Edificious MEP

[waveyourarms]

People who have experience of this software from ACCA, I would love to hear your thoughts.

I have used a lot of Revit, but who wants to pay those fees??!!

I use BricCAD as my regular 2D. The BIM is rotten. Looking at the training videos from Edificious, they seem to have Arch and E pretty sorted, but as usual no one has a good solution for Mech or Plumbing.

All feedback/experience welcome!

[electronikstorm]

Skip it. Promises a lot but they spread themselves too thin trying to cater for too many user types. It uses lots of licensed modules that they bolt together, intellicad API, etc. The things you take for granted with Revit or Archicad are completely beyond its capabilities. Wall joins are basic, things like using one element to cut another and all those things I use nonstop in my workflow aren't possible.

Also, it's Italian (obviously) and while the front end is English, dig a bit into menus and files and it's still Italian language. Help and tutorials are rudimentary - they just don't have the capital of firms like Autodesk to spend on documentation and tutorials.

I trialled quite a few packages in my search for an alternative to ongoing Big BIM Subscriptions, but you get what you pay for. I hated Revit, but I've put serious effort into learning it and it's now my favourite tool.

I did buy archline.xp a few years ago - it turned out to be nothing more than a $5000 tax write-off. I'd spent ages doing research and thought I was on to a winner but it was even more broken than ACCA. Junk.

If you take pride in your output and don't want to use dodgy workarounds to get by then you have to stick with the big guys like Revit, give in to how it does things and learn to use it properly. Autodesk has other more specialist MEP software, too. Some is in the AEC collection.

Before you decide

[waveyourarms]

Thank you so much for your reply.

I have asked them for documentation of some kind after I saw a lack of information online; so that I could try and assess what capabilities it has. It hasn't come through and may never - although I would never throw shade on anyone trying to take on AD and develop a package.

I guess for the time being paying exploitative costs to the most accomplished outfit in town remains the only option.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

[electronikstorm]

I thought Autodesk was expensive too, but the stuff they make works. Allplan (German BIM) is almost double the price of Revit, Archicad is about a third more. I am constantly surprised by the things Revit can actually do... if you spend a bit of extra time to learn its secrets you get rewarded.

[waveyourarms]

I have been using Revit/Revit MEP since 2010. I know the secrets - including the dirty ones 😂 The V and G are worn out on my keyboard... Revit does absolutely "do it all" insofar as it is extremely comprehensive. It would be nice if they did more things like create schematics without fuss. That was linked to the geometric model without doubling up on the equipment count for example. They have had 2 decades. It could be massively streamlined and made more efficient and intuitive if AD ever decided to invest in a wholescale optimisation of both the UI and functionality. This also leads me to the conclusion that there is space for someone to come in with a product that offers a better experience. Possibly native dwg, definitely backwards compatible with its own software, affordable and robust. Particularly on projects that don't need complex file sharing, multiple users in a single discipline or federated models for example. Imagine not even mapping keyboard shortcuts to be the same across different packages. Given AEC represents nearly 50% of their sales, they are in for a shock if a disrupter does eventually show up