Building Information Modeling

Autodesk Assistant in Revit – Tech Preview: Your AI Support to Create More and Work Smarter

2026-05-25T20:33:54.073-07:00

Autodesk Assistant in Revit – Tech Preview: Your AI Support to Create More and Work Smarter

Autodesk Assistant introduces a new, conversational way to interact with Revit. Instead of navigating menus or searching for documentation, you can:

Ask questions about Revit features
Query and explore your model
Take action through natural language prompts such as “Create a door schedule sorted by level” or “Create a floor plan for the level L1 and name it “L1-AI”
Receive personalized insights such as the new “Numbering” tool, based on your activities within the documentation workflow.

All through a simple chat interface embedded directly in Revit.

NITI Aayog officials said BIM could save up to 20% of the project cost

2019-12-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

In a move that will give a boost to infrastructure and housing projects across the country, the government is considering the latest building information and modelling (BIM) technology to fast-track construction work. The move will also help optimise the cost of housing construction and in achieving the government’s target of housing for all.

According to the latest report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, at least 355 projects have seen a cost overr ..

Keep Revit file healthy and avoid corruption of the file by following certain things.

2018-03-12T23:20:00.003-07:00

1. Audit file regularly,

2. Working on latest Revit Build,

3. Clean temporary files regularly,

4. Avoid linking/importing CAD(dwg/dgn) data. See more details here on importing CAD.

5. Reduce warnings

6. Reduce use of Third Party application.

7. Avoid importing complex geometry.

In Worksharing environment,

1. Create new local file regularly.

2. While saving use Compact Central Model,

3. On Collaboration for Revit, if you are getting errors, clear corrupt & damage model from the system,

Further, you can go through the journal file to locate the issues, here is the information on how to read the journal file.

Also, read the Autodesk Knowledge Network article on What causes data corruption

Create Underground Tunnel in Revit

2017-05-14T06:08:00.001-07:00

More than 30 ways to find the missing element in Revit

2016-09-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

More than 30 ways you can find the missing element in Revit

1. The object or category is temporarily hidden
2. The object or category is hidden in the view
3. The object is being obscured by another element
4. The object's category or subcategory is hidden in the view
5. The object is outside the view's view range
6. The view's far clip depth is not sufficient to show the object
7. The object resides on a work set that is not loaded within the project
8. The object resides on a work set that is not visible in the view
9. The object resides on a work set that is not loaded in a linked file
10. The object resides on a work set that is not visible in a linked file
11. The object resides within a group (detail model) and it has been excluded from the group
12. The object is part of a design option that is not visible in the view
13. The object is part of a linked file that is not visible in the view
14. The object has one or more of its edges overridden to display as ''
15. The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible in the view type
16. The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible at the view's detail level
17. The object is set to not be visible at the category's detail level
18. The element has been placed outside the view's crop region (visible extents)
19. The element is an annotation object and does not reside entirely within the annotation crop region
20. The object's phase settings or the view's phase settings prevent the object from displaying in the view
21. The view's discipline is prohibiting the visibility of the object
22. The object is affected by a filter applied to the view
23. The object is subject to an element override, set to background color
24. The object is subject to a category override, set to background color
25. The object style is set to background color
26. The object is constrained to a scope boxes that is not visible in the view
27. The extents of the object itself don't permit it to be seen
28. The object is a mass, and 'Show Mass' is turned off
29. The object's host view has been deleted (area boundaries)
30. The view's scale is prohibiting the object's visibility
31. The object is a linked instance with coordinates too great for Revit to handle
32. The user has incorrectly identified the link instance to which the element belongs
33. The object is in a link that is not in its correct position

Revit, Insight 360 & Collaborating BIM models in A360, 7th September 2016

2016-09-05T21:28:00.002-07:00

Design without compromise.
Now Review projects in real-time. With no downloads, simultaneously review, comment and iterate ondesigns. Stakeholders make decisions together, navigating through models and sharing comments within a browser or on a mobile device.
Discover a Fast, Intuitive Outcome Driven Guide to Better Building Energy & Environmental Performance throughout the Building Lifecycle.
Agenda:

• A360 Collaboration for Revit
• Autodesk Insight 360
• And What's new in Revit 2017
Register Now : https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6366680676101524996
Webinar Details:
Date: 07^th September, 2016 (Wednesday)
Time: 03 PM to 05 PM IST
Presenter:
Niranjan Kamath,
Technical Specialist.

Compatibility issues with C3D 2017 and older versions

2016-05-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Civil 3D 2017 was recently released but be careful before upgrading. The last 4 previous versions (2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016) were all compatible with each other, but 2017 is NOT backwards compatible.
If you open an older Civil 3D drawing using Civil 3D 2017, and save it, it will be in the new format and you will not be able to edit it in any older version such as 2016, 2015, etc.
Note that the “AutoCAD DWG” format is the same (named 2013). You can open a Civil 3D 2017 drawing in any version (2013-2016) of Civil 3D, but when you do so, the Civil objects will become proxy objects and be of no use, The prospector will be rendered inoperative for that drawing also.
When you open an older Civil 3D drawing in 2017, you will get this warning dialog:

If you open a Civil 3D 2017 DWG in an earlier version, you’ll get this message.

…and the prospector for that DWG will look like this, with no ability to see or manipulate objects.

Customize the Project Browser of Revit

2015-06-04T05:10:00.003-07:00

Top advantages of Project Parameters

2015-05-20T22:50:00.001-07:00

Advantages of Project Parameters in Revit

Sorting/Grouping in Schedule – You can add parameter like Tower number, which can help in sorting while scheduling

Color coding by using Filter- You can add parameter like Month, which can help in filtering to color code in filter

In Navisworks for making sets- You can add parameter like Activity, which can help make sets in Navisworks & which later can be used in Timeliner.

For adding useful information while building As-built model.

Points of Revit Topography in text file via Dynamo

2015-05-16T04:36:00.002-07:00

You need to install Dynamo, click here

Open Revit file with topography & select Dynamo under Add-ins menu

This will open Dynamo window, hit New

We are now in Dynamo file

In search at top left corner, type select model element.

You will see the options coming up to select, select “Select Model Element”

Below tab will pop-up to select the element

Hit Select in it & select the Topography in Revit

See that after selecting element id will be shown

Now in search tab type Topography.Points & select Points shown below

Select Elements & topography, as shown

Now search Code, select Code Block

In Code Block, Type P & hit cursor outside

Now after P type .X; enter, type P.Y; enter & type P.Z;

Link above to Points in Topography

Search for string from array, link this tab to code block as shows

Now search for csv. & select WriteToFile

Below tab will appear

Link it as below

Search for file path & select the one shown below

Link it with filePath of CSV.WriteToFile

Hit the Browse tab in File Path to save the text file, remember to give separate name else files will override each other

This will give you three separate text file of points

Enjoy

My First Certificate for Revit

2015-05-15T23:39:00.000-07:00

Built basic data to start modeling in Infraworks 360LT

2015-05-15T03:03:00.001-07:00

Doble click below Icon

Above Icon is for Autodesk Infrawork 360 LT, available with Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Ultimate 2016 & Autodesk Building Design Suite Ultimate 2016 subscripted members.

This will open below to sign-in your account, as Infrawork 360 is a cloud based service provided by Autodesk.

Once sign-in is done below window appears

To generate the basic data to start with project hit model builder

Below Model Builder window will appear

We will take example of Powai, Mumbai area as I work there

In search type Powia, Mumbai, India

To change the view I will select below under Road drop down,

Above will change view to satellite view

Below are the options to select the view

I will select, the draw polygon option

Put the name of the file in left bottom corner & hit Create Model

This will show you below window, close this & wait for a while

You will get the mail & also now can see the file in Infraworks, hit the file to download & open.

Once opened you can see below

Enjoy

Autodesk finds system & graphics hardware for you

2015-05-07T02:47:00.001-07:00

Goto website click here

Select the required this as shown below & hit find button,

You will get the required results as below,

I am Dell fan so selected Dell as a manufacturer

Autodesk Official Show Reel 2015

2015-05-04T21:34:00.001-07:00

What increases Revit file size?

2015-04-28T04:08:00.002-07:00

Family

In Place family drastically increase the file size, thus reduce the use of the In Place Families. Try to replace them with Component families.

Component families which contains unnecessary details like bolts & small size openings, etc. This increases the Project file size in multiples. Try to simply them & keep size limit of 300kb max.

Detailed Model Fill Patterns

Model fill patterns containing a large number of segments will greatly increase a Revit project size. This typically occurs when a detailed hatch pattern [.pat] file is used to define a new fill pattern. If when possible avoid the use of detailed custom model fill patterns to optimize the file size.

Raster Images & Rendered Views

For every inserted image or rendered image saved to the project, the project size will increase.

All of the inserted images, along with an instance count, can be viewed under Insert > Manage Images. Unneeded images can easily be deleted from this menu using Delete.

For rendered images saved to the project, by default they will be saved under the Renderings Project browser organization. They appear under the Manage Images dialog as well.

Importing/Linking CAD files

Importing non-native files is going to increase the size. Thus reduce use of any non-native file in Revit.

Use of Group & Array

This will multiply the size of the Revit file. Try not using them.

Use of too many section views

Delete the section views which you think are of no use.

Using too many small openings in walls & slab

Every small opening will add the file size, try avoiding small openings

Avoiding Warnings

Remove warnings as much possible, this will keep Revit project file in good health.

Quick way of creating 4D in Navisworks

2015-04-27T05:23:00.001-07:00

Will first make 3D views in Revit with separate section box,

Brief on making section box in Revit 3D view

I have tall building structure, in which there are several basement & floor above

Will first create section in plan

In section set the view

In 3D view set the view to section you created

Name this view as Basement (You can give appropriate name as per your activity)

Similarly create the 3D views for other Basements & floor above

From each 3D view export NWC & save

Now append this NWC files in Navisworks

While attaching the objects in Timeliner, Switch off the levels which are not related to activity, like if the activity is related to Basement3 switch of the other levels. This way you will only concentrate to that level only.

Attach the element by drag it on Task

Put planned dates & see that you have selected Task Type

Now play the simulation

This is a quick way in creating 4D of the tall building

BATCH UTILITY IN NAVISWORKS

2015-04-21T06:07:00.001-07:00

In Home menu under Tools select Bacth Utility,

This will open Batch Utility tab

As explained in above image,

Browse the file location
Select the file type you want to convert
Select & add the files to get converted
Browse the output location
Finally hit Run, this will conver the bulk files to NWC & NWD format:)

The great tool just used for once the project where I had created Revit files for differenct phases(10 in number), saved my lot of time:)

Setting up line weights in Revit

2015-04-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Set up the Line Weight pens

Open Line Weight tab by selecting Line Weights under Additional settings in Settings tab under Manage menu

Line Weight tab will open

Left column 1, 2, 3 , 4... are Pen nos.

Top row shows scale of drawings

Here you can change the Line Weight per you needs, you can certiainly give different line weight for different scales.

Open Object Style tab by selecting Object Styles under Settings tab in Manage menu

Below you can define line weights for objects, seperate for Projection(Elevation) & Cut (Plan & Section)

Note that for windows & doors we’ve a detailed menu of all components (glass, frame …) so separate line weight can be given to each one of them.

Weather Import/Link CAD in Revit

2015-04-13T03:35:00.002-07:00

Use Link CAD for below options

If the CAD drawing you want to import is only for reference or to verify information & is not part of project use Link CAD option, this will allow the cad drawing to be removed afterwards
If the CAD file you want to import is getting updated frequently for any purpose use Link CAD option because when we link a CAD drawing, Revit maintains a “live” link to the CAD drawing. Any changes made to the drawing will reflect in the project when the link is reloaded or the model is reopened.

Cons: Note that linking many cad drawing in to a Revit model will significantly reduce performance. There is also a known bug where sometimes the graphical appearance of a linked CAD drawing won’t update even when path is correct and the drawing is re-loaded. The only solution is to remove the links and reinsert them, not a feasible solution if you have many links.

Use Import CAD for below options

If the CAD drawing is going to be used permanently like details, diagrams or schedule.
If the CAD drawing is a part of the project & you need to send along with Revit, with this there will be no more missing links message.

Cons: When you import a CAD drawing, there is no link between the CAD drawing and the Revit project. If the source CAD drawing changes, the changes will not reflect back in Revit

Tunnel in Revit with Adoptive component

2015-04-10T06:25:00.002-07:00

In Revit open Generic Model family template

Draw reference planes in front elevation, as shown

Insert parameter as instance

Below add further parameter as per your need

Flex it & check the parameter.

Draw the model lines & save the file

Open new family, Generic Model Adaptive

Insert the family created previously,

Put the families as shown in one horizontal plane,

Select all & hit Create Form/Solid Form

This will create tunnel shape form

Change the parameters you added & see the results

Now load in the project file & place it in one of the level

Apply Wall by Face, to draw the wall on the face of the family loaded

After applying wall by face delete family & you can see tunnel shape

Use filters in Revit for project monitoring

2015-04-08T03:57:00.001-07:00

Filter in Revit can be used for project monitoring

Below is the model prepared in Revit

And below we have a programme for the same

Before creating filters, we will add the specific month in the comments of the objects in Revit.

Know by using filters in Revit we are going to produce sheets for project monitoring

In the View menu hit Visibility/Graphics

In Visibility/Graphics tab under Filters hit Add

In Add filters, hit Edit/New

Hit new as shown below,

Create filter April, check for structural foundation & framing & under Rules select Comments for Filter by equals to April

Similarly to this to create for other months too.

Go to the one of the 3D view for applying the filters,

Hit VV (shortcut for Visibility/Graphics), in this go to Filter tab & apply different colours to each filter

This will filter the elements as shown below,

Further you can present the same in sheet month wise as below,

Further the same filters can be used in Navisworks to show construction sequencing by perparing sets of filters.

Sharing BIM model on web via A360

2015-04-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

Go to link

Sign In, if you already have autodesk account or hit Try 360.

Hit Create

Insert the required data as shown

This will create the project to share the files across the project, you can also insert the email addresses under project contributors,

Hit Upload

Hit Select file or you can drag & drop too,

Will select nwd file to upload & hit open

This will upload the file

You can see that activity will get update, hit share item

Copy Link, hit Copy

This will copy link.

Now you can share this link with any person with whom you want to share the BIM model.

Enjoy A360:)

Loading Rebar Shape Codes in Revit

2015-03-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

You need to Autodesk subscripted member to install the extensions of the Revit via subscription portal

Once you have install the extension for Revit

Under Extension menu, for Tools select Content Generator

This will generate families for reinforcing bars & open a window Content Generator

Change the region to load standards specific to your region, go to file & select Regional Settings

Below window will open

Select Region & hit Ok, this will load the data

Once loaded select Reinforcing bar to check the data base loaded, check all the shapes you need in file and hit OK

Now you can start modeling Rebar in 3D with proper bar shape loaded either manually or with extensions

Digital BIM toolkit

2014-10-12T20:46:00.003-07:00

The NBS of UK is to release a BIM toolkit for removing the ambiguity in BIM requirements. This toolkit will be free to use and shall contain clear definitions for the information required. It emphasizes on two concepts Level Of Detail(A,B,C,D,E) and Level of Information(1,2,3,4,5) definition for over 5000 construction objects! The web based system will allow project owners to monitor their LOD and LOI status at various stages of the project. An application called Digital Plan of Work would allow uploading the model in open formats(.ifc or COBie) to the cloud for rapid analysis.

Check out the video here:

BIM-Layered Design

2014-08-06T02:55:00.001-07:00

In competitive environments, accurate designs that minimise change are key to achieving business objectives. In terms of design, building information modelling (BIM) has the potential to provide significant benefits to the Indian construction sector. Considering the high volume of real estate and infrastructure construction activity India is witnessing, BIM, if deployed appropriately, can provide significant savings, enhance the quality of the built environment that gets delivered and allow the industry to make expected contributions to the growth of the country. Sadly, much of this potential remains untapped. Sunil MK, head, AEC division, Autodesk India & SAARC, says, “Projects frequently suffer from adversarial relationships, low productivity rates, high rates of inefficiency and rework, frequent disputes and lack of innovation, resulting in time or cost overruns in several projects. BIM aims to change the situation for the better. BIM extends the capacity of the project team to start thinking about time, cost, quality, sustainability and other pragmatic parameters in the early stages of the project.”
According to a recent study by RICSKPMG and Autodesk, BIM offers several benefits:
• BIM results in improved coordination among various disciplines involved in various project phases. For instance, through BIM, a model created by an architect can be used by structural designer, MEP consultants or facade consultants for their respective domain specific design and engineering tasks. Federating the input of all these disciplines as the design evolves leads to the identification and addressing of potential clashes or collisions. This can be further used by contractors to make manufacturing or fabrication plans, thus increasing coordination among various stakeholders.
• It helps improve construction cycle by reducing duplication of work, identifying standard and repetitive components and removing issues before the construction process commences.
• 3D visuals generated via BIM provide clarity on the product to various stakeholders, thus providing them sufficient visibility of the practical challenges.
• An issue that is observed during the construction stage is clashes between various disciplines, which require significant rework of the design or construction. BIM helps in identifying such issues at the design stage itself and allows for a collaborative process for resolution. BIM also helps high light other construction issues, such as constructability, material usage and timelines and allows value engineering exercise to be conducted.
• Users can resolve coordination issues, produce a near ‘zero-defect’ design and predict the material required more accurately, leading to reduced wastage on site during the construction and maintenance processes.
• BIM helps in reducing duplication of work, reducing wastage and also in keeping a check on the cost. It guarantees a better certainty of the end product over traditional CAD technology.
• A user can keep a check on the progress of the project across all the phases of design development to construction to project operations and the maintenance phase. It is useful in managing changes in a project. It allows visualisation of changes more effectively. Change propagation in the model is easier in BIM as compared to 2D documentation.
According to a recent report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, the world faces a major infrastructure finance gap in the coming years. This shortfall is a unique opportunity for institutional investors because public resources are under sustained downward pressure.
An estimated $57 trillion will be needed to finance infrastructure development around the world through 2030 – and the shortfall is estimated at $500 billion a year. This shortfall can be taken care of by adopting advanced technologies that will help achieve efficiency without compromising on quality and standards. Lee Miller, VP and director of buildingSMART Implementation, HOK, says, “Leveraging technology has become essential in how we plan, design, build and operate, in response to the growing demand for higher performing and energy efficient infrastructure and buildings, rising costs, greater global competition, expectations for sustainability, and an increasing focus among owners to maximise the return on their investment. Adoption of 3D design technologies like BIM to improve collaboration, efficiency and performance in planning and design phase, during construction, in post-build savings and for ongoing operational management has become critical.”
Some of the recent projects like Navi Mumbai Airport Terminal used AutoCAD Civil 3D and Khed city developed by Kalyani Group have leveraged Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite. Kalyani Group saved 7% of their construction cost by using BIM in construction business, which is huge.
BIM can be used across several categories in the construction Industry. For architecture, the products help in developing higher quality, more innovative projects with tools for design, documentation, visualization, and simulation.
Also designers can improve communication throughout the project lifecycle by more securely managing and sharing data with collaborators and stakeholders.
In construction, BIM can evaluate and enhance the constructability of designs and improve the project delivery process with field management and virtual construction software. MEP consultants can use the software effectively to design, simulate, and document complex building systems more accurately and efficiently, while structural engineers can design, analyse, and collaborate more accurately with structural engineering tools that support the process.
Miller says that BIM can help professionals to do their jobs better, with greater collaborative input. “Companies must empower project teams to seize the opportunities that BIM provides through dedicated guidance and training.”
The construction industry in India has been traditionally slow to adapt to global trends. It is an attitudinal issue. It is important for all stakeholders to come together — industry, academia and policymakers — and gradually nudge owners and operators to embrace technology. The benefits in terms of sustainability, cost optimisation and efficiencies of scale that technology brings in are huge and industry players who have successfully integrated technology need to demonstrate this success. Sunil says, “We have consistently tried to bring key stakeholders of India together through our leadership summits to lead the adoption of BIM in India. We have also agreed on the creation of a national task force on BIM implementation that includes members from institutions and developers of the industry.”
The construction industry is experiencing a shift: more contractors are using mobile devices to transfer and share information amongst multiple stakeholders. This transformation has necessitated the need for cloud and mobile technologies that will allow contractors to work anywhere, share anywhere, and have access to an infinite amount of computing power. Key Autodesk technologies for the building industry—including BIM 360 Glue and BIM 360 Field—are helping transform the $7 trillion construction industry. With BIM 360 Glue, contractors have a cloud-based solution that provides easier coordination, simple clash detection and coordination. With BIM 360 Field, contractors have better field management, commissioning and handover.
The Autodesk BIM 360 Field supports 2D and BIM-based workflows. This combination enables entirely new ways of managing field processes—such as quality, safety, and commissioning checklists; distribution of plans and drawings; and mobile 2D and BIM construction document access—supporting time and cost savings for construction and capital projects of all types. Similarly, Autodesk BIM 360 Glue is a cloud-based BIM coordination and management service that provides anytime, anywhere access to connected project information to accelerate multidiscipline collaboration, reduce coordination review cycles, and improve project efficiency.
BIM was pioneered by Autodesk and today the company is a leading provider of building, information, modelling solutions to the construction industry. The company has several firsts and on-going innovation over the past 30 years – first mainstream CAD product with Auto- CAD, first to introduce BIM to the market and the first to develop full blown CAD in the cloud. In addition, Sunil is keen to extend BIM across the building lifecycle beyond design to support fabrication and construction of structural systems with best-in-class solutions. “We are expanding our technology and gaining domain expertise to accelerate the adoption of BIM for structural detailing and fabrication, and to connect BIM workflows between engineers, engineering consultants and contractors.”
Miller says, “It‘s important to actively engage with clients and partners to conduct research and innovate new ways to solve their challenges. With BIM project teams can collaborate on virtual models, test ideas, optimise building performance and coordinate work prior to procurement or construction.”
It defines the best process to deliver projects to clients by producing high quality and efficient designs and to offer services that can most effectively achieve their goals. BIM not only makes better buildings but in many places is facilitating a better process for design, fabrication and construction that improves quality, compresses schedule and saves money by reducing waste. At HOK, Miller uses a process for innovation called Fully Integrated Thinking, or FIT.
The FIT framework enables designers to inform their decision-making through the lens of natural, social and ecological systems. Created with Biomimicry 3.8, FIT allows us to discover solutions to today’s design challenges by emulating natural strategies that have evolved over 3.8 billion years.