Navisworks

Navisworks (also owned by Autodesk) is not a design tool; it is the ultimate "Aggregator and Interrogator" in the BIM ecosystem. While Revit is used to *build* the 3D model, Navisworks is used by the massive General Contractor to *check* the model. It takes incredibly heavy, disparate 3D files from 50 different software programs and mashes them into one single, lightweight federated model. Its absolute primary function is "Clash Detection." A massive hospital might have plumbing designed in Revit, structural steel designed in Tekla, and complex HVAC ductwork designed in AutoCAD MEP. Navisworks runs a mathematical algorithm across all three files simultaneously and generates a report: "Clash #402: The 12-inch water pipe intersects the main steel girder at Coordinates X, Y, Z." This process literally saves tens of millions of dollars in field rework. It also performs "4D and 5D Simulation." 4D means adding the dimension of Time. Navisworks can link the 3D model directly to a Microsoft Project construction schedule. The contractor can hit "Play," and watch a digital time-lapse animation of the building constructing itself on the screen, day by day, proving to the client that the aggressive construction schedule is physically possible.