The workstation GPU that handles your Revit models and 3ds Max renders may be showing its age not because Autodesk got more demanding, but because AI did. Local AI tools are rapidly becoming part of how design and engineering professionals work: generating concepts, automating repetitive tasks, and running inference without sending sensitive project data to the cloud. These workloads are GPU-hungry, and they compete directly with your Autodesk applications for the same critical resource: graphics memory. In this session, we'll give Autodesk users a practical framework for understanding GPU memory requirements across the workflows that matter to them. You'll see how real Autodesk applications perform under varying VRAM configurations, what happens when local AI enters the picture, and where the common pain points emerge. We'll also look at what the next generation of workstation GPUs brings to the table and whether an upgrade is warranted or premature.

You know how to render, but sometimes you don’t get the results you want. Are you missing that final touch? How helpful would it be if you could change materials and lighting of your rendering without rendering it again? This class will walk you through the process of visualizing architecture inside Forma Building Design Suite 2013—a process that includes linking and opening Autodesk® Revit® and AutoCAD® software models into Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design software, generating renderings and render elements inside 3ds Max Design and combining these render elements into 3ds Max Composite 2013 software so you can have full control of your rendering post-production phase. Learn tips and tricks to reduce the rendering time and get the best results.

This case study will follow the creation of the attraction Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment for the new theme park Universal Epic Universe. It will illustrate how Universal Creative, as both designer and owner, is using the full range of Autodesk software and Forma suite to collaborate between teams and bring to life groundbreaking attractions. Creating innovative theme park attractions necessitates the blending of disciplines. Attraction designers incorporate mechanical system animation with digital media, lighting, and visual effects using 3ds Max software—while architects and engineers design and document facility systems in Revit software to meet operational needs. During ride and show manufacturing and general construction, teams constantly monitor installation quality with reality capture methods like LiDAR using ReCap and Navisworks software, validating real-world conditions against the creative intent models and federated BIM, thereby completing the project lifecycle.

This class describes several Building Information Modeling (BIM) challenges that Nikken Sekkei, the largest Japanese design firm, and Takenaka Corporation, one of the top five contractor, design-build companies, faced during their collaboration on a 1,000,000-square-foot BIM hospital project. The class covers three major challenges in the BIM implementation and adoption process between the two companies: how to incorporate the new concept of hospital design with a BIM approach that supports design coordination of the "shell and core" of the hospital plan to reduce RFIs; how to manage all of the designers and drafters who are beginning Autodesk® Revit® software users (no BIM champions) to produce construction documents from design development phase; and how to manage design review communications with the client using visualization technology. The class will cover each of the solutions and their benefits as profitable outputs using Autodesk Revit, Autodesk® 3ds Max®, and Autodesk® Navisworks® software.

Booleans are a foundational part of content creation, yet it was frowned upon to use traditional polygon booleans in media and entertainment projects. To solve this problem, Autodesk rebuilt their booleans from the ground up within 3ds Max software, creating a new, powerful, and trusted solution in the Boolean Modifier that unlocks exciting new workflows and capabilities. In this session, you'll learn about how and why this new system was created for 3ds Max, which benefits it provides, and how you can use it to its maximum potential in your own work to create amazing content for film and TV, games, XR, or 3D printing projects.

In the fast-paced world of product design, there's a universal challenge to stay ahead of trends while efficiently bringing products to market. X-Rite has addressed this with innovative solutions benefiting automotive brands and industrial designers alike. The PANTORA application simplifies digital material creation, offering a standardized platform for storing and sharing complex material data to streamline design workflows. The AxF format ensures compatibility and collaboration across platforms. Join us to explore how PANTORA and AxF can transform your approach to material design and 3D visualization.

Arcadis is a global architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) and infrastructure player with engineering teams working closely with visualization teams in Australia, Manila, Canada, and Romania. Since early 2019, Arcadis has provided traditional client-requested visualizations. As a leading AEC company and Autodesk Partner, Arcadis wanted to enhance its visualization capabilities through a new digital workflow integrating immersive worlds and mixed reality in its mobility business. The convergence of media and entertainment with the AEC industry through technology marks a transformative shift in both sectors. Traditionally distinct, these industries are increasingly finding common ground as they harness the power of advanced technologies to collaborate and innovate, and Autodesk is at the forefront of merging this technology to continue to deliver innovation to customers. This convergence continues to evolve and promise to redefine traditional boundaries and pave the way for innovation between these two industries.

The architecture, engineering, and construction industry has a long history of using 3D tools for design and planning. Such tools are built for handling large quantities of data, but tend to focus more on physical accuracy than visual fidelity. While new tools are emerging to visualize projects in high-quality 3D before they're built, they're typically solutions that can't easily be extended to work with all the new technologies driving innovation in the video game industry. In this session, we'll cover techniques we've developed for rendering large architectural and infrastructure environments in real time. We'll discuss the challenge of importing these models into the Unity gaming engine, as well as the opportunities it affords in terms of improving fidelity, adding interactivity, and building for multiple platforms, including virtual reality (VR). We'll also discuss practical applications for these techniques, such as multi-user review sessions, public feedback gathering, and interactive training building.

This session will explore how you can integrate D5's AI-powered tools as a core component of your design workflow, essentially becoming the go-to companion alongside your modeling software. Through the introduction of D5 Lightmode (a DCC add-on that seamlessly takes your designs into AI for an effortless generation of refined architect-friendly reference images) alongside D5 Livesync (the live link plug-ins that synchronize changes with D5 in real time from modeling software like Revit and 3ds Max) and finally D5 Render (a real-time renderer with the best balance between efficiency and quality), you can take advantage of this AI-powered workflow to slash the grind in design, collaboration, and learning. We'll cover nifty tips and tricks to supercharge your workflow, helping you crank up the speed of delivery while focusing on what matters the most: innovating and refining your designs.

This session will showcase how Autodesk Infraworks is being used to develop a high-resolution 3D existing conditions model of Interstate 84 /Route 8 interchange in Waterbury, Connecticut commonly referred to as “The Mixmaster”. This Infraworks model will be utilized by our design team during the development of “The New Mix”…a CTDOT program dedicated to planning for the long-term future of the Interstate 84 / Route 8 Interchange in Waterbury, Connecticut. During this session we’ll share tips and tricks for complex bridge modeling in Infraworks, as well as how we approached the use of 2D & 3D data coming from other sources such as Civil 3D, Nearmap, Sketchup, and Studio Max.

As a 3D generalist working in architecture, engineering, construction, or manufacturing, it's essential to understand Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD). USD is quickly becoming the industry standard for data exchange between different software applications. USD offers a powerful and efficient way to manage large and complex 3D scenes, allowing for better collaboration between different departments, and reducing the risk of errors during the production pipeline. In addition, USD enables the creation of real-time workflows using original source data, allowing for faster iteration and feedback. With the rise of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), distributed computing, and cloud data aggregation, USD's importance will only increase. A strong understanding of USD will empower 3D generalists to work more efficiently and effectively with multiple data sources between different teams.

With the visualization and 3D rendering software market projected to hit $7.43 billion by 2028, demand for 3D visualization artists continues to rise across various industries. Specialized education programs are critical for equipping artists with up-to-date knowledge, yet there are few such programs. CG Spectrum is addressing this with a new career-focused visualization pathway developed by industry, for industry. Starting with a foundation in visualization with later specializations in architecture, product, and industrial, students go from zero technical skills to becoming proficient visualization artists. To ensure graduates are job-ready, we're inviting industry leaders to join our Visualization Advisory Board. By doing so, you can network with other leaders, keep abreast of the latest trends, develop education solutions to address industry needs and challenges, and directly impact and inspire the next wave of 3D artists. Let's work together to shape 3D visualization education.

If you want to learn more about how to use visual, generative, artificial intelligence (AI) tools in your workflows, then this class is for you. Regardless of their industry, artists and designers are discovering the advantages of an AI-powered workflow, making their processes faster, and allowing them to iterate over their products in ways that wouldn't have been possible or cost-effective before. We'll examine and cover the strengths and weaknesses of different tools, such as Midjourney, Dall-E, Stable Diffusion, and some plug-ins for Revit software. Most importantly, we'll go over use cases for different industries that go beyond simple text prompting to give artists and designers more control over finished products. We'll showcase how we can use generative AI as a powerful visualization tool for creating images and even videos, and how it can help unleash creativity in game design, media, and building design.

The complexities around digital twins are usually enough to make most tech enthusiasts in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries think twice before embarking upon their use. From setting up IoT hubs and sensors to linking them with intelligent models and hosting them in client-facing experiences, the concept can be daunting. However, developments in gaming engines and their innate customization and ability to craft a story and experience mean that they are fast becoming great tools in the creation of digital twins. In this talk, we will look at the steps and stages involved in creating a digital-twin experience using the Unreal Engine game machine, in addition to showcasing industry case studies. We will break down the steps, from linking models from packages such as Revit software and 3ds Max software, to connecting to simple sensor data and visualizing the output. Here we explore the toolset and process required to help you embark on your own first digital twin.

Join Xometry’s Greg Paulsen for an in-depth comparison between five major, plastic 3D printing processes. In this talk, you will learn what makes them unique, how they are used, and what to consider when choosing an additive manufacturing process. Paulsen will discuss the following industrial 3D printing methods: HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF); selective laser sintering (SLS); fused deposition modeling (FDM); stereolithography (SLA); and carbon digital light synthesis (DLS). Whether it’s cost concerns, mechanical function, performance environment, cosmetics, or output, this topic will help steer the design approach for end-use 3D-printed parts. The presentation will conclude with an open question-and-answer session.

This class will teach you a typical workflow for creating a basic rendering of a scene using the highly efficient renderer Arnold, which was incorporated into 3ds Max 2018 software. The class will begin with a brief overview of the Arnold renderer before learning to use Arnold-specific lights to illuminate the scene. You will learn about the shaders provided for Arnold and how to modify the parameters of the Arnold Standard Surface shader to create different kinds of materials. Finally, we will use the Arnold renderer to render the scene.

Visualizing masterplans with many buildings can be a time-consuming task, often leading to the use of massing volumes well beyond early design stages. However, as a project progresses, you don't have to compromise on quality. Discover the potential of procedural modeling and texturing techniques to improve your masterplan renders. This presentation will combine 3ds Max 2024 software's latest features with RailClone and Forest Pack, enabling new, efficient, procedural modeling approaches. Learn how to visualize hundreds of buildings that can be effortlessly updated, customized, and refined for a highly optimized workflow. A compelling masterplan visualization involves more than buildings. We will delve into procedural methods for incorporating elements such as pavements, street furniture, lighting, and road markings. The session will conclude with tips on how to add large numbers of realistic trees, plants, vehicles, people, and other essential elements automatically and with minimal effort.

In this session, we'll take an in-depth look at the new Boolean and Array modifiers within 3ds Max 2024 software, and we'll explore how their non-destructive workflows can improve the flexibility of your project pipeline. We'll discuss both modifiers in detail, compare them with the existing tools, and provide practical examples. Would you like to improve your process—or not?

It’s no longer acceptable to just submit a bid to build a project. With the growing number of tech-savvy owners, many general contractors are demonstrating their experience with 3D planning tools such as Revit software and Dynamo in order to answer the difficult questions related to construction planning and staging that arise during the critical phases of project interviews. Find out how you can take advantage of today’s technology to win tomorrow’s projects. We’ll be looking at a massive, mixed-use, 50-story high-rise building as the backdrop for our 4D simulation story. You’ll learn about techniques and challenges we’ve had to overcome in order to illustrate how this project comes together.

365 Materials Challenge started as a case study to create realistic materials. The goal: create one physically based rendering (PBR) material per day. In this demo, we'll learn how Open Shading Language (OSL) maps and Arnold Renderer helped us achieve this goal. We'll explain how to make the transition from 3ds Max legacy maps to OSL maps, and describe some tips and techniques for making the best use of OSL maps. Then we'll show how to create photorealistic materials with Arnold Renderer with OSL maps and Arnold's Standard Surface. Then, we'll see how Autodesk’s Physical Material is the best software for studios and individuals handling multiple renderers. Last, we'll look at techniques for starting to use Arnold Renderer for architectural visualization, and explore why it is such a powerful tool.