Advance Concrete

Last updated March 06, 2019

Advance Concrete is a computer-aided design (CAD) software application was developed by GRAITEC, but is now an Autodesk product,^[1] used for modeling and detailing reinforced concrete structures. Advance Concrete is used in the structural / civil engineering and drafting fields.

Computer-aided design constructing a product by means of computer

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. CAD output is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The term CADD is also used.

GRAITEC is an Autodesk Reseller and developer of CAD / CAE software for the civil engineering and construction industries.

Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California, and features a gallery of its customers' work in its San Francisco building. The company has offices worldwide, with U.S. locations in Northern California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, Michigan and in New England in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and Canada locations in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.

Features

Building with two floors, with stairs, modeled in Advance Concrete. AC-structure.png — Building with two floors, with stairs, modeled in Advance Concrete.

Advance Concrete is specifically designed for engineers and structural draftsmen looking for comprehensive and easy to use software, including its own graphics engine allowing it to run with or without AutoCAD.

AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application. Developed and marketed by Autodesk, AutoCAD was first released in December 1982 as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. Before AutoCAD was introduced, most commercial CAD programs ran on mainframe computers or minicomputers, with each CAD operator (user) working at a separate graphics terminal. Since 2010, AutoCAD was released as a mobile- and web app as well, marketed as AutoCAD 360.

The application can be used for modeling and detailing different types of concrete structures, such as buildings, precast concrete elements, and also for civil engineering designs.

Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and lifted into place. In contrast, standard concrete is poured into site-specific forms and cured on site. Precast stone is distinguished from precast concrete using a fine aggregate in the mixture, so the final product approaches the appearance of naturally occurring rock or stone. More recently expanded polystyrene is being used as the cores to precast wall panels. This is lightweight and has better thermal insulation.

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewerage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways. Civil engineering is traditionally broken into a number of sub-disciplines. It is considered the second-oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it is defined to distinguish non-military engineering from military engineering. Civil engineering takes place in the public sector from municipal through to national governments, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.

Advance Concrete uses AutoCAD technology: ObjectARX. This technology provides users with professional objects (beams, columns, slabs, bars, frames, stirrup bars) integrated into AutoCAD and on which most basic AutoCAD functions can be applied (stretch, shorten, copy, move). The Advance Concrete native file is the DWG file.

ObjectARX is an API for customizing and extending AutoCAD. The ObjectARX SDK is published by Autodesk and freely available under license from Autodesk. The ObjectARX SDK consists primarily of C++ headers and libraries that can be used to build Windows DLLs that can be loaded into the AutoCAD process and interact directly with the AutoCAD application. ObjectARX modules use the file extensions .arx and .dbx instead of the more common .dll.

DWG is a proprietary binary file format used for storing two- and three- dimensional design data and metadata. It is the native format for several CAD packages including DraftSight, AutoCAD, BricsCAD, IntelliCAD, Caddie and Open Design Alliance compliant applications. In addition, DWG is supported non-natively by many other CAD applications. The .bak, .dws, .dwt and .sv$ files are also DWG files.

The main functions of Advance Concrete concern:

2D / 3D modeling of concrete structures;
Automated drawings, with tools for automatic creation of sections, elevations, foundations, isometric views, etc.;
Advanced reinforcement, with automatic creation and update functionalities and also with manual input tools;
Creation of paper drawings;
Automatic bill of materials.
Multi-user modeling. Users can securely and simultaneously work on the same project through a shared database that stores the model data.

3D modeling process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software

In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any surface of an object in three dimensions via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model. Someone who works with 3D models may be referred to as a 3D artist. It can be displayed as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering or used in a computer simulation of physical phenomena. The model can also be physically created using 3D printing devices.

An engineering drawing, a type of technical drawing, is used to fully and clearly define requirements for engineered items.

In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher frequency of behavior, longer duration, greater magnitude, or shorter latency.

The program provides a working environment for creating 3D structural models from which drawings are created. The 3D model is created using Advance Concrete specific objects (structural elements, openings, rebars, etc.) and stored in a drawing (in DWG format). Once a model is complete, Advance Concrete creates all structural and reinforcement drawings using a large selection of tools for view creation, dimensions, interactive annotations, symbols, markings and automatic layout functions. Advance Concrete provides functionalities for automatic drawing updates based on model modifications.

Automatic layout is an option in graph drawing toolkits that allow to lay out the Graph according to specific rules, such as:

Specific functionalities

Reinforcement drawing created in Advance Concrete. AC-ReinfView.png — Reinforcement drawing created in Advance Concrete.

One of the features of Advance Concrete is the “dynamic reinforcement” technology for the rapid reinforcement of concrete elements taking into account their context (type, parameters, connection with other elements). The user creates a so-called dynamic reinforcement solution that integrates the reinforcement cage elements and properties: geometric information, local rules and standards for steel grade, reinforcement bar placement, concrete cover, etc. The reinforcement solutions can be used later for elements that have different sizes. The reinforcement elements adjust to the new dimensions and are taken into account at reinforcement drawing creation and lists. The user can save the reinforcement solution in an external file, which can be exchanged, downloaded, reused in any other projects etc.

Software compatibility

The application is compatible with the following operating systems and Autodesk platforms:

Windows Vista, Windows XP Pro and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bits)
AutoCAD 2007, 2008, 2009 32 and 64 bits, 2010 32 and 64 bits
ADT 2007,
AutoCAD Architecture 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

Software interoperability

Advance Concrete integrates GRAITEC’s “GTC” (GRAITEC Transfer Center) technology, a data synchronization technology that allows:

Importing / exporting data to other GRAITEC software and standard formats (IFC 2.×3)
Several Advance Concrete users working simultaneously on the same project and synchronizing their models
Synchronizing in Advance Concrete the modifications made by engineers in other GRAITEC software applications (e.g., section changes, addition of structural elements, etc.).

GTC is the GRAITEC solution for CAD/Design software interoperability and integration specialized in creating and handling a BIM (Building Information Model).

Release history

Official name	version	release	date of release
Version 2013	2013	12	2013
Version 2012	2012	11	2012
Version 2011	2011	10	2010
Version 2010	2010	9	2009
Version 2009	2009	8	2009
Version 8.1	8.1	7	2008
Version 7.1	7.1	6	2006
Version 6.1	6.1	5	2005
Version 5.2	5.2	4	2004
Version 5.1	5.1	3	2003
Version 4.2	4.2	2	2002
Version 4.1	4.1	1	2001

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References

↑ "Autodesk Signs Agreement to Acquire Structural Fabrication and Detailing Technology from Graitec". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.

External links

Advance Concrete Official Page

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[1] "Autodesk Signs Agreement to Acquire Structural Fabrication and Detailing Technology from Graitec". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.