Free Construction Drawing & Estimating Software
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@unknownuser said:
PriMus-TO the Free UPP quantity Take-Off software for extracting material quantities directly from a CAD or Raster drawing
- Open DXF/DWG standard CAD formats - Raster Management in PDF, BMP, JPG, etc. formats - Link up Price List items to Drawing entities - Automatically acquire measurements from drawings - Your BoQ is updated as your drawing changes - Use your own CAD or the integrated PriMus-TO internal CAD - Learn quickly with the FREE Video Tutorials - Download the FULL version for FREEhttp://www.accasoftware.com/en/id5/primus-to/index.html
The catch?
@unknownuser said:
- Pay only if you print your Bill of Quantities
- Extremely convenient: only 10 Euro cents for each A4 page format
- Pay and receive your invoice online
- Get your FREE € 50 Print bonus, now!
Sounds like a pretty good deal. I wonder if this is Americanized?
They speak of Euros so... -
Hi Krisidious,
thanks for your interest in our software. To answer your questions above, I just wanted to point out that you can easily customize the currency used in PriMus-TO. As with print costs, if you look at our website http://www.accasoftware.com, every time you go over a price with the mouse cursor, the equivalent real time price in your local currency appears.
Feel free to contact us if you have more questions.
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Hey, thanks for chiming in. I was really meaning Americanized as in using imperial measurements in the estimating?
I was also wondering if you have any plans to support SketchUp files. and if the standard dwg export from SketchUp will work with your software?
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In terms of using imperial measurements you can draw in which ever scale you wish but when associating your drawing entities to a Price List item, you have to be to use the appropriate rates (ex: $/sq.ft - $/ft – etc.)
As with SketchUp, we don’t import .skp files directly into PriMus-TO, but it’s perfectly compatible with the .dwg/dxf file formats that SketchUp supports for export.
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Great... We'll be watching for the release.
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Looks like they're hooking up to sketchup with their BIM software. Quick adding and editing of BIM objects.
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id65/index.html?idPLV=2823%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id65/index.html?idPLV=2824%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id65/index.html?idPLV=2825%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id24/index.html?idPLV=1745%26amp;autoplay=1 -
That interoperability is very interesting. Is this a web based application?
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No, it's a downloaded, installed software. The Bim, Cost Sheet are avaiable now, the estimating software is in the pipe.
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Just poking around in their construction drawing system and I clicked it over to imperial from metric and every number in the entire set changed. Wow...
The renderings from it are very impressive as well.
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This may really be a game changer. Rather than pay for software, you pay for output?
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Yeah, I really like that idea.
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I asked them about inserting an entire sketchup model into the system and this is the response I got from Tony De Palma.
@unknownuser said:
that's definately a nice question. As you already know, SketchUp allows you to model surfaces and either extrude them or manipulate them according to your design needs but these surfaces aren't reconized as walls or slabs; they're just surfaces and volumes of different shapes or forms.
Many designers that use Sketchup for its powerful modelling capabilities may want to bring their model into Edificius where you can take advantage of professional BIM design tools and where the various design elements become walls, slabs, columns, beams or windows, doors railings and stairs etc. So what we need is some way to "convert" a SketchUp model, where we don't have architectural information, into a BIM model. Edificius can do this with the 3D magnetic grid. You can in fact import your SKP file as a Magnetic grid and then use the Architectural elements to draw over it in the 3D modelling Environment. Best thing to do would be to simplify the model as much as possible stripping it from 3D elements such as Cars, Trees people etc. You can add them after directly in Edificius.
Once you have recreated the Model in Edificius, you then have COPY of your original SKP building but now you have Architectural Info allowing you to even generate Tables, Schedules, BoQs, assign materials and even create animations and renders. If you need a Visual simulation of the building in its urban context, you can even create a Photo Matched simulation in not more than 3 minutes.
Have a look at these videos to get an idea of what I mean. I will also be adding your question to the Forum so you'll also be getting answers there too:
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id32/index.html?idPLV=1731%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id32/index.html?idPLV=334%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id2/index.html?idPLV=3578%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id24/index.html?idPLV=1744%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id64/index.html?idPLV=2987%26amp;autoplay=1
http://video.accasoftware.com/EN/edificius/id64/index.html?idPLV=2988%26amp;autoplay=1It looks like you'll have to rebuild your sketchup model in their software. They have a 3D tracing system whereby you can insert your model in the program and then trace over it with the various bim objects and systems. But no inserting your model and declaring the various trades and materials of volumes.
I think that's going to hurt the over all attraction to the system. Be it with layers, components, volumes, labels or perhaps even a plugin. There at least needs to be a way to tell the software what type of object your importing. I have my models broken into concrete, framing, roof, stone etc. It would be easy to import each group, one at a time, dictating what each was as I did so. Otherwise it would seem that this system would negate the need for a lot of my process in sketchup. taking it back to just being for sketching. I was hoping more for a way to document my houses in a more architecture related system.
There are still tons of reasons to use a bim system, and this one being free is a big one. But, I think we, or more precisely, someone... could build more integration between the two systems that would allow full models to come in.
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