CAD Shack

So you Deleted the Central File...

2012-02-13T07:56:00.003-06:00

It happens so often that I wrote down what to do.

In the case where the central file has been accidentally upgradedor some other equally bad thing has happened to the central file, a local filecan be used to create a new central file. Find a person on the project that hasnot synced with central and has a very recent version for a local file that canbe turned into the new central file. Theuser with the good local file must;

Open the local file directlyremembering to detach from central on open.
'Save As' overwriting the badcentral.
Open Options inthe Save As dialogto ensure the "Make Central after save" is checked.
All users must create newlocals to continue working on this project.

Not so bad, considering the alternative.

Revit Family Formula Examples and Tricks

2012-01-23T11:06:00.001-06:00

When creating formulas in a family it is helpful to have a go to list of examples. Here is mine.

IF Statement
IF (Length < 30′, 2′ 6″, 4′)
If the Length parameter is less than 30' x = 1 , y = 22'-6"
     If the Length parameter is greater than 30' this parameter will have a value of 4'-0"

IF that Returns a String
IF (Height > 30′, “This thing is tall”, “This thing is short”)
If the Height parameter is greater than 30' this parameter will return  This thing is tall
     If the Height parameter is less than 30' this parameter will return  This thing is short
Nested IF Statements
IF (Length < 35’, 2′ 6″ , IF (Length < 45′, 3′ , IF (Length < 55′, 5′, 8′ ) ) )
     If Length is less than 35', this parameter will have a value of 2'-6"
     If Length is between 35' and 45', this parameter will have a value of 3'
     If Length is between 45' and 55', this parameter will have a value of 5'
     If Length is greater than 55', this parameter will have a value of 8'

IF applied to a Yes/No condition
Length > 40'
If Length is greater than 40' the the statement is true and the Yes/No check box is checked
   If Length is 40' or less the statement is false and the Yes/No check box is NOT checked

IF OR
IF (OR (A = 1 , B = 3 ) , 10 , 5)
If A = 1 or B = 3 this parameter will have a value of 10
     If A is not = 1 and B is not = 3 this parameter will have a value of 5

IF AND
IF (AND (x = 1 , y = 2), 8 , 3 )
If x = 1 and y = 2 this parameter will have a value of 8

If x is not = 1 or y is not = 2 this parameter will have a value of 3

Some Formula Tricks of the Trade

This or That only with a Yes/No parameters

By specifing that metal can not be true while Wood is true the user can only specify one of the two materials. They both can not be checked at the same time. This can be used for visibility where a left or right access panel may be required but never both.

Pick One and Only One

Here the condtion number will allow only one paramter to be true in a list. Associated with a type, you could control a ton of things simply back picking the correct type.

"Don't Change Me Bro"

If you need some text to not change, put that text in the Formula column with quotes around it. It greys it out in the Value column. This should stop the majority of users from changing its value.

Swapping Nested Families
In a bookcase family with a nested shelf family, follow these steps to add a parameter that will allow the user to switch from one type of shelf to another.

1. Open the original shelf family and save it as the second shelf option. Add something to make it different.

2. Load this new shelf into the bookcase family, but do not place it.

3. In the Family Types dialog create a new Type parameter named “Swappable Shelf”. Make its discipline Common, its Type of Parameter and group it under Constraints.

4. When you select the Type of Parameter Revit will open the Select Category dialog. Pick Generic Models.

5. Select the original shelf in the bookcase family now. In the Properties dialog, look for the Label parameter and change it to “Swappable Shelf”.

6. In the Family Types dialog Create 2 shelf types, Shelf Type 1 and Shelf Type 2. Associate the swappable shelf parameter with the appropriate type.

7. Flex the family. Change the family type and verify that the shelf changes.

New Year - New AUGI World

2012-01-20T07:28:00.002-06:00

The January edition of AUGI World is available online now. It's chalked full of great articles by good looking authors. Download or view it online today and stay ahead of the pack. Here are some of my favorites;

JoelLondenberg
PlumbingSystems for Well-Documented Flow

SteveBennett -
Inior Outie? Advancing Your Customization of the Revit ini File

Louisa Holland
AutoCAD System Variable Superstars

Using Character Map in Text and Tags

2012-01-01T08:30:00.000-06:00

If you were not aware that you can use special characters in Revit to add things like a diameter symbol to text, check out my previous post. In that post I showed how to figure out the key-in required to produce certain symbols just by typing them into the text string. in this post, I'll show how to leverage the many special characters that do not have a key in but existing in the font.

Revit MEP supports oval duct, but the symbol in tags my firm has used since hand drafting is the Greek letter PHI. Unfortunately there is no key in for the PHI character. I can however, use the "Select" and "Copy" buttons to copy the character to the clipboard and paste it directly into a text string.

In this case, the symbol legend.

It can also be pasted directly in a label for a tag as a suffix.

Happy New Year!

Overriding Dimensions in Revit

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Say you are putting together a detail that has a dimension in it but for it to look appropriate, things really won't be to scale. What I am getting at, is that you want to put down a dimension that is wrong. Revit won't allow you to override it using the feet and inches symbols from your keyboard. Instead you get this judgmental dialog.

Go back to Dimension Text dialog by clicking on the dimension twice and select the "Replace With Text" option.

Right click in the text field
Select "Insert Unicode control character"
Pick "US Unit Separator (Segment separator)"

Type a new dimension into the Text box and click OK.

Wa-Shaw!

In the image below these walls are either 8'-0" apart or 1'-6" apart. You don't know, because of my awesome Revit trickery.

Follow the same steps and put a space in instead to clear the dimension altogether.

I realize that this may be perceived as pure EVIL in the Revit world.... and well, because it is.

The Evil Santa Cows says "Moooo, Haha, ha!"

Merry Christmas!

December AUGIWorld features Industry Insights

2011-12-22T07:39:00.001-06:00

The December issue of AUGIWorld serves up plenty ofperspective from industry professionals.

In "Halfway to Paperless,"Bryan Thompson offers his solution for getting us beyond just talking about apaperless office and actually realizing it.

Melinda Heavrin, AutoCADArchitecture expert, thoroughly discusses "Material Matters"within the product. In "Stuck in Neutral, Christopher Fugitt offershis view on AutoCAD Civil 3D and what is needed to make that product all itcould be.

Super Families: A Kit of Parts - Many Revit usersfind families difficult to master. Author Nicholas Kramer makes the concepteasy to grasp by breaking it down into parts.

Advanced Rendering in Revit - Kyle Benedict plumbs the depths of producing presentations using tools within Revit.

and a small offering from yours truly...

Getting to the Next Level - creating a BIMenvironment goes far beyond implementing Revit and calling it done. Firms willneed to spend money, spend time, and build a culture of embracing change, says the author I call me.

Happy 7th Birthday to CAD Shack

2011-12-20T00:30:00.000-06:00

7 years today I got frustrated with an editor that changed an article of mine, and I started the CAD Shack Blog so I could write what ever I wanted, when I wanted.

I was all about Autodesk Building Systems at the time. The Aviator won an Oscar for best picture, New England won Super Bowl 39, Katrina happened, and I paid $2.17 a gallon for gas.

In a lot of ways, things sure are better now. Here's to 7 more years.

Revit - Rooms vs. Spaces

2011-12-15T10:38:00.007-06:00

The more I use Revit, the more I want to leverage the information in it. Lately, that has been in the form of calculations for my firm. Today, room area calcs. The architect set up the rooms to calculate the room area from the face of wall. We need a little bigger number electrically to maximize light per square foot, so we want to run these calcs form the center of wall instead. This is easy to change for rooms by changing a setting in the Area and Room Computations dialog.

No matter what we did, we could not get the spaces to also jump out to the wall center as well. A quick look in the Help file exposed the reason why, andwe also picked up a few facts worth knowing and passing along.

So straight out of the Help file, here are things to consider about how Revit Architecture and Revit MEP Share Information when you link a Revit Architecture project to a Revit MEP project.

Spaces (created in Revit MEP) can be bounded by elements in linked models, in the host model, or in both.
Spaces are affected by room separation lines. Rooms are not affected by space separation lines.
Spaces are measured from the wall finish face.
In Revit MEP, spaces use the computation height that is defined in the architectural model. See Computation Height.
A space understands in which room of a linked model it resides, and it can report the identity of that room. This information is based on relative locations, not on a link to a specific room ID.
Multiple spaces can access the identity of a single room in a linked model.
Rooms can exist in design options. (See Design Options and Rooms.) Spaces cannot exist in design options.
If the architectural model changes, spaces are not deleted in the host MEP model. Spaces can become unenclosed, redundant, or ambiguous, as they would if the same changes were made in the host model.
Modification of one model does not propagate to linked models. If the architectural model and the MEP model link to each other, changes to the architectural model may not be matched by changes in the MEP model until the MEP model is opened, resaved, and reloaded.

Pipe Rise and Drop Wrong Size

2011-11-28T10:18:00.000-06:00

I had a job the other day and my pipe rises were gigantic!

These are the annotation symbols in single line. To fix things, click on the little angle arrow next to the Plumbing and Piping group label and ensure annotation scaling is being used then change the Pipe Rise/Drop to a smaller scale. Fittings can be changed separately.

You may find that every time you change to a smaller scale it reverts back to the original scale. This is probably being caused by the fact that units for pipe size do not go to a scale that precise. To change that click "Project Units" on the Manage tab, set the discipline to "Piping" and set the rounding to the required precision.

Now take a look at your symbol. Hopefully, things have gotten a lot easier to read.

Imported DWG Files Have Thin Text

2011-11-22T21:38:00.000-06:00

There are times when AutoCAD files are required to be addedto Revit project files. There two ways to incorporate AutoCAD DWG filesinto Revit. One is to Insert the DWGand the other is to Link the DWGfile. Inserted DWG files remain static and don’t change in Revit when they areupdated in AutoCAD. Linked DWG Files update each time the Revit project file isopened or when a reload is forced from with the Revit project.

Inserting ispreferable when the DWG file will not need to be updated like a legend, note,existing background, or detail. Inserted DWGs can be placed directly onto asheet, view, or into a drafting view, depending on its use.

Linking is preferablewhen the DWG file will be updated as the project progresses.

Either way, if your standard text font is Simplex for AutoCAD, when that file gets into Revit it plots too light. My solution is to change the text style in AutoCAD before Importing or linking to Revit.

1. To maintainthe readability of text, use the Stylecommand in the AutoCAD file to be Inserted/Linked and change the Standard text styles font to Zurich Lt BT.

2. Navigate to the View or Sheet that requires the Inserted/Linked DWG. (Create a drafting view byselecting the Drafting View tool onthe View tab of the ribbon ifrequired.)

3. Select the ImportCAD tool or the Link CAD tool onthe Insert tab of the Ribbon.

4. Browse out to therequired DWG. Before clicking the Open button, Select from the drop downs ofwhat Colors, Layers, and Positioning.

5. Click Open toplace the DWG file in the View/Sheet.

AUGI Revit MEP Wish List Voting

2011-11-14T15:11:00.001-06:00

Please go to the AUGI Revit MEP Wish List and vote for your top 10.

Can't See Spaces

2011-11-14T07:26:00.000-06:00

I had a user today who could not tag or see spaces. He had everything on in the model and the linked model, the worksets were good, and everything he tried... failed.

The problem was the cut plane of the view range was set to 14'-4" because of the strange composition of the building. The architects room objects along with the spaces topped out at 8'-0". When we dropped the cut plane down to intersect the spaces... Wa-shaw! there they were after all.

The solution that works best for us is actually to make the top of all the spaces reach for a new level we added above the whole building. None of the spaces actually get there because they all hit room bounding structure before they got there.

Linked Models Disappear when using Remote Desktop Connection

2011-11-10T09:57:00.001-06:00

When using remote desktop to access my PC to deliver training, I have been bummed in the past to notice that linked modeled objects did not show up on the display screen. They are there, and if I went back to my PC I could see them. In fact, if I selected a window, Revit would tell me that I have selected objects.

I found out later that using or not using hardware acceleration caused the issue. If the same happens to you, make a change in the Graphics tab of the options dialog and reopen Revit.

Now everything should be visible and the training can continue.

Gaps Between Pipes and Fittings

2011-11-07T15:45:00.000-06:00

Using out of the box fittings and pipes, I have gotten unexpected results, like those pictured below. When connecting 2 pipes, Revit MEP is leaving a gap between the fitting and the pipe.

Solution: Select the fitting and toggle the "Use Annotation Scale" check box instance parameter.

Wa-Shaw!

Unassigned Linked Rooms

2011-11-01T21:37:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago we noticed that we had a linked architectural model with named and numbered rooms. The weird thing is some of the linked spaces in the MEP model were showing up as “unassigned”. Not all of them, just some.

For the life of me, I really couldn't figure out what was different about the rooms that the names and numbers were not translating into the spaces. They even seemed to follow a line, like the left hand side would work but the right would not.

I don't know why this worked but it did. We changed the linked architectural file's volume computations to "Area's Only" instead of "Areas and Volumes".

For what ever reason, all the spaces worked after that. I mostly like to know why things work, but in this case I will just happily accept that they did.

100,000 Hits Can't Be Wrong

2011-10-24T20:56:00.001-05:00

I am Happy to report that CAD Shack has hit over 100,000 hits.

I would like to thank my team of trained gerbils for continually hitting my blogs for sun flower seeds. Tonight, I am rewarding them with a slice of apple.

Thanks too, to all of you who may have inadvertently stopped by the Shack once and checked back with me from time to time. I am looking forward to the next 100,000 hits, and providing some great information along the way.

Thanks Everyone!

AEI-Ashrae Expo - Call for Speakers

2011-10-20T08:28:00.002-05:00

On March 7, the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering (ASHRAE) Nebraska Chapters are sponsoring first one day Expo and Technical Conference for professionals involved in the building industry.
Topics of interest to our audience cover a wide range of topics divided in tracks. Presentation may focus on technical, applications, or energy efficient buildings and technologies.

November 10 – Due date for speakers applications; Applications after this date will be accepted but there will be no guarantee that the speaker will be considered if all track sessions are filled.
Proposal Guidelines & Tips:
v  Identify your anticipated audience(s) and level of expertise or development
v  Provide a compelling title
v  Provide short abstract describing the objectives of the topic
v  Presentation shall be 45 minutes long with 10-15 minutes for questions/discussion
v  Expenses such as travel and logging are covered by the event organizer; Speaker expense donation by your organization is welcomed
v  Presentation shall be focused on a new technology, application, energy efficient operation, i.e. a curriculum;

Note: If you’re abstract is selected for the conference, you will be contacted via e-mail with additional information for travel and hotel arrangements, as well as a contract agreement.

For more information go to http://aei-ashraexpo.org/speakers.html

Can't Drop CFM from CFM Tags

2011-10-01T05:00:00.000-05:00

My Friend Doug Bowers had an interesting problem today. He sent me this email.

I have a schedule in which I do not want the CFM to show as text in the
schedule (I just want the numeric value). I figured that was easy enough to
do by just going into the schedule properties and changing the formatting
for that field. I selected the desired field, picked the Field Format
button, removed the checkmark for "Use project settings", and then changed
the "Unit symbol" from "CFM" to "None". It gave me an "Invalid Input" error
message and wouldn't allow the change.

I thought that was interesting, so I went in the Project Units for the
project itself and tried to change the HVAC Airflow units from CFM to
something else. Not only would Revit not let me change it to something
else, but if I just picked the OK button without changing anything it gave
me the same error message.

Here is the secret. Go into project units as Doug suggested and pick CFM, but this time first change the Rounding to anything but Custom first. Everything works as expected after that. For some crazy reason Custom is the default and it hasn't worked since at least 2010.

My suggestion is change it in your template and forget about it.

New AUGIWorld - Go Get It

2011-09-26T12:49:00.002-05:00

The New AUGIWorld is out. This is the one with the salary survey, so here is hoping you make too much money. Melanie Perry really up'd the bar for the 10th anniversary of this series.

Check out page 44 for strategies for memory management when dealing with Revit MEP by David Raynor.

Beth Powell lays out part three in her series on how to implement AutoCAD MEP. Stay tuned next month for the final installment which goes through some real world issues.

Marcello Sgambelluri has a really interesting article on create complex geometry in Revit.

All in all, it's another do not miss issue.

Filtering Out Colored Duct for Architects

2011-09-24T18:57:00.001-05:00

In Revit MEP 2012 the use of systems for duct and pipe gives color to those entities. Nice for us. Getting that visual indication makes a huge difference in being able to differentiate supply, return, exhaust, and cold, cold water recirc, and vent. I found out the other day, architects aren't so keen on it. They have been getting around previous methods of us color coding things, but the use of systems might catch a few off guard. When at a loss on how to handle the colorful MEP model one of our clients called on Joe Eichenseer at IMAGINiT for help.

Joe slam dunked it will a filter for the architect.

Then changing the color and line weight when applied.

Another satisfied customer. Thanks Joe!

Spell Check the Whole project

2011-09-16T15:26:00.002-05:00

In 2012 things work great, but in older versions for what ever reason Revit's Spell Check function only checks what is in the current view. To spell check a project, each referenced view must be opened and spell checked.

Here is a tip on how you can spell check MOST, if not ALL, of an old Revit project.

1. Go to any view that has a text note.

2. Select the text note and right click.

3. Choose "Select All Instances..."

4. Then choose "In Entire Project..."

5. On the Ribbon, select "Spell Check"

This will spell check every noteof that Text Type in the entire project.
Repeat the steps for anyother Text Types in your project.
This will leave outtext objects inside groups, families, etc... But, it is better thannothing at all.

Revit 2012 Family Standards

2011-09-14T21:56:00.002-05:00

Shawn Zirbes is the Chief Technical Officer for Integrated Content Solutions and CAD Technology Center. A few years back he summarized his experience with Revit families in a book that applied to 2010 content. Well, he is back and expanded for 2012.

I use the 2010 version as a resource at work and as required reading in my college courses. A concise yet in depth look at families that is easy to read for the beginner, yet full of cutting edge information for the super user. Neatly organized and well presented.

Bravo Shawn.

Find out more or buy the book by clicking here.

Rotating While Worksharing

2011-09-03T19:05:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while I would notice when rotating objects,the icon for moving the base point of rotation was not visible. After a little experimentation I discovered that when the workset of the object didn't match the current workset, the base point icon would not be visible. To see it all, change the current workset to match the workset of the object.

AUGIWorld August 2011 Issue Released!

2011-08-24T08:55:00.000-05:00

Collaboration is more thanjust a tidy word to describe diverse users working together toward a commongoal. Collaboration is a mindset and a culture which, fortunately for Autodeskproduct users, is aided significantly by the products they use every day.

In “Keys to Collaboration Success,”author Brian Bentonoffers some practical tips for collaborating on AutoCAD projects.

Melinda Heavrin’s article “Collaboration with Autodesk DesignReview” elaborates on how drawing markups can become an easy,streamlined operation.

And Andra Marquardtdemonstrates how AutoCADMap handles the critical process of file import and export in“Speaking the Same Language.”

Also, a tiny article by me.

Speed Up Cropping

2011-08-15T14:53:00.003-05:00

Anyone who has ever cropped a view in Revit has gotten used to the "rolling doughnut" in Windows 7, or the hourglass, or what ever tells you that your computer is thinking about the crop region. One side at a time the crop regions need to be adjusted, and it doesn't matter if it is a big or small adjustment, each move starts the doughnut rolling again. Adding to the pain is when an annotation crop region is also required for the view. Now the effort doubles.

Well, maybe not. In this case, all I want to do is pull the annotation crop in as tight as possible to the crop. Start by selecting the crop region, then pick the Size Crop tool on the contextual ribbon.

This will open the Crop Region Size dialog. In this dialog change the annotation offsets to 1/8". Revit will not allow 0".

Click OK and get on with the rest of your cropping. Ultimately a crop by window tool would save the most time, but while we are waiting, this will help.

Revit MEP Lasso Leader

2011-07-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

If you are an Revit MEP user, a constant source of frustration is that Revit MEP does not have lasso for a leader head. Lassos are particularly helpful when labeling a pipe in a group of pipes or a circuit in a busy area, and they have been heavily relied upon in the past, which makes it hard not having them in the tool box now.

Revit currently does not allow changes or additions to the standard leader heads, but a user in my office named Mitch came up with an idea that is just crazy enough to work. The idea is to draw a generic annotation shaped like a lasso and add a leader to it, but set the leader arrowhead to none. Essentially the lasso is at the wrong side the leader and there is no arrow head on the other side, It's not perfect, but it works with a little effort.

Start by creating a new annotation family using the generic annotation template and delete the text in the default view.

Draw a line centered on the intersection of the reference planes then an arc above and another arc below. Create a visibility parameter for each arc. I made a Left and Right parameter.

In the Family Types dialog, I added a formula to the Right of "not(left)". What this does is not let both arc be on at once. If left is visible right will not be. If left is not visible, right will be.

These arc can over shoot the plane a little to give the classic lasso look or end right at the plane as I drew them here.

Load this into a project an make sure to add a leader. Edit the type if necessary to set the leader arrowhead to none. Tweak the leader bend points and presto! It's a Revit lasso.

Creating Revit Type Catalogs for Families

2011-07-21T10:52:00.002-05:00

When you have a family that has a lot of types, using a Type Catalog may be the best choice for helping users navigate them. An obvious example is structural steel. In that case there are many different choices and each choice changes the shape, weight and identity of the family. Type catalogs use a lookup table to assign the appropriate data needed for the different available types. It is important to note that the type catalogs can only drive family parameters and not project parameters.

For this example a dishwasher family is created and it is named dishwasher.rfa.

Select the Family Types button to identify the parameters to associate with the look up table. For this example use Model and Manufacturer. In order for this to work correctly some data has to be placed in Value column. The words model and manufacturer will work, the letter X or any other characters will work as well, just don't leave them blank.

Next a look up table needs to be created. Start with an Excel file and save it with the same exact name as the family. Only the file extension should be different.

Leave cell A1 blank. Revit reconizes this as a heading for family type which will start below it. Placing any data here will cause things not to work. Fill out the rest of the cells as indicated below.

Column A defines the family Types that can be created.

Column B defines the Model number assigned to that type.

Column C defines the Manufacturer assigned to that type.

The column headers for Model and Manufacturer are a combination of the parameter name to be controlled and a code for the parameter type. The codes are listed below.

Angle ##ANGLE##DEGREES
Area ##AREA##SQUARE_FEET
Currency ##CURRENCY##
Integer ##OTHER##
Length ##LENGTH##FEET
Material ##OTHER##
Number ##OTHER##
Slope ##SLOPE##SLOPE_DEGREES
Text ##OTHER##
Volume ##VOLUME##CUBIC_FEET
*Yes/No ##OTHER##

*When using a Yes/No parameter the Yes=1 and No=0.

When done, save this Excel file with a CSV file type.

Then change it's extension in Windows Explorer to ".txt".

Test this by loading the dishwasher family into a new project. The type catalog will only show up when the family is loaded. Placing a second dishwasher will not bring it up again.

Dependent Views

2011-06-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

The use of dependent views is invaluable in a MEP model when systems cross match lines. By creating two dependent views of level 1, one can represent the East wing and the other the West wing. Because the two dependent view will share the annotations of the parent view along with all the view settings, systems can be designed and documented in an overall view while the sheet (dependent) views reflect the big picture.

What happens when you want to move on to level 2, 3, and 4? Right click on the the level 1 overall view and select "Apply Dependent Views".

This will bring up a dialog to select views to apply the same dependent views to. The beauty part? The same crop regions are applied to each of the other selected levels. so sweet!

If for some reason you need to make a dependent view and independent view, right click has got you covered again. This time select "Convert to Independent View".

Project BIMbo

2011-06-07T07:50:00.001-05:00

As the Founder and President of the BIM Board of Omaha (commonly known as BIMbo), Imagine my surprise this morning when reading Zach Kron's blog Buildz and seeing the image below.

I shouldn't blame anyone but myself for naming a progressive group of BIM enthusiasts looking to push the envelope such a clever and humorous name. The sad truth is, I am not so clever, or the first person to want to brand something with the BIMbo name.

There are fountain drinks...

Breads....

and ice cream treats...

And from my Friend Robin Z

Clearly, BIM has perminated our society far deeper than I have realized. Go BIM!

Revit Upgrade Plugin Available from Autodesk Labs

2011-06-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think about Autodesk Labs as a group of labrador retrievers that happen to be at Autodesk.

But they are not.

Instead they are a group of talented programmers doing quirking/cool stuff that sometimes makes our lives easier. Every month a new plug-in comes out. This month, enjoy a Revit Upgrade plug-in.

BIM Lawsuit goes after MEP Firm

2011-05-25T22:18:00.000-05:00

I came across this article recently in Architectural Record regarding a lawsuit in which the contractor used BIM against the design team and won. Well worth the read, although I don't think anyone should live in fear of law suits, firms need to be informed and communicate at all times.

Revit Viewer

2011-05-18T10:13:00.001-05:00

The 2012 version of Revit products has an included Viewer that allows printing. To dig it out, go to what used to be called the Start button, pick All Programs, then Autodesk, Revit MEP 2012, and pick the viewer. You can also right click and drag it out to the desktop.

When it starts you will get the following warning, telling you that it will not save or save as, and it won't plot once you make a change. It will print and unchanged project. I checked quick and it does not pull a license if you are using network licensing.

How to Know Everything Revit MEP

2011-05-17T19:00:00.001-05:00

Mastering Revit MEP can take years. The software accurately models in three dimensions, runs analysis, performs interference checks, and creates construction documents for HVAC, plumbing, lighting and power designs. When trying to learn everything there is to know about Revit MEP, it is not hard to miss the ever increasing number of developments, add-ins, and third party packages that can take your designs to the next level. Three to five years ago, simply using Revit MEP could have won a job. These days’ MEP firms are having to one up the next guy. Simply having a three dimensional model isn’t enough. It’s no place for the technology challenged, but it is also an opportunity for the technology savvy with their eye on the latest developments. This article will explore how to stay on top of the latest developments and fill you in what’s already out there to be leveraged for Revit MEP users.

Knowing What You Don’t Know

How does one stay informed on the latest and greatest developments in the CAD world? Reading AUGIWorld is a great start, but it will take the power of the internet to keep up these days. There are so many great sites and so much data out there, it can be hard to sift thought it all to actually find relevant information. Here are some suggestions.

Take a half hour every work day just to research. It is so easy to be in fire fighting mode all the time. There never seems to be a shortage of things going wrong. If it means coming in early or staying a little late, turn off your phone and email, set a timer and explore the internet for something new.

Join AUGI and follow the Revit MEP Forums. Ask questions or just mine the valuable information, tips and tricks, family specific help, and the official Revit MEP Wish list found there.

Whenever you find a blog or website that has good information, follow it. Some will send email alerts when there are new posts, most have RSS feeds.

Use a RSS reader to bring your data together. I use Google Reader, but there are others. A good reader will allow you one stop shopping for the blogs and websites you visit most.

Follow the authors and rock stars of the Revit MEP world. Do they tweet? If they do, I bet the information is timely.

Use Google Alerts to receive an email when ever there is something of interest posted on the internet. Create alerts for things like; BIM, IFC, Revit MEP Add-in, Kyle Bernhardt, Shawn Zirbes, Revit connectors, anything or one at all that interests you. These alerts can be sent to your email or straight to Google Reader.

Add the Autodesk Press Room to your RSS reader or receive emails. Go to http://pressreleases.autodesk.com/ to find out what Autodesk is up to the second they release it.

Autodesk Labs is constantly thinking of the unbelievable. Check out there web page at http://labs.autodesk.com. Just last month they released an ASHRAE viewer plug-in for Revit MEP that allows users to access the ASHRAE Duct Fitting database for viewing data and illustrations to determine pressure loss coefficients through standard duct fittings.

Talk to other people. Other people think differently than you, which means they solve problems in a way you may not have thought of. It also means they may know something that you do not. These people are in your office, and they are outside of your office. Go to the user group meetings (start one if you have to). These people are facing the same issues as you, looking for the same types of information as you, and they have these meeting just to share the solutions you need. You can also make contacts with CAD/BIM smarty-pants at ASHRAE, CSI, IEEE or any other MEP oriented group meeting. The point is go out there and meet people.

Get training. Your reseller likely offers great training and is in touch with the latest trends. CAD Camp is rolling out this month. Autodesk University has the greatest collection of Revit MEP geeks in the world.

You Tube. Can’t beat it for just in time training. Autodesk has its own channel http://www.youtube.com/user/Autodesk, and users all over the globe are posting incredibly helpful videos of just about everything.

What You Might have Missed

What kinds of information can you expect to find for all this poking around? Here are some tidbits I have been following.

Eastcoast has put out an add-in to Revit MEP to export Revit duct, fittings, and accessories into AutoCAD MEP. This workflow allows for tweaking in AutoCAD MEP, exporting to Eascoast’s Ductmaker software then out to a plasma cutter. This is a real exciting development for sheet metal subs, who have been getting more Revit MEP files and less AutoCAD MEP. Now they can continue to use the time tested technology Eastcoast CAD/CAM first put out nearly six years ago. Find out more about Eastcoast’s workflow for Revit MEP by going to http://www.eccadcam.com/software_solutions/autocad_mep_fabrication_workflow.shtml.

FAB mep+ from Map has a similar add-in that allows for the export of Revit duct, fittings, and accessories into the MAP software suite of products which can convert those entities’ to fabrication standards for accurate estimating, procurement and manufacture. This software maps a Revit elements to a standard duct entity. This system can go a long way towards quantifying the sheet metal, but falls short on exact clash detection and the post design tweaking that Eastcoast’s software allows in AutoCAD MEP. Find out more about FAB mep+ by visiting http://www.map-software.com/solutions/fabmep-autodesk-revit-to-map-software-conversion-application.

CADworks has a product called BIMXchange which is a web based content browser that runs inside of Revit MEP. It acts as a gateway to CADworks Revit library of over 20,000 generic, and manufacturer specific families. Some of these families, like Bell and Gossett pumps are only available through the BIMXchange interface. Their solution keeps the content in the CADworks cloud and can include the content already created by a firm by loading it up to the CADworks cloud. That content is downloaded by individually licensed users as the content is required for each project. CADworks takes a service approach by licensing the use of the browser and not charging for the individual content. This may help CADworks in securing deals with content manufactures. CADworks does make high quality families, but some users may find that generic content is preferable in design. Find out more about CADworks BIMXchange by going to http://www.cadworks.net/products/bimxchange.

Can We Talk?

Change is inevitable and it is accelerating. Keeping in tune with change will not only keep you prepared for the future and help your firm make smarter decisions; it can also be the difference between survival and surrender in a world that is increasingly information driven. Over the last few years Revit’s API has become more and more open, allowing for third party applications of all kinds to add value to the base program. Whether it is better integration with specifications, faster content selection and management, or even other Autodesk programs and services like Green Building Studio, Vasari, and Ecotect, the days of information trapped in a single program really can’t existing anymore. The “I” in BIM is where the value really lies, and what better way to truly share information than to allow other applications to plug directly into Revit MEP and vice versa. At this point, It doesn’t matter if it is IFC, gbxml, AUGI, a Google search, or a RSS reader, the information is flowing and we all need to tap to go forward.

Autodesk Labs Plugin of the Month

2011-05-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

If you are not checking out AutoDesk Labs site from time to time, you are missing out on some very interesting developments. I find myself a month behind, but look what I found archived for April.

"ASHRAE Viewer for Revit MEP
Revit MEP utilizes the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Duct Fitting Database to lookup coefficients for determining pressure losses through duct fittings. This add-in provides a way to view the illustrations and the data table of available duct fittings from the database."

I have not tried it out, but I am downloading as I write. It is compatible with version 2011 and 2012.

I need to keep reminding myself to never stop exploring and trying new things or I may find out that I am hand drafting and the whole world went to the cloud.

MEP Annotation Symbols vs. 3D Architectural Families

2011-05-03T13:22:00.000-05:00

Have you ever plotted and found something like the image below where an architectural object is some how thinking it is more important the your MEP object?

Put those pesky architectural objects in there place quickly by making them transparent in Visibility Graphics.

Boo-Ya!

Wire Gap when Wires Cross

2011-04-21T15:42:00.000-05:00

Revit does a great job of automatically breaking wires that cross as long as the stars are aligned. Here is every little thing to make sure of.

The View Discipline is set to Electrical.
The Detail Level is set to Medium or Fine.
The Thick lines/Thin lines toggle is set to Thick lines.
The Electrical Settings dialog has a gap defined (I like 1/16").
The Draw MEP Hidden Lines box is checked in the Electrical Settings dialog.

Register Revit MEP 2012 and Get a New LIC file

2011-04-19T15:22:00.000-05:00

So you got your new 2012 software, and you are ready to dig in.

First things first, you need to register your software by going to Autodesk's Registration Site.
If you have trouble with that site, you can fill out a Licensing Registration and Activation form.

For more information on licensing check out Autodesk's Help page.

Revit MEP 2012 is Available for Download

2011-04-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

Go and get it off the subscription page.

Check out this announcement from Inside the System.

The AU Call for papers is out

2011-03-29T21:23:00.002-05:00

AU 2011 Call for Proposals is Open!

The 19th annual Autodesk University is coming up at the end of November, and if you’d
like to teach a course, now is the time to submit your ideas.

This is your opportunity to distinguish yourself and share your expertise as an industry
leader with like-minded professionals.

Submit Your Proposal Now

Proposal Deadline: May 6, 2011

For AU 2011, Autodesk is looking for proposals that address:

•	Design leadership and advanced technology trends
•	Workflow and process across multidiscipline project teams
•	Techniques and processes that help BIM and CAD Managers improve efficiency
•	Practical application of products for beginning and intermediate users
•	Advanced product features
•	New capabilities and features in the latest Autodesk products and design suites

To get information on speaker benefits and deadlines, please visit the Call for Proposals website (http://autodesk.com/aucfp).

Revit MEP How to Create a Lighting Fixture Schedule

2011-03-16T08:52:00.000-05:00

This just came out in the March issue of AUGIWorld or read it directly below.

Revit MEP offers many advantages compared to two dimensional CAD programs. A big advantage is the ability to quantify Revit objects in schedules. Knowing exactly what you have in a model at all times and knowing that number is correct, brings a level of confidence that enhances the design. Out of the box, a user need only understand the scheduling function in Revit to start leveraging that data inherent in the model. As firms get savvier with the software, the out of the box families may not provide all the required information for a complete schedule. This article will demonstrate all the components required to create a functioning lighting fixture schedule with custom data. The instruction shown here can be equally applied to any schedulable family in Revit.

Revit schedules report data that is contained in families. The first step to creating a good schedule is knowing what information is required in the schedule. In this case lighting fixtures are scheduled and the data required is fixture number, manufacturer, catalog number, lamp quantity, lamp type, volts, mounting, description, and remarks.

Now that the required information is quantified, for each parameter a decision has to be made between making it a “Type” parameter or an “Instance” parameter. Type parameters will be common to every fixture of that type. Instance parameters can be different for every instance placed in the model. Consider process when making decisions here. It may be common practice to use one family to represent to very similar yet different fixtures. If this is the case the fixture number must be an instance parameter because it has to represent to different fixtures. What will work best for different firms will take careful consideration. For this example the parameters have been broken down as indicated below.

Instance parameters

Fixture Number

Manufacturer

Catalog Number

Lamp Quantity

Comments

Type parameters

Mounting

Lamp Type

Volts

If the out of the box family “Troffer Light – 2x4 Parabolic” is placed in an empty project without using a template the only parameters available when creating a new schedule are the manufacturer and lamp type. That leaves quite a few blanks from the list above. This is because Revit schedules are looking for Project parameters and Shared parameters only.

Shared Parameters

For a shared parameter to function it must first be associated with shared parameters file associated with the project. It must also be added to each family of the category Lighting Fixture in this case. Create a new shared parameter by clicking the Shared Parameters tool on the Manage tab of the ribbon and add it to the list.

Project Parameters

Shared parameters can be made into project parameters, by going to the Manage tab of the ribbon and selecting the Project Parameters tool. The advantage of project parameters is that they are automatically attached to categories of Revit families. If a project parameter of Mounting is created and assigned to the category of lighting fixtures, every light fixture inserted into the project will contain the parameter of Mounting. This is helpful when a combination of company families is being used with out of the box content and families found from other sources. They can all be scheduled the same. If project parameters are placed in the company standard template, the user need only place fixtures to start making the lighting fixture schedule. The down side may be a normal MEP firm may have 100-200 different standard schedules; the parameters required for the schedules may number in the thousands, making the shared parameters file quite large and difficult to navigate. A good naming convention can help elevate this problem.

For this example, project parameters will be used. Here comes a long succession of dialogs, but hang in there, it will all work out in the end. Start by selecting Project Parameters from the Manage tab of the ribbon. This will bring up the Project Parameters dialog; click the Add… button to open the Parameter Properties dialog. In this dialog check the Shared parameter radio button and then click the Select... button. This takes us to the Shared Parameters dialog. Click the Edit… button to finally arrive at the Edit Shared Parameters dialog.

To either clarify or further confuse, what just happened here is we started with the Project Parameters dialog and went around the block to add a shared parameter. It may make more sense to simply go to the Manage tab and select the Shared Parameters tool, and add all of the shared parameters first then simply make them into project parameters. The more experienced user, however, may find that going through these “wormholes” is more direct.

Use the New… button under the Groups heading to create a group for the shared lighting parameters. Grouping the parameter really helps the user navigate to the required parameter. The example below uses E-Lighting as a group name. Starting each group with a discipline letter like M for mechanical or G for general also helps speed the search time when looking for parameters.

Use the New… button under the Parameters heading to add a new shared parameter. Naming convention again plays an important role. Prefixing all schedulable parameters with the letters Schd not only makes sense behind the scenes, but also helps the user attach data to the correct parameter while in projects. The screen shot below shows a group of created parameters for the Lighting Fixture schedule. Besides a name each of these parameters has a discipline and type. The Schd-Remarks parameter, for instance, uses the type Text found under the Common discipline.

With the shared parameter added, now select it in the Shared Parameters dialog to make it a project parameter and click OK. In the Shared Parameters dialog check the Lighting Fixtures check box under Categories. Next pick either Type or Instance, and then group the parameter under the desired group. For scheduled parameters, I prefer grouping under Identity Data.

With all of the parameters in place, a schedule can be created. Go to the View tab of the ribbon and select the Schedules then Schedule/Quantities tool.

In the New Schedule dialog select Lighting Fixtures as the category. It is also a good time to type over the given name with all caps or change the name as needed. Then click OK.

In the fields tab of the Schedule Properties dialog add all of the required parameters then use the Move Up and Move Down button to arrange the fields as required.

The Filters tab can be used to filter out certain fixtures. For this example, set Filter by: to (none).

The Sorting/Grouping tab is used to sort the data. Since The fixture number is the first column, sort ascending by fixture Number. Also uncheck the Itemize every instance check box at the bottom of the Sorting/Grouping tab.

The Formatting tab can be used to give the schedule headings different names than the parameters they report. In the example below the parameters of Schd-Fixture Number will fall under a column named FIXTURE No#.

The Appearance tab controls the fonts and grids of the schedule. Adjust as needed for the best appearance.

Add this schedule to the company template along with the project parameters just created and the user need only add fixture to start the lighting fixture schedule.

Pipe Fitting Tick Marks Too Big in Revit MEP

2011-02-18T07:46:00.000-06:00

While piping up a particularly tight area a person on our team blurted out that the pipe fitting symbology is just too big. This job was being done in Revit MEP in single line.

The answer is to go into the Mechanical Settings dialog by clicking the small 45 degree arrow to the right of the Plumbing and Piping label on the ribbon. Then highlight Pipe Settings on the left and adjust the value of the Pipe Fitting Annotation Size. It's tucked away, but super intuitive once you get there.

National BIM Standard Needs Help

2011-02-15T07:52:00.000-06:00

The building SMART alliance is asking for help from its members to form what I hope will be the meat of the National BIM Standard.

Check out the call for help on their website here. Anyone can participate, that is if you belong to the building SMART alliance or the National Institute of Building Sciences. Well, I guess you could join if it were real important to you, but it feels more like a membership drive than a true call for help.

Owning Elements when Worksharing

2011-02-08T11:10:00.000-06:00

When worksharing is enabled, items will sometime get placed in the wrong workset or you may notice that something in a section view needs to be moved.

When you go to make changes the element may not play ball because it is protected by the workset it is in that you don't currently have ownership of.

A quick way to claim ownership of the element is to click on the worksets icon (circled in red).

If you are really old it may remind you of the video game Q-bert.

Once you click the icon you now have permission to make changes to the element with no more fuss.

Top 10 Reasons You Can't See an Element in Revit

2011-01-25T08:22:00.001-06:00

Is the correct Workset being used?
Is the view range set correctly to see the particular element?
Is the object hosted on an incorrect surface like a floor instead of a ceiling?
Is there a filter applied to the view that is causing the element to be hidden?
Is the detail level of the view set correctly? Some families are set not to show at Coarse.
Try using the "Reveal Hidden Elements" tool in the view control bar.
Is there a plan region in the view?
Is the view "Discipline" set correctly?
Is the element in the correct phase and is an appropriate phase filter set in the view to make it visible.
Is the element part of a design option and perhaps that isn't the current option for that particular view?

Revit Family Tool is Now Free

2011-01-19T15:26:00.000-06:00

CAD Technology Center has recently made it Revit Family Tools free.

According to their web page "The Revit Family Tools allow for easy Revit file management. This program has tools for comparing and merging shared parameters, deleting backup files, type catalog tools, and a family file version detector. Download it all now- free of charge!"

Sounds exciting.... well at least there is something in there that will make your life easier, and the no cost thing goes a long way these days.

New Blog Awesome Article - Using Revit MEP to Calculate Flows For Sizing Duct and Pipe

2011-01-17T14:02:00.000-06:00

Phil Pleiss has started a new blog that is pretty cool. His latest post is on Using Revit MEP to Calculate Flows For Sizing Duct and Pipe. Check it out. Nice job Phil.

Revit Palettes - The Family Browser from Kiwi Codes Solutions

2011-01-06T07:45:00.000-06:00

A friend passed this on to me and I am passing it out to all of you. The folks at Kiwi Codes Solutions have developed a Family Browser that looks and acts like an AutoCAD palette inside of Revit products.

They are actively working on a new version which should be released early this year. They posted a preview of some of the features that you can watch in this video.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7827802/beta3%20preview.wmv

There is a lot of promise in this to make our lives a lot more productive. They are selling the add in on a subscription model. $35 a year for a single license or $250 a year for a single site license. Honestly, it looks like you could easily make that money back in a month.

For more information, check out their website http://kiwicodes.co.nz/FamilyBrowser.aspx .

East Coast CAD Kicks it up a Notch

2010-12-10T07:25:00.000-06:00

East Coast CAD has had Fabrication for AutoCAD MEP software for years, but it added MEP Fabrication Version 1.0 for AutoCAD Revit MEP 2011 on November 30th. The heat is on and the excuses should be over for prefabrication of duct on jobs that are being completed in Revit MEP products. See East Coast CAD announcement here.

Upgrading Autodesk License Server

2010-12-08T21:21:00.000-06:00

I've been with the same firm for 12 years. Back in the day we didn't have a license server. We installed our first one when Autodesk made us pick stand alone or license. That was about 10 ears ago. So that same server has been chugging along for 10 years and I got a little nervous about its life expectancy. I did some research on upgrading a license server and came up with... well about nothing. I pulled it off on faith and I'll share what I learned in case others are about to do what I just did.

First pick a new machine and get a new LIC file from Autodesk. That is all documented well in other places. There is also plenty of documentation on getting it up and running. What doesn't seem to be out there is what happens next. Two license servers running at the same time didn't give me the opportunity to peel off one machine at a time to the new server until I was done. I had to come in on a Sunday and shut the old server off and hope for the best. The new server did not kick in and pick up sending out licenses. I had to add an environmental variable to each machine telling it to look to the new server for a license. I was sad because it still didn't work. Turns out the new servers firewall was block the PCs from asking for licenses.

Once I got one to work, I just needed to go to each PC and redirect to the new server. A friend of mine had a similar experience, but his users just had to type the new servers name in a dialog his Autodesk products would bring up.

Think over the scope of what is in front of you and get help if needed. I had 3 satellite offices to cover along with the headquarters building. And lastly be prepared to go backwards if things don't work out.

While you are at it consider this. I picked up two new servers and got LIC files for both. If anything happens to my new server, its replacement is already broadcasting the new licenses. I hope I never need it, but if I do... down time should be short, and I'll be a hero.

Quantifying BIM in AUGI World

2010-11-29T10:36:00.002-06:00

Check out my article in AUGIWorld magazine on Quantifying BIM.

Waiting on 100

2010-11-22T23:00:00.000-06:00

Come on! I need one more follower to have 100 folks checking in on me. I promise to dedicate my next post to number 100.

Project Browser Gone in Revit

2010-11-06T11:50:00.001-05:00

Twice this week I got a call from a user who had accidentally closed the Project Browser and they had no idea how to turn it back on.

Good news! It's easy.

Go to the View tab of the ribbon and all the way to the right is the User Interface tool. Expand that to reveal check boxes for the GUI including the Project Browser.

What's up with IFC 2x4

2010-10-14T13:47:00.002-05:00

I was surprised to see that the development of IFC is really still continuing. I had started to feel like the whole thing was dying a slow painful death. I checked the IAI's Building Smart web site and found an IFC Map Roadmap. Looks like things are progressing and we may see the new version as early as this year (which there isn't a lot left of). My hope is that it is incorporated into the 2012 releases of Autodesk products and we see a significant gains.

Beau Turner adds some details on Will Render for Food.

Revit Family Book

2010-10-02T20:05:00.000-05:00

I have had this book on Revit families written by Shawn Zirbes for months and recently had hours to burn on a plane.

I finally read it.

It turns out to be quite a good resource and covered a wide range of topics all in one small package. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the mechanics and management of Revit families. Click this link to purchase Revit 2010 Family Standards and Best Practices.

Nice job Shawn.

How to use Space Tags Instead of Linked Room Tags

2010-09-17T12:28:00.000-05:00

In the past I have used linked architectural views in Revit MEP to show room names, numbers and door tags. In Revit MEP 2011, we can now tag doors directly, allowing us to place door tags by view where we want them. This does not work for room tags.

Currently the room tags are reading information from the room object in the linked architectural model and I link that view. At this month Revit User Group of Nebraska (Rugon) meeting my good friend Craig Thomas suggested just adding spaces and tagging those. Craig is a smarty pants, and life saver.

The space object in the MEP model linkst to the room object in the architectural model. The space object will read the room information from the room object and can be tagged by view in the MEP model.

First make the rooms in the architectural model available in the MEP model by selecting the linked architectural file, going to its Type properties and checking the "Room Bounding" box.

Make your workset "Shared Levels and Grids". This is important. If the space belongs to a workset that is turned off in a certain view, it can not be tagged. Use the Space tool on the Analyze tab to place a space object in the required rooms. The spaces will automatically link with the room object and tag themselves in that view. Use the Space Tag tool to tag the same space in a different view.

This allows you to have separate tags in Lighting, HVAC, Telecom, Power, and Plumbing views all calling the same room information from the linked architectural file.

The default space tag will most likely not look like the architects room tag even though the room name and number will be accurate. If the architect requires matching space tags, you can always create client specific space tags, to match architects that you do a lot of work for.

Titus Adds Terminal Units to their Revit Content

2010-08-20T15:25:00.001-05:00

I have revised the Titus link in the MEP Content box on the right to take you to both their grilles and diffusers as well as the newly added terminal units. I have not used them yet, but there is probably a good chance I will.

The Poor Man's Family Updater

2010-08-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

When you adopt a new version of Revit and you have a lot of families you want to upgrade, a relatively quick way to do it, is to open the new version of Revit, then select the families you want to upgrade in Windows Explorer using the shift key or ctrl to select a bunch. Then just right click and pick open.

Because you have the newest version of Revit open already, windows will open each of the files in that single instance, upgrading each file on open. Seal the deal by saving before closing each file.

Revit Parameters - AUGIWorld Article

2010-07-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

I have an article in the current issue of AUGIWorld. Check out page 20 for how you can assign MEP scheduled parameters to items placed in the architectural model.

The initial reviews are out and, my dad says " You have topped yourself son. I have always known you are a dork, but this one makes you the king of the dorks."

Love you Dad!

Default Duct Systems

2010-07-16T10:05:00.002-05:00

If you are coming to Revit MEP from AutoCAD or AutoCAD MEP, you may be very used to specifying a duct system when you draw duct. Revit MEP waits to see what your duct connects to and sets the system based off that information. Connect duct to a diffuser and the duct system becomes supply, connect to a grille and it will become return.

I'm not knocking the system, but if you prefer to do it the old way, or maybe you have unusual systems, here is a way to force things.

A precursor to this is that I prefer not to use systems in Revit MEP at this time. I hope this changes, but right now the benefit is not there for me.

Start by duplicating the duct family you would normally use. I just right click on it in the project browser and select Duplicate.

Now, right click on the new type and select Type Properties. Rename the type to Supply and add the word Supply to its description. We'll use this to control its visibility graphics in the next step.

In visibility graphics edit the filter you use to control the display of supply duct to look for the word Supply in its description not its system type.

That's it. Repeat the process for what ever systems you require. Be aware that fittings will not change visibility graphics, just the ducts themselves. So elbows and transitions will be white where your duct runs are not. Turns out it doesn't really bother me that much because I am able to assign my duct to a system right away and get graphic feed back before the fans and terminals are in place.

It might not be everyones cup of tea, but its an alternative.

Working With Architectural Title Blocks

2010-07-01T07:14:00.000-05:00

It seems I don't get to post to CAD Shack as much as I would like to. One reason could be I am posting for too many blogs. This may be cheating, but check out this post I just did for Club Revit on dealing with architectural title blocks and their shared parameters.

Update to my CAD Work Content Browser Post

2010-06-23T14:49:00.000-05:00

I recently posted about the CAD Works Content Browser, see that article by clicking here. I got some great feed back from the folks at CAD works. Below is an excerpt from an email I received from Joel Karr a BIM Software Architect at CAD Works. My thanks to everyone at CAD Works for the quick response. If you have ideas about improving their product, I suggest you add comment to this post. I have a feeling it is being watched.

Why we require the install:

When we first started working with manufacturers they had two main concerns. The first was with the pace that Revit is changing, they didn’t want outdated versions of their content floating around in BIM Managers libraries. It would be nearly impossible to notify every BIM Manager each time an update was made on a piece. The second reason was that since they didn’t want to pay to have their entire catalog created in Revit right away, they wanted to know what content was being used so they could focus on similar content next. So requiring the content be delivered through the browser solved both issues for us. As we move forward with more manufacturers, we hope that it will actually simplify our users in getting the new content since they will not have to go and find the content on whatever website and download it piece by piece or get a huge zip file they must sort through. When new manufacturer libraries come online, we will notify all users and they will just have to add the library to their same local install.

Future Path:

Of course it is always harder to get started from nothing so it has been a very steep uphill battle to get a content browser in place and start getting users. Now that we have a solid user base, we are going back and trying to make the best application we can. I believe that this really starts with the BIM Managers. We are in the process of creating what we are referring to as a Content Management System which will allow BIM managers much more control including custom catalog creation and user management. Our main goals are to simplify the BIM managers process of receiving and organizing content, while also simplifying the engineer's experience in getting content into their projects. If an engineer wants a specific piece of content, they shouldn't have to worry about look up tables, type catalogs, and IES files. They should just pick the family they want and be able to use it right away.

Associating Objects Outside a Room with the Room

2010-06-21T15:02:00.000-05:00

I had lunch with Craig Thomas today from Leo A Daly and he was congratulating me on my recent AU Online Tech Talk article.

Turns out Craig also got published this month. His article demonstrates how to associate a room sign outside of a room with the room itself. I am thinking he is on to something here that can be used in a lot of different ways. Any time you want to associate a thermostat or lighting control with a space that it is not actually in. Check his article out in the link above and let me know how you would use it.

Revit MEP Alternatives to AutoCAD Procedures

2010-06-17T15:46:00.000-05:00

I just got an article published on Autodesk University's Tech Talk site. Check my article out by clicking the link in this sentence. My dad says it's the best thing he has ever read concerning Revit MEP alternatives to AutoCAD procedures.

CAD Works Content Browser

2010-06-10T11:05:00.001-05:00

I'm grumpy because I want a Bell and Gossett Revit family quick and I do not want to install CAD Works Revit add on to get it. This may mean that I am old and set in my ways, and I should just get over the fact that I need to install CAD Works Content Browser to get this family. As a BIM manager, I don't want one extra thing to administrate or trouble shoot. I think the guys at CAD Works do great work and I hope the family I eventually get will be fine, but the extra step and required connection to CAD Works irritates me.

Update: See what CAD Works had to say by clicking here.

One Wish

2010-06-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was asked to come up with one wish for Revit MEP.

It turned out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. At first I wanted real interoperability. I wanted to use phones and web browsers to acquire and sort BIM data directly from Revit models. Later, I thought maybe I should just ask for the ability to duplicate sheets. This would certain be helpful knowing that I use the same floor plan for HVAC, plumbing, lighting, power, fire alarm, and telecommunications sheets.

Funny thing is, I'm still not sure that would be the very best thing I could wish for. Now I wonder... If your wish would come true, what would your one wish be for eigher AutoCAD MEP or Revit MEP?

Vote for Autodesk University Classes

2010-05-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

Autodesk University Class Voting

The BIM Board of Omaha's very own Tammy Rico, Cauitta Robeson, and Carla Edwards have all submitted to teach classes at AU this year. Please take a moment to support the ladies of BIMbo. Just search out Tammy and Cauitta's names to vote for their classes.

Tammy's Class

Subing out the Model How Subcontractors are forging a new functionality with BIM

A debate is raging as to who should have access to the Model and where contractors and subcontractors can add value to the BIM process. While these discussions will continue, it should not be shocking that subcontractors are already using BIM tools to their advantage, and to the benefit of the overall project. We will discuss how it is using Revit MEP in its daily operations to deliver faster production and better quality than were possible prior to these systems adoption. Digital model development and real world implementation will be presented with specific examples from projects large and small. The presenters will also demonstrate on-going value to the project General Contractor, Architect/Engineers, and Owners through coordination and as-built modeling. This course will benefit design and construction professionals involved in all phases of the project life cycle.

Carla and Cauitta's Class

IPD & BIM - Keys to Success

Are you wondering how to incorporate the best in class practices of IPD with evolving BIM technologies? In this session, Kiewit Construction and RDG Planning & Design, both leaders in the AEC industry due to their development of BIM and Revit, will be speaking on lessons they've learned in using IPD practices with their firms. Learn firsthand from an industry leader some of the best practices in this innovative process. Topics will include: communicating and collaborating on an IPD project, how to develop a cooperative working environment, modeling best practices, and how BIM is integral to making IPD successful.

AutoCAD MEP 2010 Update 2 is out

2010-05-19T08:27:00.000-05:00

I'm sure this is going to fix something. Download it here.

New Blog Site - Family Jewels

2010-05-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

A friend came across this site and it looks pretty darn nice.

Family Jewels Blog Site

William Spier Placed a mission statement on the site that I have copied below.

The mission/purpose of this, the Family Jewels blog is twofold. First it's to create a one-stop shop, both for users and for manufacturers alike, where all can come to get the gems of information they need about how to best create the highest quality Revit content possible. And here it matters not if you're a newcomer or an old hand. Every year he coached, Vince Lombardi started off the season telling his team"Gentleman, this is a football." I wished I had that when I first opened the family editor in Revit. So here too, you'll find the very basics, (mostly probably from me) - like just what are you looking/where are you at when you open the family editor?. From that to using fancy equations to drive geometry or how to employ the use of lookup tables in your families, and beyond (probably from some of the other, more gifted contributors to this site).

That leads to the second half of this blog's mission. Family Jewels has several contributors from both within Autodesk and from without - from the user base. What these people all have in common is they have each proven their ability and skills in creating Revit families & content. I would like that list of contributors to grow over time and I intend to look for those who really contribute quality comments, advice, tip & tricks, etc. and then add them on as regular contributors.

Welcome to the Family jewels blog. I hope you find what you're looking for, and if you don't, let us know and we'll see what we can do to help you out.

It's On! Revit MEP 2011

2010-04-16T07:07:00.000-05:00

Go get it kids.

Dan's Family Reunion

2010-04-06T21:13:00.000-05:00

I often redefine some architectural families to be 2D in my model to keep the model size down and lessen interference issues. Every time the architect would provide an update, I would have to load these families one at a time in the updated file. My friend Dan came to the rescue last week. He told me that if you place all the families you need in a single project and group them, you cam insert that group into the architectural file and ungroup it there, bringing all the families in at once.

Sweet.

Thanks Dan.

Breaking up the Group

2010-03-29T13:25:00.000-05:00

Revit groups are cool and really effective for lots of things. I have noticed that when I get architectural models with excessive grouping that they bog down my MEP models. I try to keep the my linked architectural model as clean as possible and one thing that seem to help is breaking up groups. This could be a pain, but we have found a relatively easy way to do it.

Open the architectural model and expand groups in the project browser. Select a group and right click, then pick Select All Instances.

Notice in the Status bar how many groups are selected.

In the Options bar select Ungroup.

If you have selected a nested group, you will get a warning that the subgroups will also be ungrouped. Bonus.

That's it. Even with a ton of groups this process goes pretty darn quick. Finish up by Purging Unused. This will remove the groups from the project browser.

Track Revit MEP Versions

2010-03-25T09:09:00.004-05:00

As a consulting engineering firm, we do business with many architects using different software in differing versions. What ever the reasons, we have Revit projects in 3 different versions going on right now. This causes quite a bit of confusion. One thing we have done to help is to subdivide our local file folder into version years and change the default path in each version of Revit MEP to put local files under the correct year. See the screen shot below showing the 2010 pathing in use.

Mistake can still be made, but every little bit helps.

Revit MEP Elements Deleted after Linked Arch is Updated

2010-03-18T14:34:00.003-05:00

No one wants to see the message below telling them that in order to open their file they must delete an unknown element. It's nice that the message includes the element ID numbers, but they don't seem to be a lot of use for figuring out what you are now missing.

If you note those ID numbers and have a backup file, you can find the elements in that file by going to the Modify tab and picking the Element ID tool.
The Select by ID tool will allow you to enter an ID number, then click the Show button to find out where the darn thing actually is.

If you only have a few elements to find, this can bring you a lot of peace of mind that an important element was not left out. If there are a ton of deletions, it might not be as cool.

Revit MEP Pinning Pipe

2010-03-15T20:40:00.002-05:00

I recently had an incident where during a sync to central an error would come back saying elements could not be moved. The only solution was to copy down a new local, which meant anything done between saves was lost.

After some detective work we found that some pipe had been pinned by one user which caused the error. Even if recent work was not near the pinned pipe, eventually the connectivity of the pipe would lead back to the pinned element and cause the error. The solution was to go to a 3D view, select all the pipe and pipe fitting, then type UP for unpin elements. After that the save went through.

Just guessing here but pinning any element with connectors seems like a bad idea when work-sharing is enabled.

New AugiWorld

2010-03-10T08:34:00.003-06:00

I have an article in the new AugiWorld magazine on creating a Revit MEP fire alarm device. If you are new to Revit MEP families this can help get you started and it applies to all kinds of electrical and mechanical Revit families. Flip to page 34 to see the article.

Before any rumors get started, it seems and old bio was used at the end of the article from my time at Avatech Solutions. I hope it brings them good press, but I will be at Alvine and Associates for the duration.

Autodesk's Revit MEP Tips and Tricks Page

2010-02-01T11:23:00.000-06:00

Autodesk has posted a few beauties on their Revit MEP Tips and Tricks page. Some of my favorites include;

Remove Hosting from a Family
Control Over the Order of Parameter
Rounding Numbers in Family Formula

It's well worth taking a look around.

AUGI's Revit MEP Wishlist

2010-01-29T18:50:00.001-06:00

It's almost like the AutoCAD wishlist... except for different.

Revit MEP Wishlist

The Year of the Ribbon

2010-01-28T20:39:00.003-06:00

We have been moving along getting people switched over to Revit MEP, but I would say there are still quite a few AutoCAD and AutoCAD MEP hold outs. As an extra motivator to switch to Revit, I am introducing the ribbon into our AutoCAD products. I had left them out in the past for change management reasons. Having to learn Revit and a new AutoCAD interface would have gained me more bad press than I needed. Now that things haved turned a corner of sorts, introducing the ribbon into AutoCAD may actually help induce a conversion to Revit MEP.

Or it could just blow up in my face. Oh, well. Having things blow up in my face was long ago written into my job description.

Greenology at Autodesk

2010-01-06T10:28:00.002-06:00

In November Autodesk published a report from an experiment they did involving the a rapid energy modeling for 6 of their existing buildings all over the globe. If you can't get enough of that Green-Revit-Synergy type stuff, you should check out the Rapid Energy Modeling Report PDF they have posted on their web site.

Revit MEP Content

2010-01-05T15:47:00.003-06:00

I have put a list of links for on my sidebar of Revit MEP content that you may or may not want to down load and use. If nothing else, it's a great place to start reverse engineering some families of your own.

If you have some more, please let me know and I will add them. For now I have;

Acuity Brands Lighting
Autodesk Seek
Greenheck
Kohler
Lightolier
Loren Cook
McQuay
Price
Taco Titus
Trane
York

Titus Terminal Units vs. idunno Everybody Else

2010-01-04T13:27:00.005-06:00

Those Titus guys have upped the ante by making their content available through an add on menu. This will make it easy on users, because Titus is promising to update things automatically, but it also gives Titus the opportunity to pigeon hole themselves into your Revit Interface. So far all they have posted are terminal units. You can down load the the setup here. The add-in launches an interface to download what you want like shopping in the iTunes store. Maybe too much like iTunes. It needs a work around to uninstall and I just don't like them muscling into my interface. I will not have room for every manufacturer's menu on my screen.

Autodesk Seek has some McQuay products, but no terminal units yet. I have already made my own without too much trouble and will probably stick with them. Depending on how your firm schedules, making your own might be best for you or Titus' may be great. In the end as a consulting engineer, I really don't want to spec anything by default.

Add Structural Steel with Revit MEP

2009-12-24T21:19:00.004-06:00

Not all Revit is equal. You know this if you have tried adding a ceiling grid with Revit Structure, duct with Revit Architecture, or structural steel with Revit MEP. You can load the families, but try and create an instance and you will get an error telling you "Can't create this kind of element in this view in the current mode".

This week I needed to create some structure from the structural engineers AutoCAD plans since they were not using Revit. The way I got around the above mentioned error was to open a structural model I received from a different engineer on a different job. I copied one structural beam to the clipboard and pasted it into the job where I needed beams. It shows up fine in my drawing and I can change its length, offset and location. I can then change its size with the type selector. I had all the beam sizes because I down loaded the Core Structural Library from Autodesk.

For what I needed, this worked out pretty well.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Disrectful Column Lines

2009-12-17T10:01:00.003-06:00

Problem; You have created an enlarged view in Revit MEP and the linked architectural column lines shoot off into outer space instead of respecting the new smaller crop region.

Analysis; This is probably due to the architect locking down the column lines for use on thier plans.

Solution; In the linked file select the offending column line and right click on it. If it is available select "Reset to Crop", if not select "Reset to 3D Extents". Chances are, your problem is solved.

To test it, move the crop region and see if the column bubbles follow.

Adding Parameters and Custom Tags to MEP Families

2009-12-07T21:06:00.013-06:00

These days more and more Revit MEP content is available but, the families you find either out of the box or on the Internet will probably not have every parameters that you need. This example will demonstrate how to add a parameter to a family and then how to create a custom tag for the added parameter.

There is a file called the Shared Parameter list. This file is used to store parameters that are scheduled. To access the Shared Parameter list select it from the Manage tab of the ribbon.

The parameters in this file can be grouped by discipline or other desired heading. I created a

telecommunications group and added four parameters under it. Below I will show how to add these parameters to the default data outlet in Revit MEP 2010.

Open the default data outlet in Revit MEP 2010. To add the needed parameters from the shared parameter file, click the Types tool at the end of the Manage tab of the ribbon, then select the Add button shown below to open the Parameters Properties dialog. In this dialog change the parameter type to Shared parameter and click the Select button. Now you can select the group and parameters to add to the family.

To create a new tag select New then Annotation Familiy from the Application browser then pick the Data Device Tag template. Next select the Label tool and click at the intersection of the two reference planes.

This will bring up the Edit Label dialog. Use the Add Parameter button shown below to add the

four parameters created from the shared parameters list one at a time. Load these two files into a project to test them out. Since I do not use all four parameters every time. I add a comma before each of the parameters after the first one for a separator (see below).

Easy as pie and its schedulable. Not sure if schedulable is a word, but you get it.

Going Live at AU 2009

2009-12-03T13:04:00.003-06:00

I'm getting ready to go live with my last presentation here at AU which will happen in 6 hours. I have got to reconnect with some good friends David Butts, Beau Turner, Joe Eichenseer, and Abbie Meador among others. It seems we have had a smaller turn out due to economics but the level of intensity remains the same. There is no better place to be to take your skills to the next level than Autodesk University. Looking forward to getting this done and returning to reality soon. Expect to see some posts on what I learned this week.

AU 2009

2009-11-23T19:39:00.002-06:00

The posting has been pretty thin lately, but it's because I have been focusing on my class for this year Implementing Revit MEP A to Z. I hope to meet people in Las Vegas that read my blog and also meet people that write the blogs I love. Happy Thanksgiving to all. See you in Vegas!

BIMBO

2009-11-09T07:30:00.004-06:00

Some weeks back I was planning on having lunch with a CAD/BIM manager from a competing firm HDR. We had become friends when I worked for Avatech Solutions. I spent quite a bit of time at his firm consulting, and we still like to get together to discuss CAD and BIM issues. Out of the blue another CAD/BIM from manager from Schemmer who was a student of mine called to say that some old Avatech buddies were going to take him out to lunch that same day and maybe I would like to join in. I thought yes, but I can't blow off my HDR friend so I invite him. Then I think I have a friends at Leo A Daly, Merrick, Commonwealth Electric, Lamp Rynearson, E and A Consulting, and ASD Stanley J. How Architects, why not invite them all? Why not let them invite any one they know?

The result has become BIMBO. The BIM Board of Omaha. We are a sort of a Revit super users group. The issues we discuss are common to any firm adopting BIM and IPD, but instead of working in a vacuum or with contacts on the web that we may have never met, we meet with each other in person once a month. Because we are comprised of people from engineering, architectural, civil, and contractor firms we are in the unique position to not only help each other on internal problems, but also address the issues that arise when Revit models are shared. We work better and we work better together. Oh, that's catchy.

The group has just started but already we are thinking of big things and have improved the conditions in our firms. I write this post because it is really working for us and it might prove to be a great thing for you as well. It felt awkward to think about at first because there were people in the meetings that I directly compete with, but in the context of what BIM and IPD are about, we are just doing what are clients want.

I wrote more on sharing in an article for AUGIs AEC Edge. Check it out on page 26.

New Service Pack 2 for Revit MEP 2010

2009-10-01T08:10:00.002-05:00

Dave Pothier the Product Manager for Revit MEP has posted on Inside the System that Update 2 for Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 is now available at http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...112&id=9262907.

I have pasted the Update Enhancement List from the readmer PDF below.

Improvements made in Update 2 build (20090917_1515):

Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2010 Enhancements

 Wire length in the Circuit Properties dialog will now display “Not Computed” for the wire length when a

panel has not yet been assigned to a circuit.

 The calculation of complex space volumes for heating and cooling loads has been improved.

 Panel and circuit information can now be displayed in a mechanical equipment schedule.

 Improved the ability to swap one type of pipe or duct accessory for another type of pipe or duct

accessory.

 When use of the Split tool on a duct segment creates a union, the union is no longer automatically

deleted when a new duct is connected to the union.

 Improvement of a duct segment centerline alignment when rotated in an elevation view.

 Windows and doors set as demolished will no longer appear in a gbXml export.

 Improved stability when copying elements from one family to another in the Family Editor.

 When the Create Similar tool is used for a sloped pipe, the slope is now properly maintained for the

new pipe.

Autodesk® Revit® Platform 2010 Enhancements

 Annotation objects no longer disappear when panning a view that spans two monitors.

 Improves stability when switching between Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 software and Google

Earth™ software.

 Improves the modification behavior of hosted sweeps (i.e. gutters) attached to joined roofs.

 Improves stability and performance when modifying walls.

 Improvements to shared nested families.

 Improves stability when modifying masses.

 Improves design option rules adherence for walls in different design options and worksets .

 Family and type information can now be read in Autodesk® 3ds Max® software from an FBX® file

exported from a non-English version of Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010.

 Improves stability when adding views to sheets.

 Improves stability when making a design option primary.

 Improves stability of printing views in wireframe mode.

 Shadows will no longer be cropped when a view is printed or exported to a DWF™ file.

 Subscription notifications are now available from InfoCenter.

 Improves stability when reading IFC files.

 Improves stability when opening a project with an inserted TIF image and when importing a TIF image.

 ViewCube® navigation tool and the navigation bar will now display correctly after unlocking the

computer.

 Improves stability when removing panels from the ribbon.

 Improves stability when cancelling a move, delete or copy command.

 Improves performance of view renaming and the Workset dialog.

 Mass floor schedules will now update when a level is renamed.

 A form element that has a divided surface applied to it will now be correctly generated after a copy,

paste, or move.

 Improves stability when exporting to DWG.

 Dimension and spot elevation values will now display correctly in a dependent view.

Wake Up Revit

2009-09-25T09:02:00.002-05:00

Maybe it is common knowledge, but for those of you looking for tricks when Revit goes unresponsive, I have something that has worked for me.

Folks have been talking about minimizing Revit to free up virtual memory. Others are saying nothing really happens. For me I have noticed that if Revit gives me a 'Memory Low or Out of memory' error and it seems to be unresponsive, minimizing the Revit application then immediately bringing it back up seems to wake Revit up long enough to save to local and get out. After you are out you can restart Revit and sync back with central. Restarting Revit should clear up the immediate memory problems allow the save to central to work. This has worked for me even when the drawing area of my Revit screen is unresponsive. I just click the "X" in the upper right hand corner to close Revit. It will ask if you want to save.

It doesn't make Revit any more stable but, it might save your work when things go bad.

Revit MEP Visibility Graphics for Linked Architectural Models

2009-09-08T08:42:00.003-05:00

Revit uses the visibility graphics dialog to control if components are shown and how they are represented. I think this is one of the hardest things to get used to in Revit MEP. Below I have shown one possible way to control visibility graphics from a MEP view point. Every office is different, so some things will most likely not work for everyone.

In a Revit MEP project file with a linked architectural Revit model, type VG to open the visibility graphics dialog. The category tabs highlighted in yellow in the image below separate the components to be controlled.

The Model Categories tab controls only the 3 dimensional components in the host (current) model. Architectural components that may be drawn in the host model are not shown in this dialog by default. Check the “Show categories from all disciplines” box highlighted in cyan below to display them if needed. A typical cut plane is set at 4’-0” above the floor. To change the color, pattern, weight or pattern of a diffuser on the floor; select an open cell under the heading of Projection/Surface. An electrical panel that is being divided by the cut plane should be edited under the heading Cut highlighted in grey below. Items can be made halftoned or transparent by checking the appropriate check boxes highlight in light red and red below. Detail levels can also be by component type.

The Annotation Categories tab controls 2 dimensional annotations and symbols in the host model.

The Imported Categories tab controls linked or inserted DWG files in the host model.

The Filters tab is used to control visibility to a finer level in particular components.

The Revit Links tab controls the way the linked Revit files appear. Change the Display Setting to Custom for the linked file (circled in red). In the Basics tab select Custom (circled in green) and change the linked view to reference the view in the architectural view used for the floor plan. This will link in important annotation like the room names and column grids. The rest of the options are circled in blue below.

In the Model Categories tab turn off any component types which are not necessary for that view. Turn off a default fill in walls deselect the sub wall components circled in red below, then turn off the cut pattern fill by selecting the override circled in black and deselecting the Visible check box circled in green in the image below.

Select all the model components and check the Transparent Check box circled in yellow bellow.

In the Annotations Categories tab turn off all of the annotations except room tag and grid lines.

AU Tech Talk Articles

2009-09-03T08:01:00.004-05:00

The AU Web Site is a great site for information not only on classes but technical information as well. My new favorite article is this one on Revit MEP Calculations. The guy who wrote looks like a sea cucumber or a cartoon character... or something.

New MEP Blog

2009-08-18T21:17:00.002-05:00

Jill Bernhardt has started a new MEP blog called The BIM Bulletin. There is some real nice stuff in there for only three posts. It's also clear Jill has been at it a while and has a lot to offer us. Good Luck Jill. I am keeping an eye on you.

Ditching the Ribbon in Revit 2010

2009-07-30T21:37:00.005-05:00

Well shuck my mouth! (Midwest talk for "I'm surprised") I can't believe it but here it is, a way to go back to tool bars in Revit 2010 products. I can hear some folks already "Hasta La vista ribbon!".

Follow this link to hear about it from Autodesk.

What's next backward compatibility!

Architectural Tabs in an Engineering World

2009-07-22T09:36:00.003-05:00

It's going to sound like I'm complaining, but let's just call this an observation.

Revit MEP has a tab in the ribbon called Architect, so does Revit Structure.

It weird to me that there is no Electrical tab, no HVAC tab, or no Plumbing tab. A Fire Protection and Technology tab would be welcome too. Just so you Revit developers know, people in the MEP world almost never do all disciplines and never all at once. It would be nice to have more options per discipline rather than everything option in one.

On a very basic level the Architect tab can be reminder that Revit MEP is an architectural program trying to be a MEP program. Subtle changes like adding discipline specific tabs can go a long toward making us believe you understand our needs.

How many versions of Revit MEP does it take...

2009-07-18T22:15:00.007-05:00

As long as I am throwing things out for discussion, here is another one for the fire.

How many versions of Revit does it take to work as a consultant? Well, it takes as many versions as your clients choose to use. As a consultant, you work for a variety of clients, that may be on any given version of any given software.

In the DWG world, we have simply become experts at converting formats and versions up and down as needed. If I'm on 2010 but you use R14, no biggie, I can even convert MicroStation files as needed.

In the RVT world, I have projects in Revit 2009 that will not be migrated for what ever reason by my clients. Two of these projects will be in my office for the next 3-4 years. That means I will keep Revit MEP 2009 on my users PCs until 2012. I will be using Revit MEP 2013 by that time. Does this mean I may have 5 versions of Revit running to satisfy the needs of all my clients? Unless something changes... Yes. (Will my PC be able to handle that?)

Where before, my users opened the current version of AutoCAD (MEP) and worked in it all day converting when needed, now they will jump from one version of Revit to another depending on the job they are working on.

I understand the benefits behind restricting compatibility with Revit products, at the same time I really wish I could dumb something down when I need to.

There is a really good chance that I have missed something simple here, so if you know something I don't, please comment. In fact no matter where you stand, I would like to hear about it.

Take My Families, please!

2009-07-18T21:42:00.003-05:00

As a consulting engineers and a Revit MEP users, there are some things we have to live with. I am interested in what others think about this situation.

I work for a firm that performs MEP engineering. That's mechanical, electrical, and plumbing. It should be common knowledge that any MEP firm that has been using Revit has created a great deal of content. What may not be common knowledge is that sometimes a MEP firm bids on a project, but is only awarded part. I may win the electrical and loose the mechanical. This means that a different MEP firm is doing that work. In the past I was sad because I didn't get all the work, but I went on and worked with the competition as best I could.

Now things could be a little more awkward. In a situation where the project is being completed in Revit, my families are now subject to be shared with a direct competitor. Especially now, I may feel my families give me an advantage. I most likely have quite a bit more information in a Revit family than I would ever have in an AutoCAD block. How and what I schedule, work flow and simple intellectual property is now in the position of being compromised. The whole idea of BIM is to share. That didn't sound bad until I thought of it this way.

I brought this up while speaking at the Revit User group of Nebraska a couple weeks ago. Some people suggested only sharing a 3D DWF. There is no real way to lock down a family like a lisp. It seems like you are in or your are out.

For me, take my families... please. It doesn't matter how awesome they are, they won't make me any more creative in my design. They don't listen to the client, I do. They don't establish relationships and build trust, the team does. Families are wonderful, for those of us who have created them, we hold them very dear. But just like children, at some point you are going to have to let them go. If you haven't thought about it yet, you might want to, they are growing up fast.

Like I said, I am very curious to hear from you. Please post a comment.

Revit MEP 2010 Update 1

2009-07-09T11:29:00.001-05:00

It's out.

Click here to get it.

Custom Command Images

2009-07-01T11:11:00.003-05:00

When upgrading to 2010 you may notice that some of your custom toolbars or ribbon components have lost the images that used to be attached to them. A long time ago, we used to get a smiley face on toolbars if the image could not be found, and a while back we got clouds with a question mark. Personally, I would like to see an animated emotioncon instead. The user could customize what emotion to show.

Anyway, I was talking about the olden days wasn't I? Oh yeah, back in my day the CUI referenced a BMP image that you could customize outside of the CUI interface. With 2010 the image is magically brought into the CUIx file. This is to make it easier to share CUIs without all the questioning clouds. There is a function to export your images as BMPs to what ever location you like, and you can also import images that should be part of the CUI.

You may have used the MEP snaps toolbar and some others in the past that are not going forward into 2010. The fix is to open your new CUI select the question-cloud, choose edit, then pick Import and get the old BMP image you used in a previous version and apply it. Tedious? yes. Time consuming? Yes. But, if you get it all set once, you can now share that CUI file at will and no one will wonder why the clouds have so many questions.

Disconnect Markers

2009-06-29T14:52:00.005-05:00

If you are like me, (and I trust that most of you are not), you don't really rely on disconnect markers in AutoCAD MEP that much. So image my surprise when I noticed the new disconnect markers with no real idea what they were. See the image below with the new markers on the left and the old on the right.

I may be even dumber if indeed these showed up in 2009 which I skipped. If you have not upgraded past 2008, I thought I would mention it, so when you did see the new ones, you will look so very smart and get a big raise.

e0434f4dh Exception at 7c812aebh - Crash AutoCAD MEP

2009-06-26T15:57:00.004-05:00

Me: "Knock Knock, You say who's there?"

You: "Uh.. Who's there?"

Me: "Control Freak, You say control freak who?"

Yeah, I can' help myself. I want to lock everything down. You know, for every one's own good, but also because I like it my way. I ran into a bit of a downer with AutoCAD MEP 2010 because of my controlling nature. I placed the enterprise cuix menu on a read only drive. Turns out there is a bug in this version which means if you attempt to do just about anything with a read only enterprise cui the program will just crash with the error shown in the title of the article. Funny thing is, this did not happen to all of my users. However, moving the enterprise back to a read/write location folder did fix all of my problems. I chose to just access the cuix in the docs and settings folder of each user because if they do jack something up, they will only hurt themselves.

I have to go breath in a paper bag for a bit now and learn to let go.