I've said it before and I stand by it - working with customers is the best part of my job.  And, I have even more fun when I actually get to go to their offices and see what is going on.  Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a customer's office in Chicago (Hi Lou!  Hi Glenn!).  These two guys had the most incredible set-ups that I've ever seen for On Screen Take Off.  They had 50" monitors moutned on the walls!  They were just converting to AutoBid's OnScreen View TakeOff, but commented that they got frustrated when they got to the edge of the drawing and had to stop takeoff.

[screech.....clatter]

Wait a second, if you're using AutoBid's OSV, you shouldn't have to stop takeoff at the edge of the screen.  You should be able to press in on the roller wheel on your mouse and pan around the drawing.  We designed it that way to speed up takeoff - and because most of us don't have 50" monitors!

We soon figured out that the fancy mouse he was using wasn't set-up to take advantage of this functionality in AutoBid.  So, if you're mouse can't pan through the drawing while doing OSV, try checking out how your mouse is set-up.  Your mouse should be set-up so that the Roller Wheel acts like a "Middle Button" (how and where you set this will vary based on your actual mouse).  We see this problem more often with wireless mouses.  Please let us know if you have questions.

Happy Estimating!

Lynn Allen, Cadalyst columnist and Autodesk Technical Evangelist, speaks to more than 30,000 users worldwide each year. For the past sixteen years she has written a monthly column in Cadalyst magazine called "Circles and Lines" and is the voice behind the popular Cadalyst videos –“Tips and Tricks Tuesday with Lynn Allen”.  Lynn started using AutoCAD® software with Release 1.4, over 20 years ago, and taught at the corporate and collegiate level for 13 years before joining Autodesk.  A sought-after public speaker with a unique comedic style, Lynn is always one of the highest rated speakers and host of Autodesk University®. The author of three AutoCAD books, her latest is entitled AutoCAD Professional Tips and Techniques.

Dimensions provides each visitor with access to more classes and exposure to new technology than ever provided in previous QuickPen user conferences so don't miss this opportunity to learn about products and practices that will help to make you and your company more productive.

So, I'm going to brag for a minute here.  Did you know that AutoBid is the most accurate system on the market place in regard to pipe joint counts?  Yep, it is.  If you are doing Connected TakeOff, then AutoBid knows which fittings / valves / pipes are connected to each other and we'll automatically calculate the correct number of joints.  Got 3 valves back-to-back?  No problem!  In AutoBid, we know they're grouped and we'll give you 4 joints - whereas most other systems will give you 6 joints.  That's a 50% difference, folks!  Accurate joint count is critical for many of our industrial piping contractors who estimate their labor by the pipe joint.

AutoBid Mechanical isn't set-up to labor by the joint out of the box.  Neither PHCC (Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors) nor MCA (Mechanical Contractors Association) currently offer labor estimating manuals that support the per joint labor method.  However, it's easy to apply labor on joints.

From the Main Menu of AutoBid Mechanical, select Tools --> Project Specifications --> Joint Parts.  Let's go down the list and select "CS Sch 40 Buttweld Joint" (Carbon Steel Schedule 40 Buttweld Joint).  This is from QuickPen Standard data - you may not have this exact one if you've modified your data.  The screen should look like this:



Notice the red arrow pointing to the Labor tab?  Click on that labor tab.  Here, you can select the labor tables that you want to apply to your joint.  I did this for all three of my labor tables, and it now looks like this:



Note:  Make sure that you click on another one of the Joint Parts in the Joint Parts Name list to make sure that the data is applied to the database.  That's all it takes to add labor to the joint.  When it reports, it will show up underneath the "Labor" section in both Crystal Reports and Rapid Reports:



 




Keep in mind, you'll want to decrease the labor on the individual items (since you're accounting for part of that labor now in the joint).  

Don't forget - this is a project specific setting - so if you want this to be "standard" for your company, you'll want to make this modification to your Default Project.

 Happy Estimating!

Do you get them on:

• Cardboard
• Sheetrock
• 2 X 4 or Plywood
• Scrap Paper

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Please note, if you’re currently using the “Refrigeration / Gas”, your instructions will vary slightly from what I’m showing below.  Please contact me directly for assistance.   {12/06/2010 Editted to Add:  You can only use this function to generate one extra byproduct at at ime - you can either generate Refrigeration / Gas or Glycol.  This is a master setting.}

Let’s start with some background work.  We’re going to add Glycol into our libraries in AutoBid Mechanical.  This will allow us to calculate cost (and labor) if necessary. 

I’ve added this library item called Glycol (at all levels) with a description of Ethylene Glycol.  Note my catalog name (the item highlighted in the tree on the left hand side is “Glycol”.



Now, close clear out of AutoBid Mechanical and go into AutoBid Mechanical Utilities.  (From the Start Menu, All Programs, AutoBid Mechanical, select Mechanical Utilities).
Once in the AutoBid Mechanical Utilities, go to Tools --> Configure Extra Pipe Items.
 

This window controls what library item is generated and how it reports.  We’ll fill it in to look for the Library Catalog Name “Glycol” that we created above, we’re calling the System Name “Glycol”, we’re outputting gallons, and we’re going to create a new report category called (what else) “Glycol”.  You can change the names to whatever you feel is most appropriate.

We’re going to generate the glycol based on the volume of pipe, so make sure “Volume” is selected.  Close out of Mechanical Utilities.

Reopen the AutoBid Mechanical program.  Underneath Tools --> Company Settings, turn on:  “Generate Glycol/Glycol”.  (If you haven’t gone into the Mechanical Utilities above, this will say “Generate Refrigeration / Gas”).
 

We told the system to estimate the glycol in AutoBid Mechanical based on the volume of the pipe.  We want to generate our glycol in gallons based on multiple different %s of glycol used.  The formula looks something like this:
     Volume of pipe (ft3) x 7.48 (gallons / ft3) x __% = Gallons of glycol

To get the correct gallons /volume, I’ll need to use the following factors:
     10% - 0.748 (gallons/ft3)
     20% - 1.496
     30% - 2.244
     40% - 2.992
Cleary, you could keep going if you needed to…

Now, we're going to use those conversion factors to calculate how much glycol we need.  From the Main Menu, select Piping--> Definitions --> Systems for Glycol.

Let’s add 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% to our Systems.  We can’t use percent signs or spaces, so we’ll input them as 10Percent, 20Percent, 30Percent, and 40Percent respectively.




 Close that window.  Again, from the Main Menu, select Piping --> Definitions --> Conversion Factors for Glycol.  Here, I will add a type called Ethylene Glycol (my Description from the Library Catalog I created earlier), and then underneath my 10Percent, 20Percent, 30Percent, and 40Percent columns, I’ll put in my conversion factors from above.
 



Now, I've got Ethylene Glycol set up with different percentages.  All I have to do to generate this in my projects is to tell AutoBid which system(s) need glycol.

In my systems window, I can select a “Glycol Type” of Ethylene Glycol and the appropriate percentage for this system underneath “Glycol System”. 

 

Now, when I do my takeoff for that system, I’ll automatically generate Ethylene Glycol.  I can apply different percentages based on my systems, as well.  This is a master setting, so it will be availbe in all of your projects going forward.

This is just one example of how you could use this feature.  Other uses include painting the pipe or pipe markers.  If you've got other uses, please share them!

Happy estimating!