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If you are an amateur in the F&B design industry and would love to put your ideas into reality, you can easily do that while sitting on your couch with just your laptop. You can explore this non-exhaustive list of softwares that are used in the industry.
In our opinion, AutoCAD is the most used software in the industry. AutCAD LT could be subscribe monthly at relatively affordable price. Whether you are a novice, expert or professional you can find free tips & tricks on online videos or enroll in a proper course. It is an easy to learn software if you invest the time! It enables you to quickly make 2D (2 Dimensional) drawings and is great for people or companies getting into the industry for the first time. Once you start to familiar with the software you will require CAD Blocks. Blocks are a collection of vector designs grouped together to form a single entity and materialise the equipment. We would recommend you to contact foodservice equipment manufacturers, they usually have their range of product available upon request.
Download here - https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/overview?term=1-YEAR
Another affordable and easy to learn software for making 3D (3 Dimensional) drawings is SketchUp. It is usually used by people who are getting into the design and architectural industry to present the models of the spaces. It has a simple yet robust toolset which enables you to experiment with various tools and learn the software easily. If you need more inspiration you should check this tutorial for beginner. Sketchup offer plans with unlimited access to Pre-Built 3D models, augmented reality mobile viewer and unlimited cloud storage.
Download here - https://www.sketchup.com/
Revit is a Building Information Modelling (BIM) software, it is the chosen software by today's leading architects & designers and is used my major and large companies to design their projects. While a serious training should be considered, you have significant benefits of using BIM in your next hospitality project:
Saves cost and resources
Great coordination tools thanks of the 3D visuals
Streamline communication as all technical information are in one location
Minizine errors
Improve efficiency
The software if mostly used by large players in the projects industry, to optimize the potential of Revit BIM and focusing in our F&B environment, the user has to use Families. Families are the 3D Block that materialises the equipment, table, chairs in the Revit model that you have created for your outlet. However, the design of the equipments in the Family is not what matters but what matters is the information contained inside the Family that provides the technical parameters.
You will eventually realise that building your own database is a tedious job and would take you a lifetime and the drawback is that it will never be perfect. Indeed, manufactures of these equipment constantly update their products and thus, you should update your design library too.
As mentioned for the AutoCAD blocks, you could request families from the various industry foodservice equipment manufacturer. Although the reality is that every foodservice manufacturer uses different naming conventions and standard to create projects and models on AutoCAD Block and Revit Families.
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Some companies are consolidating all the design information of foodservice equipment suppliers and creating it around their own business model. They are compatible with Revit & Autocad. Some of the companies that have done this are mentioned below:
This is a global equipment specification platform connecting Dealers, Designers and Manufacturers that not only allow you to design, but also quote.
Download here - https://us.specifiglobal.com/
Is an innovative design software for the foodservice industry. It is a platform where you can find thousands of CAD, BIM and Spec sheets from hundreds of manufacturers. It also enable you to generate some custom blocks. We stand out about KCL, it includes the ability to create commercial kitchen layout without AutoCAD or Revit.
Download here - https://www.kclcad.com/
Another solution for designing your F&B outlets without a software is KCL NapkinSketch. It lets you create kitchen layouts, including floor plans, elevations, and 3D models without using a CAD or Revit program. You can choose equipments to include in your client's kitchen, add items to NapkinSketch, and place them in your design. KCL offers 14 days trial in this link.
Download here - https://www.kclcad.com/design-solutions/
Not just kitchens and restaurants layouts, now you can also design your own bar with this easy to use software. You can build you dream bar in real-time 3D now. Choose from over 25,000 different configurations to design the perfect bar for your application
Download here - https://krowne.com/barflex3d/
Now that you know all the software, you can start turning your crazy ideas for your food outlets into reality or even see them come alive on your computer screen. This could not only help you in getting a blueprint of what is in your mind but also help you to make small changes in your outlet which you would not have imagined.
Still not confident of drawing your F&B outlet on your own?
No worries, Flow is happy to connect you directly with our network of Foodservice Consultant near you.
We are always curious to learn more in our industry. Please drop us a line on hey@flowfoodservice.com if you have other software to share or would like to recommend any update in our article!
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