Successful User Club 2013 meetings in Poland

May 21, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

On April 16^th and 17^th, 2013, Datacomp Sp. z o.o., GRAITEC’s authorized reseller from Krakow, Poland organized GRAITEC Advance user meetings in Gdansk and Warsaw.

The growing interest in GRAITEC Advance solutions was confirmed by the high attendance at both meetings, in which a total of 65 people participated. It was a great opportunity to get to know the GRAITEC Advance suite and exchange experiences between users.

The meeting began with the general presentation of Datacomp and Graitec, as well as media partners who acquired their patronage of these events. After a brief introduction to the Graitec Advance package, the first block of presentations began, during which new features of 2013 versions of Advance Concrete, Advance Design and Advance Steel were discussed.

Successful User Club 2013 meetings in Poland

This section was concluded by showing selected users’ projects done in the Graitec Advance suite from Poland and across the world. The last part of the meeting was opened with the presentation of GRAITEC BIM, during which the methods of exchanging data between the Graitec Advance suite and other software brand such as Revit®, ArchiCAD®, Robot (ARSA®), PDMS® were demonstrated. In addition, participants gained insight into the correct use of the BIM technology and its benefits.

Another highlight of the event was the first presentation of Advance CAD, the latest software in the Graitec Advance package. Advance CAD is a program for simple flat drawing and 3D modeling functions according to the native DWG® format. The meeting ended with the announcement of an international competition for the best project done in GRAITEC Advance suite.

User Club 2013 meetings in Poland have shown that Graitec is solid and reliable partner and choosing its solution for BIM design is the next step in developing and expanding your design office.

GRAITEC will exhibit at BACE EXPO

May 20, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

GRAITEC will exhibit at BACE EXPO (Building Architectural Construction And Engineering) Trade Show in Kochi, India on 24-26 May: http://www.biztradeshows.com/bace-kochi/.

Come and visit us at Booth No 5.

GRAITEC will exhibit at BACE EXPO

GRAITEC continues its expansion with the opening of a new office in California, USA

May 15, 2013 / graitecgroup / 2 Comments

GRAITEC, the fastest growing global structural analysis and detailing software vendor, announces the opening of a new sales and support office in California, USA and the appointment of Pierre M. Geoffrion as Business Development Manager.
This new office reinforces GRAITEC’s North American operations with the aim to deliver cutting-edge technology designed to help improve customers’ productivity and efficiency.

The US construction industry is a highly competitive market where the players are currently seeing their margins becoming thinner and thinner. The need for BIM technology that has a quick and reliable return on investment is critical and GRAITEC’s BIM solution perfectly fulfills this need. GRAITEC’s vision for the North American market is to become one of the key players, by offering easy to use, cost effective and powerful solutions with smart and sharp local technical support.

Alexandre Tartas, GRAITEC COO, comments: “GRAITEC continues its fast market shares acquisition. After 2 fantastic years of rapid growth in North America, we decided to extend our coverage and opened this new sales office. Pierre and his team will be able to work closely with our North American customers based in the western area. Our solutions for the North American market and business are recognized by a growing user community; this office is one step forward in our accelerated market penetration.“

Pierre M. Geoffrion was promoted to Business Development Manager for the west coast office and will report to Hugo Michaud. Pierre M. Geoffrion has been with GRAITEC for over a year as Account Manager for the analysis solution in North America with great results. The new office will cover the US west coast and south west US, a large territory with some great opportunities and many challenges.

Pierre M. Geoffrion teams up with Julio Alfaro as the new Advance Steel Application Specialist. Julio Alfaro has spent over 15 years of steel detailing and was recently the drafting department manager for Metal Supply and Allied Modular Building Supply. Julio’s professional background will be a real asset for our company and our customers.

Hugo Michaud, Graitec North America Sales Director adds: “I’m very excited by this new adventure. After a 344% increase in sales in the past 3 years for Advance Steel, it is a natural milestone to complement this growth by having a local presence in the US. Strategically this local presence will make us available in all North America time zones and closer to our market.“

Download GRAITEC wallpaper for May 2013

April 30, 2013April 30, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

With calendar

Size: 1280×1024; 1600×900; 1680×1050; 1920×1200

Without calendar

Size: 1280 x 1024; 1600 x 900; 1680 x 1050; 1920 x 1200

Advance Steel Project: Ondrej Nepela winter stadium

April 29, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

Ondrej Nepela Winter stadium is the oldest hockey hall in Slovakia. It was first build in 1940 and was recently renovated for the 2011 World Ice Hockey Championship. During the competition its name was temporarily changed to Orange Arena.

According to A. Bezák, the director of the supplier company Ingsteel, 80% of the building had to be demolished for the reconstruction. The new stadium has an increased capacity of 10,055 seats.

The arena is also home to Slovan Bratislava, one of the best hockey clubs in the region (founded in 1921).Matches of Slovan are said to have the best atmosphere in all KHL so if you ever wanted to experience top-tier hockey in Europe, here is probably the best place.

The stadium has three ice surfaces and serves not only as a hockey arena, but also as multi-purpose arena, so from time to time events such as concerts or performances take place in here.

Design office: INGSTEEL Ltd

Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
Software used: Advance Steel

GRAITEC at NASCC Conferences in St-Louis, USA

April 25, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

From April- 17th 2013 GRAITEC presented its Structural BIM Solutions “Advance Steel” and “Advance Design” at the NASCC Conferences in St-Louis, USA. The highlight was the presentation of the new 2013 versions of Advance Steel.

The NASCC takes place every year and it is the most important fair for the steel construction industries in the USA and one of the biggest fairs The Americas.

The GRAITEC team is very satisfied with the result. They had interesting discussions with GRAITEC customers and established contact with many new qualified prospects.

GRAITEC at NASCC Conferences in St-Louis, USA

GRAITEC to attend the following events

April 23, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

GRAITEC will exhibit at India Warehousing Show 2013 in New Delhi, India on 02-04 May: http://indiawarehousingshow.com/.

Visit us a Booth No D 41 A.

- GRAITEC will exhibit at India Warehousing Show 2013 in New Delhi

AppliCAD, GRAITEC’s Business Partner in Thailand, will exhibit at ARCHITECT EXPO Bangkok 2013, Thailand on April 30- May 5: http://www.architectexpo.com/.

AppliCAD will exhibit at ARCHITECT EXPO Bangkok 2013

GRAITEC will exhibit at BACE EXPO (Building Architectural Construction And Engineering) Trade Show in Kochi, India on 24-26 May: http://www.biztradeshows.com/bace-kochi/.

Please visit us at Booth No 5.

GRAITEC will exhibit at BACE EXPO

And in the recent past, GRAITEC exhibited at: INDIA STEEL 2013 on April 11 – 13 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai: http://indiasteelexpo.in/

GRAITEC exhibited at INDIA STEEL 2013

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

April 9, 2013 / graitecgroup / 2 Comments

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete The article describes how we can create reinforcement and formwork drawings for structures with a complex geometry, namely bridge abutment using Advance Concrete. The bridge abutment is a part of infrastructure which is created at the ends of the bridge in order to take the transmitted loads of the bridge superstructure and the supports of the access path to the bridge.

To define the chosen geometry, an ACIS block can be created or the complex geometry can be divided into several blocks having a simple geometry which can be assembled in order to obtain the initial model.

We chose the second method for reasons related to the flexibility of Advance Concrete while modeling volume elements.

How to create any 3D concrete shape

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

Advance Concrete provides the creation of any 3D and 2D shapes. The predefined concrete shapes can be chosen from the library or new ones can be created. To add a new concrete shape it is enough to create a closed contour and then save the shape in the concrete library. These new shapes can then be used either in the current drawing or for other projects.

The created concrete elements are defined as beam and column structural elements. These are positioned one in regard to the other, composing the entire concrete ensemble.

How to obtain a 3D reinforcement cage for special concrete shapes

The reinforcement drawing is created by selecting all the concrete elements. In the created reinforcement drawing, sections are added through the specific concrete zones.

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

The definition bars are created in one section and then distributed in elevation or top view. Several types of bars (straight, U and L bars) and distributions (linear, variable, multiple and quantitative) are available for use. The most frequent reinforcement bars are polygonal and straight bars and linear and variable distributions. Concrete covers can be set for each leg of the polygonal bar.

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete A reinforcement bar distributed in one view will automatically be available in all views, as long as the 3D power option is activated in the reinforcement drawing.

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete In order to obtain a correct reinforcement cage, the collisions between bars have to be avoided. The bar collisions can be visualized in 2D and 3D representations. They can be easily checked and corrected, at any point.

The bar detailing and reinforcement symbols can be done both manually (they can be customized and saved in the reinforcement symbol library) and automatically.

The bars numbering and lists creation is automatically done. Sub-entity marks are assigned for variable distributions, emphasizing that the variable distribution belongs to a single shape definition bar.

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

The drawings are created according to standard STAS 438/1,3 -89. The drawing creation according to other standards is similar.

Formwork details

The formwork drawing is created by adding the desired sections and elevations for structural elements, assigning specific hatches and line weights. The dimensioning of sections is quickly done by adding intersection and level dimensions.

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

Layout and Print

The reinforcement and formwork drawings can be placed in any page format. Also the views can be grouped and the title block can be attached according to the chosen format.

Numbering of the reinforcement bars and lists can be done in layout mode. The drawings can be printed one by one or by selecting several from the available print window.

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

Test it yourself

We have shown a simple example of a formwork and reinforcement cage created for a complex shape of the structural element. If you want to see the model described above, please download the specific model and drawings from here or, as a pdf file from here.

The example was created in Advance Concrete 2013.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Download GRAITEC wallpaper for April 2013

April 1, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

With calendar

Size: 1280×1024; 1600×900; 1680×1050; 1920×1200

Without calendar

Size: 1280 x 1024; 1600 x 900; 1680 x 1050; 1920 x 1200

GRAITEC is proud to announce International User Projects Contest!

March 26, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

Are you using one or more GRAITEC Advance software in designing your projects? Now it’s the time to show us, and others, how you used Advance Steel, Advance Concrete orAdvance Design in your projects!

Why?
Beside the attractive awards that we have for you, all projects will be presented on the GRAITEC website and all our social media networks. This will lead to anincreased visibility of your projects and your business.

About the contest
The contest is open to all GRAITEC customers that have completed a project using one or more GRAITEC Advance software, version 2012 or 2013. Participating projects will be evaluated based on specific criteria, such as project size and type, technical sophistication, social importance, originality, testimonial used metrics, etc.

GRAITEC is proud to announce International User Projects Contest!

Contest rules

The project submitted must have been created with at least one of the GRAITEC software products: Advance Steel, Advance Concrete or Advance Design.

For each participating project the following documents must be submitted:

Registration Form
The model in the GRAITEC software format
Images and pictures (as files). Photos of the real structure will be appreciated
Project description and your testimonial
Rights Transfer Agreement document

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Each participant can submit more than one project. Each submitted project will be evaluated separately and has its chances of winning.

You can send us your projects to info.contest@graitec.net. If the package intended for submitting is too big, you might consider using a free internet file transfer website, such as https://www.transferbigfiles.com/ or http://www.dropsend.com/ to the same email address.

Deadline for submission is September 15^th, 2013.

Take part and win!

1 year free maintenance or 1 free upgrade

BONUS: Top 12 artistic photos will be part of the annual GRAITEC 2014 calendar. You can see here the projects presented in the 2013 annual calendar.

GRAITEC is proud to announce International User Projects Contest!

For more information or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info.contest@graitec.net.

Advance Design Performance Benchmark

March 25, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

The Advance Design finite element analysis engine is evaluated in this study.

The Advance Design FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis engine is a powerful tool that allows users to study complex structures, by dividing them into mesh units, where for each of the deformations, efforts and stresses can be solved by using known equations of elasticity.

Considering different sized models (real projects from customers), a timing comparison of mesh operations and the FEM engine is made between:

Advance Design 2010 version (with Service Pack 3) and
Advance Design 2012 version (with Service Pack 2).

As it can be seen from the following table, Advance Design 2012 (with Service Pack 2) has better times for mesh operations, but also for the total duration of the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) than Advance Design 2010 (with Service Pack 3) – see the “Deviation” columns which show the decrease of times.

Between the chosen Advance Design versions, differences in the analysis model may appear (especially regarding the number of loadings) due to revisions made in the windwalls rupture algorithm.

Note: Tests were realised on a desktop computer with the following configuration: Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz, 16 GB RAM, Win 7 x64

On larger models, notice the improvements with the meshing operation, as the necessary time for it was decreased by 86.2 %. Also, the total time necessary for running the FEA analysis has been reduced by 22.9%.

In conclusion, Advance Design has succeeded to manage large models with over 214 000 mesh nodes and over 1 285 000 degrees of freedom (DOF), and its possibilities are extended.

GRAITEC Advance 2013 – Official release of Advance CAD 2013

March 14, 2013March 15, 2013 / graitecgroup / 1 Comment

Launched at the end of February 2013, BIM GRAITEC ADVANCE is the global CAD / Analysis & Design solutions for the construction engineering field. Advance CAD is part of the GRAITEC structural BIM solution and a newcomer in the GRAITEC Advance suite.

GRAITEC’s Advance CAD is fully compatible DWG® CAD software. It provides its users a simple, natural and economical solution to the frequent requirements of drawing creation and modification. Advance CAD creates all 2D entities (lines, poly-lines, arcs, circles, polygons, etc.) and associates all desired colors, line styles and shading. Concepts such as “layers”, “snap points”, “windows” are available as well as all navigation features (zoom, pan, orbit, etc.). Advance CAD can also create and handle 3D solids (cubes, spheres, cylinders, etc.) and perform Boolean operations.

GRAITEC Advance 2013 – Official release of Advance CAD 2013

In the complete 2D/3D CAD environment of the software, you can find all the common CAD tools and features, several innovative features meant to enhance user productivity, but also 3D modeling tools for drawing 3D solids, functions that allow face editing for 3D elements, all these wrapped up in a user-friendly, simple and intuitive interface.

The user interface is designed to get you familiarized fast with all the software elements and functionalities: quick access toolbar manager, ribbon tabs, customizable menus, keyboard shortcuts, auto-completion of commands, selection filters. It also offers you the possibility to customize general settings such as display, paths/files, user preferences, crosshairs or profiles.

GRAITEC Advance 2013 – Official release of Advance CAD 2013

Advance CAD provides full compatibility with AutoCAD®, using most of the same file formats including those for drawings (.DWG files), commands, line types, hatch patterns, and text styles. Advance CAD reads and writes .DWG files in their native format without data loss, from AutoCAD® 2012 and going all the way back to Version 2.5, including AutoCAD LT®. Because Advance CAD uses Autodesk® DWG™ format as its native file format, no conversion is required.

Advance CAD offers users all the professional 2D and 3D modeling tools and functionalities and at the same time it is cost effective.

You can download the DWG sample files from here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

User testimonial: using Advance Steel on its own platform

March 8, 2013 / graitecgroup / 1 Comment

Testimonial from Maxime Delforge (SAS BOULET BATIMENT, France), daily using Advance Steel on its own CAD platform

SAS BOULET BATIMENT is a 50-employee company located in the city of Azincourt (north of France) and which is specialized in steel construction. Maxime Delforge, in charge of the 3D modeling at SAS BOULET, explains why Advance Steel – after only few months of use – handled projects of any type and allowed for sub-contracting more efficiently the fabrication of these steel structures thanks to the high-quality drawings and NC-DSTV created automatically.

Testimonial from Maxime Delforge

After a demonstration which proved that the software answered positively to all company’s requests, SAS BOULET BATIMENT acquired Advance Steel in the spring of 2012. More than 6 months later, we can say that several dozens of projects have been modeled in 3D and successfully erected at site. It includes structures of all types going from renovations (like an outside roof in a school made of curved rafters connected on the top of concrete columns already in place) to the conception of industrial buildings (such as food plants) or commercial buildings (different supermarkets and warehouse supporting cold rolled Zed purlins).

Testimonial from Maxime Delforge

In addition to the possibility to model all the main steel structure (portal frames, floors, side rails), Advance Steel provides different functionalities to represent the environment (existing concrete walls, machinery, piping,etc.) and therefore to handle a global multi-material project which can also sometimes contain timber elements such as the purlins. This is very important as this is taken into consideration by the integrated clash check which prevents issues at site. It is also possible to create in 3D the gutters or other types of complex folded elements (e.g. stringer made of a folded plate for stairs) and to get their workshop drawings with the part displayed both folded and unfolded, which is highly appreciated by the workshop as it facilitates their understanding.

Testimonial from Maxime Delforge

SAS BOULET BATIMENTdoes not have an integrated workshop and therefore the fabrication is sub-contracted; this is also where Advance Steel finds its right place as it automatically creates all NC-DSTV files which can then be read by the CNC machines of the workshop.

Maxime Delforge adds: « We do not have any AutoCAD licenses at SAS BOULET BATIMENT therefore I am using Advance Steel on its own platform since my first training day, and I am very happy with it.The software allows navigation with speed in my 3D model displayed in realistic mode, the automatically created drawings correspond to the expectations of our teams at site, and the sub-contractors which fabricate our steel structures can successfully import NC files created with Advance Steel. »

Download GRAITEC wallpaper for March 2013

March 4, 2013 / graitecgroup / 1 Comment

With calendar

Size: 1280×1024; 1600×900; 1680×1050; 1920×1200

Without calendar

Size: 1280 x 1024; 1600 x 900; 1680 x 1050; 1920 x 1200

Free Webinars by GRAITEC US

March 1, 2013March 15, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

Complete a Set of Drawings for Stairs and Railings under 20 minutes	March 4 12:00 EDT
Advance Steel Quick Learning Curve for AutoCad® Users	March 7 12:00 EDT
Graitec Structural BIM Vision – Synchronize Revit® – Advance Design – Advance Steel	March 11 12:00 EDT
Complete a Set of Drawings for Complex Plate Work under 20 minutes	March 14 12:00 EDT
Create a Complete Set of Drawings for Curved Stairs and Railings under 20 minutes	March 18 12:00 EDT
Master Structural Steel Design with Advance Design	March 21 12:00 EDT
Create a Custom Connections Template in Advance Steel	March 25 12:00 EDT

>> Register online here

GRAITEC launches GRAITEC BIM Connect 2013

February 28, 2013May 7, 2013 / graitecgroup / 5 Comments

GRAITEC BIM Connect is a software add-on for Autodesk REVIT and part of the GRAITEC BIM solution. With GRAITEC BIM Connect, Autodesk REVIT users can quickly connect their REVIT models to the GRAITEC Advance suite and then optimize the design of their structures in accordance with U.S. and EUROCODE standards, produce effective and error-free general arrangement drawings, fabrication drawings, BOMs, and NC files both for steel and concrete structures.

With version 2013, important features have been added:

Automatic installation from ADVANCE Setup;

GRAITEC launches GRAITEC BIM Connect 2013

New GTCX file format;
Export of the folded plates and poly-beams;
6000 profile mapping lines, including profile rotations added for North America and UK;
New specific ribbon tab added in Autodesk REVIT, to include all commands (Export, Import, Synchronization, Settings and About).

GRAITEC launches GRAITEC BIM Connect 2013

Many new improvements have been included to speed up performances and allow more response for handling big projects:

Time decrease for model import into Autodesk REVIT, regardless of the number of plates;

GRAITEC launches GRAITEC BIM Connect 2013

Correct import and rotation for curved beams and curved foundations;
Import of bent or curved walls, regardless of the format;
Automatic recognition of concrete sections, regardless of the file format and with no mapping required.

Using GRAITEC BIM Connect 2013, you can also import/export to other BIM file formats such as IFC, SDNF, CIS2 (already certified), PSS and KISS.

You can read here the full documents of new features and improvements for GRAITEC BIM Connect 2013. Please feel free to give us your feedback to help us improve other functionalities of the software.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Automatic-recognition-of-concrete-sections

Ease of use, Power and BIM… the key words of the Graitec Advance 2013 release

February 26, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

GRAITEC, European software developer for modeling and drawing creation for the construction industry, announces the release of the GRAITEC Advance 2013 suite.

Driven by sustainable development challenges, the increasing complexity of projects, time constraints and smaller budgets, construction professionals have no other choice than to make the leap to innovation. GRAITEC, a player in dynamic innovation, dedicates a signifi cant portion of its Research & Development investments in Digital Modeling or BIM (Building Information Modeling), in particular in its GRAITEC Advance suite.

This technology associates each real object to its virtual equivalent in the digital model and offers users the ability to simulate the behavior of the real structure, to automate the creation of technical documentation of their projects, to maintain consistency through the changes to the project and facilitate technical collaboration with all project stakeholders.

GRAITEC Advance has more than 15,000 users and 7 new users join the community every day. The uniqueness of GRAITEC Advance is to offer a solution that is very effi cient because it is dedicated to building professionals: design, calculation and creation of fabrication drawings, easy training, and provides a rapid return on investment, usually from the fi rst project.

The GRAITEC Advance suite consists of software products dedicated to the BIM structure: Advance Design, Advance Concrete and Advance Steel and Advance CAD, a new drawing tool that completes the suite.

Version 2013 has many improvements and strengthens its position: simplicity and power.

Simplicity because Advance Steel and Advance Concrete work as well as standalone as they do on AutoCAD, the choice is the user’s. In addition to the economic advantage, this innovation allows the release of AutoCAD licenses for other uses within the design office. Simplified installation, getting started faster, optimized interface, in short simplicity.
Power because of features such as custom connections in Advance Steel, advanced management of bar marks in Advance Concrete or “Capacity Design” calculation in Advance Design bring greater efficiency to users.

For Francis Guillemard, CEO of the GRAITEC Group: “In 2012, the GRAITEC Advance suite saw sustained growth of 35% in a market where the average growth rate was 8%.
The user community has almost doubled in 3 years. It is truly a sign that the profession is looking for solutions that offer the best compromise of Power/Simplicity and obviously at a low cost. This positioning ensures the growth of GRAITEC Advance. We contribute to the democratization of BIM in construction and make it very practical for our users.“

Advance Steel 2013: The best ease of use / power compromise

Independent of the AutoCAD® platform since Version 2012, Advance Steel 2013 improves its ergonomics and ease of use by providing a new user interface element, the “palette”, which contains animated buttons and tooltips.

It has many new innovations: first, the ability to create custom connections allowing users to define, store and reuse custom connections in their projects and thus easily adapt to all types of situations.

The new release also adds new connections for cold rolled profiles. Many other features are also available such as the option to create welding lines in drawing and a new recognition technology of “notable points” that applies to manual dimensions that are updated automatically by Advance Steel 2013.

Advance Concrete 2013: CAD platform freedom

Advance Concrete 2013 main focus is to offer users the freedom to use Advance Concrete with or without AutoCAD. Advance Concrete 2013 includes its own graphics engine allowing the user to select the desired CAD platform.

Advance Concrete 2013 provides greater control and better coordination with the “External drawing technology” allowing the user to place each new view and each new layout in a separate DWG. This results in smaller DWG files and better performance.

A new bar mark management functionalities is also available.
Version 2013 also improves user efficiency and productivity thanks to the new, redesigned Ribbon arrangements and the new Graitec tool palettes.

Advance Design 2013: High simulation exigency and Eurocode expertise

Advance Design 2013: High simulationexigency and Eurocodeexpertise

Advance Design 2013 goes further than ever in helping engineers to optimize the design of concrete, steel and timber structures according to the Eurocodes and North American codes.

Among the many new functionalities in regards to Eurocodes: major 3D climatic generator improvements for EC1 (more accurate wind parameters definition, better management for isolated roofs, additional fields for CsCd calculation), several improvements on the EC2 engine (possibility to place real reinforcement on linear and planar elements, new slab punching verification, availability of a detailed design report including a reinforcement sketch for concrete beams, etc.), EC3 engine improvements (accurate lateral torsional buckling calculation considering intermediate restraints and load application point,buckling check for circular hollow sections of class 4, new joints and improved user interface for the steel connection module, etc.), EC5 improvements (residual area in case of fire verification, improvement of deflection check in the detailed report, etc.).

One main new functionality is dealing with the “Capacity design” implementation helping users to optimize members design according to seismical requirements (especially for EC8).

Advance CAD 2013: NEW!!

Advance CAD is a new comer in the Graitec Advance suite. It is a fully compatible DWG® CAD software. It provides its users a simple, natural and economical solution to the frequent requirements of drawing creation and modification. With a modern easy-to-use interface, Advance CAD creates all 2D entities (lines, polylines, arcs, circles, polygons, etc.) and associates all desired colors, line styles and shading. Concepts such as “layers”, “snap points”, “windows” are available as well as all navigation features (zoom, pan, orbit, etc.). Advance CAD can also create and handle 3D solids (cubes, spheres, cylinders, etc.) and perform Boolean operations.

Graitec BIM Connect 2013: A smooth BIM connector to Revit

With GRAITEC BIM Connect, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013 and Autodesk Revit Structure 2013 users quickly connect their Revit models to the GRAITEC Advance suite and then optimize the design of their structures in accordance with U.S. and Eurocode standards, produce effective and error-free general arrangement drawings, fabrication drawings, BOMs, and NC files both for steel and concrete structures. Release 2013 provides key improvements such as extended profile mapping and ACIS solids transfer.

ADVANCE Steel 2013 reviewed by AEC Magazine

February 25, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

AEC Mag.com is the online presence of AEC Magazine, UK’s number 1 journal for decision makers in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. AEC Magazine has a bold agenda that reflects the evolutionary nature of this fast-moving sector with its proliferation of software and hardware technologies and the collaborative working practices that are integral to today’s design and engineering workflow.

Greg Corke, Managing Editor for AEC Magazine, offers a first look at GRAITECs first release for this year: ADVANCE Steel 2013. For version 2013, the software remains focused on quality and enhanced efficiency: “Having done a major re-write last year, the 2013 release is about improving user productivity. GRAITEC has focused on four main areas — user interface, raw performance, modeling enhancements and drawing issue and re-issue.”

The start page is new, offering users a quick look at recent projects, videos, tutorials, FAQs and others. For the interface however, the biggest change is found in the tool palette, from which many of the model manipulation commands are found. In terms of performance, the graphic engine has been optimized, new viewing modes are available and the general speed has been improved. “GRAITEC has placed a big emphasis on performance and 64-bit support means there are now no limitations on model size, providing the workstation has enough system memory.”

The modeling process has been improved thanks to new intelligent tools made available to users. This reflects directly to the production and quality of the drawings, which are now “less manual”on the way these are updated or referenced.

“While the performance improvements will no doubt be welcomed with open arms, it is the workflow enhancements that will arguably have the biggest impact — particularly when it comes to minimizing the amount of manual re-work required on re-issued drawings”, Greg Corke concluded.

Click here to read the full review

FREE webinar organised by GRAITEC Asia-Pacific, Mumbai Office

February 22, 2013 / graitecgroup / 4 Comments

GRAITEC Asia-Pacific is organising a free webinar on 28^th of February.

Advance Steel

Advance Steel® is specifically designed for steel professionals who require easy-to-use BIM structural steel software for automating drawing creation, documentation and fabrication.

Topic: General overview – discover the software in 30 minutes

Short presentation of Advance Steel showing the advantages and the main features

Thursday, February 28^th, 2013

⇒ 15:00 PM – 15.45 PM (Indian Standard Time)

GRAITEC Group reports +20.3% organic growth for 2012 and +125% profitability

February 20, 2013 / graitecgroup / Leave a comment

GRAITEC, an international developer of 3D BIM Design-Build and Structural Design software for the construction industry, reports a turnover of 30.8 million Euros for the fiscal year ended December 31^st, 2012. GRAITEC revenue organically increased by +20.3% compared to 2011. The Advance BIM suite had a +30% increase in turnover and Advance Steel had a +54% in turnover compared to 2011.

Key 2012 figures:

GRAITEC over performed the initial forecast of 29M€ for 2012:

Turnover of 30.8 M€, an increase of 20.3% compared to 2011.
The consolidated EBITDA increased +125% compared to 2011 reaching 5.4 M€.
74% of the turnover international

GRAITEC Advance software results:

Advance Steel increased +54%
Advance Suite increased +30%
BIM Structural CAD Solutions +45%
Advance Suite represents more than 50% of Graitec Revenue

GRAITEC Advance is the complete BIM software solution, from design to detailing, intended for the international market.

Region Focus

Western Europe, in a difficult context for construction, GRAITEC grew in 2012 by 24% in Western Europe.

GRAITEC Germany led the Western European growth at Graitec with 21% increase in turnover. Each and every solution sold by GRAITEC Germany performed in 2012, from Advance Steel that registered a +26% growth, to the special performance of Advance Bridge 175% growth, and adopted by the key regulation organization in the industry. The Structural Analysis business, after a difficult 2011, is back on track and showed in 2012 a strong dynamism with 84% increase in turnover.
GRAITEC France, in a context of leadership and high maturity, delivered expectations, a solid 2012 with a turnover growth of 13%. GRAITEC France continues to reinforce its strong market leadership in the Structural Analysis solutions market. However, the 3D Structural BIM CAD became more and more strategic and represented 50% of Graitec France Growth.
GRAITEC Italy (B&B), exceptional performance of the Italian subsidiary based in Noale and acquired in 2011. In less than a year, GRAITEC Italy B&B has positioned Advance Steel as the standard solution for the steel market, with 245% growth in revenue and almost 150 licenses delivered to exclusively new customers.
GRAITEC UK had a great 2012 with an increase of 42% of the Advance Steel turnover, and the creation of a new sales office in the Midlands. The business indicators are showing an over 70% new business ratio and an initial attached rate of 97%.
Adris, as a dedicated Autodesk reseller, has over performed the industry standards with 32% growth in turnover and an improvement of its margin rate. Adris not only got certified in several fields, but reached the Autodesk UK Top 3 ranking and is leading the European VAR community in growth.

Eastern Europe, in a difficult context for construction, GRAITEC had some fantastic performances particularly in Russia with 64% growth.

GRAITEC Czech Republic (AB Studio) has shown a great capacity to sustain its level of activity and business, as leader of the AEC industry in Czech Republic. AB Studio continues to reinforce the presence of GRAITEC solutions in the Eastern Europe region and delivered +39% growth with the Advance BIM suite.
GRAITEC Romania delivered a solid performance in 2012 growing the business by 24%. The complete Advance BIM suite is offered to the Romanian market and every solution performed in 2012.
GRAITEC Russia continues to gain market share on the market and establish year after year Advance Steel as the standard solution for the Steel construction industry. The growth achievement is impressive (+64%) and the contribution of GRAITEC Russia is more significant year after year.

GRAITEC North America, 2012 shows an increasing contribution of the North American operations, the sales and technical organization controls the business and delivers over expectations. GRAITEC North American operations grew by 54% in 2012 with an impressive +108% for Advance Steel. The growth, market share and customer acquisition has been massive in 2012 but it is only the beginning for GRAITEC and we have great prospects for the future.

GRAITEC ASIA Pacific is definitely ramping up with 87% growth in 2012. Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and India are leading the GRAITEC growth in this region. GRAITEC reinforces its investment in the region, creating GRAITEC India to drive the Indian operations and offer proximity and local support to our customers.

2013 Outlook

GRAITEC wants to continue its market share acquisition as a global player of the BIM and Design-Build industry. GRAITEC will reinforce its international development, with new offices in USA and probably Brazil and the consolidation of the Asia Pacific operation through GRAITEC offices in India and Singapore supporting our resellers. The GRAITEC strategy remains to acquire customers and market share proposing the full 3D BIM GRAITEC Advance suite. Advance Steel will continue to drive the growth of our 3D BIM Design-Build solutions and consolidate its market leadership in growth and new business. The European Construction forecast is concerning and taking this factor into consideration we will target 15% turnover growth in 2013 and an operational profit up 40%. To support this growth, GRAITEC will recruit approximately 20 new employees who will contribute to the expansion of the company. A new release of the 3D BIM Advance suite is planned during Q3 2013 to better address some key markets and the requests of our customers.

Francis GUILLEMARD, CEO of GRAITEC, comments:
“2012 was a fantastic achievement for GRAITEC. In a very difficult economic environment, GRAITEC has delivered very solid growth month after month. In 2012 we focused on our organic growth and decided to make a pause in our process of acquisition. This makes our performance even more remarkable. Our BIM Structural CAD solutions are clearly driving both the internationalization and the growth of GRAITEC. They benefit from a very unique positioning on the market and give the expected answer to the new challenges of the construction industry, such as Design-Build or BIM processes. In this field GRAITEC is definitely acquiring new market shares faster than any competitor.
The GRAITEC solution Advance Steel grew by more than 54% in 2012, this is an amazing success considering the Advance Steel growth rate in 2011 was 40%. This exciting growth in a traditionally slow growing market is positioning Advance Steel as the leading solution in growth, on the market. In 2012 we sold close to 1200 commercial licenses to more than 700 customers, 6 new users join the Advance Steel community every day. It’s important to notice that the vast majority of those users are new users we migrate from 2D solutions to the benefits of 3D, BIM and Design-Build.
In 2013 GRAITEC will continue its growth, and continue its international expansion driven by Asia Pacific and North America. GRAITEC is also actively working on potential new strategic acquisitions to reinforce its technical leadership or support new markets penetration. I rely on our strategy, teams and solutions to make of 2013 a great milestone in the GRAITEC history.“

Graitec Group people

Civil Engineering Software Solutions

All about Software Solutions in Civil Engineering

Author: graitecgroup

Successful User Club 2013 meetings in Poland

GRAITEC will exhibit at BACE EXPO

GRAITEC continues its expansion with the opening of a new office in California, USA

Download GRAITEC wallpaper for May 2013

Advance Steel Project: Ondrej Nepela winter stadium

GRAITEC at NASCC Conferences in St-Louis, USA

GRAITEC to attend the following events

Reinforcement and formwork for complex shapes in Advance Concrete

Download GRAITEC wallpaper for April 2013