Practice Exercise: Model Integration in Autodesk Construction Cloud
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Practice Exercise: Model Integration in Autodesk Construction Cloud

Overview

In this exercise, you'll use the Model Coordination module in Autodesk Construction Cloud to identify and classify clashes between published versions of Revit models -- for example, finding any clashes or interferences between the elements in architectural, structural, and MEP models.

If you've worked with other tools like Navisworks Manage or BIM 360 Glue to perform clash detection on prior projects, you'll find that this new web-based interface offers very similar features.

Steps to Follow

  1. Open the Autodesk Construction Cloud web interface at: https://acc.autodesk.com
  2. Navigate to your CEE 120B or CEE 220B project to view the list of published models.
    • Use the pull-down menu in the title bar of the web interface to open the Win 22 - CEE 120B or Win 22 - CEE 220B project.
    • Pull down the modules menu to switch to the Docs module.
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    • Open the Project Files folder in the navigation bar at the left side of the interface, then navigate to the _Module 2 Practice Exercise subfolder.
    • View the list of published models.
      • Note that the version number increments every time a new version of the model is published.
  3. Copy the newest Published version of the Architectural model into the Coordination Space folder within your project subfolder (the folder with your name) to make it available for clash detection.
    • Select Arch_Model.rvt from the list of Published models in the _Module 2 Practice Exercise folder.
      • Open the menu button in toolbar at the top of the file list, then choose Copy.
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      • Select the Coordination Space folder within your personal subfolder as the destination for the copy.
      • Click Copy.
    • Repeat these steps to also copy the Struct_Model.rvt and Tenant Improvements.rvt models to your Coordination Space subfolder.
  4. Switch to Autodesk Construction Cloud Model Coordination module.
    • Pull down the modules menu to switch to the Model Coordination module.
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    • Important: You must move the Model Coordination module to access the clash detection features in the Autodesk Construction Cloud interface. While you can see the Coordination Space folder in the Docs module, you need to switch to the Model Coordination module to complete the next steps.
  5. Use the pull-down menu at the upper-right corner of the web interface to switch to your personal coordination space.
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  7. View the list of 3D Model views available in the models that you’ve copied into your model coordination space.
    • When you open the Model Coordination module, the Models tab displays a list of all the 3D model views from the published models that you've copied into the Coordination Space folder.
    • Each model in the list also displays the latest Updated Date -- reporting to you the last time that this model was coordinated (a clash check was run) with the other models in the list.
    • This list can be overwhelming, so you'll typically want to create Model Coordination Views -- a set of a few views displaying the specific model elements that you want to check for clashes.
  8. Create a Model Coordination View containing the 3D models that you want to Coordinate (compare the elements to detect clashes). We'll start by creating a Model Coordination View to check for clashes between the Architectural model and the Tenant Improvements model.
    • Select two of the 3D model views in the Models list:
      • Tenant Improvements - 3D - Furniture -- a 3D view showing the furniture planned for the tenant improvements phase.
      • Arch_Mode.rvt - 3D - All Arch Elements -- a 3D view showing all the architectural elements.
    • Click the View button to display these models in a new merged view.
    • Click the Save View button to save these models as a new Model Coordination View.
    • Enter a title for this view that will be easy to recognize -- for example, Practice Exercise - Part 1.
      • You can set the Privacy to PRIVATE to make this model coordination view visible only to yourself, or PUBLISHED if you'd like to make this model coordination view available for others to use.
    • Click Save View.
    • Click the X button at the upper right corner of the interface to close this view.
  9. Now, we'll use that Model Coordination View to look for clashes between the elements in the models that it includes.
    • Click on the Clashes tab in the Model Coordination module interface.
    • The Clashes tab displays a matrix showing the number of clashes between the elements included in all of the models included in the coordination space. This matrix can be very overwhelming, so we'll narrow down the list of models using one of the Model Coordination views available.
  10. Open the Select a View pull-down menu and choose the Model Coordination View that you created in the previous step -- Practice Exercise - Part 1.
    • The matrix is reduced to a much more manageable size that displays only the models included in the selected. Model Coordination View.
    • Next, we'll view the clashes between these models.
  11. Click on the orange cell in the row for the Arch_Model v2021.rvt - 3D - All Arch Elements in the Tenant Improvements.rvt - 3D Furniture column.
    • This will display the clashes between the elements in these two models.
    • The Arch_Model - 3D - All Arch Elements model is set as the primary model. If the list of clashes is grouped by Object, the clashes will be grouped by the objects that are clashed within the primary model.
      • Note that some objects in the primary model may clash with several objects in the Tenant Improvements furniture model.
      • And some objects in the primary model may not clash with any objects in the Tenant Improvements furniture model.
  12. Scroll down the list of classes and check to see if any Model Text elements clash with objects in the Tenant Improvements furniture model.
    • Click on each of the Model text object groups in the grouped list of clashes to review the clashing elements.
      • Many clashes occur due to modeling inaccuracies or acceptable simplifications that we make during our early modeling stages.
        1. When a clash is considered acceptable and should be ignored (at this point in your modeling), you can click the Not an Issue button to exclude it from the list of clashes.
        2. When a clash is considered important and should be acted upon, you can leave it in the list or click the Issue button to track this clash as an issue that needs resolution.
      • Select a few of the Model Text clash groups, then click the Not an Issue button.
        1. Enter a title
        2. Choose Model Inaccuracy from the list of reasons
        3. Then, click OK to accept these clashes and remove them from the list.
    • Click the X button at the upper right corner of the interface to close this view.
  13. Next, let's check for clashes between two published models of the Architectural and Structural elements in this project.
    • Return to the Models tab, and create a new Model Coordination View that merges the Arch_Model.rvt - 3D - All Arch Elements and the Struct_Model.rvt - 3D views.
    • Save this View as Practice Exercise - Part 2, then close this view.
    • Return to the Clashes tab and filter the clash matrix by using the Select a View pull-down menu to choose your Practice Exercise - Part 2 view.
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    • Click on the orange cell in the Struct Model v2021 row to set the Structural model as the primary model (which allows us to look for clashes by the structural objects that they clash with).
  14. We'll start by looking for clashes with one of the Floor objects in the structural model.
    • Make sure that the list of clashes is grouped by Object.
    • Click on the checkbox for the first clash in the list for Floor [240474].
      • Note that this object in the Structural model clashes with many objects in the Architectural model, and all of those objects are highlighted in the view.
    • Turn off the checkbox for the Floor [240474] object, so we can focus on individual clashes.
    • Turn down the arrow to the right of the checkbox to display a list of all the objects in the Architectural model that this structural floor object clashes with.
    • Click on the checkbox to the left of any of the objects in the architectural model.
      • As you turn on the checkbox for individual objects, those clashing objects are highlighted in the view.
  15. We'll choose to ignore these clashes with the structural Floor object [240474] for now, because these are examples of modeling inaccuracies -- clashes between model objects due to our quick modeling at the early stages of a project.
    • You can select them, then click the Not an Issue button to exclude them from the list.
  16. Next, let's look for another example of a clash that's more significant.
    • Use the Group by pull-down menu to group the clashes by Identity Data/Type Name.
      • This will group them by their Revit family Type Names.
    • Turn on the checkbox to the left of the HSS6x6x0.500 type in the list of clashes.
    • Turn down the arrow to the right of the checkbox to display a list of all the objects in the Architectural model that the structural objects of this type clash with.
      • These structural objects are diagonal braces, and you'll see that conflict with many of the window and curtain wall elements in the architectural model.
  17. This is an example of a more significant and meaningful clash -- something that you'd probably want to fix (rather than ignore) at this point.
    • Select the clashes with the HSS6x6x0.500 type.
    • Click the Issue button.
      • Click in the viewing area to place a push pin on one of the objects in the model that this Issue will be associated with.
      • Then use the Assign To pull-down menu to assign this Issue to our TA — Nicolas Abello — for resolution.
      • Click the Create button to create an Issue pointing to these clashes and remove the clashes from list.
    • You can view the list of Issues (assigned clashes) by clicking the Issues button at the left side of the interface.
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What to Submit

There's no separate submission for this exercise.

You'll submit your work by assigning an Issue sharing some clashes to be resolved using the Autodesk Construction Cloud Model Coordination interface.