I am by no means an expert with Autodesk Dynamo, and I have so much to learn about its potential. That being said, Dynamo has challenged me to think differently. I started using Autodesk Dynamo when I was a BIM Manager, I used it initially to set up a model audit which I could run on multiple projects across the office and check how elements (and so much more) were being used, and track them over time to see how it improves or declines in quality. Once issues were identified, we could look at how to tackle it as a group with our BIM coordinators. Just the way Dynamo looked for items made the solution easier to find, but also a solution that you would not normally do. You could use model data to find objects; rather than rely on a manual process, which on scale gets more difficult. I recall a model which no one who originally created it still worked at the company, and it was complex. Complex façade and floor separations.
What we did know was that the model performed badly, it was slow, way too slow for its size, even though its file size was a bit bigger than normal. I interrogated that model traditionally, i.e. manually, and came up with only a few issues, none of which would cause this performance issue. I eventually used my auditing script, and pandora’s box was opened. I found DWGs embedded in every single façade element. I discovered a modeler who drew tens of thousands of lines for tiles instead of a fill pattern, the list goes on.
When you have to think systematically and logically from beginning to end to create a script, you start to think in the same way when you create your Revit models. You start with more of the end solutions in mind before setting out on a path that you might get stuck on. Thinking this way initially in script creation felt like my brain was being twisted and pulled, it challenged me, it made me more analytical, and made me think more laterally about solutions or strategies.
Currently, we help many clients utilize Dynamo in endless ways. Autodesk Dynamo can give you solutions that traditionally would not be considered. It integrates, creates, analyses, modifies, and so much more. Challenge yourself and challenge your team to do more with Dynamo and think differently.
