CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
7:30am – 8:30am
Continental Breakfast and Registration
8:30am – 9:00am
Opening General Session
9:00am – 9:15am
Break
9:15am – 10:30am
Session 1
GENERAL DESIGN AND DRAFTING – AUTOCAD TRACK
3D Modeling: Concepts to Completion (Steven Schain, CAD Americas Program Team) Course Number:
3DMC2C – Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Delve into the application of AutoCAD tools for the use of 3D design and modeling. Learn how to utilize the
freeform 3D modeling tools to quickly create virtual design mockups. Work with both surface and solid
modeling tools to bring your ideas to life.
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN – CIVIL 3D TRACK
New Features of AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 (Rick Ellis, CAD Americas Program Team)
With a new release of Civil 3D every year, it can seem like the program is always changing. This leads to
common questions like; "what's new in this version" and "should I upgrade or stay on the version I'm familiar
with." Learn the answers to these questions and more. It is also common to upgrade but to continue to use
the new version the same way you used the old one. This may be natural, but it is not taking advantage of the
new tools and features of the program that you paid for. Discover how you can get more out of your
investment in the time and money involved with upgrading to Civil 3D 2013 by learning tools and processes
that you can put to work immediately in your office.
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN – REVIT ARCHITECTURE TRACK
Revit Worksharing (Paul Aubin, CAD Americas Program Team) Course Number: RW101 - Approved 1 AIA
CES/ LU
Typically, many people work simultaneously on a Revit project. The Worksharing feature in Revit allows
multiple users to make changes to a single central file and coordinate those changes across the entire project
team. Learn how to make local files, synchronize with the central file, reload the latest design changes, and
relinquish files. Discuss common problems with team projects and learn best practices for implementing
worksharing in Revit. Course Number: RW101 - Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
CAD MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS TRACK
CAD Management Strategies for Success (Robert Green, CAD Americas Program Team)
Being a CAD manager sometimes requires more management than CAD! In this session we'll discover tips,
tricks and strategies for better managing the CAD environment in your company. Along the way we'll discuss
problem identification, problem solving, user motivation, senior management support, budgeting, making the
case for training, objection handling and more. You'll also complete a self evaluation to help you prioritize
your management challenges. This course is product agnostic so don't worry about what discipline CAD
manager you are. If you've ever been frustrated by the management aspect of your job, this class is a must.
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION TRACK
Manipulating the Revit® Database with Excel (Brian Myers - Seiler Instrument) Course Number: MRDE Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Imagine having the ability to pull Revit data into a user-friendly Microsoft Excel format for modification with
the ability to push that data back into Revit to update the Revit model. Anyone in the office with the skills to
fill out a spreadsheet could do this without consuming a Revit license. We’ll use the add-in software BIMLink
to perform this operation and explain in depth the advantages this brings to an office environment.
10:30am – 10:45am
Break
10:45am – 12:00pm
Session 2
GENERAL DESIGN AND DRAFTING – AUTOCAD TRACK
Visualizing AutoCAD Designs Using 3ds Max Design and Iray (Steven Schain, CAD Americas Program Team)
Course Number: VADU3D - Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
This course covers the topics related to linking and rendering 3D AutoCAD models using 3ds Max Design, all
part of the AutoCAD Design Suite Premium and higher. Guided by Autodesk's workflow concepts, learn to use
the Link feature in 3ds Max to import a 3D AutoCAD model. Learn to quickly add realistic materials and
lighting to create a complete scene. Render the finished scene using the Iray photorealistic renderer to get
the highest level of photorealism available.
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN – CIVIL 3D TRACK
Intersection Design (Rick Ellis, CAD Americas Program Team)
Very few roads lead to nowhere. This means that most of your corridors have at least one intersection at
some point. Explore the intersection tools in Civil 3D. Learn the step-by-step process of how these tools work
and discuss where it makes practical sense to use them within your project. In addition, since you can't talk
about intersections without talking about corridors, learn several corridor techniques, tips and tricks.
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN – REVIT ARCHITECTURE TRACK
Revit Phasing and Design Options (Paul Aubin, CAD Americas Program Team) Course Number: RPDOApproved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Find out how to show multiple phases of work in a Revit project, and how the phasing/demo tools in Revit
can be used effectively for this purpose. Learn more about setting up and managing phases, and understand
how many of these phases you need for a project. Review the multiple design alternatives available for
projects. Discover how to use Revit's Design Options feature to start a design alternative at any time and
apply a specific alternative directly to the sheets of a drawing set so all view, tags and schedules are instantly
coordinated. Learn to determine when Design Options are the best tool to use and what other tools may be
useful.
CAD MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS TRACK
Implementing 3D Work Processes (Robert Green, CAD Americas Program Team)
Transitioning your company from 2D AutoCAD to 3D BIM, mechanical modeling, or civil modeling tools is
always tough - but you already knew that. In this session we'll learn the key factors of 3D work process
success: User transition, software transition, IT transition, training, standards and management support.
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
We'll use a chronological approach taking you from planning to budgeting to implementation to training.
Along the way, real world tips on how to manage resistance to change and management hesitancy will be
presented as well. No matter where you are in the 2D to 3D migration process this class will give you the
knowledge to do so with maximum speed and minimal errors.
ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION TRACK
From Disto™ to Revit ®, Surveying a Building Directly into Revit (Brian Myers - Seiler Instrument) Course
Number: D2R- Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Creating accurate as-built drawings can often be a challenge. In this course, we will demonstrate how more
accurately and easily survey a building by leveraging a Disto, a laptop, and a seat of PKNail Pro to create an
accurate Revit model before even leaving the site.
12:00pm – 12:45pm
Lunch
12:45pm – 2:00pm
Session 3
GENERAL DESIGN AND DRAFTING – AUTOCAD TRACK
AutoCAD Parametrics: Increasing Design Efficiency (Steven Schain, CAD Americas Program Team) Course
Number: APIDE- Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Explore the use of the features within AutoCAD and how they can be used with the parametric tools
available. Look at the use of the parametric tools available to create flexible 2D projection drawings. Find out
how you can use parametrics to create dynamic drawings that can be integrated into your production library.
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN – CIVIL 3D TRACK- PDU APPROVED
Grading and Volume Calculation Tips and Tricks (Rick Ellis, CAD Americas Program Team)
Civil 3D contains a number of different tools that can be used for grading. Explore the different tools and look
at several examples of not only how to use them, but also how to use these tools together to efficiently and
accurately create a finished ground surface. Discuss several different methods of calculating volumes along
with ways to check those volumes and display the results.
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN – REVIT ARCHITECTURE TRACK
Shared Coordinates (Paul Aubin, CAD Americas Program Team) Course Number: SC101- Approved 1 AIA
CES/ LU
The approach Revit takes to coordinates, positioning and origin points can be a little baffling if you are
coming from AutoCAD. On the surface, it appears that Revit simply does not have a "zero" point, or any way
to input precise coordinates. As with many things, appearances are not always what they seem. Revit does
indeed have an origin and the ability to input with precision. The trick is that in Revit, coordinates,
movements and measurements are always relative to something else. In this class, we will explore the "Revit
theory of relativity" (AKA Shared Coordinates). You will learn how to set up Shared Coordinates, link files with
Shared Coordinates, and maintain the relationship as the project progresses. If you have let your AutoCAD
experience ruin you or have just not been able to get your head around Revit coordinates, this session is here
to help! You should have familiarity with Revit essentials.
CAD MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS TRACK
Training, Standards and Documentation Workshop (Robert Green, CAD Americas Program Team)
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
Are you responsible for training users? Ever have questions about how to best attack the training problem?
Ever wonder what tools are available to help you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this
class will give you some answers. We'll move through the entire process of creating customized training from
needs analysis through lesson creation, training tips, manual production and digitally recording your sessions.
As a bonus you'll see how your training program can link to your standards program so you can kill two birds
with one stone. No matter how much, or little, training you do, you're sure to pick up some great productivity
tips that you can start using right away.
ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION TRACK
Civil 3D® Field to Finish in Plain English (Jeff Bartles - Seiler Instrument) PDU approved
If you would like to create automated line work from your field data, this session is perfect for you. In this
introductory level course, we will walk through the process of setting up a “field to finish” workflow using
Civil 3D. Specifically we will explore how the Survey Database, Figure Prefix Database, and Linework Code
Sets work together to create a “near finished” drawing from field data alone. After attending this session,
you may never have to connect the dots again. – PDU Approval
2:00pm – 2:15pm
Break
2:15pm – 3:30pm
Session 4
GENERAL DESIGN AND DRAFTING – AUTOCAD TRACK
AutoCAD Secrets Revealed (Steven Schain, CAD Americas Program Team)
This course will present AutoCAD secrets that will save time, and increase your productivity. You will discover
new features and enhancements that include many tips and tricks from the latest version of AutoCAD,
including Autodesk 360. You will walk away from this course with new knowledge that could be put to use
your first day back. Course Number: DVR101 -Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN – CIVIL 3D TRACK – PDU APPROVED
Creating Custom Subassemblies with the Subassembly Composer (Rick Ellis, CAD Americas Program Team)
The stock subassemblies that come with Civil 3D "out of the box" allow you to create corridors for almost any
design need. However, what do you do when "almost" isn't enough? With the new subassembly composer
you can create your own custom subassemblies using a graphical interface that doesn't require you to be a
.NET programming expert. Explore the subassembly composer and find out how to create custom, intelligent
subassemblies that will not only conform to your organizations standards, but add decision-making
capabilities to your design as well. PDU Approval
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN – REVIT ARCHITECTURE TRACK
Design Visualization with Revit (Paul Aubin, CAD Americas Program Team) Course Number: DVR102 Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Design Visualization with Revit Perhaps you've heard that Revit can produce renderings, but you are not sure
where to start. With so many choices for producing renderings these days, why would you even bother doing
a rendering in Revit? Why not just go to max or Showcase? Well, both of those are excellent choices worthy
of your consideration, but you are already working in Revit every day right? Why not see what it has to offer?
This session will give you an overview of the tools available and the process you need to follow to get good
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
rendering results. We'll look at Revit Materials, lighting, setting up views and of course the Rendering dialog.
Producing good renderings in any program takes lots of time and practice. The goal of this session is to give
you the basics to get you started on the right foot.
CAD MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS TRACK
Customizing AutoCAD Crash Course (Robert Green, CAD Americas Program Team)
If you manage AutoCAD based tools you're already aware that they can be customized, but you may not feel
confident in doing so. In this session we'll use an imaginary company's AutoCAD installation and find out how
CUI files, tool palettes and AutoLISP can be combined to customize and control AutoCAD for many users on
the network. To control the user experience we'll examine how CUI customization, enterprise files,
networked tool palettes and custom ACADDOC.LSP files can combine to provide an elegant level of control
for AutoCAD based tools. Best of all, you can download the course files for the imaginary company so you can
start implementing the techniques you learn in class at your company the next day. If you want to get rolling
with customization but have been hesitant to do so, you'll want to attend this session.
ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION TRACK
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – Introduction to Photorealistic Rendering Using AutoCAD® (Jeff
Bartels - Seiler Instrument) Course Number: IPRUA - Approved 1 AIA CES/ LU
Many people think a program like 3DS Max is required to create photorealistic renderings. However, believeit-or-not, if you have a seat of AutoCAD you may already have everything you need. AutoCAD supports a
powerful rendering engine capable of producing high quality photorealistic output. In this session, we will
walk though several rendering concepts including, sunlight, shadows, material mapping, and customization.
After attending this course, you will have the skills necessary to start visualizing your designs.
3:30pm – 3:45pm
Break
3:45pm – 5:00pm
Session 5
GENERAL DESIGN AND DRAFTING – AUTOCAD TRACK
AutoCAD for the Rest of Us: A Roundtable Discussion (Steve Schain, CAD Americas Program Team)
Hear how AutoCAD is used by others like yourself. Join this highly interactive forum to learn new techniques
in the areas of general modeling and editing, drawing creation, hatching, annotation, and more! Take
advantage of the wealth of knowledge and tips shared by others in the industry in an organized and
moderated setting.
INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN – CIVIL 3D TRACK
Styles Forum (Rick Ellis, CAD Americas Program Team)
Styles can be one of the most confusing and frustrating parts of Civil 3D for many users. This is compounded
by the flexible nature of Civil 3D Styles that allows several different and valid approaches to setting up and
working with them. Styles can also be a stumbling block for users or entire organizations that keeps them
from fully implementing Civil 3D. Take this opportunity to share experiences, struggles, achievements, and
questions about Styles and Settings in Civil 3D with other Civil 3D users. While the session will be moderated
to keep things on track, specific discussion items are up to you. This is your chance to ask other users and the
moderator how they would handle a specific problem you have been facing in Civil 3D. If you can't get that
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
label to display the way you want it to, come prepared to explain your issue and the group will brainstorm
and discuss your options.
ARCHITECTURE DESIGN – REVIT ARCHITECTURE TRACK
AEC Discussion Forum (Paul Aubin, CAD Americas Program Team)
Join this open discussion of issues facing BIM usage and Autodesk software.
CAD MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS TRACK
CAD Manager’s Discussion Forum (Robert Green, CAD Americas Program Team)
Why not get to know the other CAD managers attending this session, swap cards, and talk about any issues
that have come up during the day with your CAD management peers. The session will be moderated to keep
things on track but the topics will be entirely up to the attendees. Finish out your CAD Americas experience
with some lively and motivational conversation.
ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION TRACK
AutoCAD® - Tips Tricks and Shortcuts (Jeff Bartels - Seiler Instrument)
How many “tools” do you have in your AutoCAD toolbox? Sometimes what you don’t know can affect your
productivity. In this session we will explore an assortment of commands and shortcuts guaranteed to save
you time on your next project!
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES:
Paul Aubin
Paul F. Aubin is the author of many CAD and BIM book titles including the widely acclaimed: The Aubin
Academy Mastering Series titles and Revit video training for lynda.com. Paul is an independent architectural
consultant who travels internationally providing Revit® and AutoCAD® Architecture implementation, training,
and support services. Paul's involvement in the architectural profession spans over 20 years, with experience
that includes design, production, CAD management, mentoring, coaching and training. He is an active member
of the Autodesk user community, and has been a top-rated speaker at Autodesk University for many years and
has also spoken at the Revit Technology Conference (RTC) in both the US and Australia. His diverse
experience in architectural firms, as a CAD manager, and as an educator gives his writing and his classroom
instruction a fresh and credible focus. Paul is based in Chicago and is an associate member of the AIA.
Rick Ellis
Rick provides training and consulting services to clients around the country, helping them get the most out of
their design software investment. Rick specializes in AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Land
Desktop and AutoCAD Raster Design. He is a member of the Autodesk Developer Network, author of several
books including A Practical Guide to AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012, A Practical Guide to AutoCAD Map 3D 2012,
Digging Into Autodesk Civil 3D 2011, Digging Deeper Into Autodesk Civil 3D 2011, Digging Into Autodesk Land
Desktop 2006 and Digging Into Autodesk Map 3D 2011, co-author of Introducing Autodesk Civil 3D, and a
select author for CAD Digest. In addition, Rick is an instructor for the AUGI® training program, and a highly
rated speaker at Autodesk University. Rick has worked closely with 4D Technologies, an Autodesk Authorized
Publisher and developer of CADLearning, to create self-paced learning products for the latest CAD and BIM
software.
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda
Robert Green
Robert Green has provided CAD management consulting, programming, training and technical writing services
for clients throughout the United States, Canada and Europe since 1991. A mechanical engineer by training,
Robert has been using CAD since 1985 and grew into leadership positions by seeming to always be the "alpha
user" everywhere he worked. Over time he came to enjoy the technological and training challenges associated
with CAD management and now trains CAD managers all over the world. Robert is the author of Expert CAD
Management: The Complete Guide (published by Sybex) and the head of the Robert Green Consulting Group.
Robert is well known for his insightful articles in Cadalyst magazine.
Steve Schain
Steve Schain's Biography Steve is a graduate of the R.I.T. film/animation program and, recently, the AB Tech
Entrepreneurship program. He founded Spectralight Images, LLC, a software training and computer animation
production company, in 1989. He then moved to Orlando, Florida to pursue a future in the computer graphics
field. In 1995 he was Vice-President of Computer Animators Plus, and began teaching 3D studio at several
colleges in Orlando. In 1998 Steve became a Kinetix (Autodesk) Training Specialist and has contributed to the
development of Autodesk Certified training material for 10 releases of 3ds Max, the ACI program and the
Autodesk 3ds Max fundamental standards (MEIS) Documents. Steve has worked closely with 4D
Technologies, an Autodesk Authorized Publisher and developer of CADLearning, to create self-paced learning
products for the latest CAD and BIM software. Steven currently runs Spectralight Images, LLC out of his office
in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.
St. Louis – Seiler Instrument Speakers:
Jeff Bartels - Senior Application Engineer, AutoCAD® Certified Professional, Civil 3D® Certified Professional
Jeff has been using Autodesk software to produce civil engineering drawings for nearly 15 years. As CAD
manager, he was responsible for the production and oversight of construction drawings, installation of
software, and creating and maintaining CAD standards. Jeff has served on the faculty of two colleges where
he wrote curriculum and taught Advanced AutoCAD and Civil 3D courses. Jeff has the ability to make
complex concepts easy to understand. He is an Autodesk Certified Professional for both AutoCAD and Civil
3D. Jeff is also a published author having produced 18 AutoCAD training titles for Lynda.com. Jeff is also a
top-rated speaker at Autodesk University 2011, and has two presentations scheduled for AU 2012. As Senior
Application Engineer for Infrastructure at Seiler Instrument, Jeff provides Civil 3D, AutoCAD and Map 3D
training, technical support, and implementation services for firms located in the Central U.S. region.
Brian Myers - Senior Application Engineer, Autodesk® Revit Architecture Certified Professional
Brian is a “transition expert” in guiding Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms to a BIM
environment. For the past 22 years, Brian has served in various roles within A/E firms, which included BIM
and CAD management, residential design, project management, IT management, and various design/drafting
tasks. Brian graduated from Southern Illinois University with a B.S. in Advanced Technical Studies for
Architecture. His current role as Sr. Application Engineer for Seiler Instrument takes him across the Mid-West
for various implementation projects and training classes.
CAD Americas Training Days 2012 – St. Louis Agenda