Revit MEP

Using Revit as a Team. Use Same Builds.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:40:58 PST

When using Revit on a project, make sure everyone on the team is using not only the same version, (2011, 2012, etc), but the same build number as well. The build number can be found by clicking on the question mark pull down in the upper right corner, and click the About button….

From there, you’ll see the splash screen of the version, and the build. The first 4 numbers in the year the build was released, (2010) The next 2 are the month of the release, (09-September), the next 2 are the day of the release, (03-third). The last four are the actual build number 2115, and the service pack number is new to the newer versions. Might not be shown for earlier versions.

I’ve seen fatal errors in Revit when teams are using the same version, but different build numbers, and users are syncing their builds local file to the central file, and the central file is receiving updates from multiple builds, when there have been some changes to the software code, and there is a discrepancy between two items, one new version, one old version, and Revit doesn’t know what to do.

In order to make sure everyone is using the same build, everyone should be using the latest build. For 2011, its build 20100903_2115 Web Update 2 Service Pack. For 2012, it’s build 20110916_2132 Update Release 2.

Armacell Insulation Taking Advantage of Revit MEP 2012 Enhanced Insulation Objects

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:05:37 PDT

Designers and engineers who use Revit 2012 MEP building design software can add mechanical insulation to their designs with this Module.

Armacell's most popular insulating products are incorporated into the BIM Module:

AP Armaflex closed cell elastomeric foam insulation for piping components and ducts
AP Coilflex highly conformable, pliable elastomeric thermal ductliner
Tubolit flexible, closed-cell polyolefin/polyethylene pipe insulation for cost-efficient thermal insulation of domestic heating and plumbing lines
ArmaTuff thermal mechanical insulation with UV protection for outdoor applications
NH/Armaflex halogen free, flexible elastomeric insulation material for marine and offshore environments.
UT Solaflex EPDM thermal insulation for high temperature, UV-resistant and oil-resistant applications

Link to the directions on how to load and use the module is here.

Project Spark - A future Revit LT?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:49:48 PDT

Project Spark is a technology preview of a new future Revit Architecture (BIM) solution. Using Project Spark, building professionals can create designs efficiently with real-world building objects, produce more reliable documentation faster, and share files with consultants using Revit or AutoCAD-based products.

Project Spark looks like a striped down version of Revit and does not support conceptual design, analysis, rendering, advanced collaboration, and API. It may turn out to be a Revit LT version of sorts. I would guess they would come out with all flavors of Revit, but they are only testing the architectural version. MEP and Structural hopefully would be available when released.
Currently, you cannot open Revit Architecture or Revit MEP 2012 in Project Spark. Files created in Revit are not supported in Project Spark. However, Revit 2012 files can be linked into Project Spark.
You also cannot open Project Spark files in Revit Architecture or in Revit MEP 2012. Because Project Spark uses a newer Revit file format, it is not currently possible to open files created in Project Spark with Revit 2012.

They're looking for feedback on the overall concept, usability, and learnability of the product.

You can download the preview here.

You can view the tutorial here

Revit MEP 2012 Update 2 – September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 06:54:12 PDT

In case you are too lazy to search to the Autodesk site... I've posted it here

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/Enhancements_List_RME_2012_UR2.pdf

Update 2 is not a full install; rather it is using service pack technology similar to AutoCAD®- based products. Update 1 is built into Update 2, so you don't need to worry about installing the first one before installing the second one.

Improvements made in Update 2 build (20110916_2132):

Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2012 Enhancements

Improves stability when routing ducts which utilize an elbow or takeoff to complete the run.
Improves stability when dragging a Panel Schedule into a sheet.
Corrects the classification of embedded windows within a curtain wall contained within a linked file which is used as the boundary to create spaces.
Improves the regeneration time of Ducts after applying a Visibility/Graphics Override.
Improves stability when creating a new zone in the zone editor and specifying an already existing name in the properties palette.
Improves performance when adding an air terminal to a system.
Retains System Type when coping elements from one project to another.
Retains pipe and fitting connections when moving piping layout to another level.
Improves the display of duct with insulation and lining for hidden line views when contained within a linked file.
Improves display of insulation on segments when viewed in ceiling plans.
Maintains the type parameter values for panel schedules viewed on a sheet.
Maintains circuits when upgrading Revit MEP 2011 projects in Revit MEP 2012.

Autodesk Revit® Platform 2012 Enhancements

Improves stability when switching the visibility setting of linked file from By Linked View to By Host View.
Corrects Ambient Shadow on objects which are contained within a mirrored linked file.

Improves the import of IFC files which contain overlapping walls.

Improves stability when exporting a project to DXF which contains a dimension style that is referenced more than 255 times within the project.

Corrects the resolution of the background image when calculating offset and scale.

Corrects duplicate column creation when using Create columns by Grid when some columns are already created on the grid.

Improves stability when setting a view to Realistic display mode.

Improves stability when navigating in 3D view after canceling a Print operation.

Corrects silhouette display for perspective views in projects with linked files.

Corrects the angle of Photometric Web based light sources when exported to FBX.

Retains the original IES files when exporting to FBX.

Reduces the scenarios where element IDs may become remapped or removed when Synchronizing to Central.

Improves stability when removing layers from floors, roofs and walls.

Corrects gbXML export of curtain walls where window openings were classified as air opening when using simple complexity mode.

Improves stability when accessing HELP

Help

Corrects mapping of Cable Tray, Cable Tray Fittings, Conduit and Conduit Fittings when exported to IFC.

Improves the consistency of beams being unique objects when exported to IFC.

Improves the placement of slabs when exported to IFC.

Improves the creation of beams, such as length, when imported from IFC.

Disables switching to 3D view if current view only is set when exporting to IFC.

Enables the export of filled regions to IFC.

Enables mass based curtain panels and mullions to be individual elements when exported to IFC.

Enables Structural Columns to be exported to IFC.

Allows elements hidden by category to be ignored when project is exported to IFC.

Enables Unicode support for both Import and Export of families.

Changes setting for "Export views on sheets and links as external references" to be enabled when exporting to DGN.

Allows exporting to DWFx if the view is blank.

Improves stability when exporting to DWG.

Improves the export of custom wall hatch patterns to DWG.

Improves stability after displaying a warning message.

Enables the use of Family Parameter when using the Material Browser Paint tool.

Improves stability when modifying part assemblies.

Improves stability when working within the Phases dialog.

Improves placement of linked point clouds based upon their origin.

Improves stability when printing to PDF in batch mode.

Improves stability when saving a family into the same folder as the type catalog.

Improves stability when upgrading projects.

Improves stability when setting a workset from Editable to non-Editable.

Easily share your BIM with eTransmit for Revit

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 06:09:52 PDT

Here is a snippit from Autodesk Lab's website...

With eTransmit for Revit, you can:

Copy and detach a Revit model and associated files to a single folder for internet transmission. This removes the typical error messages when you copy central files using the operating system.
Locate dependent files automatically and include them in the transmittal folder, reducing the possibility of error. All dependent files are automatically converted to use relative paths to ensure that the dependent files can be located by the model.
Choose to include related dependent files such as linked Revit models, CAD files, DWF markups, decal images, and external keynote files. You can transmit any Revit (.rvt) model that has been upgraded to Revit Release 2012.
Transmit models that are using file-based worksharing or server-based worksharing. eTransmit for Revit will also work with non-workshared Revit models.

Common uses for eTransmit

Internal archiving
Sending deliverables to clients
Model exchange between consultants/partners
Model cleanup
Sharing models between disciplines

Availability

The technology preview will operate until December 31, 2011.

ElumTools - The first fully-integrated Add-in lighting software for Autodesk Revit

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 06:56:42 PDT

ElumTools is from Lighting Analysts, Inc. who produces calculation tools for the architectural lighting marketplace. Today, they author four design tools for the lighting industry: AGi32, Photometric Toolbox, FlashTools, and the newest addition, ElumTools, a fully integrated lighting calculation add-in for Autodesk Revit.

This new tool will be a much more efficeint way of doing point-by-point lighting calculations rather than importing 2D plans into AGI, creating 3D spaces and 3D objects that are representing the rooms in AGI, (which has already been done by the architect in Revit), so why redo that work? Then as the model updates and changes, you have to redo all that work of reimporting the 2D autocad file, and recreate the 3D spaces and 3D objects. That takes a lot of time. Using a software that is an add-on of Revit, you can do the calculations right within Revit, and not have to continuously update separate models. (Construction document Revit model, and the AGI lighting calculation model.) Then when you make changes to your light fixtures, you make those changes in the Revit model only, (one place) instead of making the changes in the Revit model and in the AGI model.

SNIP FROM THEIR WEBSITE:
The growth of BIM (Building Information Modeling) software is exploding, and in many architectural design and engineering firms it is almost completely replacing CAD software for the purposes of architectural and building system design. To date, the industry standard illumination design software programs lack the ability to easily exchange information with models in the BIM environment. The reason for this is two-fold: current illumination software utilizes a complete environment approach to the calculation of illuminance, which is burdened by the large size of the BIM model, and the complexity of exported geometry from BIM is beyond the needs of practical calculation of workplane or surface illuminance. With today’s illumination design software not getting the job done, there remains a need to quickly compute basic illuminance from electric sources within individual environments in a BIM model and tabulate the results in a way consistent with the behavior of the BIM software.

ElumTools is a calculation Add-in used to predict the performance of electric lighting systems within the Autodesk® Revit® Architecture or MEP software. With ElumTools the need to utilize external software to compute illuminance from light sources placed in Revit is no longer necessary.

When ElumTools is installed in Revit, it appears with its own tab on the top menu bar. Selecting the ElumTools tab reveals the icons for the various ElumTools commands.

The entire concept of ElumTools as a Revit Add-in is based around the ability to leverage content that is already present in the Revit model. Utilizing existing content from Revit allows the lighting software functionality to be simplified to only those tasks necessary for the accurate modeling of light.

	The accurate calculation of illuminance on a workplane or surface requires the following components: surface geometry, surface reflectance/color, luminaire locations and luminaire photometry. ElumTools is able to extract surface geometry in the form of “Rooms” or “Spaces” as defined in Revit Architecture or MEP, or if necessary, the user can simply select the surfaces to be included in the calculation using Revit commands. Surface reflectance and color can be interpreted from the Revit “Graphics Shading” properties of the surface and “mapped” to more suitable reflectances and/or colors if desired. Luminaire locations already present in Revit can be consumed by
ElumTools and photometric file associations created if not already present.
With these elements known, ElumTools has the information required to utilize a radiosity process to compute the lighting for the selected geometry and present an interactive visualization depicting the luminous exitance of all surfaces. However, there is an additional fundamental need to allow the user to assign calculation sampling points to any surface or workplane to verify illuminance present from the Revit layout of luminaires. This is easily accomplished using ElumTools’ Calculation Points command.
With materials mapped, luminaires defined and sampling points placed, ElumTools calculation commands enable the computation of the selected geometry. Revit-defined Rooms or Spaces can be computed alone or as a group if they contribute light to one another. The computed results can then be examined in an interactive visualization window (a separate window for each Room or Space) and point-by-point results seen directly in the Revit model. Finally, all statistics are available to Revit’s scheduling tools for summary and inclusion in the BIM model.

Manage luminaires – This is the process of assigning all of the necessary elements to each luminaire family within the Revit model that will be used for lighting calculations. Required input includes: a valid photometric file in IES format (LM-63), assignment of a light loss factor and a validity check on lumens and watts figures as retrieved from the manufacturer’s photometric file.

The ElumTools Luminaire Manager provides simple access to the necessary inputs for all luminaire families. The luminaire list can be shortened to show only luminaire families currently in use in the Revit model, if desired.

Map materials – ElumTools has access to the “Graphics Color” in Revit for all materials in the model, allowing the reflectance of the surfaces to be calculated from the RGB color.* If a Revit graphics color is not an accurate color from which to calculate reflectance, it is necessary to map that surface to a different and more appropriate color. Glass and other translucent or transparent materials must also be mapped to the appropriate surface type in ElumTools for accurate lighting calculations.

The Materials Mapping feature in ElumTools is very easy to use. All Revit materials are listed on the left side of the dialog and ElumTools materials on the right. The drop-down selection in the center allows individual materials to be mapped from Revit to ElumTools and vice-versa, or ignored entirely. Additional pull-down menus allow the selection of color, reflectance, surface transparency and more (Advanced Properties button).

*As of the release of Revit 2012, the Revit Application Programmers Interface (API) provided by Autodesk does not provide access to the materials’ “Render Appearance” information. This may change in a future release providing more accurate material color and reducing the need to map some materials.

Locate point-by-point areas – ElumTools makes it easy to assign a grid of sampling points to your choice of surfaces and workplanes in the Revit environment. Simply select the Calculation Points command and drop an instance of the sampling points family on surfaces as required. The points will automatically attach only to the selected Revit surface. Other surfaces such as windows or doors would not be included and could be covered with another instance of the family, if necessary. Workplane calculations are simply points on the floor with an offset equal to the workplane height.

Calculate Room or Space – Rooms and Spaces are spatial placeholders created by Revit Architecture and MEP. If the Revit model does not have Room or Space designations, it is only a matter of a few clicks to add them.
ElumTools allows the calculation of either Rooms or Spaces using a single or multiple selection technique. When selecting multiple Rooms or Spaces, ElumTools allows multiple calculations to be performed simultaneously on multi-threaded processors. If separate environments may exchange light with one another, they can be computed in a single execution.

Calculate Other Geometry – Occasionally it is necessary to select all the elements to be included in a calculation independently of Revit Rooms or Spaces. ElumTools provides the capability to select all elements to be considered manually using Revit commands and compute the propagation of light within this subset.

Interactive visualization – ElumTools provides a fully interactive visualization in a pop-up window as a by-product of every calculation. This rendering is designed to allow validation of lighting results (are all my luminaires included?) and a verification of the behavior of light and surface (scalloping from downlights on an adjacent wall). The visualizations are fully navigable, and additional evaluation tools are available, such as scaled pseudocolor analysis, radiosity mesh display and visibility of sampling points.

View point-by-point results in Revit – The illuminance values at all sampling points placed in the Revit model can be seen directly in Revit. The appearance of the value color can be changed using Revit’s Analysis Visualization Framework (AVF) to scale the gradient of illuminance values for improved readability.

Schedule – All illuminance statistics computed by ElumTools are available to be summarized with Revit’s schedule feature.

The concept of computing the lighting results directly within the Revit environment using a Space by Space (or Room by Room) methodology fosters a fast and efficient workflow, removing the long calculation times associated with the whole-environment approach of external software. Designers can utilize the software as a design tool on an iterative basis as needed. Point-by-point results provide validation of required lighting criteria, and interactive draft visualizations yield an understanding of the lighting system only possible with radiosity rendering.

Unlike many of today’s all-encompassing lighting simulation programs, the ElumTools software is exceptionally intuitive, streamlined and approachable. By design, the software can be productive for any Revit user with basic lighting knowledge, and very little if any training is required.

For the initial release ElumTools is available in a single user license configuration only. A single user license can be installed on one computer at a time. Once registered, ElumTools is licensed to that computer only. This is a perpetual license for use with Revit 2012 only.

ElumTools is sold initially with a free one-year membership to the subscription plan. This means all product releases are available for download from your account at no charge until one year from your purchase date. At that point you may elect to renew the subscription plan to continue to receive product releases.

Phoenix Controls Now Offers Building Information Modeling (BIM)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:42:56 PDT

http://www.phoenixcontrols.com/be00e440-7c28-4785-abfe-4475748af6dd/resource-press-releases-details.htm

ACTON, Mass. – March 28, 2011 – Phoenix Controls, a Honeywell International business, today announced the official release of BIM objects covering the Company’s entire family of Venturi Valves. The signature brands of Celeris®, Traccel®, and Theris®are all represented. Working in conjunction with SMARTBIM, a leader in the industry for development of BIM objects, Phoenix Controls has taken what a typical manufacturer provides to the next level.

"BIM is the way of the future in the design of facilities. The benefits of BIM are well documented, but the reality is manufacturers are behind the curve." said Dave Boisvert, Vice President of Engineering at Phoenix Controls. "We need to provide the industry with the correct tools to make sure they are properly specifying our products. We recognized this and heard the demands of our customers which is why we made the considerable investment to provide some of the most advanced objects to the design community"

Phoenix Controls library of BIM objects, which are fully compatible with Autodesk® Revit®, house a wealth of information and will provide owners a valuable resource for the maintenance and operations of their facilities. As BIM grows and adapts to the rapidly increasing requirements of the industry, so too will Phoenix Controls and our offering. Our objects can be found on our company’s website at http://www.phoenixcontrols.com/resource-valve-drawings.htm. They are also available for distribution through SMARTBIM’s object library at http://smartbim.com.

Phoenix Controls is a worldwide developer of precision airflow control systems for critical room environments, such as laboratories, hospitals, vivariums and biocontainment facilities.

Phoenix Controls is a business of Honeywell International and is registered to ISO 9001:2008. Celeris, Traccel and Theris are registered trademarks of Phoenix Controls.

Contact:

Justin Dascoli, Marketing Manager
Phoenix Controls
(978) 795-3433jdascoli@phoenixcontrols.com

3Dconnexion Announces Revit 2012 Support

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:29:14 PDT

3Dconnexion today announced much anticipated 3D mouse support for Autodesk Revit 2012 software applications, as well as Autodesk Navisworks 2012, bringing the full range of 3D mouse design benefits to Revit and Navisworks users.
3Dconnexion 3D mice complement the intuitive interface and modeling and documentation tools in Revit software, helping to enhance every design workflow stage with increased productivity and comfort. 3D mice allow Revit and Navisworks users to pan, zoom and rotate simultaneously to deliver superior navigation and more intuitive control, helping to boost productivity and efficiency while aiding user comfort.

I have not personally used a 3D mouse, but I would imagine it would take some getting used to. Steve Stafford has mentioned this device in his blog and is currently testing it. But the reviews sound good. I can imagine a device like this would be benificial in software programs like Navisworks even more than Revit.

Preserving Autodesk BIM Information in Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:36:44 PDT

Revit MEP 2012 New Features

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:00:44 PDT

I've been kicking the tires on the beta release of Revit MEP 2012 for the past few months, and I am really looking forward to using the new version. In last years 2011 version, most improvements came from the enhancements to the electrical portion of the software. This year, plumbing was the big winner. Trying to create plumbing systems that worked in real world designs took a lot of effort to make work. Especially sloped pipe. A lot of firms used workarounds and created Revit plumbing layouts based off of pipe types or worksets or other means other than by system as Autodesk had intended. It now looks as though firms should rethink these workarounds, and actually create pipe systems based off of real pipe types the way Autodesk intended it to be used. Of course, there are other enhancements to existing tools, and totally new tools and features that were added as well.

Even though there are numerous improvements to the software that will make our Revit MEP world a lot easier, we can't open the box, install the software, and just jump into the new version on our next project. One of the disadvantages of a user of MEP, is that we have to follow the architects lead. While there are enhancements in Revit Architecture, the architectural new features aren't as much of a game changer as the new features in Revit MEP. The Revit Architecture software is on it's 25th release in 11 years while Revit MEP is on its 7th release in 5 years. So it isn't as mature as it's architectural big brother. So architects might not see the need to upgrade until maybe June... September... or even next year on their projects. And because project teams should always work in similar Revit build numbers, MEP users might not have the chance to become more productive with the new features until an architect decides to either A) Upgrade an existing project, or B) Start a new project in the new 2012 version.

But when teams do decide to work in 2012, this is just a few of the things you have to look forward to.

Tagging Elements in Linked Files. I'm not sure on this first feature. I'm sure I'll find a way this feature will help me in the future, but right now, it just confused me as to where my room/space tags were derived from. Were they created from the copy rooms feature, or are they tagged from the linked file?
MEP Fixture Copy/Monitor improvements. This was one of my favorite 2011 new features, and it just got better. When an architect takes the time, and places generic plumbing fixtures and generic light fixtures in their model, why spend our time repeating their work? With the copy/monitor tool, we can swap out all of the architects fixtures with MEP fixtures that match our specifications. And now there are more fixture types that we can do this swapping with. There was a stadium type project I was working on, where there were hundreds and hundreds of water closets in the project. It would have taken me hours to place our spec WC over the architects generic WC for all the locations. But using the Copy/Monitor tool, I had all of our Kohler WC families replace the architects "out-of-the-box" Revit WC. And when the architect decided to move those fixtures 12 inches to the left, I received a notification that they moved because my fixtures were monitoring their fixtures. Love this tool.
Revit Server. Will now support running either Revit 2011 and/or Revit 2012 projects. Also supports the new worksharing enhancements in 2012. (See worksharing enhancements below). Using Revit Server in an office environment that has multiple offices connected over the LAN, this tool is essential to becoming more efficient. Trying to create a local Revit file over the LAN will take forever, and while the file is opening, it will tie down the central file making it impossible for current uses to modify elements that haven't been checked out or save to central. In the past, I was asked to make a construction bulletin that would take me about 5 minutes, but opening my local file took over an hour over the LAN. Thank goodness for multi-tasking.
Worksharing Enhancements. It surprising to me how long this feature has been in the software, and never worked right. It seems like it was a placeholder for something bigger and better to come. Well, that time might be now. When you wanted to modify a fixture or system, and it was being used by another user, Revit had a dialog box that made it seem like you could make a request through Revit, and ask that user to relinquish it. But that user need to open the "Editing Requests" dialog box to see these requests. And that never happened at a time when you needed it to happen, like right now. So you ended up just calling them on the phone. Then there was the Worksharing Monitor Add-In. This at least had a dialog box that could stay open while you were working that you could throw up on a second monitor or something so that you could see these requests as they happened. But A)It was a separate install that seemed to never get installed. and B) It was a separate program that needed to be opened and running after you opened Revit. Well, now that we have a little background, here is a couple of the new features. First is that you could never disable worksharing. Once you enabled worksharing on a project, that project was going to be workshared forever. Second, you can set the visibilty of worksets in a view template now. Third, there are new color display modes allowing users to visualize owners of objects by color, or ownership status of elements by color, or elements that are out of date by color, or which elements are assigned to particular worksets by color. It can be toggled on and off. Fourth, Revit now provides balloon notifications when editing requests are placed, granted, and denied. So now you don't have to check the Editing Requests box to see if someone is waiting on you, or install the Worksharing monitor and open a separate dialog box to check these requests.
Starting View. This was a known issue, that Revit opened slow if the last view that was open when the project was saved, was a complex view. So users had to remember to create a simple view, usually with just text of the project name and number, and to have that as the last view open when saving and closing the project down. But now there is a setting under the Manage Tab, where you can specify which view you want to be the Starting View so users don't have to remember which view they should go to when saving the project.
Workset changeable without editablity. In the properties palette, the workset parameter can now be edited without first borrowing the element. Before, that parameter was greyed out until you had ownership of that element.
Enhancements to DWG Export tool. The export setting are displayed on a series of tabs making it easier to map layers, lines, patterns, text and fonts to AutoCAD styles.
Locking 3D Views and Tagging 3D views. This is a biggy. In the past, you could only put dumb text in a 3D view. Never a smart tag. And if you rotated that view, the text would skew because it was on another plane. Now, as long as you lock a 3D view down, (which is new) you can tag a Revit element. You won't be able to lock the default 3D view, but create a copy, and that one will be lockable. Just beware, you can't tag a room/space in a 3D view.
Schedule and Legend Creation from Project Browser. This is nice. Before, you had to open up the Views Tab on the ribbon to create a view of these types. Now just right click on Schedule or Legend in the project browser, and create new.
Save all Families. Users can save all families that are loaded into a project to a directory. This is nice for helping create future project templates. You might finish a hospital project using a lot of hospital families, and you want to now create a Revit hospital project template. You can now save those families in a batch type of method from the previous hospital project and load them into your new template.
Round Function in Formulas. Values in formulas can be now rounded up or down. Round(x), Roundup(x), rounddown(x).
Materials. There is significant changes to using materials in elements in Revit 2012. While there is a significant amount of work "under the hood" that is not user visible, the items that are available to users this version focus around efficiency in managing materials within Revit, and introducing a library concept that will be extended in the future.
WikiHelp. Revit online help is now provided as WikiHelp. In addition to viewing the Autodesk-provided help content, users can rate and comment on content, and they can add their own articles, images, and videos. If you are online and you access context-sensitive help (click a Help button or press F1), by default you go to the WikiHelp. If you are offline and access context-sensitive help, by default you will go to a locally stored copy of the help system.
Sloped Piping. A user can now create the pipe slope values in the Mechanical Settings. The slope values can be transferred from project to project. This new method, along with additional new sloped fittings seems to allow the creation of sloped piping systems much easier and consistent. There still needs to be best practices and methods that should be followed when creating sloped pipe. You won't be able to just draw sloped pipe in any direction from any starting point. There needs to be a thought out strategy to where you are going to start your main sloped pipe system, and where it's going to end, and how it's going to be integrated by the fixtures. It was hard, but I've had success creating sloped piping in previous versions, but this version is much less work and headache to create a sloped system. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but with a well laid out plan, you can be very successful creating sloped pipe is a rather short period of time.
System Browser. This was always an overlooked feature in the past because so many engineers just wanted construction documents and not an engineered system. So systems were rarely created in MEP projects. But this tool should be used more for multiple reasons, but one is just based off of better performance of the model. Unconnected systems dramatically decrease the speed of the project. You can view all of the connected and disconnected systems from the System Browser. Selecting elements in the system browser also selects the element in the project. And if you press Shift or CTRL, you can select multiple connectors. Also, in the old version, if you selected elements in your model, they were not selected in the system browser. Now they will be selected in both areas when you pick them.
Graphical Overrides for Duct and Piping Systems. You can now create and name duct and piping system types from a predefined set of "basic" system types. A duct or piping system type contains properties for graphical overrides. You have the ability to control the color, line weight, and line pattern for the collection of objects assigned to a system using these. The graphic overrides applies to the project, they are not view specific like Filters are. Similar to other system families, the duct and piping system types are now available in the Project Browser similar to how pipe types are in the Project Browser. The duct and piping system types are sorted under Families in the family category folder "Duct Systems" and "Piping Systems". Use the "Other" system type when creating a custom system of a type that is not native to Revit MEP. For example, if you wanted to create an Oxygen System, duplicate the Other system type and rename it to Oxygen. You can get to the system type properties for a particular duct or pipe by pre-selecting the element and pressing Tab until the system is highlighted. With the system selected, in the Property palette, click Edit Type to access the type properties of the system. In the Type Properties dialog for duct and piping systems, click Graphic Overrides to display a dialog where you can override the Line Weight, Color, and Line Pattern. The "system" overrides for the graphic attributes are prioritized between Phasing and Filters. This means the color, line pattern, material, etc. per system type, will override the settings per category. However, a view filter takes precedence over the system type settings.
Rendering Material for Duct and Pipe systems. This was something users always asked me, and I always told them that you couldn't change the material for system families. But it looks like the game has changed when it comes to materials. You can apply a specific rendering material that is different from the physical material.
Ability to Specify a System When Placing a Duct or Pipe. Another game changer. You know have the ability to specify a "system" on a duct or pipe without attaching it to a fixture or equipment. When inserting a duct or pipe, a new System Type parameter is available in the properties palette.
Create Duct and Pipe Systems from a Selection of Fixtures. When you create a system from a fixture or equipment, it is now possible to select a system type and a system name for the system and start in the system editor right away. In the past, you had to first create the system, then go to the system editor to edit the system. It took multiple steps, when now it's all in one step and much faster to do with less mouse clicks to do the same thing.
Graphical Warnings for Analyzing and Validating Duct and Pipe Systems. This is a feature that AutoCAD MEP has had for years. It's a toggle on/off that can show system disconnects with a warning marker.
Turning off System Calculations. When I first read this, I thought to myself, "That's not new." But now you can turn off a particular system, rather than turning off all calculations. There is a new parameter on the system type properties to limit or turn off system calculations.
System Connector Labels. This is nice. In the past, you had to hover over a connector and wait to see what type of connector you were dealing with. Now you can identify the properties of a connector from the leader and a label showing the system type, size, flow, direction, and fixture units.
Modify Systems while Adding Duct or Pipe. This will save a lot of time too. You can modify the system of fixtures or equipment while laying out duct or pipe instead of ending your command, and opening the system editor, and editing the system of that equipment. So for example, if you connect an unassigned return grille to a return duct system, it will automatically place that grille on the return duct system, rather than having to edit the return system, and add the grille manually.
Ability to Create Interconnected Systems. You can now connect systems that use different system types. For example, vent and sanitary systems may now be connected. In the past, as soon as you connected a vent sub-system to a sanitary system, the vent system changed to sanitary and your override filters that showed the linetypes of the two different systems all changed to one linetype in your drawings, thus not showing any venting on your project. Very bad. So workarounds were developed to evercome this. But you no longer need to use those workarounds now that we can interconnect systems, and they stay separated.
Create Duct or Pipe Placeholder Elements. Placeholder objects are ducts and pipes that can be used early in the design stage to indicate the approximate location of a duct or pipe run, or to show a layout that hasn’t been fully sized and you do not want to show the ducts or pipes as double line geometry. You are able to create a duct or pipe placeholder layout path. The placeholder layout path is a simplified duct or pipe without fittings. These objects allow for easy creation, modification, and future conversion to the more detailed ducts or pipe layouts currently available. The workflow is that you create placeholder layout path, modify the layout path, and then converts to the real two-line duct or pipe layout. In the past, the automatic layout path that Revit created was useless. And editing the path was more work than just manually drawing pipe or duct. I can't imagine that the automatic layout path tool got any better, but I can imagine that modifying the layout path that was generated has improved. The jury will be out on the benefit of this feature, as it gets used in real world applications.
Parallel Conduits and Parallel Pipe Runs. You can now create new conduit runs or pipe runs parallel with the existing conduit or pipe run. The key to this feature is that you draw one baseline run, and then run the parallel runs afterwards to match the first run. There will be two options for the fittings. Either the same bend radius or concentric bend radius.
Insulation and Lining. In the past, the best way to add insulation and lining was to create a pipe/duct schedule, and create columns to show different systems, and add insulation and lining through a schedule. That still might be the best way, but now you cn add insulation to an entire duct or pipe run with a single command. Before, you could only do it to one piece.
Interference Check for duct/pipe Insulation. A new option in the Run Interference Check is Duct insulation and pipe insulation. In the past, you could only run interference checks on the pipe or duct objects themselves. And if you wanted to check if the insulation would interfere, you had to draw pipe/duct by not the actual size, but by the size that included the insulation without insulation.
Panel Schedules. You can now choose to display panel schedule totals in either current or load values. Previously it was only load values. You can also change the way that multi-poled circuits are displayed in the panel schedule. There is a new toggle to wither merge 2 or 3 pole circuits into a single thicker cell, or leave them as 2 or 3 separate cells. There a new feature to show the number of slots from the equiment instead of a setting. You can also now control various capitalization options for a circuit's load name. And finally, you now have the ability to display connected load classifications in the panel schedule. For any load classification used by a load connected to the circuit, the connected load classification can show in the properties palette for an electrical circuit.

While there are a ton of new enhancements to make Revit MEP 2012 better than before, they haven't solved every wishlist item we've been asking for. Some tools take years to develop and to work correctly in a final release. Autodesk won't release a new feature if it hasn't been tested internally or by the beta users and works flawlessly. Sometimes new features are introduced in segments, where you'll only see a portion of what the final feature will look like in years to come. The developers can't create the world in 6 days like someone I know, but it's a process.

I hope you learned something new by this post, and I look forward to this new release.

Book Review: Mastering Autodesk Revit MEP 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 07:36:35 PDT

Revit MEP has been out since August 2006, or almost 5 years now. And new versions are usually released in mid-April. This coming version will be the 7th release. While the software has been around for a while, there hasn't been any good advanced documentation or books on the software. In 2008, while attending AU, I was approached by a book publisher to write a Revit MEP book because so many people were asking for one, and none existed. While I was excited about the opportunity, I couldn't find time in my schedule with a two year old and a newborn.

Over the last year, I've started to see some new books come out on Revit MEP. But the one that is above the others is this one by Don Bokmiller, Marvin Titlow and Simon Whitbread. I've done Revit MEP training with the AOTC courseware since the software was first released in 2006, and I wish that I had a resource like this book to train from. While there is a learning curve of the basics, this book takes users to the next level and shows how Revit MEP is used in real world projects from start to finish, and not just showing you how to do a couple simple tasks that are part of a smoke-and-mirrors dataset.

I always say there are two types of people looking for knowledge on Revit MEP, and you must adjust your training accordingly. There is the end user, who wants to know how do connect equipment, duct, pipe, lights, etc and read the engineering data that is generated from those connections. Then there is the BIM manager, who wants to know how to get the equipment and connections to display correct for construction documents, and the engineering data to calculate correctly, and get projects to run quickly and efficiently. But sometimes knowledge of how Revit works in the background is helpful for both types of end users of the software. And this book accomplished that.

While some books only apply to one type of Revit user, I really recommend this book for all users of Revit MEP. It's in depth, and applies to all types of Revit users. Even when a new Revit software version is released, this book will still be relevant.

This paperback book can be purchased directly from the publisher here:

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470626372.html

or an Adobe E-Book can be purchased and downloaded from the publisher here:

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118006909,descCd-ebook.html

or a paperback book from Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Autodesk-Official-Training-Guides/dp/0470626372

AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite

VER BUILD NAME
1.0 2006 04 01 (Revit Systems 1) (1)
2.0 2006 09 01 (Revit Systems 2) (2)
2008 2007 04 12 (Revit MEP 2008, AutoCAD MEP 2008) (3)
2009 2008 04 15 (Revit MEP 2009, AutoCAD MEP 2008) (4)
2010 2009 04 16 (Revit MEP 2010, AutoCAD MEP 2010) (5)
2011 2010 04 16 (Revit MEP 2011, AutoCAD MEP 2011) (6)

Electrical Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Revit® MEP Families Now Available from Siemens

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:30:06 PST

Distribution families to be AutoDesk Seek RMC Styleguide compliant

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. – Siemens Industry, Inc., announces the availability of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the company’s low voltage distribution equipment, making its Revit® MEP Family of products more easily available to architects and engineers during the design phase. Siemens continues its industry leadership, not only by offering the most comprehensive set of BIM families, but by being the first and only provider delivering BIM low-voltage distribution product families developed in full compliance with AutoDesk® Seek® RMC SG standards. The Siemens library of electrical distribution products will be available on the AutoDesk Seek website starting March 15.

Siemens BIM families were specifically developed to meet all Revit MEP standards. Siemens Revit families include all Sentron panelboards and switchboards, Siemens WL low voltage switchgear, VBII safety switches, and both Sentron and XJL busway solutions. All configurations are selectable including flush, surface or NEMA 3R for panelboards, NEMA 1, 3R and 4X for safety switches, and both indoor and outdoor for switchgear. The Siemens busway BIM families are comprehensive and detailed, and Siemens provides a 14-minute tutorial video for advanced Revit designers to acclimate themselves to the application and quickly move on to mastery of the routines.

Because the Siemens BIM families are fully Revit MEP and AutoDesk Seek compliant, they are available both from within Revit MEP itself, as well as on the internet from the AutoDesk Seek website http://seek.autodesk.com/. Simply search by keyword (Siemens, panelboards, busway, etc.) for the full families. In addition to the Revit files, both the families and the AutoDesk Seek website include links to technical information on the specific Siemens equipment.

For more information on the complete Siemens Revit families, contact your local Siemens representative. Call 1-800 241 4453 reference code Siemens BIM Families or visit www.usa.siemens.com/cebim.

Press Contact

Steve Kuehn

steve.kuehn@siemens.com

Greenheck Website Features Interactive LEED Worksheet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:30:58 PST

Greenheck features a new LEED interactive worksheet on its website, http://www.greenheck.com/ to help specifiers determine which Greenheck products will help with the attainment of points in the USGBC LEED Rating Program.

There are hundreds of Greenheck products that are organized and detailed pertaining to various credit qualifications in the Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality LEED categories. Convenient links are included to product specs, images, and 3D Revit models and manufacturing locations are listed.
For more information, visit http://www.greenheck.com/ and click on Green/LEED.

More on the Revit Server Extension

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 08:13:47 PDT

To get a better idea about Revit Server, check out this video from the Revit Clinic Blog

http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/10/10-things-to-know-about-revit-server.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Ftherevitclinic+%28The+Revit+Clinic%29

video platform video management video solutions video player

Autodesk® Green Building Studio® web-based energy analysis software

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 07:20:19 PDT

Autodesk® Green Building Studio® web-based energy analysis software can help architects and designers perform whole building analysis, optimize energy efficiency, and work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process. With faster, more accurate energy analysis of building design proposals, architects and designers can work with sustainability in mind earlier in the process, plan proactively, and build better.

Whole building energy analysis software—Determine virtual building’s total energy use and carbon footprint
Design alternatives analysis—Consider alternatives to improve energy efficiency
Detailed weather analysis—Extensive weather data available for project site
Carbon emission reporting—Emissions reporting for nearly all aspects of the building
Daylighting—Qualification for LEED® daylighting credit
Water usage and costs—Estimated water use, in and outside building
ENERGY STAR® scoring—Scores provided for each design
Natural ventilation potential—Summarizes mechanical cooling required and estimates hours design could use outdoor air to cool the building naturally

Autodesk Ecotect Analysis includes innovative building energy and carbon analysis tools made available through the Green Building Studio web-based service. The web service provides a user-friendly front end to powerful building energy analysis software. All of the computationally intensive hourly simulations are carried out on remote servers, and the results are provided to you in a web browser. The web-based service will collect data from three sources:

Your Revit® software model. All the building geometry comes from your model, including the number of rooms, the connections between rooms, and their relationship to the exterior, exposure, and aspect to the sun; and the shape and total area of built surfaces or openings.
Your responses to a few basic questions. In order to explain the building’s use or context, you will need to select a building type from a drop-down menu and enter the project location. You will also have a chance to select a weather station for the project, although the closest one is selected to be the default.
Regionalized databases. Based on the above information, the Green Building Studio web service will extract additional information about local weather conditions, construction, and materials. The service will automatically add any information you have not provided, so it can adapt to your requirements as your design evolves.

Autodesk® Ecotect™ Analysis 2010 software is a comprehensive concept-to-detail sustainable design analysis tool, providing a wide range of simulation and analysis functionality through desktop and web-service2platforms. Powerful web-based whole-building energy, water, and carbon analysis capabilities converge with desktop tools for visualizing and simulating performance of the building model within the context of its environment. Use the desktop tools and web-service functionality together to help create more sustainable designs. This document describes how to access your Green Building Studio web-service account and manage projects, and provides tips to help you get started.

The New “Revit Server”

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:22:06 PDT

Link to AECbytes "Revit’s New Server Extension" Article (September 28, 2010) by Lachmi Khemlani. Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.

The Autodesk® Revit® Server Extension helps geographically dispersed teams more easily collaborate on projects of varying size and complexity. Web-based services help keep teams coordinated as they work on a single project from separate locations.

The Autodesk Revit Server Extension helps you to:

Work more effectively as a single project team over a distributed wide area network (WAN) with higher performance and efficiency
Maintain a seamlessly integrated collection of Revit central models on a single server that team members can access from local servers
Easily manage products on Revit central server using the web-based Revit Server Administrator tools
Benefit from built-in redundancy in case of WAN connectivity loss

This Subscription Advantage Pack consists of two separate components: an application update, Revit 2011 SAP, and a server component, called Revit Server 2011. An installation of Revit Server may function as a local server or a central server. However this document does not draw any distinction between the two, as the installation and removal requirements are essentially the same for both.

Revit Server 2011

Systems hosting Revit Server 2011 must have:

Microsoft Windows Server^® 2008, 64 bit (not 2008 R2)
Microsoft IIS 7.0
Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1

Refer to the Revit Sever Installation Guide supplemental documentation for more detail on system prerequisites.

Revit’s New Server Extension 2011 Video

Revit MEP 2011 Update 2 – September 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:49:26 PDT

Revit MEP Update 2 – September 2010

Important Note:
Update 2 is not a full install; rather it is using service pack technology similar to AutoCAD®- based products. Prior to installing the Update 2, please verify that you have already installed the First Customer Ship build of Autodesk Revit MEP 2011 which is available below.

Update Enhancement List
Improvements made in Update 2 build (20100903_2115):

Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011 Enhancements

The list of supported video cards and drivers has been updated.
Improves stability when opening a recovery file.
Improves the selection of the proper fire damper size when inserted into an oval duct.
Remembers the last justification when adding duct from the draw duct option within the right click menu.
Corrects the creation of a small duct segment when a reducer is inserted due to a change in duct size.
Improves stability when dragging a duct end to the connection point of hosted equipment.
Improves the automatic joining of Cabletrays.
Corrects the value produced for a calculated value column within Panel Schedules and Demand Factors.
Allows the load value of a spare within a panel schedule to be editable.
Corrects the display of Wire Size and Type properties to be “—“ for spares in panel schedule.
Corrects the unit formatting of cells within the Load Summary of a Panel Schedule.
Corrects the display of circuit number on wire tag when using circuit naming By Phase.
Improves snapping an adapter to sprinklers when inserted from the project browser.
Corrects the Air Changes per Hour calculation when running a heating cooling load analysis.
Improves the connections produced by Routing Solution layouts of pipe or duct.
Improves consistency of adding pipe, duct, conduit and cabletray when snapping to non-MEP elements.

Autodesk® Revit® Platform 2011 Enhancements

Improves stability when locking of constraints within families.
Improves stability when modifying the properties of an element.
Ensures „Select All Instances‟ when used on viewports within a sheet does select all the viewports.
Improves stability when using the “Create Form” tool when In-Place edit a mass.
Improves stability when using “Complex” complexity mode during gbXML Export.
Corrects glazing area when using “Simple” complexity mode during gbXML Export.
Improves stability when editing element Phase inside a group.
Improves consistency of the ifcflowsegment and ifcflowfitting properties during a re-export to IFC.
Improves stability when exporting to AutoCad 2000 DWG files.
Improves stability during export to DWG files when exporting a view with a linked DWG in "new layers for overrides" mode.
Improves stability after switching location within the InfoCenter settings
Improves stability of InfoCenter when logged into Revit with a double byte username.
Improves stability when selecting materials from within the materials dialog.
Improves stability when switching between views
Improves visibility of manually applied hidden lines during printing and exporting of Structural Hidden Lines views
Improves performance when using spinner control in the Decal Types dialog.
Improves stability when selecting array elements from within the Reveal Hidden Elements display mode.
Improves stability when finishing Sketch mode.
Improves stability when selecting a reference plane within the conceptual mass editor.
Improves stability when launching multiple sessions of Revit.
Corrects shadow casting of linked RVT files when in realistic display mode.
Improves stability when dragging sun.
Improves stability when upgrading Revit 2010 project file.
Corrects color of masked regions when rendered in Consistent Color display mode.

Autodesk® Revit® 2011 API Enhancements

Setting formula for Manufacturer/Type Comments as string no longer throws an exception.
Improves consistency between User Interface and API when using Family Type count
Improves the consistency of maintaining the preview image when Save/SaveAs.
Improves the consistency of creating the detail curve when the view’s detail sketch plane is not located where expected within the database.
Improves detail curve creation when the view does not have an implicit sketch plane.
MEP API: Cabletray Connector Angle property no longer throws an exception when rotating a cabletray.
MEP API: The following Electrical Parameter Types have been exposed to DB.ParameterType:

CABLETRAY_SIZE
LOADCLASSIFICATION
ELECTRICAL_TEMPERATURE
ELECTRICAL_DEMAND_FACTOR
CONDUIT_SIZE

NIBCO and CADworks Partner to Deliver High-Quality BIM Content to AEC Firms

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:36:31 PDT

From: http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=460131&Itemid=33

NIBCO and CADworks Partner to Deliver High-Quality BIM Content to AEC Firms

NIBCO and CADworks, a leading Autodesk® Revit® content-solutions provider, have collaborated to provide NIBCO® specified valves to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) community through the Autodesk® Seek Library (http://seek.autodesk.com) (type 'NIBCO' in the search bar for full product listing).
"NIBCO takes an active role in staying abreast of emerging trends and technology," said NIBCO's Chairman and CEO Rex Martin. "Our alliance with CADworks allows design professionals to easily download and integrate data-rich 3D models of NIBCO specified valves directly into their digital building information models (BIM)."
As a part of its BIM initiative, NIBCO's family of bronze ball valves and ductile iron butterfly valves are now available for download from the Autodesk® Seek Library. The remainder of NIBCO® specified valves will be made available over the next six to 12 months.

CADworks' expertise in content creation will enable users to download NIBCO® products as 3D models, 2D drawings, and critical product and data specifications from Autodesk® Seek so that Revit® users can design an accurate BIM model.

Dependent Views, Matchlines, and View References in Revit: by Reid Addis

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:27:11 PDT

Dependent Views, Matchlines, and View References in Revit

Author: Reid Addis, Microsol Resources
Date Published: March 24, 2009

Autodesk University Article Link

Dependent Views were added to Revit in Release 2008. The concept behind Dependent Views is to allow you to maintain consistent annotation and View Scale among the main and dependent views while permitting independent crop regions for each view. A secondary result is that Dependent Views allow you to place different cropped portions of the overall View on different sheets while maintaining consistency of annotation and scale across sheets.

Normally when you simply Duplicate a view with Detailing, all of the annotation (text, dimensions, tags, etc.) become independent from the original view along with the View Scale. Thus if you change the value of the original object (adjust a dimension or edit text or delete a Room Tag) in one view, it has no effect on the duplicated object in the independent duplicated view.

This is not the case with Dependent Views. The annotation and view scale are identical across all the views. Change the view scale in ANY dependent or parent view, and it changes the view scale in ALL the dependent and parent views. In addition, the annotation is identical as well, so a change in ANY view again affects that same object in ALL views.

Using the “Getting Started” tutorial that comes with Revit Architecture 2009, I’ve created some Dependent Views of the Lower Level:

For clarity, I’ve turned on the Crop Region in the Parent View and added some Filled Regions to show the Dependent View Crop Regions. The “purple” area in the center indicates where these two regions overlap. This is where we will add a Matchline and View References in the Parent View to help coordinate locating these adjacent views when placed on different sheets.

Below are the two Dependent Views with the Matchline displayed that was added in the Parent view from the Drafting rollout of the Design Bar:

In the Parent View, from the Drafting rollout on the Design Bar, I will place a View Reference on each side of the Matchline.

Notice that as you place the View Reference, the Option Bar gives you the ability to specify which Dependent View is being referenced. Thus the View Reference placed in the West view will target the East view, and visa versa.

Equally critical is making sure that you actually have a Tag loaded from the View Reference Family. By default, this is set to and thus will fail to work.

The final step is to place these Dependent Views on Sheets, then watch how the View References update to include this information.

Notice that the View References now show which View and Sheet number the Matchline adjacent view is on.

I hope this clears up any confusion you may have had about Dependent Views, Matchlines, and View References.

Revit File Library | Viking - Fire Sprinklers, Valves, and Systems

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:46:14 PDT

Revit® File Library Viking - Fire Sprinklers, Valves, and Systems

Below is a list of all Revit files currently available for Viking valves and systems. More files will be added in the future, so be sure to check back soon.

Check Valves
1. Model J-1 Alarm Check Valve
2. Model E-1 Easy Riser Check Valve
3. Model F-1 Easy Riser Check Valve
4. Model K-1 and Model L-1 Check Valves
5. Model M-2 Check Valve

Check Valve Trim
6. Model J-1 Alarm Check Valve Vertical Trim
7. Model E-1 Easy Riser Check Valve Trim
8. Model F-1 Easy Riser Check Valve Trim
9. Model K-1 and L-1 Easy Riser Check Valve Trim

Deluge Valves
10. 2" Model E-1 Deluge Valve (Angle Style)
11. 3", 4", and 6" Model E-1 Deluge Valve (Angle Style)
12. 2"-6" Model E-2 (Halar Coated) Deluge Valve (Angle Style)
13. Model E-3 Deluge Valve (Angle Style)
14. Model E-4 Deluge Valve (Angle Style)
15. 1-1/2" and 2" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Straight Through)
16. 1-1/2" and 2" Model F-2 (Halar Coated) Deluge Valve (Straight Through)
17. 2-1/2"-8" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Straight Through)
18. 2-1/2"-8" Model F-2 (Halar Coated) Deluge Valve (Straight Through)

Deluge Valve Trim
19. 2" Model E-1 Deluge Valve Trim (Angle Style)
20. 3", 4", and 6" Model E-1 Deluge Valve Trim (Angle Style)
21. 3", 4", and 6" Model E-1 (Stainless Steel) Deluge Valve Trim (Angle Style)
22. Model E-3 Deluge Valve Trim (Angle Style)
23. 1-1/2" and 2" Model F-1 Deluge Valve Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
24. 1-1/2" and 2" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Stainless Steel) Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
25. 2-1/2" and 3" Model F-1 Deluge Valve Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
26. 2-1/2" and 3" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Stainless Steel) Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
27. 4" Model F-1 Deluge Valve Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
28. 4" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Stainless Steel) Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
29. 6" Model F-1 Deluge Valve Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
30. 6" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Stainless Steel) Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
31. 8" Model F-1 Deluge Valve Vertical Trim (Straight Through)
32. 8" Model F-1 Deluge Valve (Stainless Steel) Vertical Trim (Straight Through)

Deluge Release Trim
33. Electric Release Trim
34. Pneumatic Release Trim
35. Model H-1 Pneumatic Actuator
36. Solenoid Valve

Preaction Release Trim
37. Electric Release Trim
38. Pneumatic Release Trim

Flow Control Valves
39. 2" Model H-1 Flow Control Valve (Angle Style)
40. 3", 4", and 6" Model H-1 Flow Control Valve (Angle Style)
41. 2", 3", 4", and 6" Model H-2 (Halar Coated) Flow Control Valve (Angle Style)
42. Model H-3 Flow Control Valve (Angle Style)
43. Model H-4 (Halar Coated) Flow Control Valve (Angle Style)
44. 1-1/2" and 2" Model J-1 Flow Control Valve (Straight Through)
45. 1-1/2" and 2" Model J-2 (Halar Coated) Flow Control Valve (Straight Through)
46. 2-1/2"-8" Model J-1 Flow Control Valve (Straight Through)
47. 2-1/2"-8" Model J-2 (Halar Coated) Flow Control Valve (Straight Through)

Dry Valve and Trim
48. Model F-1 Dry Valve
49. Model F-1 Dry Valve and Trim

Model G-4000 Dry Valve
50. Model G-4000 Dry Valve
51. Model G-4000 Drain Manifold

Viking Riser Manifolds
52. Commercial Riser Assemblies

Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011 Update 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:31:29 PDT

Download is the latest update for Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011 software as part of AutoCAD® Revit® MEP Suite 2011 software. There are separate downloads for the 64 bit and 32 bit versions.

Update 1 is not a full install; rather it is using service pack technology similar to AutoCAD®- based products. Prior to installing the Update 1, please verify that you have already installed the First Customer Ship build of Autodesk Revit MEP 2011. This is how Autodesk has been pushing updates out lately, which is different than in years past where you had to download and install a whole new build of the program.

The service pack can be applied to both the standalone and suite versions of Autodesk Revit MEP 2011. This is also different than in years past. Autodesk used to have different downloads for the Revit MEP build and the Revit MEP Suite build.

For a list of improvements, please download the Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011 Update Enhancement List: or see them below.

Update Enhancement List

Improvements made in Update 1 build (20100614_2115):

Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011 Enhancements

Improves stability of the Location dialog.
Improves performance of panel schedule views.
Allows Calculated Values to be added to Load Summary section in panel schedule templates.
Improves display of panel schedule borders.
Improves the stability of distribution systems that use a L-G Voltage value of None.
Enables Slope and Justification editors for layouts that include duct and pipe accessories.
Enables Copy/Move/Array tools for layouts with sloped and non-sloped pipes.
Improves sizing when a round takeoff is connected to a rectangular duct.
Improves stability when changing the location setting for heating and cooling load calculation in worksharing.
Improves stability when connecting conduit to equipment surface.
Improves surface connection between different design options.
Improves cable tray bend radius control.
Improves temp dimension witness line snapping in surface connection edit mode.
Improves converting cable tray tee to cross.
Improves stability when drawing a cable tray from equipment.
Improves stability when editing type properties of electrical equipment.
Disables the Modeless Properties Dialog when a value is changed in the Type Selector to avoid confusion or an incorrect property change.
Updates the pressure drop calculations through a transition using the coefficient loss method when reporting the static pressure on systems.
Improves Move functionality to allow the user to select different views without having to reselect elements.
Improves Move and Copy functionality to allow the user to move/copy at any angle when an elbow fitting is included in the selected elements.
Improves Move and Copy functionality during movement in 3D views.
Improves Move and Copy functionality to maintain depth when used in elevation or section views.
Improves Rotation functionality to allow the rotation of sprinklers in elevation views.
Disables disconnect warnings when drawing round duct from a rectangular duct using the tap fitting “Tap-Perpendicular”.
Ensures the direction of the connector on Air Terminals is verified for the proper orientation of the Air Terminal.

Autodesk® Revit® Platform 2011 Enhancements

The list of supported video cards and drivers has been updated.
Improves stability in working with families.
Improves stability when deleting views.
Improves stability when export to gbXML.
Improves stability when view "Analytical Surfaces" in the Export gbXML dialog.
Correct export of embedded curtain walls to gbXML.
Improves stability when export to DWG.
Improves stability when export a split view with shared coordinates to DWG.
Respects crop region with blocks when exported to DWG in wireframe visual style.
Correct placement of annotation when exported to DWG.
Improves stability when Export to DWF.
Improves stability and performance when working in the Materials dialog.
Improves IFC import to display a warning when encountering a geometry issue that would have previously caused instability in some cases.
Improves Properties Palette and canvas interaction that caused unstable graphics if family regenerations were interrupted.
Updates to placed instances will now occur when reloading a Family Parameter into project environment as a Reporting Parameter.
Improves In Canvas Parameter Labeling to allow a Reporting Parameter to be created when an Instance or Type Parameter could not be.
Disables Reporting Parameters between In Place Families and Reference geometry.
Correct parameter names display within the Decal Dialog.
Improves consistency between Revit and Max when exporting lights with IES files via FBX.
Restored custom quality setting that controls number of refractions in a rendering.
Improves the performance when adjusting the exposure of a rendered image.
Improves issues encountered when rendering elements with different phase settings.
Repairs upgrade issue with certain light fixtures using IES files.
Repairs printing issue where Scope Boxes from Linked files were visible despite Print settings turning them off.
Ensures correct orientation of Elevation tags when tag family is edited.
Improves stability when switching among the tabs in RVT Links Display Settings.
Improves stability when ungrouping arrayed elements.
Improves Filter Rules.

Autodesk® Revit® 2011 API Enhancements

Elements will now be properly joined when the ExternalCommand concludes when using automatic regeneration and automatic transaction
ExportImage(ImageExportOptions ) no longer throws an exception when given a set of views
ElementParameterFilters now operate properly against ElementType elements
Improves stability when saving a family and there are event subscribers for Save or Save As.
Closes the Family editor environment after loading a family via the API
Improves stability when using selection APIs to pick grid elements.
Dynamic Model Update: GetChangeTypeGeometry() now triggers properly when active type is changed
Improves stability for Dynamic Model Update: when registering updaters and more than one application is registered

Revit MEP Alternatives to AutoCAD Procedures

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:10:20 PDT

Todd Shackelford just got an article published on Autodesk University's Tech Talk site. Check his article out by clicking the link in this sentence.

It is safe to say that most MEP engineers who are trying to make the switch to Autodesk© Revit© MEP have arrived there by way of a DWG-based product. With years of refined processes in place, it can be difficult for established firms to find solid footing in unfamiliar software that seems to play by completely different rules. Finding ways to incorporate time-tested methods from the AutoCAD© days and improving them for use in Revit MEP can help make the difference between success and failure. The following example shows how Revit MEP can improve upon a layering trick that is used often in AutoCAD.

Places to Find Revit Content

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 08:46:14 PDT

Chris Mounts has created a list of places to get content.

There has been a ongoing discussion thread on LinkedIn group Club Revit in which members have been sharing links to Revit content. Chris has summarized, sorted and combined the contents into a more usable list.

Revit Content Links

Pressure Drop Calculation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 05:34:13 PDT

I got an call from a client last week asking about some of the calculations that Revit MEP does.

I am trying to get results for Duct Pressure drop in Revit MEP.

Can you please share your ideas, as how can I achieve this?

This post has some additional information but is based on the Revit MEP calculation white paper from Autodesk. Revit MEP Duct Sizing calculations

Revit MEP computes pressure losses in ductwork based on the geometry and roughness of the ductwork, air

density, and air viscosity. Values for Air Density and Air Viscosity are specified in the Mechanical Settings.

Roughness is specified in the type properties for duct/duct fitting component families.

The following example shows how Revit MEP calculates the pressure drop for a 100 foot segment of 36"x24" duct carrying air flow of 12,000 CFM. Pressure drop is defined as:

This values checks with the Hydraulic Diameter parameter shown in the Properties of the Duct in Revit:

The velocity is based on the cross sectional area:

After determining the friction factor, the pressure drop can be calculated:

The value for the calculated pressure drop matches the value found in the duct’s properties in Revit MEP.

Troubleshooting Revit MEP

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 May 2010 06:51:40 PDT

A 20 minute video from Autodesk's Harlan Brumm and Jerry Lee Smith covering:

Overview of the Revit MEP Workflow

Create new project using MEP template
Save Arch model as central file on server
Link in models using origin-to-origin
setting links to be room bounding
copy/monitor levels
Setting up views and apply view templates to views
create levels to account for plenum spaces

Troubleshooting Spaces and Zones

space not visible in view
rooms are "unoccupied"

Troubleshooting Revit MEP Performance

Not following workflow
not creating logical systems
large connected duct networks
complicated families
poorly connected elements
Limit color schemes
place endcaps on open ducts
ensure flow direction on connectors is correct