IDEA is the
IntelliCAD based BIM solution for Architectural Building Design,
covering all the range of the Architectural needs (model creation,
rendering and virtual walkthrough), within a high productivity, user
friendly, environment.
IDEA introduces new standards in the AEC
industry, as it proposes an effective and powerful BIM approach,
based on the IntelliCAD engine, offering practically the interface
expected by any AutoCAD (*) or IntelliCAD user.
(*) AutoCAD is a product and
trade mark of Autodesk.
IDEA is the IntelliCAD-based BIM solution, designed to meet in a
very friendly and flexible way all the needs of an architect,
including advanced architectural design, rendering and virtual
walkthrough. IDEA adopts a modern BIM structure, totally redesigned
within the framework of the "new generation" development project of
4M
Suite, the integrated building design suite of 4M. Intelligent model
shaping and high design accuracy are directly applied on the real 3D
model of the building. IDEA embeds
IntelliCAD engine, the world famous CAD alternative, keeping all the
usual CAD features and functions (as they have been introduced by
AutoCAD, the Autodesk's product and trademark), so that its
functionality is as already known by the majority of the CAD users.
On the other hand, IDEA guarantees the communication among
designers, due to its compatibility with DWG files.
Upgraded Features of the
latest release
IDEA 9 NG:
• Better performance (i.e. speeds), smaller and “smarter” DWG
files due to a new, innovative design of the building structure
mathematical model.
• Expansion-Adaptation of the standard CAD commands (copy, move,
trim, extend ęëđ) to meet the needs of IDEA objects too (walls,
openings, beams etc).
• Enhancements of the “smart” functions & commands regarding the
design & modification of walls (automatic unions, extensions,
crosses etc), increasing the expert behavior of IDEA
• Enhancements of the “smart” functions & commands regarding the
design & modification of openings.
• Real time appearance of the transformations of the building
elements (i.e. while moving a window on a wall etc).
• New, rich libraries of walls and shutters with more parametric
options (i.e. definition of the degree of openness in 2D & 3D
views, frame parameters, photorealistic images of the openings
etc) and enhanced dialogs.
• Grip facilities regarding all the objects that require more
flexibility during their synthesis and editing operations
(walls, opening, slabs, columns, beams etc).
• Generalization of the operation “right button -> properties”
for direct editing through the dialog boxes and visual
retransformation of the results.
• All the advantages of the latest IntelliCAD release (opendwg
even for ACAD2006, multiple layout, audit & recover commands,
new plotting functions and many others). The CAD engine of the
new IDEA is the engine of IntelliCAD latest release.
• Advanced Solid Modelling environment, powered by Open CASCADE
Technology for really impressive performances of the 3D Solid
Modelling aspects and full ACIS compatibility.
• Advanced virtual reality features (WalkIDEA new generation)
for higher performance of the IDEA walkthrough component plus
the option of a real Stereoscopic view
Architectural Synthesis & Design with IDEA
Walls & Openings: IDEA embeds all the features required for the
unrestricted "shaping" of the basic building framework, such as
parallel moving of walls, trimming, extending, joining, breaking,
copying, mirroring walls etc, as well
as placing on them openings of any kind and type (windows, sliding,
doors, openings, arches). Drawing facilities, such as the "right
click -> properties" or the extended use of grips on any building
object (walls, opening, slabs, columns, beams etc), speed up the
design process. In addition, the real time display of the model
transformations, during the modifications, enables the user to focus
absolutely on the design process, thus avoiding time-consuming
drawing tasks.
Composite Building Elements:
IDEA considers all the building elements, such as slabs,
staircases, roofs, rails, gables, ramps etc, as intelligent objects
too, logically linked to one another so that they can properly
respond and automatically update themselves to any modification. In
particular, each element has its own attributes that can be edited
by the user at any stage. More than simple drawing tasks, the object
dialogs may also enable sophisticated drawing algorithms, ensuring
the correct element shaping in every case (i.e. a freeway staircase,
a complicated roof etc).
Working
with IDEA, the user can shape his/her model with practically no
limitations, working either on the view plan, any 3D view or even on
front views, cross-sections and perspectives, watching at the same
time the effects of those interventions. The fact that the user
deals with an "intelligent" model is due to the BIM structure of the
program. Thanks to this structure, IDEA handles efficiently
important aspects of the design & construction processes, such as
the bill of materials, the smart topographical functions, even the
seamless integration between IDEA and each one of the other 4M Suite
software solutions (STRAD & STEEL for Structural Design, FINE for
the Building Services – HVAC, Electrical, Sanitary etc), all of them
using and referring to the same, standard Building Information Model
(4M-BLD file format).
Libraries: IDEA includes a large number of objects and symbols
grouped into 4 large libraries, each of them containing 9 categories
of 100 symbols each. Thus
the package contains a total of 3600 drawings, many of which are
provided ready for the designer to use. Note that the first 3
libraries refer to 2D, 3D and view drawings correspondingly, while
the 4th library may be defined right from the start by the user,
even regarding the categorising. In particular, as far as the 2D and
3D drawings are concerned, there are ten individual categories
(General, Living Room Furniture, Dining Room Furniture, Kitchen
Furniture, Office Furniture, Equipment, Plants etc) while the view
drawings include existing drawings (plants, people etc) in view, for
further configuration of the views. It is pointed out that the
balustrade and opening (doors, windows etc) libraries are not
included in the libraries mentioned above, since they are included
in the package section described earlier. Moreover, there are
hundreds of symbol and detail drawings within the program CD. It is
quite important that the library contents may be edited through the
Dynamic Library Editor of IDEA/AutoIDEA. This Dynamic Editor is a
powerful and, at the same time, user-friendly tool, which enables
updating (adding, modifying, deleting) any symbol as well as the
easy integration of existing drawings into the package libraries.
Rendering: IDEA embeds PhotoIDEA,
the
flexible rendering tool which produces high quality photorealistic
representations. PhotoIDEA uses a rich
library of real materials with texture (e.g. marble, wood, stone,
carpets etc), which can be selected and adjusted properly if
necessary. The fact that the attributes of the IDEA building objects
include material information simplifies the editing process. The
selection and editing of the materials the user wishes to use in the
project, the positioning of the lighting sources, the selection of
background and photographic objects and, finally, the running of the
"Photorealism" command with various quality options are all
performed in a friendly and fast way through the "PhotoIDEA" group
of commands.
Virtual Reality:WalkIDEA is
the virtual Walkthrough module of IDEA, which enables the user to
take a "walk" inside or outside the building model, in order to face
the reality. WalkIDEA makes “alive” the scenes of PhotoIDEA in a
very simple manner: Either by using the mouse or a joystick or by
defining a viewing path. Any virtual "trip" can be stored as an avi
file. More than a simple walk, the "WalkIDEA" group of commands also
includes some supplementary effects, such as the ascension of a
staircase, the option to open a door while "walking" etc. In
addition, WalkIDEA can offer the experience of a 4D stereoscopic
reality through a pair of stereo glasses.
M
Suite, the integrated building design suite of 4M. Intelligent model
shaping and high design accuracy are directly applied on the real 3D
model of the building. IDEA embeds
IntelliCAD engine, the world famous CAD alternative, keeping all the
usual CAD features and functions (as they have been introduced by
AutoCAD, the Autodesk's product and trademark), so that its
functionality is as already known by the majority of the CAD users.
On the other hand, IDEA guarantees the communication among
designers, due to its compatibility with DWG files. 
well
as placing on them openings of any kind and type (windows, sliding,
doors, openings, arches). Drawing facilities, such as the "right
click -> properties" or the extended use of grips on any building
object (walls, opening, slabs, columns, beams etc), speed up the
design process. In addition, the real time display of the model
transformations, during the modifications, enables the user to focus
absolutely on the design process, thus avoiding time-consuming
drawing tasks. 
nts:
IDEA considers all the building elements, such as slabs,
staircases, roofs, rails, gables, ramps etc, as intelligent objects
too, logically linked to one another so that they can properly
respond and automatically update themselves to any modification. In
particular, each element has its own attributes that can be edited
by the user at any stage. More than simple drawing tasks, the object
dialogs may also enable sophisticated drawing algorithms, ensuring
the correct element shaping in every case (i.e. a freeway staircase,
a complicated roof etc). 
the package contains a total of 3600 drawings, many of which are
provided ready for the designer to use. Note that the first 3
libraries refer to 2D, 3D and view drawings correspondingly, while
the 4th library may be defined right from the start by the user,
even regarding the categorising. In particular, as far as the 2D and
3D drawings are concerned, there are ten individual categories
(General, Living Room Furniture, Dining Room Furniture, Kitchen
Furniture, Office Furniture, Equipment, Plants etc) while the view
drawings include existing drawings (plants, people etc) in view, for
further configuration of the views. It is pointed out that the
balustrade and opening (doors, windows etc) libraries are not
included in the libraries mentioned above, since they are included
in the package section described earlier. Moreover, there are
hundreds of symbol and detail drawings within the program CD. It is
quite important that the library contents may be edited through the
Dynamic Library Editor of IDEA/AutoIDEA. This Dynamic Editor is a
powerful and, at the same time, user-friendly tool, which enables
updating (adding, modifying, deleting) any symbol as well as the
easy integration of existing drawings into the package libraries.
