Author: swalz091382

My name is Steve Walz and have been in the AEC Industry for since early 2003. I've taken on many roles throughout my career, from drafting and designing, to BIM and CIM Model Management, to implementing company-wide BIM and CIM standards, procedures, and workflows. I have also sat on many committees throughout his career, including QA/QC Committees, as well as several CAD and BIM Standards Steering Committees. I am currently the Civil BIM Lead and Chairman of the Civil BIM Steering Committee for HDR, Inc.

Project Explorer Visual Reporting in Power BI

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Here’s a quick demonstration as to how we are elevating our Project Explorer reporting by leveraging Power BI’s visual reporting and dashboarding capabilities!

Digital Model-Based QA/QC

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Quick demo (no sound) providing a glimpse of a new Model-Based QA/QC strategy I’m working on for Model and Design Validation purposes. How are you performing QA/QCs on your Civil Infrastructure projects? Are they model based? Are you using Automation, Scripting, Reporting? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

The ‘Power’ in Power BI is real! In support of the growing demand for Digital Delivery, developing a Model-Based QA/QC strategy with an emphasis on both Model and Design Validation is critical, to ensure that files and content being delivered are accurately modeled and adhere to design standards and requirements. With the bonus of opening this workflow up to anyone, we’re able to move away from the requisite of having in-depth knowledge of specific design authoring tools and model construction.

Civil 3D Data Extraction with Dynamo

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Creating custom reporting using Dynamo for Civil 3D has never been easier! Here, I demo some very basic data extraction functionality that can be handled by leveraging Dynamo. We are just scratching the surface in this particular demo, but get a sense as to where we can start to take these custom scripts!

InfraWorks – Fix Terrain Running Through Buildings

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Quick Tips and Tricks to improve your walkthroughs and visualizations by adjusting for terrain models running through structures/buildings within the InfraWorks environment!

Civil 3D and Dynamo Clash Detections – Comparing All 3D Components

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Leveraging Dynamo to perform clash detections within Civil 3D, without having the need for any additional software. Perfect routine for quickly identifying conflicts in your design between Utility Networks, Revit Models, Corridors, Structural Components and any additional 3D Geometry developed inside your Civil 3D Model. Full script is available at: https://designtovisualization.com/content-library/

Staking Plan – Automating Point Creation Leveraging Civil 3D and Dynamo

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How do you speed up a workflow that is already somewhat automated in #C3D you ask? Leverage #Dynamo to not only speed up your Point Creation process, but also provide a higher level of confidence and efficiency to your workflow! Enjoy!

C3D and Dynamo – Existing Network Location Updates with Alignment

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Leveraging Dynamo to streamline workflows! Connect your Pipe Networks to Alignments in your C3D designs so that the Structures and Pipes dynamically update horizontal positioning as your main design alignments change!

Civil 3D and Dynamo – Create Points, Point Group, Surface from Surveyed Points

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Here’s a great example of how we can leverage Dynamo within Civil 3D to Automate and Simplify our tasks, ultimately generating higher levels of efficiency and saving time! This example explains how to Convert a typical 3 step process into 1 routine, while we import point data into our current working C3D file, Group the points into a Point Group, and then create a surface from the point group. Enjoy!

Augmented Reality Gaming – Drone Flying and Target Practice

Augmented Reality Gaming – Drone Flying and Target Practice

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Starting the year off with a fun (and simple) AR Gaming Experience! Fly a Drone and Shoot some Targets in the luxury of your own cube or office: https://home.torch.app/webar/UhiziTyuqxxfdgez6V7i

Note: Game starts off at the Main Scene where you can select to either fly a drone or play a shooting target game (click the Reset button on the ground to get back to the Main Scene at any time). Enjoy!

Design to Visualization Collaboration

Design to Visualization Collaboration

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Been a super fun year diving deeper into the world of Visualization, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality! Here’s a quick video montage of some fun project highlights I’ve been a part of in 2019! Let’s Collaborate and Find Solutions Together!
Autodesk 3ds Max Animations Viewed in AR with Torch

Autodesk 3ds Max Animations Viewed in AR with Torch

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If you’ve ever thought about animating Traffic Simulations, Construction Sequencing, or even Storm Events (to name a few), then you’ve come to the right place! In this video, I will demonstrate the process of leveraging 3ds Max to animate a traffic simulation to provide a fully immersive, animated, Augmented Reality environment with ease. After importing into Torch, we will be able to position our design model on a conference room table, or on your site, for a more thorough Design Review.
Full Blog Post: https://www.torch.app/blog/create-ar-visualizations-for-civil-engineering-with-autodesk-3ds-max
Importing InfraWorks Design Models into Torch

Importing InfraWorks Design Models into Torch

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Quick and Easy Demonstration detailing the process of carrying your InfraWorks design models into Torch for Augmented Reality Viewing. Scan the QR Codes to view the sample from this demonstration, and fully immerse yourselves in the design!
Animation in Augmented Reality

Animation in Augmented Reality

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Adding some simple animation to your scenes in Augmented Reality takes your designs to a whole new level! I see some Augmented Reality Traffic Simulations in my future! Be sure to Scan the QR Code with the Camera App on your Phone or Tablet to test out this example!
Augmented Reality Digital Resume and Portfolio

Augmented Reality Digital Resume and Portfolio

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Bringing new meaning to Digital Resumes and Portfolios! Sometimes it isn’t enough to simply say you do AR. First impressions mean everything when pursuing that future opportunity, and taking a chance will certainly ensure you stand out in the crowd!

Scan my Contact QR Code and DM me for details!

Enjoy!

Stephen Walz

BPOLY vs LINEWORKSHRINKWRAP

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Comparison between Civil 3D’s BPOLY and LINEWORKSHRINKWRAP commands. Both are super powerful commands! This demonstration will give you a better understanding of when to leverage each one!
Ultimate Rendered Reality Visualization Package

Ultimate Rendered Reality Visualization Package

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Contact me to Implement this Technology on your next Project: stevewalz@hotmail.com

First look at the Ultimate Rendered Reality Visualization Package! Simple, yet effective way to immerse yourself in design models! Scan the QR Codes with the Camera on your Mobile Device and Enjoy!

Wetland Design – Storm Event Simulation

Wetland Design – Storm Event Simulation

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Leveraging Lumion to Simulate Storm Events is another great way to communicate your Design! And this was all performed on a conceptual design layout from Civil 3D!
Rendered 1000-Year Flood Simulation

Rendered 1000-Year Flood Simulation

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Rendered 1000-Year Flood Simulation within Lumion. Various sources were brought together within InfraWorks, and then pushed to Lumion where final rendering and simulation was processed!

Civil 3D – Smooth Out Those Contours!

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Tired of Engineers asking for your contours to be smooth and pretty? Here’s a quick and simple way to manipulate the display of your contours, without having to go through the hassle of recreating and/or retriangulating the surface definition.
Geotechnical Module in Augmented Reality

Geotechnical Module in Augmented Reality

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Bringing Bore Hole Data to life in Augmented Reality, by leveraging Civil 3D’s Geotechnical Module, InfraWorks and Torch! Never thought “Boring” Data could be so cool! Each color within the Borings represents a different type of Soil!

InfraWorks Export to FBX

InfraWorks Export to FBX

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Quick and Easy Demonstration showing how to properly export your 3D Model from InfraWorks. Once exported, you can import into many different programs, such as 3ds Max, Unity, Lumion, TwinMotion, etc.
Fully Immersive Designs (CAD, BIM, CIM)

Fully Immersive Designs (CAD, BIM, CIM)

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Jumping into your Design Models has never been made easier! Allow me to assist your company in providing a Fully Immersive Experience for you and your Clients!

Embedding QR Codes into your Rendered Videos allows your Audience to dive into the design with a quick scan of their phone, giving them an opportunity to truly visualize, from multiple viewpoints, what the end product will look like before it’s even constructed!
Just for fun…I call it “Unrealistic Panorama Rendering in the Shire”
2 Viewpoints sharing the same QR Code of our design model with different lighting effects applied. As long as you have Viewpoints Enabled when you pull it up on your tablet or phone, you can click on the Eye Icon and jump to the other location in your view!
Elevator Lobby Rendering with Lumion

Elevator Lobby Rendering with Lumion

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Running through some various interior rendering options of a new elevator lobby design

Leveraging Fields in Title Blocks

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Adding Fields to Title Blocks will significantly reduce time spent on updating your sheet information, allowing you to focus on more important design related tasks. This is just a quick example/demonstration to get the wheels going…be sure to look at the extensive list of available fields to leverage this functionality as much as possible!