Addenda to Chapter 6 in Mastering AutoCAD MEP

Thanks to the readers that email us with questions, we are able to keep you all up to date on the latest corrections we find in the text of my/our books. So thank you in advance to everyone who contacts us.

In this update, some of our readers are experiencing issues with the MAMEP piping catalog(s) that is used in Chapter 6 of Mastering AutoCAD MEP. The issue is that the Catalog and Part ID's may be the same as the default Catalogs from AutoCAD MEP 2010. If you are experiencing a problem selecting the fittings indicated in the Create a Routing Preference exercise, please download the MAMEP Pipes.zip file and replace the MAMEP Pipes.apc and the MAMEP Steel Pipes.apc file in C:\MasterMEP 2010\MAMEP Pipe with the ones provided in the zip file.

Thank you.

MEP Book Discussion at Autodesk Discussion Forums

Good discussion going on in the Autodesk Discussion Groups regarding Mastering AutoCAD MEP. Check it out here.

Why not join in on the conversation?

Mastering MEP Dataset omission

Hello all. A reader recently sent me this in an email:

"Page 239 Step 13 refers to a folder and file that is not included on the CD included with the book."


Upon inspection, the reader is correct, the file is indeed missing, as is the folder that it should be in. We consolidated the dataset late in the process and looks like we missed a few references in the text. I believe that the file is now located at:

C:\MasterMEP 2010\MAMEP Commercial\constructs\Mechanical

However, to be certain, we are uploading it here as well. The file should be placed in MasterMEP 2010 directory under the Chapter04 sub-directory if that does not already exist. 

Hotfix for AutoCAD MEP

On page 445 of Mastering AutoCAD MEP, step 36 doesn't work right because of a problem with Service Pack 1. There is a Hotfix for this available at:


http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=14298012&linkID=9240938

Happy New Year all!

Another MEP typo

Another typo spotted by a reader in Mastering AutoCAD MEP:

Page: 59

There is a reference to locating the Options dialog: "(Access the Options dialog from the Application menu as shown in Figure 1.14 above.)" However, the referenced image of the Application menu is actually found in Figure 1.4 on page 50.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

Minor correction in Mastering AutoCAD MEP

In the Quick Start chapter, there is a typographical error at the beginning. The book mentions finding Quick Start files in the: C:\MasterMEP 2010\Quick Start folder (see Page 2 item 4).

The folder is actually located at C:\MasterMEP 2010\Chapter00\Quick Start.

Our appologies for any confusion. Thank you.

Hot off the presses

I am here at AU and preparing for today's sessions. I teach five classes here this year and the first one is this afternoon. Every year, my publisher generously provides copies of my latest books for me to give away at the conference. This year I have three new books including the first edition of Mastering AutoCAD MEP hot off the presses! I have not even received my author copies yet, but I have one copy in  my hands that was drop-shipped from the publisher. One lucky winner in my Mastering AutoCAD MEP: Ask the Experts class today will go home with it! (sorry for the poor photo, my cell phone does not do a nice picture...). I will be teaching the class today with my three co-authors: Darryl McClelland, Martin Schmid and Gregg Stanley. We will also have some copies of MEP Course|Notes to give away. Hope to see you there.

Soooo glad we caught that one...

You know the old saying: "two heads are better than one" or the notion that it is always good to get a "second set of eyes" on something? Well both of those clichés were proven to be valid big time in our final proofing stages of Mastering MEP. Page proofs is the final stage of the process for me as the author of a book. The composition team works up the pages as they will look in the final layout in the actual printed book. They prepare a series of PDF proofs and send them to me for review. When I get them, I have the opportunity to review them, point out any errors and make last minute changes. Usually in the proofing phase, we try to avoid any serious editing as it would delay the schedule. However, the proofing phase gives us the opportunity to take one last look at the pages before they go to press. And if necessary, make any critical corrections of anything discovered. Well, thank goodness I decided to share the proofs with my co-authors this time. While I was busy focusing on the overall look of the pages and looking for problems with the artwork (which is usually where I focus most of my efforts in proof review), my co-author Gregg discovered that the header on all left-hand pages had a “tiny” error.

The title of the book is listed as: Mastering AutoCAD Architecture 2010 Manufacturing, Engineering, and Plumbing.

Ouch.

Way to enhance your credibility with your readers. Sure, we know what MEP stands for… Needless to say I fired off a “stop the presses” email to team.

What a great catch Gregg. Saved me a flood of emails, that’s for sure… 

AutoCAD MEP 2010 Book in Progress

Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I have signed on to write my third book this year!

I have teamed up with three industry experts to write Mastering AutoCAD MEP! The first edition of this book should be published this fall. We expect to have it available in time for Autodesk University and hopefully several weeks before. As many of you may know, by background and experience is in architecture.

Therefore I have teamed up with three top-notch professionals in the MEP space for this project:


Darryl McClelland has 19 years of practical design in MEP engineering. Although his primary focus was the design of mechanical systems, he spent 11 of those 19 years designing electrical and plumbing systems’ as well. He also ran his own engineering business for 8 years. His design experience ranges from complex research laboratories and institutional facilities to medical and professional office buildings, and everything in between. He is a graduate of Purdue University and an active member of ASHRAE and ASPE.

Martin J. Schmid, P.E. has worked with Autodesk for the past four years working on site with customers to implement best practices using AutoCAD MEP and Revit MEP. Prior to joining Autodesk, Martin worked in a variety of roles in a variety of architecture and engineering firms, including electrical designer, engineering coordinator, and application developer. Martin has a Master's Degree in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University, and a Masters in Business Management of Technology from the University of Texas in San Antonio. Martin has used AutoCAD since version 10, and has developed custom applications built on top of AutoCAD MEP extending the capability to suit the specific niche needs of customer applications. Martin has a beautiful wife and two lovely daughters, and works from his home in San Antonio, TX.

Gregg Stanley has over 22 years experience in Mechanical Process Design focused on Water Wastewater treatment systems using AutoCAD based solutions since Release 1.1. Gregg has also been in the position as a CAD Manager responsible for developing and instituting company specific customized applications, CAD standards and training. He has written and presented several training classes on AutoCAD and AutoCAD MEP both internally to coworkers, as a independent consultant and at Autodesk University. Gregg's current position is at Autodesk as a Quality Assurance Analyst and with Product design as a Piping Subject Matter Expert for AutoCAD MEP focused on the Piping application. Gregg is responsible for working with the larger development team and a Usability / Interaction Designer to redesign the 3D piping application and for quality assurance and quality control of several AutoCAD MEP features.

I am very excited to be working with this fine group of experts and look forward to having the book available soon.

Here is a quick look at the (preliminary - i.e. subject to change) table of contents:

Preface

Section I Introduction and Methodology
Quick Start General Overview
Chapter 1 User Interface
Chapter 2 Conceptual Underpinnings of AutoCAD MEP
Chapter 3 Project Navigator

Section II Working with MEP Objects
Chapter 4 Energy Analysis
Chapter 5 Mechanical Systems
Chapter 6 Piping Systems
Chapter 7 Electrical Systems

Section III Content and Display
Chapter 8 Content Creation - Styles
Chapter 9 Content Creation - Equipment
Chapter 10 Content Creation - Fittings
Chapter 11 Display Control (Advanced)

Section IV Drawing Documentation and Coordination
Chapter 12 Sections
Chapter 13 Managing Updates and Interference Detection
Chapter 14 Annotation, Property Sets and Schedules
Chapter 15 Plotting and Publishing

Section IV Appendices
Appendix A Online Resources
Appendix B Tips and Tricks
Appendix C Network issues, WAN