CSD offers support for multiple units of measurement across the entire CSD system including both Cloud based services and applications: CS ArtisanRV (Revit) and CS Artisan (AutoCAD). Fundamentally, this functionality was developed to provide an Imperial measurement system for users in the USA and organisations engaged in projects that are based on both measurement systems.
All professional BIM authoring or CAD platforms operate in 'real scale' (1:1) but it is essential that the model or drawing measurement unit is known. In the Revit environment, there are various, well established methods for setting or changing project units.
Planting, as ever, introduces other complications, particularly with regard to specification information. In the UK/Europe, the National Plant Specification (NPS) system is the standard, whereas in the USA, the US ANSI (American Standard for Nursery Stock) system is used. Both standards dictate height, spread, container sizes etc in their individual way, using metric or imperial measurements, in associated range values and established trade practice in the different geographic territories.
A mapping system has therefore been implemented to dynamically link the National Plant Specification (NPS) standard used in UK/Europe to the US ANSI (American Standard for Nursery Stock) system, so that users with global reach can switch seamlessly between metric and imperial units.
Users can create a palette in either Imperial or Metric format and toggle between the two systems.
The multiple unit system has been run through the CSD website and also through the CS ArtisanRV (Revit) application so that a Palette (user-defined selection of plants from the CSD online Palette Builder) is displayed in either metric (NPS) or imperial (ANSI) format regardless of the measurement units originally used to create the palette. Project Units are automatically detected to determine the associated view.
