iModel 1.6, which is the required version to utilize with Bentley Navigator CONNECT Edition. However, there are known issues reading the iModel 1.6 version published from AECOsim Building Designer back into AECOsim Building Designer, MicroStation or any other PowerPlatform Product. This issue will be addressed in the next update, Update 3. AECOsim Building Designer CONNECT Edition Update 2 installs both versions (iModel 1.5 and iModel 1.6) and currently recommends utilizing the iModel 1.5 version, if the destination is AECOsim Building Designer, MicroStation or any other PowerPlatform Product and the iModel 1.6 version Navigator CE.