I’ve always been a big fan of the RPC (Rich Photo-Realistic Content) Plug-In which I’ve used since the early days of the original 3d studio max & Viz days.  Almost everyone who uses 3ds max for architectural visualisation will be aware of this plug-in and most of those using Revit Architecture will be aware of its native ability to render RPC content.  However, what I’ve realised lately is that the majority of AutoCAD Architecture (& AutoCAD MEP) users don’t know that they can also integrate the photo-realistic content in their scenes on these platforms.

Since the introduction of the ‘Mental Ray’ rendering engine in the 2007 release of AutoCAD, people have gradually cottoned on to the fact that they can produce excellent quality presentation images in the AutoCAD platform.  This can literally save hours, not to mention the cost and learning of additional software, by not having to export and prepare information in another environment.  Most people eschewed the old rendering engine in AutoCAD as the crude results were often not worth the pain of setting up but the new tools are a breath of fresh air, and quality images are well within the reach of any AutoCAD operator.

The new lights and materials are extremely easy to work with and exterior scenes are a breeze due to the option to have the sun provide the main light source with the sky set to illuminate the scene more naturally.  As you can see from the example image below, the output of such a scene is much more realistic than most would anticipate with preparation time measured in minutes, rather than hours.

Excitech HQ: Model Courtesy of Scott Campbell & Paul Grimston, Excitech

The only thing missing here is some ‘entourage’ to make the scene come to life a little more and provide a sense of scale and context; and this is where the RPC plug-in comes into play

The eagle-eyed amongst you may already have spotted the availability of this plug-in, which appeared in version 2008, via the ‘Content and Plug-ins Catalog’ in the ‘Content Browser’:

However, if you look at this in AutoCAD Architecture 2010, it still states that the plug-in available is for version 2008:

Not to worry though, the plug-ins for each version can be located from the plug-in section of the ArchVision website:

http://www.archvision.com/RPCPlugIns.cfm

Once the plug-in has been installed, a new Ribbon tab and panel for inserting and managing RPC content will become available:

Although there are a few free content samples available from the Archvision website, there is actually a new content download for Autodesk subscription holders that provides a much greater range of content for AutoCAD Architecture/MEP users:

This provides a good basic selection from some of the main libraries, such as people, trees, cars and clutter; which should also be familiar to those who have experience of the RPC content provided with Revit:

There are a few familiar faces in amongst this lot that have popped up in many diverse locations over the years, so much so that I feel that I somehow know them; but there are plenty of new ones too, so mixing them up shouldn’t be a problem!

These can then be easily placed and positioned in any of your scenes using the ‘RPC Place’ option on the RPC tools panel: 

  With very little effort these useful additions can quickly bring your scenes to life more naturally by incorporating them within the context of the model:

Although I can’t see many building services firms using this plug-in initially within AutoCAD MEP, there are a lot of people now taking advantage of the rendering capabilities to help visualise system designs; so here is how a typical plant room might look with some people added:

Happy rendering!

The AutoCAD Architecture User Group meeting on the 22nd of April 2009 was the first one that we had held for some time and it was well attended and the delegates were keen to contribute to the discussions.

The initial discussions were focussed around the new features of AutoCAD and AutoCAD Architecture 2010 along with associated technologies such as Impression, Ecotect Analysis and the available Subscription Content. The feedback on the primary updates to the 2010 version was actually very positive, despite the general perception that AutoCAD Architecture has not received many enhancements in this release. The AutoCAD platform enhancements were viewed positively, particularly the improved PDF handling and the enhanced 3D modelling capabilities. The audience were also quite complimentary about the improvements that have been made to AutoCAD Architecture, as they do address items that are directly relevant to the work of most users; in particular the improved wall cleanup editing options.

Another thing that was evident is that there is still a generally low level of awareness about not only new features in the main solutions, but also the availability of adjacent solutions. For example, many were unaware that they were entitled to Autodesk Impression as part of their subscription or could freely download DWG TrueView. They were genuinely impressed by the capabilities of these solutions and it was good to have one or two people in the audience who have effectively adopted these solutions, rave about how worthwhile they were. Many were simply not aware of their subscription entitlements, such as the Autodesk extensions and the Excitech UK Content.

Ecotect Analysis was introduced in a brief presentation, which highlighted lots of interest in this solution and has raised awareness levels of how it can receive data from the Autodesk architectural solutions.

Paul Grimston of Excitech then presented a technical session that included some practical examples of how some of the more advanced tools in AutoCAD Architecture can be applied, along with some tips and tricks. He demonstrated how to model the solar shading around our main office building, where the event was held, using a custom railing style and also explained how to define custom ‘Display Themes’ to enable floor plans and model views to be coloured using specified property data; such as Fire Rating, Area or Floor Finish.

My final session of the day was an introduction to the Revit platform for AutoCAD Architectures; and was based on the numerous requests we had received on this subject. The presentation highlighted the differences between the Revit platform and a more traditional modelling environment and also highlighted the increasing number of similarities in both the software and its application to projects.

There was significant interest in the Revit platform and some were already actively using Revit on specific projects. Most were still investigating and pondering on the future of ACA and Revit, and found the opportunity to discuss their thoughts on this issue highly invaluable. It was concluded that those successfully using ACA should have an easier transition onto the Revit platform, due to their experience of delivering model-based information and the associated processes.

The group seemed to acknowledge the message that AutoCAD Architecture is still a very valid solution and that Revit Architecture should perhaps be evaluated as part of a longer term strategy; if not considered for a more immediate adoption on a suitable scale. There was a reasonable consensus on the logic of Excitech’s recommendation of formalising their use of AutoCAD Architecture in such a way as to ensure the introduction of conventions and processes that can, as far as possible, be transposed to Revit in order to ease any future transition.

So a big thanks to everyone who turned up and contributed to the day and we will no doubt be expanding upon some of the issues raised and sharing some of the software tips on this blog in the coming weeks!