Using Revit as a Team. Use Same Builds.

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.

3Dconnexion Announces Revit 2012 Support

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.

Revit MEP 2012 New Features

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

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)  

The New “Revit Server”

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

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

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:

View 1

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:

View 2

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

View 3

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.

View 4

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

View 5

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

View 6

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

Revit MEP Alternatives to AutoCAD Procedures

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.

Pressure Drop Calculation

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

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

Family Jewels Blog - Creating Quality BIM Content for Revit MEP

A new Autodesk Website dedicated to BIM Content.  Familiy Jewels - Creating Quality BIM Content

I've talked to a lot of users who have dabbled in Revit MEP, and have quit saying they will try again when Revit gets more family content.  I don't remember AutoCAD coming with blocks back in the day.  We ended up creating all of our AutoCAD blocks to match our company standard.  It was a 25 year process.  Every company seems to have their own standard which varies from the National CAD Standard, or even the National BIM Standard.  If people end up waiting for someone to create all the content needed for for Revit MEP, you'll be waiting forever and never use the program.  The idea of waiting for someone else to make my content didn’t seem to be a proactive approach.  It's going to be another 25 year process of creating BIM content.  A job that will never be complete.  So getting started as soon as possible seems to be the best approach before falling behind.

People who have been using Revit Architecture or Revit MEP for a long period of time have either modeled from scratch or heavily customized nearly every family that is used in their projects. This means every piece of mechanical equipment, valve, air terminal, electrical device, lighting fixture, plumbing fixture, annotative tag, schedule, parameter and view reference.  These users have done this not because they want to work with Revit, but because they want Revit to work for them.  So how do you get Revit MEP work for you? One way is to seach for content directly from the manufacturer like Greenheck Fan, or by using Autodesk's Seek website.  But the other way is by creating your own families. The families you create can be as simple as a box, yet still provide information about a mechanical system and help with coordination of your BIM model.

This blog will feature some tips and tricks of creating quality content, some free content, some links to manufacturer Revit content, and all sorts of information related directly to BIM content.

Upgrading Your Custom Revit MEP Library from 2010 to 2011 Format

Because some architects might be early adopters to 2011, and some architects might wait until the first service pack is released before upgrading their projects to 2011, engineers will find themselves working with architects using different versions of Revit.  Because Revit is not backwards compatible, engineers will have to run multiple versions of Revit MEP to match each architect that they are working with.

The history of this issue is that everybody working on a Revit project must be using the same version of Revit.  Architecture, Structural and MEP must all be the same.  If one team is using an newer version, the other teams who are using an older format won't be able to read the newer format.  The new format has new tools, new objects, and new settings that older versions don't understand, and weren't written to automatically know what new objects would be coming out in the future.  Now if one team is using an older version, the other teams will be able to open an older version, and upgrade that project to the newest version, but the team using the older version won't be able to open the new format version of the other team members.

So now that we understand why we have to install multiple versions of Revit MEP on our workstations, we will also need to have multiple versions of Revit Libraries on our server.  The 2011 directory, obviously will have the newest contect, and that content can only be used for 2011 projects.  That content cannot be used for 2010 projects.  So any 2010 project must use content from a 2010 content directory.  Any custom 2010 content can be copied, and the copies can then be upgraded and added to the 2011 directory.


To Use the Content Batch Upgrade Utility:

1. Copy Upgrade_RFA.txt and Upgrade_RFA.bat into the root directory of the library that you want to upgrade.
2. Run the Upgrade_RFA.bat to create the file list to upgrade, famlist_rfa.txt.
3. To launch the utility, from the library directory, drag Upgrade_RFA.txt onto the Revit icon on your desktop.
4. After upgrading, delete all backup files from the library.

Make sure all of your .rfa files are not read-only and delete all backup files from the library. If a particular family fails to upgrade properly, the utility will stop.  If this occurs, open famlist_rfa.txt in Microsoft Notepad, and remove all previously upgraded families and the failed family from the list. Save famlist_rfa.txt, and re-run the utility.

Automatic Transfer Switches in Revit MEP

http://inside-the-system.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/03/automatic-transfer-switches.html

Automatic Transfer Switches in Revit MEP

by Martin Schmid, P.E. - MEP Customer Success Engineer


How do I incorporate an automatic transfer switch (ATS) into my electrical distribution model? Revit doesn’t have a family category for transfer switch, nor does it have a transfer switch part type for the Electrical Equipment category. Nonetheless, you can modify the provided “Automatic Transfer Switch.rfa” family that ships with Revit MEP 2010 to allow you to connect an emergency panel to both a normal power branch and an emergency power branch.

Say, for example, you have emergency loads, such as certain receptacles, connected to a panel EP1. You want to connect EP1 to an ATS, and then connect the ATS to an emergency distribution panel EDP, and a normal distribution panel MDP. Follow the steps below to make the necessary changes to the ATS family.

1. Open the “Automatic Transfer Switch.rfa” family in family editor.
2. Add an additional electrical connector. What surface you place it on does not matter.
3. In the Instance Properties for the new connector, set the following properties (basically, copying the settings from the existing connector):
4. Number of Poles > map to Number of Poles
5. Load Classification: set to Other
6. System Type: set to Power – Unbalanced
7. Voltage > map to Switch Voltage
8. Apparent Load Phase 1 > map to Apparent Load Phase A
9. Apparent Load Phase 2 > map to Apparent Load Phase B
10. Apparent Load Phase 3 > map to Apparent Load Phase C
11. Load the family into your project, overwriting the existing family if applicable.

Make sure to check the voltage settings are consistent between the ATS and the panels you are connecting.

Now, you can connect EP1 to the ATS, and connect the ATS to both EDP and MDP. When you inspect the load information on EDP and MDP, you should see that the load information from EP1 feeds into both. The ATS doesn't actually 'switch' from normal to emergency in Revit, however, it should provide you with the connected load information you are looking for.

What's New for Revit MEP 2011

Well, as Steve Stafford put it, "Let The Noise Begin" is pretty much nailing it on the head.  In the next few days, there is going to be a lot of chatter on the internet about what 2011 will bring to it's users.  And for MEP, I think it will be a lot.  Enough where processes will change and be more efficient.  Over the next couple weeks, I'll be posting videos on demonstrations of some of the new features that Revit MEP 2011 offers and how these features will change the way you work.  But in the meantime, here is a summary of what you should expect when the software is released in a few weeks.

Cable Tray and Conduit

In addition to pipe and duct, we now have cable tray, conduit, cable tray fittings and conduit fittings.  You can expect to place these types of items in just like you place pipe and duct. 

You be able to load various conduit fittings and cabletray fittings....

  

 ...and create various family conduit types and cabletray types.









It comes out of the box with various sizes that include inside and outside diameters.  You also have control of customizing various cable tray and conduit sizes as well.

You can control the Detail Level and control the Visibility and Graphics of conduit and cable tray to control the display those objects just as you can currently control the display of piping and duct.

You can check for interferences of cable tray and conduit with other types of objects in your project model.

You can schedule cable tray and conduit using the same procedures that you used to schedule pipe and duct.  When you draw cable tray or conduit without using the no-fittings opition, it is scheduled as a single run.

Electrical Demand Factors

You can use demand factors to adjust the rating of the main electrical service for a project.  This is used since not all electrical equipment will be on all the time.

There are many demand factors that come out of the box, and you can easily create additional demand factors that are needed for the codes in your area.  The demand factor can be determined by a constant value or percentage, or by the quantity of connected objects or by load.

These demand factors are assigned to various load classifications which are then assighed to electrical connectors. 

Tagging on Placement

There is a new Tag on Placement option that automatically adds a tag for a component when it's placed in the model.  Once the tool is selected, you'll have options in the options bar of it's placement.

Companion Flanges

You can add flanges to your pipes and are separate objects than the pipe itself.  So when you make an elbow, there are actually 5 components.  Two pieces of pipe, one elbow, and two companion flanges.  You must make sure that the flanges are loaded into your project and assigned to your pipe type to be inserted automatically.  You can, however add flanges manually as well.

Oval Duct

Finally, Revit now has oval duct to add to it's current round and rectangular duct types.  Make sure to load the oval duct fittings into your project and assigned to your oval duct type.  You have the same parameteres to size oval duct as you did with round and rectagular duct.

Placing Valves and Fittings in Section or Elevation Views

This is another big one.  When you have stacked pipe, and need to put a valve on the bottom pipe, you always had to temperarily hide the upper pipe to place the fitting on the lower pipe.  And putting a valve on a vertical pipe was difficult and very time consuming. 

New Electrical Content

New content has been created for electrical components.  Most of the content is located within the Electrical Compnents folder.  The content folder is slightly different than in 2010 so be careful when creating your new 2011 library folder.

Autodesk Publishes Framework to Help AEC Professionals Implement BIM Process

The Autodesk BIM Deployment Plan is a Free, Web-accessible Resource Offering Tools and Guidance Based on Real-World Practices for building industry professionals interested in implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM). Tools offered in this resource provide a practical framework for AEC stakeholders, and can be used by individual organizations on specific projects. The BIM Deployment Plan includes:

• BIM support materials for owners, architects, engineers, and contractors
• Templates to streamline multi-discipline communications
• Recommendations for roles and responsibilities
• Best business process examples
• Software suggestions for an effective BIM environment

DOWNLOAD the BIM Deployment Plan Here

SAN RAFAEL, Calif - Autodesk, Inc has announced the availability of its Autodesk BIM (Building Information Modeling) Deployment Plan: A Practical Framework for Implementing BIM, a new web-accessible resource for building industry professionals. Aimed at all AEC stake-holders, including owners, architects, engineers and contractors, the free guide includes support materials and a framework based on real-world applications of BIM. Tools offered include templates to help manage multi-discipline communications within a BIM project, as well as suggestions for the roles and responsibilities of each party in a BIM process-based project, best business process examples and suggested software to support an effective BIM environment.



“The BIM Deployment Plan is helping us develop a BIM implementation process best suited for the technology needs of the project and tailored to the abilities of the players involved. It is also helpful in defining clear roles and responsibilities for the execution of workflows on our jobs.”



As the building industry continues to evolve, technologies such as visualization, simulation and analysis are fundamentally changing how projects get delivered. Now more than ever, collaboration and transparency are essential and effective for anticipating and reducing problems related to cost overruns, schedule, scope and quality. Autodesk has been at the forefront of BIM technology adoption including the creation of a portfolio of software products that facilitate a BIM solution.



“New technology is creating enormous opportunities for the building industry to improve processes and outcomes, and many organizations still need guidance on how to share information as well as streamline project communications,” said Phil Bernstein, FAIA, Autodesk vice president of building industry strategy & relations. “The Autodesk BIM Deployment Plan was designed to help companies navigate the entire process via one collaborative framework and subsequently deliver projects faster, more economically and with reduced environmental impact.”



“As strong advocates of BIM, we can develop building design strategies that are extremely well integrated and coordinated, substantially increasing our efficiency and lessening the building time – all of which allow us more time to create inspiring designs for our clients,” said Dick Thomas, vice president at SHP and executive director of 2enCompass. “Now taking this a step farther, The Autodesk BIM Deployment Plan has helped us further advance BIM project implementation by better documenting stakeholder roles and responsibilities and most importantly, helping us deliver the right information from the project model to the right people at the right time to drive our project forward.”



“Communication and collaboration amongst strategic team players is vital to the success of our projects,” said Mark Konchar vice president at Balfour Beatty Construction, Washington division. “The BIM Deployment Plan is helping us develop a BIM implementation process best suited for the technology needs of the project and tailored to the abilities of the players involved. It is also helpful in defining clear roles and responsibilities for the execution of workflows on our jobs.”

New Version of Trimble MEP Field Software Enables Faster, Easier and More Accurate Layout of Conduit, Pipe, Duct and Cable Trays

Trimble MEP 2.0 Field Software Introduces Significant New Features to Benefit Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Contractors Working in Building Construction Applications

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Trimble introduced today a new version of Trimble® MEP Field Software for Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) contractors. Trimble MEP 2.0 is the world's first layout solution designed specifically to allow contractors to take digital CAD design file or 3D Building Information Model (BIM) into the field to simplify the layout of conduit, pipe, duct and cable trays. The new version of Trimble MEP Field software can increase the contractor's productivity by reducing rework by facilitating faster, easier and more accurate layout.

The announcement was made today at the AHR Expo 2010, the world's largest show targeting air conditioning, heating and refrigeration contractors.

The Trimble MEP 2.0 field software introduces new, industry-unique functionality to further assist mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors in bringing rich digital design data directly from the office to the job site. Version 2.0 affirms Trimble's commitment to creating a seamless and more efficient solution for customers. Significant new features in Trimble MEP 2.0 include:

-- The ability for users to create points directly from a DXF file into Trimble MEP running on the Trimble Nomad® Controller. Previously, points had to be created on a PC or via other methods. This critical new function enables mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors to respond to situations on the job as they arise without having to return to the office, which can provide significant time savings and increased efficiency.
-- The Direct Reflex (DR) Layout feature makes locating points on a deck or overhead fast and efficient because users do not need to know elevation in order to achieve an accurate location--Trimble MEP determines the elevation automatically and turns the total station to the correct position. Enhanced DR Layout in version 2.0 extends this capability to walls: regardless of the orientation or design of a wall, Trimble MEP 2.0 will calculate the correct location for piping, duct and other wall penetrations. By eliminating the need for manual calculations and multiple instrument setups, Trimble MEP 2.0 can deliver greater efficiency. In addition, the DR range of the total stations has been significantly increased, allowing contractors to reach further on the jobsite.

These and additional new features in Trimble MEP 2.0 Field Software are designed to meet the needs of mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors, to deliver streamlined data flow from field to office.

Trimble MEP Field Software version 2.0 is available now through select dealers in Trimble's North American Building Construction distribution network.

About Trimble's Building Construction Business

Trimble's Building Construction Division is a leading innovator of productivity solutions for the building construction contractor. Trimble's solutions target site prep, general, concrete, mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors on large and small commercial, industrial and residential jobsites. Trimble is focused on delivering solutions that tightly link office based process and information with the field crew--including taking Building Information Models (BIM) and other design data to the field for highly accurate positioning and layout of foundations and mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Trimble solutions provide a high-level of process and workflow integration from the design phase through to the finished project--delivering significant improvements in productivity throughout the building construction lifecycle.

About Trimble

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location--including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

For more information Trimble's Web site at www.trimble.com.

CONTACT: Willa McManmon, Investors, +1-408-481-7838, willa_mcmanmon@trimble.com, or Lea Ann McNabb, Media, +1-408-481-7808, leaann_mcnabb@trimble.com; both of Trimble

Project Structure and Following Process in the Revit Platform

Dave wrote a good article about Revit worksets and thinking outside the box. I thought I would share the article with you. It's a good short read.

Project Structure and Following Process in the Revit Platform

by David Butts

Implementing Autodesk® Revit® MEP: A to Z

Implementing Autodesk® Revit® MEP: A to Z


Event Year: Autodesk University 2009
Class ID: MP322-1

Primary Speaker: Todd Shackelford

Class Information
Class Type: 90-Minute Class
Expertise: Intermediate
Industry: Building
Primary Track: MEP Design and Engineering
Primary Software: Revit MEP

Class Audience
CAD managers, IT managers, and engineering professionals

Class Description
This class will outline a framework for transitioning to Revit MEP. From setting expectations and defining goals for Revit, building information modeling (BIM) and integrated project delivery (IPD) to plotting the construction documents, we will walk through the checklist of elements required to help Revit really work in your office. Along the way, this class will demonstrate how to defuse the landmines of a Revit implementation, and some clever Revit tricks will be exposed to smooth the transition.

Key Learning

• Understanding the role of Revit MEP in BIM and IPD
• Creating a Revit MEP template for success
• Creating MEP Families that work for you
• Revit MEP transition tips
• What not to do

Don't Go Half Way Using Revit MEP - Creating Systems is a Must

I just got done verifying an process that I've heard mixed issues that result if your workflow process is not correct when using Revit MEP. And it's great news in my opinion.

When you place plumbing fixtures in your Revit Model, it is placed in the Default System.

You can connect multiple plumbing fixtures to each other with pipe, and get all the wonderful flow information - all without adding those fixtures to a specific system that you create. If you select the pipe and look at it's Instant Properties, you can not only see the flow going through those pipes, but you can see that it has a "System TYPE" of Domestic Cold Water and a "System NAME" of Default Domestic Cold Water. Make sure not to confuse the two.




The default View Filter displays System Types of Domestic Cold Water in a blue color. So everything looks good, but there is a limitation of how many plumbing fixtures you can connect to each other that are put on the Default System Name. And that limitation is 50 fixtures.



Below is a thread from Jason Martin at Autodesk explaining the history of this Warning further:

One of the things that is most expensive in the “calculation process” is maintaining the “pressure losses” in sections of a duct or pipe system. To do yhis we divide any connected system into sections at any junction or size change in the system (there are additional reasons for a section to be created, like a resistance change, and I’m sure a few others). For each of the sections we track things like pressure loss, static pressure etc. Maintaining these types of calculations for relatively small sets of elements is relatively inexpensive compared to the time it takes to do things like actually move the things. In systems with thousands of elements, however, these calculations became exponentially more expensive as the element counts increase. We decided at that point that when there are more than a set number of “system assignable-1” elements assigned to a system that we would turn off these types of calculations. After quite a few rounds of testing (as well as some arguing) we decided that a “tolerable” number of elements to turn off these “complex” calculations at was 50. So, now, as soon as the number of elements in a system goes above 50 you’ll get an error message that says something like:

“The default system "Default Supply Air" is now over 50 elements. To improve performance, Revit is no longer calculating the critical path pressure drop and the more complex duct sizing has been disabled. If you want to use these features, you must define logical systems in the model instead of using the default system.”

If you receive this error message it doesn’t have anything to do with things not updating in elevations / sections, and it doesn’t make the application automatically disconnect things. In versions prior to 2009 WU3 (or whichever one it was) it was very true that creating systems improved performance “massively”. Since the introduction of the “50 element” rule, it isn’t as significant as it once was.

For other “performance” things, it really, really, really depends. In 2010 a significant portion of effort was spent on improving the performance of what we referred to as “model manipulation”. This includes things like dragging, connecting, moving, sizing (either with sizing tools or just changing the size), and deleting items like pipe, duct and fittings. As a few others have mentioned here, “model manipulation” in 2010 is significantly faster than it was in previous releases.

If you are moving a connected duct / pipe / fitting - our internal testing has shown that it is actually “slightly” faster to not have systems defined than it is to have systems defined. If you are making new connections between things - our internal testing has shown that it is actually “slightly” faster to have systems defined than it is to not have them defined. If you are changing the flow of elements in the system (like air terminals) - it is “slightly” faster to have systems defined than it is to not have them defined. If you are creating systems - it is significantly faster to create them before things are connected with ducts and pipes.

System assignable elements are things like air terminals, mechanical equipment etc. Things that when you select them you see a create system button (or edit system button) but don’t include things like ducts, fittings, pipes, etc.

Once you create your user defined system, you can move your plumbing fixtures to that system and they are moved out of the default system.

Your piping properties will now take on that System Name as well.

With this, you can create piping annotation tags that can be smart and extract the pipe size and the pipe system. Once I connect a tag to that pipe, it will read, 1" CW. And the tag will automatically update and change if I ever make a change to my design. I don't need to worry about the annotation being incorrect. I like to use these piping annotation tags in my "plot" views for my construction documents.

I also use another piping annotation tag that displays fixture units and flow at certain points of my system in my "modeling" views. That way I can make sure my system is connected, and I'm engineering it properly.

I asked Martin Schmid from Autodesk if you could theoretically put every cold water plumbing fixture in a job in one user defined cold water system, and not have a large performance hit. He says there is a trade-off - and that, even though you can put all of your mechanical fixtures in a user defined system name, the more connections and fittings you have, the longer the calculation time for edits done to the system or its layout. But it's not as bad as when you are using the default system name. Martin tells me that 2010 is faster than 2009 in this process. And you won't notice hardly in smaller jobs.

Another workflow process is that you could break up your systems into CW1 and CW2 and CW3, etc... one for each riser in a particular area. But who wants to have a system name CW4? So you will need to decide if you want to break up your systems, or depending on your project size, computer speed, OS and patience, put all of your fixtures in one user defined system.

Which brings me to the name of the article, Don't Go Half Way. I hear a lot of firms that just want to model certain parts of the building in Revit, and do 2D for the other in AutoCAD. Or they want to just create a 3D model, and not use the flow calculation tools that Revit has. But there are a lot of things going on in the program that if you're not aware of, you run into these limitations such at connecting 50 elements to a default system and you end up creating more headaches than you thought you were going to avoid by taking shortcuts. So go the extra step and create the systems and use them to your advantage. You can save so much more time accepting the full Revit process the way it is supposed to be used, than trying to come up with workarounds and unproven processes of how Revit is not supposed to be used.

COMPUTATION AND CRAFT: SARUP TECHNOLOGY LECTURE SERIES - FALL 2009

Below is a link to this year’s schedule for the UWM SARUP Computation and Craft Lecture Series…

UW-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning (SARUP)

All lectures occur on Thursdays, 12-1:30 pm, at Eppstein Uhen Architects: 333 East Chicago Street in the Third Ward, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

Lectures are free and open to the public. 1.0 AIA / Continuing Education System Learning Unit awarded for each lecture.

SEPTEMBER 24 :

Zero Carbon Case Studies -

James Wasley

James Wasley is an Associate Professor at UW-Milwaukee and is the SBSE Principal Investigator for the Carbon Neutral Design (CND) project, a joint effort by the AIA and the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) to produce educational and resource materials for carbon neutral design. This presentation will highlight case studies that relate to the CND project.

OCTOBER 8 :

Sustainable Curtainwall Design Case Study -

Chris Stutzki, Ph.D.– Stutzki Engineering

Stutzki Engineering, Inc. (SEI) is a consulting firm offering engineering services for architects and building contractors, in the field of structural glass, lightweight structures and building facades- combining state-of-the-art engineering and applied science with creative industrial design. This presentation will highlight an advanced sustainably-focused envelope design for a law school building in Baltimore, on which Stutzki is working in association with BEHNISCH Architekten and TRANSSOLAR.

OCTOBER 15 :

BIM–The Engineering Perspective -

Jerry Packham, Project Manager and Kyle Hansen, Designer Affiliated Engineers, Inc.

Jerry Packham and Kyle Hansen, of Affiliated Engineers, Inc. (AEI), are integrally involved in the firms use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) based technologies and processes to improve project delivery and project performance. This presentation will highlight AEI’s use of BIM from an engineering perspective and will feature examples from projects AEI has delivered utilizing BIM and other related methodologies.

NOVEMBER 5 :

Integrated Project Delivery: Real World Projects -

Mike Whaley, Director of Preconstruction Services – J.H. Findorff & Sons Inc.

Mike Whaley leads Findorff’s preconstruction services and as a result is intimately familiar with virtual construction, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). This presentation will highlight real-world projects, including the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery project under construction at the University of Wisconsin, where these techniques and technologies have been utilized and have made a difference.

NOVEMBER 12 :

SC Johnson Project Honor – Pioneering in Value Based Design and Construction

Kevin Bredeson – Director of Virtual Construction – Gilbane Building Company
Tracy Lutterman – Construction Project Manager, Corporate Facilities – SC Johnson Company
Jason Chandler – Project Manager – Epstein

Designed by world renowned architect Foster + Partners in association with Epstein, and constructed by Gilbane Building Company, Project Honor utilized a unique, collaborative approach to project delivery, The presentation will focus on the unique design of the facility and the necessary collaboration to be able to incorporate the unique design features. Emphasis will also be placed on the upfront collaboration of the integrated project team, the Building Information Model (BIM) and the use of Lean design and construction principles to maximize efficiencies in every aspect of the work.

NOVEMBER 19 :

Fast, Cheap, Better & more sustainable– Case Study in Integrated Project Delivery

Martin Sell – President – MSA Integrated Project Delivery

MSA Integrated Project Delivery recently completed the five-acre Spirit of Africa Exhibit for the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. MSA Integrated Project Delivery acted as the IPD team leader for a team comprised of 11 companies. In this presentation, Martin will discuss how using an IPD approach allowed the team to complete the project meeting all of the owner’s goals – on-time completion, financial performance more than 10% under budget, with levels of quality and sustainability beyond what was originally anticipated.