Revit - USA

3D Printing - Update

2013-08-13T08:26:00.001-05:00

Here is an update to my original post of exporting a Revit model to STL for 3D printing...

Click here to download. More to follow shortly.

Autodesk Vasari - Beta 1

2012-08-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

Hey hey - Autodesk Vasari - Beta 1 announced today!!

Check it out here!

Upgrading Projects to Revit 2013 Today!

2012-08-14T09:50:00.001-05:00

Anyone that thinks upgrading from one version of Revit to another is an easy task is crazy...! Here is a quick brain dump.

I guess the easy part was creating the deployment and with the help of our IT department, pushing that using GPO went on without a hitch. But, even this part took some thinking... Thoughts below.

Create deployment - easy
Revit.ini portion of deployment didn't work, so we had to push the .ini after the install was complete. Easy, but definitely should be working within the deployment
Extensions - Why don't they let you install these as part of the deployment. Another thing you have to do after the fact... Thanks IT for Scripting the install of these (3) elements!

Our philosophy here @ EUA is to upgrade ALL our projects that are currently active. I know many may not agree with this philosophy , but that's whats been working for us for the past (7) years... That way we don't have multiple Content libraries to maintain, people don't have to have multiple versions on the PC's, staff don't open and upgrade projects they shouldn't, bla, bla, bla. It works...

Upgrading projects not that painful other than we have our staff clean, purge, review and fix warnings, etc. prior to the upgrade. Not a bad thing to do anyways, so we do it... Then upgrade. Oh yea, we have all our consultants upgrade too. They have multiple versions anyways, so that's typically not been a problem. We all share our updated models and off we go!

Now, updating our content that are not .rfa files is another story... There are a few options for updating .rfa files. This is easy

Old Batch upgrade tools
File Updater Add-in
CTC's Family Processor

We also have customized our Revit Family Templates (.rft) files. Yea, I know we're not supposed to, but we do it anyway and up to this point has worked AWESOME. When we start new families, we have all the parameters , reference planes, etc. we need and everything is nice and tidy. We'll, there is definitely a hiccup in upgrading in 2013. You CAN'T do the trick of renaming the extension and batch upgrading anymore. There once again are a few tips/tricks out there, but nothing is good or fast... UGH!

We also reload all the families in any .rvt files that contain content, like Drafting Views, etc.... Why is it anyway that Revit thinks a family is "different" once it's upgraded to a new version, so if you load a drafting view for example, it adds a (1), (2), etc. after Detail Components (now named Detail Items - another big pain...!). That forces us to reload any content in those projects...

Well, that is enough food for though today...

Autodesk Labs - Project Chronical

2012-01-17T13:56:00.000-06:00

Part of my job here at EUA is to transfer knowledge to our staff. There are a variety ways to accomplish this, but I'm always looking for more efficient methods. My two most common methods are:

Writing articles/white papers (which takes too long) and people just don't have the patience to read long documents these days. Why do you think youtube is so popular...
Creating videos using Camtasia which is a pretty quick and efficient way to transfer knowledge. Short 3-5 minute videos are easily digestible.

Well, it looks like there may be a new kid on the block - Project Chronicle

There aren't much for details yet, but you can sign up to be notified when it's ready for testing. Sounds promising!

Visit the Autodesk Labs site for more information or follow this link!

VEO

2012-01-16T08:13:00.000-06:00

We'll, I got beat to the punch but I thought I would blog this anyway...

VEO (in Spanish "To See") is a new software application to manage your BIM model through is full lifecycle. Love the name by the way...

It's currently in beta (or in M-Six terms, Pioneer) and my firm (EUA) has been lucky enough to be involved. I'm really looking forward to digging into this and seeing what this app can really do. More info to come...

You can checkout the preview here, and here is the link to M-SIX.

www.M-SIX.com

Enjoy!

Revit's Worksharing Update Frequency Gotcha!

2011-12-07T13:42:00.000-06:00

Well, when I saw this feature, I thought how cool is this! BUT... I did wonder if this would cause a performance hit. Think about it, it's communicating with the central file every 5 seconds!

Well, it turns out that it doesn't seem to get used that much by our staff and now it's causing issues between our two offices - UGH...

The problem is this; we have a Milwaukee office and a Madison office with all our servers (and projects) located in Milwaukee. When we have a Madison team member working on a project along with Milwaukee team members, the Madison staff will get this error a lot! I mean a lot...

I ran across a few threads on the issue, but in our case it's related to the Workset Update Frequency. The solution was to move the slider to the extreme other side (Manual Updates).

All users working on project must make this change, not just the Madison staff.

If you so choose, you can also make the change in your Revit.ini using the WorksharingUpdateFrequency line in the [Partitions] section. The values you can set go from 5 (every 5 seconds) to 61 (off).

I hope this helps!

Revit - Home View, View Cube and the Save View command

2011-03-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

This week's tip will focus on the Home button & View Cube and in-particular, the Save View button.

What does Save View do?

· If you have a 3D view that hasn't been named yet, i.e. {3D}, you can create a new 3D view by using Save View. Results are similar to duplicating the 3D view in the Project Browser.

· If you're in a 3D view that is already named, Save view does NOT save a new view, but only the view's orientation. We've had instances in the past where a 3D view will continue to revert back to a predetermined orientation when you close and open the model. This will correct that behavior.

· Do you have a 3D view that you want to match another 3D's view orientation/view direction?

o If you have only one orientation that you're trying to match in the entire project, you can use the "Set Current View as Home" option. You can reorient ANY 3D view to the Home orientation using the home button.

o If you have more than one orientation you would like to match, you can use the Orient to a View option.

¨ Establish the orientation of a 3D view (View 01).

¨ Go to another 3D view (View 02) where you would like it to match View 01's orientation. Right click on the View Cube and Orient to a View. Select View 01 – Voila!

· Once I save a 3D view's orientation, what happens if I accidently move/rotate the view. Can I get back to the saved orientation?

¨ Yes, but you have to leverage yet another tool... the Steering Wheel. Once you enable the Steering Wheel, right click anywhere on it to bring on the context sensitive menu. Select Undo View Orientation Changes.

o In some cases you may also consider the Rewind tool (also located in the Steering Wheel).

BIM and the Cloud

2011-02-01T10:56:00.001-06:00

I recently attended a webcast by Advance 2000 on BIM and Cloud Computing and I thought I would share. With the new buzzword being "Working in the Cloud", its time we understand what that really is... I'm not going to re-hash what was covered in the webcast, but instead point you in the right direction for more information.

Chris France from Advance 2000 presented the 1-hour long webcast giving a pretty good overview of the history and future of cloud computing and how it can impact the AEC industry. Check out their site for more information and future webcasts...

Chris has also written articles for AECbytes on the subject.
http://www.aecbytes.com/feature/2011/BIM_Cloud_Economics.html
http://www.aecbytes.com/feature/2010/BIM_Cloud.html

Here is also a YouTube video by Tom Bittman giving a brief overview of the Cloud from back in 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAbFR9A1XmY

What Contributes to a Revit Models Overall Size?

2010-06-25T10:47:00.003-05:00

We recently had a situation where we wanted to take a model on the road to a client's office. The model was hovering around the 100 MB mark and there was a concern of it being sluggish. The goal of the meeting was to spin around the model while having an open discussion with the client....

The initial question was; can the model be made smaller? This exercise turned into a lesson in what contributes to the models overall size.

So, can the model be made smaller? The answer is YES, but at what cost. What can be deleted? What will you need to show the client? Do you need to keep; sheets, schedules, views? The list of questions goes on and on and really depends on your goal.

So, I did a quick test on the impact of deleting items from the model. In my defense, if I were to do this again, I would be more methodical in my steps (purge after each step from the get-go, etc.), but you'll get the point by reviewing my results below.

A couple things to note:
1. Every project will be different...
2. Step #8 (Removing the Architectural Sheets + purge) may be skewed slightly since this is the first purge I did.
3. I compacted the model during each STC. Most of the time, Windows Explorer reported a larger number (typically 2x the "real" size), but a quick refresh (F5) displayed the correct size.
4. The file I worked with was a detached copy of the original central file.

I've highlighted the top 5 steps where we got the most bang for the buck.

What Happens to Revit Graphics Overrides when you export to CAD (.DWG)?

2010-04-08T13:59:00.007-05:00

What happens to overrides when you export to a .DWG file? Have you ever wondered how to control this?

So, you have a Revit project where you've overridden some objects using "Override Graphics in View > By Element…

When you export to a .DWG, you have the following options under DWG Properties that will give you some control of the conversion to .DWG process.

======================================================

When a Revit element with view-specific graphics is exported, in AutoCAD those differences (overrides) are applied to the individual entity, but the entity resides on the same layer as other entities in the same Revit category or AutoCAD layer.

Notice that all the walls are on the A-WALL layer and overrides are made to the color and linetype (highlighted yellow). Note that there is no change to the halftone override.

======================================================

When a Revit element with view-specific graphics is exported, in AutoCAD those differences (overrides) are ignored. The entity resides on the same layer as other entities in the same Revit category or AutoCAD layer, and it loses its unique attributes. This option forces all entities to follow visual properties as defined by their layer. It produces the least number of layers and provides by-layer control over the exported DWG file.

All Revit overrides are lost… Notice how all objects are on the same layer and color andd linetype are set to Bylayer.

======================================================

When a Revit element with view-specific graphics is exported, in AutoCAD the entity is placed on its own layer. This option provides by-layer control over the exported DWG file, and preserves graphical intent. However, it increases the number of layers in the exported DWG file.

As you can see below, each object with a Revit override is placed on its own layer (with the exception of the halftone override).

What causes Revit to Crash?

2010-03-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

I've been asked this a few times so I thought I would share some of my experiences on why Revit may crash or you get insufficient resources messages...

IMO - the most common reason for Revit to crash at our firm is the lack of resources (RAM). Most of our computers have at least 2 GB or RAM and up to 4 GB). The majority of our users have 4GB...

Our PCs range from 3.8 Pentium 4's to Core 2 duo (better) and we're running on XP Pro (32 bit) at the moment, so adding more RAM won't help because of the OS and it's RAM limitation. We do have the 3 GB switch enabled on most PC's, (a few just didn't like this setting so we couldn't utilize..). You can go here is you want more information on this subject.

SOLUTION: 64 bit OS with at least 8 GB of RAM... (now if money only grew on trees!)

If you don't have this as a option, then you can also use the Worksharing Monitor's System Performance Monitor to help catch a low resource issue prior to it happening. As you can see in my System Performance monitor, running a 64 bit OS (Windows 7) with 8 GB of RAM, I have ton's of resources compared to a 32 bit OS with 2GB of RAM. Also, with notifications on when using the Worksharing Monitor, you will get a window popup window letting you know you're running low and had better save.

Windows XP - PRo - 32 bit:

Windows 7 - 64 bit:

Another issue that will not cause a crash, but will prohibit you from saving due to insufficient resources when your temp folder is full. What is full you may ask? I asked Revit support the same question and didn't get a definitive answer, but I can tell you this, if Revit crashes and you don't clean out this folder (see more on this below), you WILL have this problem eventually... My guess is if you get around 1 GB of "stuff" in there, you'll start to have problems.

Revit creates temp files during normal use of the application. When Revit closes normally, these files are deleted. If you crash, they are not... and they can take up quite a bit of space. Here is an example of the files I'm talking about and you can see that they're pretty big. As you can see, this is only one day - imagine if you crash multiple times over different days!

SOLUTION:

Close any running applications, then go to >Start >Run and type in %temp%. This will get you quickly to the temp folder. Delete anything that is not today's date and all Revit temp files. You'll probably have a bunch of other windows files in there that can also be deleted, but if you're nervous about deleting them, just remove the Revit temp files.

Good luck and enjoy!

Revit Families vs. Project Performance; Quantity & Size

2010-03-02T09:03:00.003-06:00

We (EUA Design Consulting) were recently evaluating some manufacturer content and one of the things we always check for is the file size of the families. At EUA, we are deliberate about keeping the file size down to minimize the impact on our projects. So, we decided to query our Imperial Library to see just how well we were practicing what we preach...

To give you a little background on our Imperial Library - It's primarily EUA created with very little remaining out of the box (OOTB) content. We actually started with the OOTB content during our initial Revit migration (5 years ago), but quickly came to the conclusion that it was lacking in many facets. It was fine for our pilot project, but that's where it ended. Content creation has been a 5 year project and will probably never end, but we're definitely over the hump. Content request by our staff have leveled off, but we still get one or two weekly. So, if you're a firm making the switch to Revit, be sure to consider the importance of quality Revit content. Don't get me wrong - Revit it AWESOME and we love it, but it's a shame that most of the content that ships with Revit doesn't have the quality or consistency required. Sorry Autodesk, but I don't think the content that ships with Revit has been updated for years...

The results below are a quick overview of our Imperial Library:

Total number of EUA Revit families: 6260
(FYI - Revit ships with ~1165 families out of the box)

EUA Revit families with a size over 500k: 35

EUA Revit families over 800k: 1

So as you can see, the majority of our families are less than 500k. We have only 35 families (slightly more than a half percent) exceeding 500 KB. Not even half our library exceeds 300 KB.We aim for a family size of 200k to 400k max if possible.

So, as you're browsing the web for Revit families and you think you hit the mother load- consider the file size and how this will impact your project. It will...

And remember - this is only one aspect of families that can affect your project's performance. Family complexity, formulas, nesting, arrays, etc. can also have a big impact - more on that later :)

Hope this helps!

Talented Revit Staff Have High Work Requirements

2010-02-18T11:23:00.000-06:00

I thought I would lighten up the mood today - this is floating around our office...

Talented Revit staff are hard to come by... It's nice to be wanted isn't it Erica?

EUA Design Consulting - "Ignorant" Door Schedule

2010-02-10T14:04:00.001-06:00

We run across all types of situations here at Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) and everything doesn't always have a clean workflow. Many times you have to think outside the box... We've recently posted a solution to a door scheduling problem that is definitely thinking outside the box. Check it out!

"Ignorant" Door Schedule

Webcast: Revit and Riverbed

2010-02-09T14:18:00.006-06:00

I ran across this upcoming webcast opportunity today. If you're using Revit (any flavor) and are working with teams located across the country, you need to check this out...

It's sort of weird that you register via email, but here is the link that I have. Register here.

Actually I found a better link to register. Try this...

You can also download some supporting documentation depending on if you're using Revit or AutoCAD or Microstation.

Here is the info on the company offering the webcast. I can't endorse them as I haven't worked with them, but we do use the Riverbed appliance and are very happy with it.

Autodesk Support and YouTube

2010-01-28T15:57:00.005-06:00

In case you haven't seen these, Autodesk has created quite a few support videos that are available on YouTube.

Check them out here!

View BIM models on the iPhone

2010-01-25T08:30:00.003-06:00

You can now view BIM models on the iPhone with this handy little app. Download it from the i-tunes store and get the exporters and more information here.

Trelligence Affinity and Revit

2010-01-21T13:51:00.006-06:00

Today at our Revit user group, Larry Ciscon, President of Trelligence traveled to Wisconsin to present their Affinity software. Trelligence is an Autodesk "Prefered Industry Provider"

Affinity is a early architectural design application that's strengths lie in programming, space planning and schematic design. Affinity can run stand alone or linked with Revit (bi-directional link). For more on this go to the Revit and Affinity page.

We had around 20 in attendance today including architects, engineers and contractors. Larry did an excellent job explaining the software and then doing a live presentation which included working in both in Affinity and Revit and syncing any changes between the two applications.

A few of the cool things I picked up today were:

Affinity can leverage Sketchup for creating and modifying the "footprint" of your model which then updates in Affinity.
Affinity symbols can link to Revit families.
As Revit's API is opened more with each release, Affinity plans a more seamless "sync" as data changes. This seamless sync already occurs in Affinity, but will be further integrated with Revit as the API opens. (it's not a big deal, but you may have to hit the "refresh" button... currently)

Affinity supports the following workflows:

Start in Revit, then create the Affinity project
Start in Affinity, then automatically populate a Revit model.
Start in Revit (using Excel for programming), then combine both in Affinity

Thanks Larry for a great presentation!

New Tips-n-Tech Post to EUA Consulting Site

2010-01-19T15:34:00.006-06:00

We've posted a new Tips-n-Tech post to our EUA Consulting site. The subject is the distance restriction when linking CAD files.

Check it out!

Remember, you can also subscribe to our posts and be notified via email when a new tip is avaialble for viewing.

Bringing Clarity to your Documents

2010-01-19T10:11:00.010-06:00

Do you need a break from the daily grind... Here is a tip I passed along to our users recently that should make your life a little more enjoyable. Enjoy!

We are viewing all different types of documents during our day. Have you ever gotten a document that used a smaller font and it was just tough to read? Or are your eyes just not what they used to be??

Let’s bring things into focus by increasing the magnification of the screen!

There are a couple ways to accomplish this.

Use the scroll bar or drop down to increase/decrease the zoom percentage. All applications are similar in concept, but you may access the tool in a different way.

Hold down the "Control" key and roll the wheel in/out on your mouse. The zoom percentage noted above will also reflect this change, so getting back to 100% is pretty easy!

InPro BIM Launch - Win a Harley!

2010-01-13T11:29:00.008-06:00

I'm not sure why I'm sharing this because I'm lowering my odds of winning... I guess because I never win these kind of things, what do I have to lose. Here you go!

InPro is launching a BIM library for their line of products. As part of their marketing effort, you have the chance of winning a 2011 Harley-Davidson® Heritage Softail® Motorcycle!

http://www.inprocorp.com/bimready/Default.aspx

Go here to register for the bike!

http://www.inprocorp.com/bimwithrims/Default.aspx

Parrot A.R. Drone

2010-01-12T21:00:00.003-06:00

One of my hobbies is R/C helicopters... While this isn't a true "heli" like I fly, I couldn't pass up posting this link. Aint technology cool!

Check it out!

Tips-n-Tech - Revit Tips, Workflows and Strategies

2010-01-12T10:26:00.012-06:00

For those of you that missed this when you checked out our new site, we have a Tips-n-Tech section that includes some nice tidbits of Revit related information. Internally here at EUA, we share weekly with our staff things that we've learned. The goal is to increase our knowledge level and productivity firmwide rather than in small pockets. Tips-n-Tech is there to give you a taste of these Weekly Updates and learn something new. Enjoy the FREE Tips-n-Tech!

You can see all the posts by clicking here!

Check back often for updates, or you can subscribe by clicking here!

EUA Launches Design Application Consulting (BIM) Services

2010-01-11T13:42:00.006-06:00

The firm I work for, Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) has just launched an extension of the firm; Consulting: Design Applications

http://www.eua.com/consulting/da/

Check out our recent marketing blast!

BIM Periodicals

2010-01-08T15:34:00.001-06:00

Sometimes there's some crossover between my two blogs... Check out my recent post on BIM Periodicals on my BIM & IPD blog!

http://bimandipd.blogspot.com/2010/01/bim-periodicals.html