Unleashing the Potential of ARES Commander 2023: Exploring 5 New BIM Documentation Features

Unleashing the Potential of ARES Commander 2023: Exploring 5 New BIM Documentation Features

ARES Commander 2023, a prominent CAD software, may not be a BIM (Building Information Modeling) tool, yet it greatly simplifies BIM documentation. This is achieved through its expanding set of tools that streamline 3D-to-2D workflows. These tools enable AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) professionals to document BIM projects with smart DWG files that retain all the information of the original BIM objects. The geometry of these BIM drawings is automatically extracted from the Revit or IFC project, but the 2D files are not static snapshots. They maintain their connection to the original project so they can be refreshed whenever the BIM model is updated.

In its 2023 version, ARES Commander adds support for the Revit 2022 file format and expands its ability to create and work with BIM drawings. This post will explore five new features that can help enhance your workflows, making it quicker and simpler for you to document, examine, and share crucial project information.

1. Examine BIM Drawings from All Angles with 3D View Navigator

The View Navigator provides a quick and intuitive way to switch between different views, showing the current view direction at a glance. It is particularly useful for 3D projects, including Revit or IFC files imported into ARES Commander. While examining a model from various angles, you can create BIM drawings using the Plan, Section, and Elevation features.

2. Use Pack and Go to Share BIM Drawings with Collaborators

The Pack and Go bundling command now supports BIM projects and references. This allows you to automatically gather the main drawing for a project and all the associated reference files into a single ZIP package for easy sharing. All BIM drawings created for a project are automatically organized into sheet sets, and you can find the Pack and Go tool in the Sheet Set Manager.

3. Automatically Label BIM Rooms and Spaces

ARES Commander can read room information that was added in the BIM model — such as name, area, or volume — and display it in the Properties palette. Now, users can easily create labels for these spaces, using the information automatically obtained from the room BIM objects. This data can also be extracted for use in tables.

4. Style All the Materials in Multi-Component Walls

The walls of BIM buildings are made of components, which determine the walls’ material layers. The Material Mapper function now accommodates walls composed of multiple materials, enabling users to assign textures — such as wood, aluminium, or concrete — to each of the materials in the walls.

5. Unify the Material Representation of Adjacent Entities

The Material Mapper in ARES Commander has a new capability that is helpful when working with IFC or Revit BIM projects. When adjacent entities, such as two walls, both have the same material, the hatch representing that material is unified and displayed as a single entity.

The BIM features in ARES Commander allow access, visualisation, and understanding of BIM Data in all its very details. The BIM toolset makes quantity takeoffs easy, allows accurate auto-generation of DWG drawings directly from the BIM model, as well as plotting of selected elements, groups, and entities. Being a full-featured DWG CAD Software it allows further addition of CAD details directly in the DWG drawings.

Are you looking for a cost-effective solution to help you enhance your productivity? Then sign up for a free 30-day trial of ARES Commander. Start your free trial today and take advantage of the features!

For more information about the newest and most advanced design software technology, contact our sales team at NOVEDGE.