Newby advice please - what is the relationship between Form Modeling tools and Architectural Designer tools or perhaps I should say Building Designer tools incl Structural and the Services?
I have a clue/note: "Form modeling = older TF tools incl more flexible ones but you have to manually select attributes". So is Form Modeling being phased out in favour of Building Designer? When will the Building Designer toolset catch up with the capabilities of the older Form Modeling toolset?
Can the two toolsets be mixed and matched? Does use of Form Modeler tools create elements lacking in attributes or whatever, compared to elements created strictly by newer Building Designer tools? Should I try to use only the latter?
For example, out-of-the-box AD Composite Part (walls) don't include plaster or render; in Help Tip&Trick no.5 'Adding finish to a wall' says use Build Wall Assembly, which is a Form Modeling tool.
Hi
From my point of view, the use of Form modelling is used at the early stages of the design process i.e. where you do not know the make up of the walls. So the form modelling tools are there to enable you to place walls and link doors and windows to them but have limited amount of Building data. At some point in the future, you then substitute these walls for more defined walls via the Architectural walls tools using the apply part tool etc.
HTH
Ian
So it's a step up from basic Microstation solids for that? but is just extra useful tools for creating geometry?
I concur. These tools allow you to use other AECOsim tools, such as Door Windows, whereas Smart Solids don't.
Also, the smart solids are not able to be promoted to AECOsim solids.
TF-forms are cells and have been around since Brics made Triforma 25+ years ago.
Essentially you can't do anything more with 'walls' than with TF-forms!
Other than you can use DGS. With TF-forms you use Parts+Components and Calculate. (edit- should be Quantify)
The important tools are Compound cells and cut resymbolisation relative naked MicroStation. No difference between Triforma and ABD there.
DV/BVs are nice in 3d-modeling phase, a step up from 2d-3d-bridge in TF. But much much more complicated to handle, both in 3d and in drawings and sheets. DEM 'output' is so simple to work with and manage.
regards / Thomas Voghera
One other advantage the form modeling tool got is, that you can give it a 'direction' for hatches and patterns. This can be useful for existing building elements or for simple parts where you just want to show a hatch or a pattern. When using solids you will end up always with a horizontal orientation of for example an insulation hatch.