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Design tools, presentation devices, and more
By Deborah Snoonian, P.E.

Revit Building 8, geared toward architects, is the first in a series of Revit releases that will be tailored for different AEC professionals, such as structural and mechanical engineers.

Revit Building 8
Autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Windows only

Targeted for architectural users, the release of Building 8 marks Autodesk’s shift toward segmenting its flagship 3D design software along disciplinary lines. (Revit Structure will make its debut later this year; Revit Mechanical is in the beta-testing stage.) New features in Building 8 include built-in interference checking, improvements in editing families of components like doors or windows, and a simplified method to publish directly to Buzzsaw, Autodesk’s online collaboration tool. The software can produce DWG files for those needing to share information in AutoCAD’s popular file format, and 3D solids created in Autodesk’s ADT or Building Systems can be imported or linked into Building 8 for checking interferences or other tasks.

You can make renderings for free with Blender, available at www.blender3d.com.

Blender
Blender 3D
www.blender3d.com
Window, Mac, and others

This product for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, and post-production was killed off by its parent company after the dot-com crash in 2001 but resurrected when one of its original creators formed a nonprofit foundation to continue its development. Blender is a free (yes, free), community-based, open-source software program that works on multiple operating systems to help designers create 3D content for presentations, Web sites, and other media. Though it lacks the robustness needed to model buildings geometrically, smaller practitioners and firms on tight budgets will find it useful for a variety of everyday visualization tasks.

The SpacePilot reduces the number of keystrokes and mouse clicks made by CAD users.

SpacePilot
3D Connexion
www.3dconnexion.com
Windows only

This input device promises to reduce the number of keyboard and mouse commands needed to produce drawings, visualizations, and other design documents. It features adaptive sensing technology and an array of keys that can be customized, allowing designers to save their finger strength for Luddite hobbies like guitar playing or knitting.

PowerCAD CE helps architects edit, annotate, and e-mail drawings on the go from wireless and mobile devices.

PowerCAD CE
GiveMePower
www.givemepower.com
Windows only

PowerCAD is an AutoCAD-compatible program for mobile and wireless devices like cell phones, handheld organizers, and tablet PCs. The latest release features one-button e-mailing, DWF file exporting, and enhanced support for connecting with Bluetooth-equipped wireless devices. It also allows users to add voice notes to drawings, a helpful feature, since viewing them on small screens is so hard on the eyes.

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