TABLE OF CONTENTS In Chapter 13, you had some exposure to the ways that you can use Photoshop interactively with VIZ. Other products that are very useful with VIZ are AutoCAD-based applications including AutoCAD itself, AutoCAD LT, Mechanical Desktop (MDT), and Architectural Desktop (ADT).You can use any of these CAD programs to help create material maps and analyze photos for VIZ backgrounds. In this chapter, you ll look at ways that you can use AutoCAD-based applications more directly with VIZ in your design and visualization workflow. You ll explore the common practices of importing 2D AutoCAD line drawings as a starting point in the creation of VIZ geometry and the direct linking of the AutoCAD drawings. The latter procedure incorporates the entire DWG file into the VIZ scene with a one-way pipeline; any changes to the AutoCAD file are reflected in the VIZ scene.
Creating Topography with Splines
Setting Up an AutoCAD Plan for VIZ
Importing AutoCAD Plans into VIZ
Exploring the File Link Manager
Adding Stairs
Importing a Truss
The tight integration between all of Autodesk s AutoCAD-based products and VIZ 2007 allows you to maximize the strengths of each program in your workflow. By using CAD and VIZ together, you can maintain a single design database that carries through your entire workflow. VIZ will never overwrite an AutoCAD DWG or DXF file that you import or link into your scene, so you can be sure of the integrity of your design...
