Dynamo Vasari Talk Videos Posted

In case you missed the Vasari Talk on May 15, videos are now posted:
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Vasari/enu/Community/Tutorials/Vasari_Talk_-_Design_and_Analysis_Webinars/Session_29%3a_What's_New_in_Dynamo

Vasari Talk: What's new in Dynamo

Where:  Webinar

Date:  Wednesday, May 15th,

Time: 11:30 to 12:30 pm Eastern Time

Description: In this session Autodesk's Zach Kron will discuss the latest release of Dynamo Visual Programming for Revit and Vasari.  He will demonstrate the latest improvements to the user interface, new node functionalities, and walk through some of the new sample files.  He will also discuss the goals of the project and how users can become a part of the development process.

Learning Objectives
After this session, participants will be able to:

1. Create and place sample Revit families and geometry using spreadsheet data and recursive systems.
2. Pattern a sample surface.
3. Visualize complex sample geometry quickly inside of the programming interface.
4. Create compact custom functionality they can share with colleagues.

Register Now!

Moving Stuff around in Dynamo: Transforms, Lists, and Making real Revit Elements

As we roll out fresh baked pieces of the emerging visual programming tool for Revit/Vasari, I thought I would walk through a couple of the new samples.  Transforms (the ability to move, rotate, scale, mirror, etc stuff that you have already made) are one of the new pieces.

The above video demonstrates the process of moving "abstract" geometry around inside of Dynamo, the next video shows how to make this abstract line into full Revit geometry and still maintain the relationship to the Dynamo graph.

While we are actively improving the way that nodes handle lists in Dynamo, here is a demo of how to go from a single element to large sequences of elements using "Map" and "Combine" functionality.

Dynamo WIP Update!

Latest Build:  version 0.3.0, released 4/29/13 

It's been a while since we updated our open source project Dynamo (visual programming for Vasari and Revit), but it is worth the wait!  Lots happening as we have gotten dedicated resources participating on the Work In Progress.  Much of the development has been getting the underbelly of the code cleaned up and stabilized, but there has been plenty done on the "user facing" side as well.
BTW, We mean it when we say Dynamo is a "Work in Progress", and we hope that when you see things you like or hate, or could be done differently, you jump right on the issues page or the Vasari Forums and fire off your feedback.  We are going to be rolling out new builds relatively quickly, so please check out the latest WIP and let us know what you think.

Download Page and Documentation
Forums
Bugs and Requests
Source Code and Development

Here's a quick tour of the improved interface and search capabilities.

Know it, Learn it

For a complete rundown of all the new features, please check out this extensive list.  There are also tutorials and documentation on this site.

What's New and Updated

New and Updated Nodes:

Generally we have been working on building out the node offerings, with more basic tools (like more curves and lines, transforms, etc) but also some more sophisticated packages of functionality (like Delaunay tessellation, dynamic relaxation, and Arduino interfaces)
On of my favorite pieces is the Watch 3d node, which allows you to visualize geometry before you make it into full Revit elements.  Check out the Tessellation samples for an example of this.

In the next stages, we are hoping to continue both building the basic tools (like handling lists better) as well as expand our more advanced offerings (like using external engines for analysis).

UI

Lots of basic stuff here, things that are generally thought of as "the cost of doing business" but take a little time to get done, like cut and paste, box select, etc.  We also have some more exciting stuff like the ability to create custom nodes from collections of wired up nodes.  This allows you to collapse large and complex workflows down into reusable and transferable custom functionality.  We have also expanded the search capabilities and will be working on increasing the "browsability" of the node library.

Up next, we'd like to make it easier to not only to make your own custom nodes and workflows, but also to exchange them with other members of the community.

Engineering

It's hard to express some of this, as it involves work done in the guts of the code to make sure that it can scale, that it is easier to maintain, and that Dynamo is generally more stable.  You, the user, will experience this over the coming months by steadier delivery of new builds, but also better stability and increasing quality.  You, the code contributor, will see better documentation of the code, more legible source, and automated testing capabilities.

Samples

A few more examples of what you can do with Dynamo have been included.  I'll be adding videos walking through their operation later this week, but in the meantime, feel free to explore the full range of sample datasets and the existing tutorials here.

Get the build now, take it for a spin, check back in for regular updates, and please, please, please give us your feedback!

Thanks!

Dynamo: free like beer, free like speech

Buildz has gone dark for a while, which is ironic, as I have less to hide than usual.  I'm helping on the open source project Dynamo, a visual programming language for Revit and Vasari.  Dynamo allows users with or without programming knowledge to create graphical "scripts" to drive BIM in complex and beautiful ways.

Usually working for Autodesk can feel like being a secret agent . . . I could tell you what I'm working on, but then I'd have to kill you. But Dynamo is a very different creature than the proprietary software that we all know and love/hate:  it's free!

Reader:  Free you say? No way, nothing is free.
Z:  Way.  Gratis+Libre. It's free like beer, free like speech.

Proof:  fire up your free SharpDevelop or other development environment and go build the code yourself RIGHT NOW.  Explore the latest submissions, make your own, report bugs, all that good stuff.

Of course, you will be living on the edge, building software that is piping hot out of the oven can burn your mouth.  If you want to take a safer route, you can download the installer from here. Keep an eye on this site, as we are going to roll out a new installer presently, but you can get started with this "last stable" release.

Yes, I know, free is trendy.  All the cool kids are doing it.  But we of course have our own sinister purposes.  

1. Staffing:  There are a few geniuses working on it full time, but we need more user feedback, testing, and feature development.
2. Brains:  You are more interesting than us, and we want your brains.  You are also making stuff in this thing people call the "real world" and have the needed insight to create appropriate content RIGHT NOW. Therefore, we are hoping/relying/begging for your feedback
3. RIGHT NOW:  we have noticed that people like to have new features, bug fixes, etc now, not later. Open development allows for faster delivery.
4. Community:  we like people, we like to work with them.  We also think that a healthy community can support itself. We believe that a community that builds and can contribute into a project can create tools that are uniquely appropriate for what they need to do.

So now, reporting to you from deep inside the belly of the beast, I can tell you it is a rich and soupy broth down here.  We have some truly lovely stuff in the new code, lots more nodes, way better stability, more samples, better search and browsing, more and more.  We are sewing up a couple lingering bugs, but I wanted to let you know what was in the works.

Stay tuned!

Candy Stripes for your Facade

User Question:  I have 3 types of panels I need to alternate across my building facade in vertical strips, a full spandrel, ventilation, and vision (all glass).  How do I do this without manually changing all the panels?

Try this out: manually place the three panels you want, select these, and hit repeat.  The pattern will shoot across and down the whole facade.  Watch the video.  If you want to change elements, you can tab select the ones that are wrong and swap them out for other panels.

Base file can be downloaded from here.

Register for Vasari Talk Session 26: MIT Student Work

[Edit:  Video from this session is now posted here.]

Tuesday, February 5, 2013 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST

In this session, MIT students Stefano Andreani, Aurgho Jyoti, Patrick Little, Vernelle Noel, and Jaeyual Lee from Zach Kron and Dennis Shelden's class Digital Fabrication and Construction will present case studies of Gensler's Shanghai Tower and Herzog and deMeuron’s Beijing National Stadium. They will explain how they built parametric study models using Vasari and how they then leveraged these models for additional analysis.

register now!