Essential tool for all BIM users
September 20, 2019

Essential tool for all BIM users

Christian Bean | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Navisworks

I work for a large mechanical contracting firm and we are awarded lots of extensive jobs that require heavy amounts of coordination. Our primary tool is Revit and we use Navisworks as a viewer for portrayal to the field and owners what the building will look like in future phases. We can easily call out all clashes through detection tests and manage screen captures through the viewpoint functionality which saves the field time and money.

I would recommend this tool for all firms that work in the BIM industry but would like to see Autodesk make some changes to the product. Unlike Revit and AutoCAD, every time Navisworks is updated it seems to remain the same with no improvements.

Pros

  • Clash detections
  • Sectioning and measuring tools
  • Saved Viewpoints folder management system

Cons

  • User Interface has remained the same for at least the last 8 releases. Something new would help users feel like Autodesk didn't forget about this software.
  • The amount of time it takes to export larger Revit files as an NWC is the biggest drawback which is no fault of Navisworks but if they figured out how to incorporate a "Live Sync" function I believe users would fall in love.
  • Without Navisworks we wouldn't have the confidence to pre-fabricate pipe and ductwork which is a huge contributor to our annual profits.
BIM 360 Glue - Not as user-friendly and the fact that your orientation in the model resets every time you refresh your model drives me insane. I much prefer the Navisworks clash detection and file management.

Revizto – This also resets your orientation which I do not like. Their dimension and section tools are hot garbage compared to Navisworks but it does have the ability to overlay floor plans and dimensioned sheets on the actual 3D model which is pretty sweet. The selection tree and clash detection are again much better in Navisworks.
I don’t have much to say about the customer support since we never really encounter problems with the software so there is no need to reach out. I guess you could add this to a list of pros.

Do you think Navisworks delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Navisworks's feature set?

Yes

Did Navisworks live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Navisworks go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Navisworks again?

Yes

If you are pre-fabricating or simply looking to give your field dimensional drawings you should be using Navisworks as a 3D viewer to confirm there are no clashes between MEPFP trades and the Arch / Struct models. This will save loads on time and materials in the end. This tool is the main reason why our large scale pharmaceutical, educational, industrial and medical projects are so successful.

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