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Making the Switch — AutoCAD to Revit, Part 2
20 Jan, 2011 By: Daniel StineRevit Tutorial: Building design firms transitioning to Autodesk Revit should plan for setup and troubleshooting before anything goes wrong.
This article is the second in a two-part series about transitioning to Autodesk Revit, but many of the principles described here could apply to any BIM (building information modeling) software transition. This series is intended for those who have not ventured down the BIM road yet, or who have the software but don't know what to do next.
The first part addressed the reasons to switch, the timing, and who to train within the firm; this part will explain which content and template setup you'll need, and what to do when things go wrong.
Content and Template Setup
Another aspect of training and implementation is content and template setup. It is not wise to begin a project without having begun this task; however, you don't want to spend too much time trying to get everything perfect prior to the first pilot project.
Template essentials include:
- Titleblock with company logo (matching the CAD version)
- Text and dimension styles
- Schedules (door, room finish, light fixture, VAV, AHU, etc.)
- Floor plan views and levels
- For a four-story building you would have:
- Four levels
- Four floor plan views
- Four ceiling plan views
- For a four-story building you would have:
- Sheets (some are empty; others are not)
- Title sheet with sheet index, standard notes, and graphics
- Plans, elevations, sections, details sheets (these are mostly empty place-holder sheets)
- Schedules
- Empty schedules can be placed on sheets; they fill themselves out as the model is developed
- Some schedules are only for the design team and never go on a sheet
- Some content
- Only load the essentials into your template; too much can make your starting template way too big and cluttered
- Some items, such as walls, cannot exist outside of a project file. In this case, you can set up project files that have one instance of each wall type created in each. When a new wall type is needed, the "wall type" project is opened and the desired wall is copied and pasted into the current project.
What the experts have to say…
Everyone knows that a Revit template should be as clean as possible, and it should contain the basic company standards and a few families. However, this rule doesn't apply to levels and views. One thing that many people forget when creating a Revit template is that it is easier to delete views than create them! If you set up ten levels and all associated views and dependent views for the building areas, your company will be able to save hundreds of design hours per year. By simply deleting the levels you don't need, Revit will delete all associated views as well. This way you have the flexibility to start a ten-story project or small two-story project. This statement is mostly true for MEP companies and not as much for architects and structural engineers. — Plamen Hristov, Virtual Design Manager, Capital Engineering Consultants
Tip: If you are a subscription member, you may watch an Autodesk University 2010 class recording on Autodesk Revit MEP Templates: Solving MEP Implementation Hurdles (ME322-2) by Mr. Stine and Mr. Hristov.
Content can be a big obstacle for many firms starting down the BIM path. With the exception of Revit Structure, much of the real-world content needed for a project does not exist. Things like doors with frames, windows, and casework must be created or purchased. Some of these elements do come with the software or can be downloaded from web sites such as RevitCity.com, but usually the content is created in-house to get the desired graphical appearance and have the needed data-populate schedules. As BIM standards evolve and manufacturers continue to develop quality Revit content, the need for in-house content creation will subside, but we are not at that point just yet.
Tip: Take a look at David Baldicchino's blog Do-U-Revit for a nice list of manufacturers who currently offer Revit content. Also, Autodesk has established a clearinghouse of manufacturer-created content at seek.autodesk.com (note that not all content on Seek is from product manufacturers).
Most content is either a loadable family or a system family. Loadable families can exist outside a project and be loaded in when needed. Content used on virtually every project can be loaded in a template file so it will be included in every new project automatically and does not have to be loaded every time. System families can only exist within a project. They are continuous horizontal or vertical elements with one or more layers. For example, walls, floors, ceilings, and roofs are system families.
Revit has three types of content: loadable, system, and in-place. This image is taken from the author's chapter on content creation, which is included with each of his 2011 Revit books.
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