Course Session 1:  8:55 AM - 10:25 AM

(S1 - 1)AutoCAD Secrets Every User Should Know
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/Advanced
Instructor: Dan Abbott

A program as ubiquitous as AutoCAD shouldn’t have many secrets – but if you don’t know something, it’s a secret to you. In this session you’ll learn how to create custom linetypes, harness the overlooked power of external commands, and quickly create Tool Palettes, Tool buttons and Toolbars, including menu macros and other time-saving shortcuts. You’ll also see how to fix a disaster drawing, deal with tricky layout problems, solve some vexing AutoCAD puzzles, create an accurate hybrid drawing, and learn how to improve your productivity by tapping into AutoCAD’s secrets that banish repetitive steps and tasks. This session will provide all users with instant productivity gains that they can immediately apply!

(S1 - 2)Land Desktop, Land Desktop, Let Civil 3D Come Over!
Skill Level Guideline: Beginner/Intermediate
Instructor: Chad Studer

Thinking of implementing Civil 3D, but don’t know where to start? This class is for you! To successfully implement Civil 3D you will need to create and customize styles and successfully develop and implement a new drawing template, which will allow you to roll out Civil 3D to all users to share this content successfully and create deliverables that incorporate your company standards. During this class you will learn the best workflow for developing a clean template with layers, description keys, point styles, label styles and default point groups. This content will be used as a foundation to develop all content in the future that is required for implementing Civil 3D efficiently. This class will benefit all professionals who are considering or have already decided to begin implementing Civil 3D.

(S1 - 3)Schedule Anything with Revit
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: TBD

This class will explore the power of Revit’s schedule tools. You’ll learn how to schedule rooms, areas, furniture, walls, doors, windows, curtain wall panels, planting, topography, electrical fixtures…virtually anything. We will cover the basics through advanced scheduling techniques, and all the tips and tricks you will need to get the schedule the way you want. From custom fields, shared parameters and grouping to schedule keys, formulas and exporting, it’s all here. It’s true; you can use Revit to schedule anything!

(S1 - 4)The “i”s Have It!
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: TBD

Are you using the same type of feature, part or assembly over and over again with minor modifications? In this course you will learn how to create your own catalog of your own standard features, parts and assemblies – known as iFeatures, iParts and iAssemblies. You will also learn how to use pre-defined assembly constraints, known as iMates, on those parts to ease the assembly process when placing them in an assembly. There’s more! This “iStuff“ can also be “table-driven” so that you can select a particular size or configuration as you insert them.

(S1 - 5)Secrets to Maximizing Personal Performance with Autodesk® Product Exams – Revealed!
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/CAD Management
Instructor: Matt Murphy

How do you verify your own or your employee’s Autodesk product knowledge? Competent product skills ensure productive users. As an Autodesk Certified User or Expert, you will ensure an industry knowledge standard and obtain a credential as having achieved a level of recognized competence. These benchmarks can also be used to determine skill gaps for assessing training needs. In this class you will learn more about the Autodesk product exams and specific strategies to prepare for and pass them. You will also gain valuable tips for successfully using AutoCAD to solve specific performance-based drawing problems for the AutoCAD Certified User Exam. Evaluate your expertise and become more productive.

Course Session 2:  10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

(S2 - 1)Blockbusters: Unleashing the Power of Dynamic Blocks – Revealed!
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/Advanced
Instructor: Matt Murphy

Discover the full potential of Dynamic Blocks in AutoCAD. Learn how each parameter and action behaves and how these tools can be applied and implemented into your existing design processes. See more than 20 examples of how Dynamic Blocks can be assembled – from scratch – to enhance and automate your office’s design processes. Also featured are macro and field code examples that demonstrate how to manipulate Dynamic Block settings. We’ll also address the most common problems and pitfalls that hinder successful, powerful functionality.

(S2 - 2)Flex Your Pipes – in Civil 3D
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: Chad Studer

This course will explore the design of piping systems using Civil 3D. Learn how to create and modify part lists to separate out storm, sanitary and, yes, water. Place pipes and/or structures in plan and profile views. We will apply rules to pipes and structure for our design to follow. We’ll also review how to apply styles to label pipes and structures for display purposes, and how to view a network under the surface in 3D with a true concrete material applied. This class will also show you how to check for interferences and how to export/import existing pipe networks into Microsoft Excel for use with hydraulic calculations.

(S2 - 3)Who Said You Can’t Use Revit MEP in a Real Project?
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: Brian Tuffin

Maybe you’ve said this yourself, or maybe you heard someone say that you can’t use Revit MEP for real work yet. In this class you will learn how Revit MEP can be effectively and productively utilized for Real Projects – including managing internal and external expectations. We’ll cover “best-fit” scenarios for when to and when not to use Revit MEP, best practices for project setup, recommendations for creating custom content and how to work with a linked Architectural mode. We’ll even cover recommendations for efficient interdisciplinary project workflow.

(S2 - 4)Easy Electrical Controls Designs
Skill Level Guideline: Beginner/Intermediate
Instructor: TBD

A schematic diagram can be more than just lines and symbols. In this session we will explore how to increase your electrical controls design by 30%–50%. See how to create intelligent schematic designs easily as well as custom intelligent blocks. We cover how to link schematics to panel footprints and generate a project bill of materials. Discover how to go beyond lines and symbols with AutoCAD Electrical as the right tool for the electrical controls design.

(S2 - 5)The CAD Manager’s Handbook 2008
Skill Level Guideline: CAD Management
Instructor: Robert Green

Distilled from Robert’s popular Cadalyst “CAD Manager” column, this session is designed for the working CAD manager who wants to establish a more organized, proactive CAD management environment. This presentation will give you valuable ideas for assessing your current situation and building a corrective action plan to make things better. We’ll focus on getting organized (and staying that way), managing hardware and software environments, file management, dealing with standards, hiring and managing users and how to interact with upper management. Throughout the session everyone will compose an action plan to use as a task list when they return to work. No matter your experience level, you’ll find practical, usable CAD management techniques you can start using the very next day.

Course Session 3:  1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

(S3 - 1)The Productivity Benefits of AutoCAD 2009 – Revealed!
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: Matt Murphy

Learn the shortcuts to mastering the AutoCAD 2009 interface and all the new “Quick” features built to make you more productive. We’ll show you how to harness the power of the Action Recorder to build custom macros that make repetitive tasks go to warp speed. Learn how to navigate in 3D space with the new ViewCube and SteeringWheel tools that are becoming common to all Autodesk design solutions. Finally you’ll learn how to create impressive cinematic presentations from basic drawing views. Just when you thought you couldn’t be more productive, AutoCAD goes to the next level to eliminate more of your repetitive clicks and picks!

(S3 - 2)It’s All About Style – Managing Label Styles in Civil 3D
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: Adam Peter

This course will explore label styles within Civil 3D and dig into the concepts behind label objects and the methods that are used to create, manage, control and edit label styles. We will also explore the concepts of Civil 3D style hierarchy and give attendees the tools they will need to create and maintain standards within their organization. We will also explore practical processes that can be used to develop label styles based on existing standards.

(S3 - 3)Creating Parametric Families
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/Advanced
Instructor: TBD

In this session, we will examine how to create parametric families from scratch. It may be easier to copy and edit an existing family, but sometimes it is necessary to create one from a default template. We will cover how to choose the correct template, the benefits of reference planes and adding labels as parameters, creating geometry for the family as well as editing and adding geometry methods. Finally, we will review methods for adding formulas to specific family parameters. Add greater functionality to your dysfunctional families.

(S3 - 4)Holy Sheet Metal
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: TBD

This course covers the fundamental principles of sheet metal design using Autodesk Inventor. You will learn how to create and manage sheet metal designs while focusing on basic sheet metal concepts and techniques. We will then build on them to include complex modeling practices for forming sheet metal parts, assemblies and drawings. We will also explore how to implement standards, and create and unfold advanced sheet metal shapes.

(S3 - 5)Selling CAD Management’s Value
Skill Level Guideline: CAD Management
Instructor: Robert Green

Ever been frustrated by not getting the hardware, software or training that you know you need to do your job? Do you ever feel like nobody understands what you do and why CAD management is important? Would you like to learn how to break through these impasses? Hint: it’s all in how you sell the concept! This session will show you how to communicate the concepts and benefits of CAD management in language your senior management team will understand. Topics we’ll cover include setting realistic expectations, the faster/cheaper paradigm, budgeting, technology forecasting, finding labor savings, cost justification, return on investment and the critical importance of managerial support for standards. Along the way we’ll examine a reporting format you can use to stay in constant contact with your boss. If you’ve ever had trouble getting your senior management to understand what you do, you can’t afford to miss this session.

Course Session 4:  3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

(S4 - 1)Changing Hundreds of Drawings in a Hurry
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate
Instructor: Dan Abbott

Have you ever spent time opening drawing after drawing, only to make the same updates and changes? This session will show you how to make changes to thousands of AutoCAD drawings at once using an AutoCAD script, a Windows batch file and an AutoLISP program. Maybe you need to redefine a block definition in every drawing file like the company title block. Maybe you want to reduce file sizes as much as possible in all archived drawings, create individual drawing files from each block definition in a group of drawings, or take any other actions that can be completed with a LISP program. In this session you’ll learn how to sit back and watch the computer do all the work.

(S4 - 2)Planning for Production
Skill Level Guideline: Beginner/Intermediate
Instructor: Adam Peter

So you can create objects in Civil 3D. Wonderful! Displaying objects in a final sheet set is a completely different story. This session show users how to create a set of layouts complete with title blocks, plan and profile views and details. We’ll cover the what and why of creating and editing view frames. We’ll also look at best practices for creating sheets and how users will incorporate Sheet Set Manager and Autodesk Vault to manage files and sheets into the final process.

(S4 - 3)Extending Your Use of AutoCAD Architecture
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/Advanced
Instructor: Brian Tuffin

So you started your implementation of AutoCAD Architecture and are using the core objects pretty well – walls, doors, windows – maybe even the Project Navigator. What’s next, and how should you proceed? This class will help you get going with schedules and sections/elevations. We’ll cover creating property set definitions, data format styles and list definitions, as well as schedule table styles. We’ll also cover 2D section and elevation styles.

(S4 - 4)Data Management – Going Beyond Engineering Work in Process
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/Advanced/Management
Instructor: TBD

You’re on subscription and you have Autodesk Vault. Now what? Did you know that Vault is the industry’s only native solution and is rapidly becoming the file management system of choice for your Autodesk CAD files? In this session, you’ll learn the concepts behind Autodesk Vault as a data management tool and see how hours spent finding and tracking files and revisions can be avoided for all files associated with your projects. We will explore how to take your mechanical engineering data beyond work in process with Autodesk Vault to release management, engineering change automation and interdepartmental collaboration with Autodesk Productstream.

(S4 - 5)The CAD Manager’s Productivity, Standards and Training Guide
Skill Level Guideline: Intermediate/CAD Management
Instructor: Robert Green

Are you responsible for training your CAD users but feel overwhelmed by the task? Are you under pressure to increase productivity? Are you in the hot seat for managing standards? If so, you’re not alone. In this session, we’ll cover the relationship between training and standards that allow you to gain productivity – solving all three problems at once! We’ll start with auditing your productivity-sapping problems and then rapidly move into designing a training program that addresses the problems. As the training program emerges, we’ll take time to examine the deficiencies in our standards that may be contributing to productivity loss. We’ll wrap it all up by talking about how to create your custom training materials and deploy them in a variety of media formats. If you’re responsible for standards and training users to gain productivity, you won’t want to miss this session.