Implementing Simulation software early and often in the design process helps to reduce prototypes, get to market more quickly, and optimize your design for better performance. Designs are all around you—some that have used Simulation software, and some that could benefit from this optimization. In fact, most products require the use of multiple Simulation software products to achieve their best design. I know, I know . . . so where does the kegger come in to play? It might seem strange, but something as simple as a keg can be used to perfectly demonstrate nearly every Simulation software product. In this class, you will learn a bit of Simulation for Fusion 360 software, Autodesk CFD software, Autodesk Nastran In-CAD software, Simulation Mechanical software, Moldflow software, and Moldflow Design software. So, if you’re interested in how you can optimize your designs, or just want to grab a beer in one of the most entertaining classes of Autodesk University, this is the place for you! This session features Fusion 360 and CFD.

The curtain wall tool is one of the most powerful features in Revit. When it’s done right, it can drive efficiency from design to contract administration. Façade design inherently lends itself to modularity and repeatability—which makes the scope of building envelopes the ideal testing ground for new techniques in parametric design, as well as design computation. Thinking about and modeling modular elements in a manner similar to the way they'll ultimately be fabricated not only makes the documentation process smoother, but also educates young architects as they design. At NBBJ we've developed an ecosystem of tools and processes to make curtain wall design an easier and more nimble process. We recognize that designers prefer a variety of tools and that different software have different strengths. In this presentation, we'll demonstrate strategies and tools we use to create parity and enable interoperability between the programs we use for façade design.

The rapid evolution of design technology, software, and cloud services changes how architectural offices and companies operate, and provides great opportunities for improvements that should be used. This follow-up class to “Custom Computational Workflows for BIM Design Implementation” shows how Revit software and Dynamo can benefit from these new developments and cloud services that can provide more global, efficient, fluent, or even fully automated workflows. Current practical examples of custom workflows we use at Zaha Hadid Architects showcase how manual and cross-application design-to-BIM tasks can be implemented via intelligent parametric elements and scripted processes. As a next step, these can be translated into cloud-enabled workflows for further automation and efficiency. What methods, tools, and cloud-services are available and which skills are required to use them?

Computational design enables architects to design parametrically, using visual programming to automate design processes and simulate, script, customize the parameters of, and generate design solutions—making it easier to explore ideas and innovate. Design practices big and small are turning to computational design to solve problems in new ways. Students with experience in computational design have a distinct advantage in their careers. Hear how Autodesk Dynamo is helping the next generation design structures and buildings and create using digital fabrication.

Computing power is increasing exponentially, however, structural engineers are only starting to realize its power for design automation. This talk will focus on how this can be used to provide optioneering in early project stages, and investigate a computational scheme design tool. The talk will deconstruct the tool and its logic to demonstrate the integration between the various Autodesk packages and how this is formed into a cohesive product to provide valuable information for design teams. The tool provides metrics such as material cost, embodied C02, and program implications, while utilizing the Atkins Human-Centered Design toolkit to ensure a holistic appreciation of project requirements. The talk will feature exemplar uses of the tool on pilot projects and will quantify the increased value achievable over conventional design approaches. We will then discuss future improvements to the tool and how computational design could be used in other ways to improve structural design.

In the structural engineering industry, one of the challenges is to reduce manual and tedious design tasks. Computational design tools such as Dynamo give structural designers, engineers, and detailers the possibility to automate the creation of their deliverables to build structures with minimal energy. That way, they spend less time on the repetitive tasks and more energy on the important parts of the design. In this class, you’ll learn how Dynamo can support design automation and computational modeling workflows for structural analysis and design of concrete and steel structures. You’ll learn about the appropriate packages to perform automation in your own daily workflows, and you’ll receive a set of teaching examples.

Custom-tailored software has never been easier to achieve in Robot Structural Analysis software. If you’re writing, or willing to write, add-ins for Robot Structural Analysis to expand its capabilities, this is the perfect place to get to know the subject and meet the people who use the Robot Structural Analysis API.

Generative Design has brought a paradigm shift in the way we design. In early 2019 we launched a Proof of Concept for this new approach, taking advantage of our BIM and Station concept expertise. Having disseminated state-of-the-art Generative Design knowledge among our technical team, we began an ‘awareness phase’ and chose a subject for Proof of Concept from a range of study cases. The test application that we present today aims to help architects in Functional Program of Metro Station. We would like to share with you our experience from the last 12 months of experimentation.

For the last couple of years, the speaker has taught generative design classes at Autodesk University. The first years, we did an “Introduction to Generative Design” lecture; last year we did a lab showing the process and setup for applying a generative design to a part. This year we want to look at the results that you get from running the part and talk about how to interpret the information that you get back. We also want to look at how to download the desired result as a solid model, modify the file for any needed cleanup, and use it in an assembly. We are going to start by submitting a file to Generative Design in Fusion 360 software, then we’ll look at the results that are returned for strength, weight, and even cost. We will review sorting the results to get the best possible option for what we want, then we will download the file and talk about what you can do with the file. We’ll finish up by talking about changes to Generative Design in Fusion 360 that have come out this year.

How cool to watch or drive a drone! Well, there is a cooler way to think drones: You’ll be able to create a drone chassis after attending this hands-on lab! Fusion 360 software is an amazing product, with lots of environments to master. Generative Design in Fusion 360 is also available. Using the power of Generative Design, you can discover lots of details on how to use Fusion 360 to create a specific product. No matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned veteran, this will be a detailed course that everyone can understand. Come along for an action-packed 90 minutes of learning, and find out how to create a design using Generative Design in Fusion 360!

While it's not directly shown, it's likely that the teachers at Hogwarts used a lot of magic to make quick work of the mundane prep for their classes. This session will review applications of generative design from the standpoint of the graph author rather than the user. Using Generative Design in Revit software, we'll use our own brand of magic to find the optimal seating chart in potions (Revit integration), lay out the care of magical creatures OWL on the Hogwarts grounds (FormIt 360 software), and design the layout for the campgrounds at the Quidditch World Cup (Civil 3D software). This magic may not be as old as what the students at Hogwarts learn, but it will still help move your Revit, FormIt 360, and Civil 3D work to the next level via Generative Design in Revit!

The South China University of Technology (SCUT) robotic team never stop seeking brand-new solutions for improved efficiency and quality workflow from design to manufacturing. Zhen-Po led his team, the South China Tigers, to a first-place RoboMaster 2019 regional championship through the adoption of generative design tools in Fusion 360 software. Zhen-Po was hired by the RoboMaster’s organizer, DJI, an electronics manufacturer in China after graduation. Combining 27 parts to only a single part for the stabilizer mount achieved a final weight of 170 grams—a 42% weight reduction compared to the original computer numerical control (CNC) process. Reducing the material waste while enhancing the strength by generativity adding support, therefore reducing the mass of the robot while ensuring structural integrity, the mechanical team’s entire iterative cost was reduced by 80%, which would not have been possible before.

In this session, attendees will get a look at how Generative Design in Fusion 360 software can help them improve the way they design and make engineering decisions. We will review the development progress we made throughout the year, and highlight why those features were key to improving how users capitalized on Generative Design. We will also look ahead to how we will be investing in improving our workflows, as well as growing our physics support to expand the types of problems that can easily be solved with Generative Design in Fusion 360. Lastly, we will show a sample of some of the successful customer projects that have been executed throughout the year.

We’ll start by exploring the basics of Generative Design in Fusion 360 software, then look at how understanding the inputs can help us to design not only functional but also fun designs. To make our new artistic design, we need to explore how 3D printers see the designs. Small tweaks can help the 3D printer create better results. We will show examples of artistic designs and the quality of the 3D-printed outcomes.

Generative design, machine learning, algorithm, neural network—these terms flood social media and technical forums. But are you familiar with these concepts? If the answer is no, welcome to the first generative-design class for non-geeks! There is no need to hold a degree in computer science or to work on the most-innovative projects; everybody can optimize their workflows using Dynamo software and Generative Design in Revit software. In this class you will learn how to take your automations to the next level where you set the rules and select the end solution among the fittest results. After this session, you will be equipped with a set of samples to start optimizing your daily workflows.

Bonava is a leading residential developer of affordable housing units in Northern Europe. To achieve this goal, lowering costs and increasing productivity is essential. Standardized single-family housing units have been developed, with accompanying models, drawings, and documentation in Revit software. When the site layout is ready, Dynamo software helps to get the information from the houses to the site model and vice versa. While solutions for the houses are predefined, site design remains the largest variable. We use generative design tools to create more-detailed site-layout solutions in earlier stages, and measure both hard and soft values for each option. Now, numbers back up design exploration, making it possible to identify correlations between different design metrics. Furthermore, this lets us bring representatives of different disciplines to fact-based discussions very early on, to assess the plot and make informed decisions for further development.

For years Dynamo users have achieved productive gains in their project teams with visual scripting. But what if the whole team was using it? Now is the time to move this tool from the individual to the collective by enabling every user to use Dynamo systematically in the company. See how it’s possible to help organizations with hundreds of designers access shared Dynamo scripts and resources in a coordinated and effective way. This includes centralized script repository, templates for Dynamo scripts, how to vet content suitable for your company, version control of scripts, and managing third-party packages for everyone. By enabling everyone access to Dynamo and getting them to use it, the gains in productivity for your teams will be felt and digital transformation will get a boost. Learn how to make it happen with this class.

For over two decades Neoscape has been working on visualizing architecture to make things faster, more efficient and painless for our clients and artists. The challenge is with designers that have been trusting us for over a decade as our partners to raise the bar visually and technically. One of the best examples is with Boston based world renowned Safdie Architects. Every time we start a new project, we ask ourselves “how do we make this better and faster?” VRAY has been Neoscape render engine of choice for well over a decade. Now with Nvidia’s GPU rendering, Vray Next and Project Lavina we see a future where we can move faster and more efficiently. Something both us and our clients have been dreaming of for a long time. I will walk you through the promise in the future of design and visualization a future where we will collaborate and focus on what is really important. After 20 years waiting, Real time design visualization is here.

The class will be a lecture on the EQ house, the actually built architecture that AI and IoT deployed. It was completed in March of 2019. Installed with advanced IoT technology and AI, EQ House is expected to be attached by the owner as if it were life-like architecture. It is installed with varied sensors to perceive environmental status and accumulates data about the owner’s preference by means of “like” buttons from the smart watch. The experimental design, inspection, and fabrication process was also needed to actually realize the futuristic architecture of the EQ House. By using the optimization process, the design period to determine the pattern of the facade decreased by 60% and through the inspection using BIM 360 Docs software and mixed reality decreased 20%, and the fabrication by 25%.

Berkeley Group has been constructing residential properties in the UK for more than 40 years using traditional approaches. Berkeley Modular is a startup that will deliver off-site manufactured housing products, but at levels of productivity normally associated with other sectors such as automotive. This off-site manufactured housing product is intended to be safe, high performing, high quality, and comfortable where actual performance matches designed intent. The class will chart the development of a new factory build and cover lessons learned, including planning of the layout, specifying the flexible manufacturing system and development of productive workflow, and the development of a technology platform that supports the concept of mass customization and uses conversion velocity. The digitally enabled agile manufacturing platform includes BIM 360 software as the CDE, as well as a suite of integrated manufacturing systems based on Vault software, Inventor software, coBuilder Collaborate, Oracle Fusion, and Siemens MES.