Autodesk Robot 1

[Celt83]

Not sure if folks are aware but it looks like a couple years ago Autodesk slipped Robot into the AEC software package, so if you bought that package for AutoCAD and Revit you have access to Robot.

With the ever increasing pricing of analysis/design software packages these days I figured it might be time to take a look at this offering we have access to with no additional cost and was wondering if anyone else has been doing the same.

So far I'm finding some things to like and many many things I'm not fond of.

Cons:
- The overall user interface has a ton of bugs in it and many dialog options that either shouldn't show up or be disabled because the buttons do nothing when pressed.
- Project flow is completely different than any other software package I have ever used.
- Their "cladding" elements distribute loads by trib area which means anything that isn't a full uniform pressure over the entire cladding will not distribute to adjacent members properly.
- Design outputs do not include nearly enough information to be able to validate some of their calculations
- Their "manual" is severely lacking in detail and explanation for any of the backend analysis behavior, there are several components that have no documentation at all.
- There are no shortcuts for anything if you want to model a flat slab with shells you need to model the main slab, cut out holes for the drop panels, model the drop panel slab areas, offset the drop panel slabs, mesh everything, assign rigid links between low mesh nodes of the drop and high mesh nodes of the main slab.

Pros:
- The analysis engine seems very powerful I'd put it up near Etabs/SAP
- Has a sub program to do section property analysis (like RisaSection)
- Has a sub program where you design and store multiple concrete component calculations
- Has a templating feature so you can created parametric elements and then inject them into your model
- Link to Revit so far works pretty smooth as long as your analytical model is clean.

Interested to hear others take on Robot and if anyone has taking to using it as their primary analysis/design package?


My Personal Open Source Structural Applications:

https://github.com/buddyd16/Structural-Engineering

Open Source Structural GitHub Group:

https://github.com/open-struct-engineer

 

[canwesteng]

How can it link to revit smoothly? Unless you are going overboard with member offsets in your FEA, generally where your nodes should be/will be doesn't line with where you physically want to model members.

 

[hoshang]

Hi,
I'm using Robot since a while.
Pros:
1- connect results with Excel.
2- you can use API to manipulate routine actions.
3- wind tunnel and wind simulation sub programs.
4- connect with dynamo.

 

[Celt83]

canwesteng:
smooth is a relative term here, compared to a few other tools I've tried in the past, the Robot link brought in all beams, columns, walls, and wall openings to a point where cleaning them up wasn't a week long task. This was also for a few one off areas so I imagine at full building scale it likely has all the issues you noted and then some.

My Personal Open Source Structural Applications:

https://github.com/buddyd16/Structural-Engineering

Open Source Structural GitHub Group:

https://github.com/open-struct-engineer

 

[Gus14]

I have tried ROBOT's continuous beam element analysis and design last year.
Pros,
Easy to read diagrams of beam steel area and deflection.
Cons,
Very difficult to get good steel details in AutoCAD ( although they advertise that they automate the process, I found myself spending more time editing the inputs to get the right details, than I would spend doing it manually )
Very difficult to change load combination factors.

 

[Agent666]

I want to learn it, but every time I open it, I find the interface and user experience quite different to any other analysis package I've ever used. Downloaded a few training videos a while back which I need to watch.... just a matter of finding the time.

As of the latest 2022 version of Robot dynamo is integrated. That seems like the most exciting thing to me. Being able to have scripts to generate for example a whole parametrically driven structure, apply loads, setup load cases, change sections, etc all at the click of a button, and extract results or geometry to excel to use directly in spreadsheets, then fire loads or section sizes back into Robot from the spreadsheet analysis results to validate further.

I use dynamo all the time in Revit to automate anything worth automating for our drafters, so it is of interest how this might be able to be leveraged in an analysis package. Half a day of dynamo scripting has the potential to save days of drafting work on a project. I'd assume if you setup some slick engineering workflows/systems the same would be true on the engineering side. We already leverage excel output to automate placement of elements in Revit, works extremely well if you got the time to iron out any quirks and edge cases. I have a techie type boss who geeks out on it as well....

https://engineervsheep.com

 

[Agent666]

How can it link to Revit smoothly? Unless you are going overboard with member offsets in your FEA, generally where your nodes should be/will be doesn't line with where you physically want to model members.

It can link to the analytical model in Revit. Have some people that have tried Revit/etabs, and you do have to model things a certain way in Revit to ensure that the analytical model is valid. Not tried Revit to Robot, but I expect it is the same in needing to take a bit of care in Revit to get things working as intended to end up with a model you can actually use.

It does mean the old drafters cannot fudge stuff because they are only thinking how the drawings might look instead of thinking about the model as a model. You know...treating Revit as if it is autocad which never turns out well in my experience (but that's another conversation for another day)

https://engineervsheep.com

 

[MIStructE_IRE]

E used it for years. However the whole setup and interface is so much more complicated than their competitors which put us off it.

 

[Celt83]

Downloaded a few training videos a while back which I need to watch.... just a matter of finding the time.

check these videos out instead they just released them, the old videos are all over the place and I found 9/10 times the interface on my screen was missing inputs or buttons showing in the tutorial video. Link caveat: they are all pretty shallow tutorials and helped me more with getting around the interface instead of providing any insight into their analysis/design assumptions.

I haven't looked into any of the Dynamo integration yet, need to get myself comfortable with the results it is putting out before I invest that kind of extra time. I currently have a dialog going with them on concrete columns as their results aren't making much sense for a biaxial "short" column and the calculation report it puts out is pretty bare and they don't have a manual section for that module.

Along with Dynamo from various searches on their forums it seems there is also a fairly decent API that can be accessed with various programming languages, saw some references to VBA and Python being used.

My Personal Open Source Structural Applications:

https://github.com/buddyd16/Structural-Engineering

Open Source Structural GitHub Group:

https://github.com/open-struct-engineer

 

[IDS]

Just out of curiosity, how many engineers here see Autocad + Revit as being an essential part of their software requirements?

I have only ever had an inexpensive Autocad clone myself, and very rarely use that these days.


Doug Jenkins
Interactive Design Services

http://newtonexcelbach.wordpress.com/

 

[phamENG]

Not necessarily AutoCAD - as you mentioned there are clones out there that can produce DWG files - but Revit certainly is. Lots of architects want to swap models to coordinate designs. I'm not aware of a 'Revit Clone' that could fit the bill in those situations.

I use the AutoDesk LT suite, since I don't really automate much on the drafting side of things and don't need all the bells and whistles. Sure, it would be nice to build some parameterized blocks or model in place, but I don't need it. Especially since I only have to pay $550/year for AutoCad LT and Revit LT.

On topic - I had the same idea a couple years ago. The firm where I was working had Robot sitting there unused. I figured I'd give it a go...I didn't get far. Gave up after a couple hours of fiddling with it.

 

[Tomfh]

The interface is hideous. The modelling and analysis process is fragmented and convoluted.
It always feels risky using it. You never quite know if you’ve entered the model correctly, nor is it clear what the results are telling you.

 

[human909]

Count me in for somebody who has been willing to try Robot but hasn't yet. I use Inventor and Nastran In-CAD so I figure that some interface familiarity might be helpful. Though the comments here haven't encouraged me into Robot.

Besides my current analysis software (SpaceGASS) I consider easy to use (despite an antiquated interface) and cover the AS code well. So the incentive to explore other options isn't high.

 

[rscassar]

I used Robot a few years back when I was contracting for a company and did not like it. Not saying it is not a good program, I have become accustomed to using Bentley and CSI programs. One feature I like is the API, this feature is very important for me when I use software.

 

[structuralCADspecialist]

I would never trust a Revit model spat directly into any analysis program unless it's your own model or your tech who you'd trust with your career created the model themselves.

Autodesk is frustrating in that much of their newer programs aren't finished (including Revit itself). They just can't polish it off and bury it, and say "here's a working program". Instead they market the crap out of stuff that doesn't work - marketed is directed towards managers not end users. I say 'whatever' to their claims about how well their BIM programs perform. But trying to sell a structural analysis program that isn't even really complete... Not good.

 

[Frankklin]

autodesk inventor

https://tinyurl.com/y33hzpd3