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Boss decided to change to autocad mep


chrisdarmanin

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My main question is that we get 2d plans from the architects, can these be used as is to design building services? Ie insert as xref like in autocad? Or it needs to be changed to 3d?

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AutoCAD MEP uses plain AutoCAD at its core, so yes - it will be 100% compatible with normal 2D architectural XREF's. Even when you're in the AutoCAD MEP workspace, you don't have to use all of the MEP tools (like 3D ductwork, AEC objects, MvParts, etc). You can mix and match, or continue to use normal 2D AutoCAD entities (2D blocks, lines, circles, LISP routines, etc).

 

For engineering, I would recommend Revit MEP, but only if you and your company are working with architects who are using the Revit platform. If they aren't, stick with AutoCAD based products.

 

-TZ

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I would like to change to revit, but from all the projects we have, only one the architects use revit. And also other employees aren't ready for such a drastic change if we go to revit

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Just a hint CIV3d sits on top of Autocad so rather than continually swapping workspaces in your case "Draw" "MEP" have a look at the stuff you use all the time. My work space has parts of 3 menus from CIV3d combined into 1.

 

It is not a 5 minute task but nor is it hard you use CUI to open the menus up then I cut and pasted the commands into a menu I made in notepad.

 

As tzframpton said "you don't have to use all of the MEP tools"

 

I am more than happy to help even though I dont have MEP.

 

Here is an example of the CIV3d

***MENUGROUP=SURFAL
***POP15
**SURFALIGN
[surfalign]
[sURFACES]
[--]
[Create Surface]^c^c_AeccCreateSurface
[Create Surface from DEM]^c^c_AeccCreateSurfaceGridFromDEM
[Create Surface from TIN]^c^c_AeccCreateSurfaceFromTIN
[->Edit Surface]
[Edit Surface Style...]^c^c_AeccEditSurfaceStyle
[Edit Surface Properties]^c^c_AeccEditSurfaceProperties
[Add Line]^C^C_AeccAddSurfaceLine
[Delete Line]^c^c_AeccDeleteSurfaceLine
[swap Edge]^c^c_AeccEditSurfaceSwapEdge
[Add Point]^c^c_AddPointToSurface
[Delete Point]^c^c_AeccDeleteSurfacePoint
[Modify Point]^c^c_AeccEditSurfacePoint
[Move Point]^C^C_AeccMoveSurfacePoint
[Minimize Flat Areas]^c^c_AeccMinimizeSurfaceFlatAreas
[Raise/Lower Surface]^c^c_AeccRaiseLowerSurface
[Paste Surface...]^c^c_AeccEditSurfacePaste
[Add Boundaries]^c^c_AeccAddSurfaceBoundaries
[smooth Surface]^c^c_AeccSmoothSurface
[<-Simplify Surface]^c^c_AeccSimplifySurface
[->Add Surface Labels]^c^c_AeccAddSurfaceLabels 
[Add slope Surf Labels]^c^c_AeccAddSurfaceSlopeLabel
[spot Elevation]^c^c_AeccAddSurfaceSpotElevLabel
[spot Elevations on Grid]^c^c_AeccAddSpotElevLabelsOnGrid
[Contour - Single]^c^c_AeccAddContourLabelingSingle
[Contour - Multiple]^c^c_AeccAddContourLabeling
[Contour Multiple at Interval]^c^c_AeccAddContourLabelingGroup
[<-Add legend table]^c^_AeccAddSurfaceLegendTable
[->Utilities]
[Export to DEM]^c^c_AeccSurfaceExportToDem
[Volumes Dashboard]^C^C_AeccVolumesDashboard
[Water Drop...]^c^c_AeccCreateSurfaceWaterDrop
[Catchment Area]^c^c_AeccCatchmentArea
[Check for Contour Problems]^c^c_AeccCheckForContourProblems
[Drape Image]^c^c_AeccDrapeImage
[Extract Objects From Surface]^c^c_AeccSurfaceExtractObjects
[Move Blocks to Surface]^c^c_AeccMoveBlocksToSurface
[Move Blocks to Attribute Elevation]^c^c_AeccMOVEBLOCKSTOATTRIBELEV
[<-Move Text to Elevation]^c^c_AeccMoveTextToElevation
[--]
[ALIGNMENTS]
[--]
[Create Alignment by Layout]^c^c_AeccCreateAlignmentLayout
[Create Alignment from Polyline]^c^c_AeccCreateAlignmentEntities
[Edit Alignment Geometry]^C^C^p_AeccEditAlignment
[Reverse Alignment Direction]^c^c_AeccReverseAlignDirection
[Design Criteria Editor]^C^c_AeccDesignCriteriaEditor
[Offset lines]^c^cOffsetfeature
[->Add Alignment Labels]^c^c_AeccAddAlignLabels
[Add/Edit Station Labels]^c^c_AeccEditAlignmentLabels
[station/Offset]^c^c_AeccAddAlignOffXYLbl
[single Segment]^c^c_AeccAddAlignSegLbl
[Multiple Segment]^c^c_AeccAddAlignSegLbls
[Point of Intersection]^c^c_AeccAddAlignPointOfIntLbl
[<-Multiple Point of Intersection]^c^c_AeccAddAlignPointOfIntLbls
[->Add Tables]
[Add Line...]^c^c_AeccAddAlignmentLineTable
[Add Curve...]^c^c_AeccAddAlignmentCurveTable
[Add Spiral...]^c^c_AeccAddAlignmentSpiralTable
[Add Segments]^c^c_AeccAddAlignmentSegmentTable
[<-Renumber Tags]^c^c_AeccEditTagNumbers
[--]
[POINTS]
[--]
[Create pts]^c^c_AeccCreatePoints
[Add 1 PT]^C^C_AeccCreatePointManual
[Pt on Surface]^C^C_AeccCreatePointRandomPoints
[Add PT Table]^C^C_AeccAddPointTable 

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When in the draw workspace you dont have any of the MEP commands as menus ribbon etc so you have to swap to the MEP workspace and maybe only use 2-3 commands then swap Back to the draw workspace and keep going.

 

What I did was looked at what was I using normally in my default Autocad drafting style all the command I like to use, then I looked at CIV3d as we have a 3rd party add on for civil design I dont use a lot of the civ3d basic design functions.

 

An example is import points its in CV3d we do it for every job from one of our surveyors bringing in our station points 1-20 so I have it in my autocad draw workspace. Else I would have to go to the civ3d workspace or type in the long winded commanded.

 

The way we have set up for our office as a brand new install, start CIV3d go to the draw workspace and save a new workspace as the user name he/she then customises it to how they like it toolbars menu's etc then we add some custom menu's and again save to the users workspace. We do at various times open the civ3d workspacey but the majority of time is in our custom workspace.

 

Forgot to mention CIV3d sits with MAP also another set of menus.

 

Think of your workspace as take the 500 menu options and save the top 100.

 

Obviously you can make a custom MEP workspace with some of the draw options if that is where you find your working more.

 

The example I posted exposes the CIV3d commands as if you typed them, its a simple Menuload to bring that menu in then save in a workspace.

 

The same would apply in Mep pick your top 20 commands. Often a menus has say 10 commands but use maybe 3 so put those 3 in a custom menu. See Surfal above this is equal to 3 pull down menus.

 

I am sure others will comment and either agree or say I am talking rubbish but I know it works.

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