Back in 2012, Autodesk caused a lot of excitement in the architectural community by previewing FormIt®, a new app for the iPad® that functioned as a handy, onsite massing and sketching tool. Launched this year as FormIt 360, the full-feature 3D application can now be used on Android and iOS tablets or accessed on the web to capture ideas and collaborate with clients in real time. You can sketch a concept on your tablet wherever inspiration strikes, save your work in the cloud, and pick up where you left off on your web browser back at the office. To date, FormIt 360 is the only conceptual BIM tool that allows you to build 3D models on a tablet device instead of merely viewing them — and it’s all about finger control.
Creating a fully integrated workflow that runs the gamut from sketch phase to BIM without the usual compatibility, data storage, and hardware issues is a dream come true for an architecture firm. In three years, FormIt has evolved into a powerful solid modeler that brings BIM-level intelligence to conceptual design, surpassing SketchUp with its versatility and functionality. An increasing number of case studies show FormIt performing well in conjunction with 3D printing, BIM modeling, and performance analysis, facilitating everything from formal experimentation to BIM intelligence and cross-team collaboration. The advantages of the simplified workflow and massing options existent in SketchUp are present within FormIt with the added value of being truly connected to the BIM workflow. Here are the reasons why you should consider making that switch from SketchUp to FormIt 360:
Free for Professional Use
FormIt 360’s core functionality is free for commercial use. This includes the 3D sketching tools, advanced geometry, two-way connection to Revit, iPad and Android apps, and the FormIt Converter for importing existing SketchUp files. In order to unlock its real-time collaboration system, solar analysis, integrated building analysis, and, coming at the end of October, access to the Autodesk Materials library, you’ll need a Cloud Subscription to FormIt 360 Pro for $300 per year. The good thing about upgrading is that the subscription attaches to your existing A360 account and provides advanced features without the need to load another FormIt version.
Speaks Fluent Revit®
Once sketched in FormIt, a model can be synced with the A360 account and downloaded as an RVT file in order to continue working in Autodesk® Revit. Thanks to an add-on application, entire Revit Families can be converted to a format compatible with FormIt. New updates provide the opportunity to create and modify Groups and translate them into Revit Mass families, while splines, arcs, cylinders, and domes can easily be converted into native Revit geometry without faceting. Level datums make it easy to go from a construction document model to a design development set of floor plans in a minute, and both web and mobile versions of FormIt include content libraries of custom-built and Revit families converted into FormIt files.
Includes Powerful Creation, Editing, and Analysis Features
The hierarchy found in Revit, which can feel a bit cumbersome in situations when you need a quick massing tool, is simplified in FormIt thanks to its push-and-pull direct manipulation. Some of the most recent updates include the abilities to drag multiple faces at the same time through whole bodies and to calculate areas across different levels. The latter is particularly useful for helping you stay within a preset target area without exceeding desired floor areas. You can add in real site locations from Google Maps™ and get instant feedback on the scale of your design and the way it interacts with its surroundings.
Provides Full Integration Into Conceptual and BIM Workflow
Thanks to the FormIt 360 Converter, you can bring robust SketchUp files into FormIt as references or for full editing and convert Revit RFA-based content into and out of FormIt in order to start BIM workflows from the moment you begin sketching out ideas. Concepts sketched in 2D apps such as Paper by FiftyThree, Autodesk SketchBook®, Morpholio Trace and Journal, and Adobe Slate presentations can be combined with models in FormIt, creating an across-the-board sketching workflow that integrates different mobile applications.
Works on Mobile Devices and Web Browsers
FormIt allows you to 3D-sketch a building concept in a web browser (Chrome™ and Firefox® are best) or via the mobile app on your tablet, then further develop the project in Revit by multiple users. Several team members can log in from different devices and work on the same project in real time, connecting to the cloud to access stored data. They can share their camera viewpoints and organize an impromptu presentation by sending the client a link to the project and giving them a tour of the model without the need for additional subscriptions other than the one owned by project initiators. The work can be saved locally or to the A360 cloud service and automatically converted to the file type used in either FormIt or Revit.
Enables Performance Analysis and 3D Printing
The app can help inform design decisions with the use of integrated solar and building energy analysis that helps target optimal energy performance, even in the earliest stages of project development. It allows for multiple energy analysis runs and offers different factor widgets for features such as lighting efficiency, window glass, and occupancy, all varied for getting cost per square meter as low as possible. A single click can provide information on the energy cost range for the conceptual mass form, helping you to incorporate budget constraints and clients’ values into the design right from the start. Energy simulations run once you submit a model for analysis. Modeling inaccuracies for energy analysis and 3D printing are minimized via the use of visual diagnostics. The Sun and Shadows option allows you to quickly adjust the time and date so you can see how shadows move across your model during varying times of day and months of the year. To 3D-print an object, you can simply export the model to an OBJ or STL file and load it into a 3D printer.
Courtesy Ryan Baker Cameron