PRODUCT FOCUS
FormIt
by: Andrell Laniewicz
What is FormIt? ➲W
hether you are an Architect who needs to do a quick sketch, a General Contractor who wants to do a virtual mock up, or a student designer who wants to create a more free-form design, there is a common solution: sketch-based modeling software. You need something that is less formal and constrained than Revit to get started with a design or to more easily incorporate scenes that tell a story such as a Phased Site Logistics Plan. It would be nice if that tool could more easily translate into Revit as the Design Concept passes into Design Development. This is where Autodesk’s FormIt tool comes in!
WHAT IS FORMIT? A modeling tool in which users can “sketch, collaborate, analyze, and revise early-stage design concepts, and work smarter from the beginning with BIM-based conceptual design” - Autodesk’s FormIt site. FormIt is directly comparable to other similar solutions, such as those provided by Trimble, but FormIt takes it further. By being an Autodesk product, there are some inherent connectivity boosts between Revit, InfraWorks, BIM 360, and Dynamo. By being a geometry based (instead of face based) sketching tool, the items produced are ‘smart’-er.
Figure 1
WHAT SHOULD I KNOW BEFORE GETTING STARTED WITH FORMIT? The User Interface of FormIt is unique as it combines the Contextual Modify Menu of Revit and the right-click menu of Inventor (Figure 2). The rest of the user interface is straight forward: Tabs (1) and Tools (2) at the top, Drawing Area (3) in the middle with Navigation and View Tools (4) beside the drawing area, and the Side Menus (5) on the right (Figure 3). Navigation
For example, a geometry sketch will be able to adjust itself after having parts removed. Take a cube geometry (1) and cut a circle through it (2). Now select a side of the cube and pull it to the middle of the circle (3). See how FormIt processes that shape and automatically removes material? That is the power of a geometry sketch instead of a face-based sketch which would require you to redraw the entire piece (Figure 1). Figure 2 24
www.augi.com
October 2020
