Articles and Press Releases

FRAMECAD in Action

FRAMECAD site in UAE

Carnegie Construction used the FRAMECAD system to construct a new building at Emirates Park Zoo, Abu Dhabi, UAE. The site had narrow access that restricted construction options, but the FRAMECAD system and its ability to group frames by zones helped make the project a fast success.

From the start of production, it took six employees just ten days to install all necessary frames.

See the project >>

FRAMECAD uses IntelliCAD in its end-to-end steel frame design and manufacturing system for rapid construction of buildings. To learn how FRAMECAD benefits from ITC membership, read the success story. To find out more about IntelliCAD's BIM technology, go here.

Topics: IntelliCAD BIM ITC FRAMECAD Construction

Spotlight on 4M FineGREEN: BIM Energy Simulation

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4M FineGREEN is energy simulation BIM software that can upgrade old and new buildings of any kind and scale according to LEED energy efficiency standards. FineGREEN uses the renowned EnergyPlus™ calculation engine sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Providing the most familiar 3D BIM interface to EnergyPlus on top of IntelliCAD, FineGREEN easily determines the best energy-efficient building design solutions from the initial architectural concept through HVAC design to the entire project completion. Being at the same time 100% .dwg and IFC compatible, the program ensures close collaboration with any other BIM application, such as Autodesk® Revit®, Graphisoft® Archicad®, Allplan®, 4M's own IDEA®, etc.

FineGREEN enables the designer to study effective alternative design scenarios in order to reach the optimal solutions for any type of new construction, as well as to identify the most interesting retrofit design alternatives. Simulation results are organized in detailed output tables, charts, and graphical representation forms, to easily make comparative evaluations of the alternatives.
 
FineGREEN contains rich libraries open to the user, including weather files and climate data, building components, construction assemblies and materials, HVAC and lighting equipment, templates with structure and system profiles, as well as activity & operating schedules based on the Ashrae 62.1 and 90.1 standards. The program performs Site Shading Analysis, HVAC Systems Modeling (using a wide range of predefined HVAC system templates that can be easily customized by the user or even defined from scratch), Daylighting Analysis for each zone, Solar & Wind Energy Modeling, and more. FineGREEN additionally includes a sophisticated building cost analysis, figuring out the cost of a building from the early design to project completion and operation. It also produces a report for LEED certification.

FineGREEN belongs to the 4M BIM Suite, which also includes IDEA Architecture and FINE-MEP. A very detailed understanding of the concept and functionality of FineGREEN is provided in the IntelliCAD 10.1 DevCast video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOykoOzIG8c
 
For more details about FineGREEN, you can also go to the 4M website at www.4msa.com. To learn about how 4M benefits from the IntelliCAD technology, see the updated success story here.
Topics: IntelliCAD DWG 4M BIM ITC CAD

ACCA's Focus on OpenBIM

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Interoperability is a win for all project stakeholders when using BIM software from ACCA. With a focus on OpenBIM and the IFC file format, ACCA software users can collaborate and exchange project information, regardless of the BIM tools and applications used.

ACCA offers BIM solutions for construction management and estimating, building and structural design, presentations including AI, renewable energy, and more.

ACCA is a member of the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium and delivers several BIM and technical products based on the IntelliCAD engine. To learn more about IntelliCAD's BIM technology, go here.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG BIM ITC ACCA CAD

Spotlight on 4M FineFIRE: BIM Fire Fighting Design

4M FineFIRE 1

FineFIRE is the BIM standard for fire fighting design; it faces projects of any kind or scale in an easy, fast and reliable way according to all the latest standards. As shown in the IntelliCAD 10.1 DevCast videos, here are project examples implemented by FineFIRE:

  • Large industrial projects: The Dalli case study (home products)
  • Big storage projects: The Coca-Cola HBC case study
  • Factories and manufacturing: The Paper Factory case study
  • Hotels and resorts: The Thassos Grand Resort case study

FineFIRE considers all the parameters of the physical and functional characteristics of a sprinkler network to support smart network modeling, identification of clashes between other MEP installations, quick exploration of alternative viable options, extraction of a Bill of Materials, and overall easy collaboration and sharing of information between designers and constructors. More specifically, FineFIRE:

  • Combines a state-of-the-art BIM technology on top of IntelliCAD, allowing the user to design piping networks faster and easier.
  • Ensures full compatibility with Autodesk® Revit®, Graphisoft® Archicad®, Nemetschek® Vectorworks®, Google® SketchUp Pro®, or equivalent.
  • Allows you to work with any type of piping network (tree systems, gridded, looped, etc.).
  • Places sprinklers automatically, considering building hazards and the type of sprinklers.
  • Performs a detailed hydraulic simulation for the highest accuracy in network sizing, considering the equipment technical characteristics (i.e., pump curves/diagrams).
  • Generates the exact quantity of project materials along with their costs.
  • Provides a fully documented final printout with calculation reports and a set of drawings in 2D and 3D.
  • Supports all existing standards (NFPA13 American Standard, EN 12845, BS9251, AS2118, ASIB11, FM GLOBAL, CEA 4001, etc.).

4M FineFIRE 2

And all the above coexist synergistically within an integrated BIM environment where the user can work and interact directly on the 3D building model. Details of the concept and functionality of FineFIRE is provided in the IntelliCAD 10.1 DevCast video at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctjlyJ03En4.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG 4M BIM ITC CAD

ODA Summit 2021 Replays Available

oda logoDid you miss the ODA conference that aired this fall? Do you want to re-watch the topics most relevant to your business? ODA Summit 2021 highlighted ODA's interoperability for CAD and BIM, presented what's beyond ODA data interoperability, showcased how their members are using ODA technology, and included a panel discussion about Scan-to-BIM.

The replays are available here:

The ITC is a founding member of the ODA. You can read about the ITC and ODA working together at the ODA Member Showcase.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG BIM ITC CAD ODA

4M FineSANI Highlighted in AEC Magazine

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AEC Magazine describes why 4M FineSANI is the tool of choice for designing water supply and sewage systems in the new Jazan Economic City (JEC) in Saudi Arabia. 

FineSANI is integrated BIM software for sanitary design. It generates calculations directly from your drawings and then creates final drawings (plan views, panel diagrams, details) and the full case study documentation along with the bill of materials and costs.

4M is a member of the ITC and develops CAD and BIM software for architecture, engineering, and construction. To find out more about 4M's success with IntelliCAD, check out the success story and more about IntelliCAD's BIM technology here.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG 4M BIM ITC CAD

New Updates Available for FRAMECAD Structure and Revlink

FRAMECAD Structure 9.2.4

FRAMECAD® Structure 9.2.4 and FRAMECAD Revlink® 1.5.2 are available now. New features in FRAMECAD Structure include dynamic sizing for openings, point loading of girder trusses, and IFC export enhancements. FRAMECAD Revlink new features range from a new Set Panel Edge tool to label enhancements.

Get the FRAMECAD news >> 

FRAMECAD Structure is based on the IntelliCAD engine and includes IntelliCAD's BIM technology. It is worldwide-compliant engineering software for cold-formed steel construction. To learn how FRAMECAD benefits from collaboration with the ITC, see the success story.

Topics: IntelliCAD BIM ITC FRAMECAD Construction

ActCAD 2022 Product Suite Released with IntelliCAD 10.1 Engine

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ActCAD 2022 BIM, Professional, and Standard versions are newly available with all the improvements found in IntelliCAD 10.1, which was released just one week ago to members of the consortium.

With products from the ActCAD suite, you can natively create and edit .dwg files for 2D drafting, 3D modeling, and BIM (Building Information Modeling). ActCAD includes global perpetual licenses and has several licensing options.

ActCAD includes several changes to IntelliCAD source code to match its requirements, which is not possible with any other OEM CAD engine. To learn more about OEM options using the IntelliCAD engine, go here. To learn about how ActCAD benefits from membership in the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium, see the success story.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG BIM ITC ActCAD CAD

ActCAD 2021: Maintenance Releases Available

actcad-2021-professionalThe latest version of ActCAD 2021 includes new features, enhanced commands, and fixes. Users will enjoy the new DIMSPACE, ALIGNSPACE, and TEXTALIGN commands, along with several new commands for working with attributes. Also included is a new PDF to DXF converter and the ability to view a network license usage log. Enhancements to existing functionality are found throughout, including revised NEWDRAWING and ATTEDIT commands.

To get the latest ActCAD 2021 maintenance release, ActCAD users can upgrade to the latest version 1001551 using the ActCAD command CHECKFORUPDATES. The new maintenance version is available for ActCAD 2021 BIM, Professional, and Standard versions.

The latest ActCAD version is also available directly from the ActCAD website in the downloads area.

Available in 64- and 32-bit, ActCAD is a native .dwg and .dxf CAD software program used for 2D drafting and 3D modeling. ActCAD is based on the IntelliCAD engine.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG BIM ITC ActCAD

ArCADia BIM Wins Awards

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ArCADia BIM — CAD software from ArCADiasoft for projects in Building and Information Modeling — won the Fastest Growing Product and Best Value awards from the software review and comparison site Software Suggest.

Get the news >> 

Learn about ArCADia BIM >>

ArCADia BIM is CAD software for the construction industry, supporting 2D and 3D design and based on IntelliCAD. To learn about how ArCADiasoft and the ITC work together, see the success story.

Topics: IntelliCAD DWG BIM ITC CAD ArCADiasoft