The BusinessNZ Energy Council (BEC) today released the second in its series of reports on energy scenarios to 2050. This report looks at the contribution the energy and transport sectors can make to emission reductions (BEC 2050: A deep dive into the New Zealand energy and transport sector emissions).
"The challenge of meeting our Paris Agreement target of a 30 percent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030 lies ahead of us," said BEC Chair Hon David Caygill.
"In taking our scenarios work to the next level we can now better understand both the scale of the challenges and the nature of the opportunities to reduce emissions.
"As a country we aspire to both high growth and emissions reductions to help us meet our Paris Agreement commitment. We also need to balance this with energy security and affordability.
"If we knew the future, reducing our energy and transport sector's emissions would be easy. But we don't. Our scenarios help us move beyond the usual practice of assembling disconnected technical possibilities to focus on what levers we have available to practically unlock our emissions reduction potential.
"Our two scenarios describe different ways the energy and transport sectors can contribute towards emissions reduction. But the scenarios are more than just storylines. They also show how different assumptions about the future – for example, economic and population growth, and the price of carbon - affect how much reduction can be achieved, and which levers should be investigated further by policy makers.
"For the first time across the entire New Zealand energy and transport sectors, we now have modelling that reveals just how sensitive New Zealand's energy emissions are to the key uncertainties the sector is grappling with – technology, economic transformation, the pursuit of higher renewable energy levels and transport behaviour.
"With this work we can better understand the range of choices and trade-offs for the energy and transport sectors to meaningfully contribute towards New Zealand's emission reduction target.
| A BusinessNZ Energy Council release || April 10, 2017 |||
The latest release of Autodesk’s Advance Steel 2018 promises to both streamline the 3D modeling tool and improve interoperability with other Autodesk software, such as Revit, Navisworks and AutoCAD. This article will examine the software's new features, and explain how they impact the architects, structural engineers and construction workers who use it.
Figure 1 above – Advance Steel 2018 adds 130 parametric steel connections that may be transferred to the Revit model. Image courtesy of Autodesk.
Improved Level of Detail
The first big highlight is Advance Steel 2018's ability to offer “seamless consumption of LOD 350 Revit models.” LOD, short for “level of detail”, is defined by BIMForum as a measure of the amount of description attached to items in a Building Information Modeling (BIM) model - or example, at LOD 100, a light fixture might only have cost information, while at LOD 350, it would also include things like its geometric shape, in the form of a CAD model. The ability to read CAD models directly from Revit files should give engineers more accuracy in their designs, let them issue bills of material, and let them respond more quickly to architectural design changes.
Added Parametric Steel Connections
A second major update is the addition of over one hundred and thirty parametric steel connections. To sweeten the deal, these connections also transfer to the model in Revit to improve coordination between engineers and fabricators.
The new software also supports Revit families for custom sections, a feature long demanded by users, as well as the ability to transfer code checks for customized parameters.
Streamlined Installation
Advance Steel 2018 has also been integrated with the latest AutoCAD drafting platform, meaning users will only no longer need to license and install it separately.
Migration of CustomizationFigure 2 -Advance Steel now has one interface to move settings from one version to another. Picture from Autodesk.
Another change concerns control of documentation and customized model information. You can now combine model views with cameras to simplify the making of general arrangement drawings, and blow up details of the model to add callouts in less steps.
Figure 3- Blow-up details and create callouts. Picture from Autodesk.
Better Overall Interoperability
Finally, this release of Advance Steel continues Autodesk’s integration of the product with their other AEC software. As construction and engineering continues to evolve toward automation, Autodesk has sought to create increasingly seamless BIM-to-fabrication workflows by integrating Advance Steel with their other engineering and construction tools, such as Revit and Navisworks Manage. However, Advance Steel is not actually an Autodesk original - it was created by French structural steel software vendor GRAITEC, which Autodesk acquired in 2013. As a result, Autodesk has had to spend years integrating it into their software family, rather than building it that way from the ground up.
The idea is to give project teams access to a transparent system that supports the entire lifecycle of steel projects, from design to detailing to fabrication.
Advance Steel is available as a quarterly, annual, or multi-year subscription through Autodesk. The Autodesk AEC Industry Collection is a software bundle that includes Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks Manage, and more. Advance Steel 2018 becomes available on April 1, 2017, while Autodesk Steel Connections for Revit 2018 drop April 14.
| An Engineering.com release || April 10, 2017 |||
New Zealand contact for Autodesk 2018 CAD is Lewis Worthing from WorthyCAM
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242