What is the official / recommended way to BIM-ify Cells in CE4 and beyond?
Intelligent / Parametric Objects are central to BIM modeling and contents.
We hear that the new Parametric Solids / Feature Cells will be the unified parametric content modeling platform that will replace the current salad bar of PCS, PFB and Compound Cells. The Mstn team is implementing Perforators and Named Presentations, and Item Types are now sprouting Expressions functionality. Hopefully, the display team is also looking at how to control unification of the elements nested in Feature Cells so that OBD users will be spared re-living the bugs of the past. Replace Cell tool workarounds.
TF Joins ?
The other big missing platform level funtionality is quantification. Mstn's Parametric etc solids do not have AEC-compliant/friendly quantification that the old Triforma Forms have. This is a big gotcha for those who think that they can model using the new shiny constraints and parametric solids tools and are required to produce usable output for 5D BIM purposes. It would be good if Bentley could confirm when / if this will be provided. Q4/20?
1. Doors: Currently I would assume that the recommendation would be to stick with PCS or Compound Cells until Perorators and Named Presentations are released. Neither made it through in Mstn U12 so it will be OBD Update 6, Q3/19 at the earliest?
2. Cladding Panels: OK to use Feature Cells? Are the Feature Cells tested / kosher with the Place User Defined, Export IFC and Schedules etc etc tools? I can just see the 3 month release cycle making testing very cursory and low spec UX the norm. Can the new Curtain Wall tool incorporate cladding cladding panels generated using Feature Cells?
3. Furniture: OK as Feature Cells placed using the Placed User Defined tool, as long as user uses the Add Instance Data tool to add F+P info and associate the FC to a Datagroup definition file. Klunky compared to R'vit's Family Editor and others. It would be good to provide a means to automatically extract the FC's parameters and transfer to the .xsd. Q4/19?
4. ??
Hi Dominic,
Thank you for describing the issues in detail. As you are already aware, currently we are moving towards Perforators and Named Presentations. We are also trying to create a new library with these features. The same will be updated in the upcoming build.
Warm Regards,
Subhamoy Kundu
So perforators and named presentations will be available in U5? Thank goodness.
We have waited an eternity (and promise after promise) that we are finally moving on from PCS and Frame builder. Better late than never I suppose.
Good also to hear that new content will be available. Long overdue. Let's hope they work well.
AECOsim SS6 + CONNECT U4, Windows 7 Pro, 64Bit, Intel Xeon E3-1275 v5 @ 3.6GHz, 32GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro P1000
JoeyJM said:
"So perforators and named presentations will be available in U5? Thank goodness.
We have waited an eternity (and promise after promise) that we are finally moving on from PCS and Frame builder. Better late than never I suppose."
No mention of PCS being replaced in the U5 documentation.
Yeah. I think I jumped the gun. When Subhamoy said 'the upcoming build' I presumed he meant U5, but as always Bentley are being mysterious about timing and always seem to suggest that a PCS and PFB replacement is just around the corner... so easily misinterpreted. For me, perforators and named presentations would definitely signal end of those tools and maybe even compound cells which are a dog to update.
Yea, it would be good if Bentley would do a beta / Tech Preview of the Perforators, Named Presentation etc tools.
It would also be a good idea to schedule all the old complaints / SR's for the outgoing tools, so that the new developers do not repeat the mistakes of the past. I imagine that this would be doubly important when Agile development is used...Agile de-emphasises comprehensive upfront specification and promotes 'muddling through' in small increments to as a means to avoid bad complexity.
My worry is that the results tend to be pretty bad from a UX and consistency standpoint and is eventually left by the wayside when some other crisis/work-order comes along.
OpenBuildings Designer Update 5 is coming soon to a town near you...
As Tech Previews, judging by the icons. Great!