Sunday, November 29, 2015

Customizing the CADD Microsystems Revit Model Checker - Duplicate Elements

Customizing the Revit Model Checker from CADD Microsystems can be a fairly easy process, once you find the software you need and understand the basic structure of the tool.

To start customizing, the first thing that you need to do is download the Model Checker Configurator for Revit. Use this link to access the site. Once installed, an application separate from Revit is installed and it can be found in the Autodesk folder for your Windows applications.
Figure 1 - Model Checker Application Icon

Launching the Model Checker loads the dialog found in Figure 2. The dialog is broken up into three main sections:
  • Section A allows you to Open, Create and Save configurations, as well as preview and export new configuration files for use with the Model Checker.
  • Section B is where we create the rule checks.
  • Section C tells you where the current configuration file is being saved.
Figure 2 - Autodesk Model Checker Configurator
Section B is where you will be spending the majority of your time and efforts. In our first example, we are going to define a simple check that looks for Duplicate elements in the model. While this is a simple check, it is important because it can result in inaccurate schedule information.

To create this rule, the first step is to open the Model Checker Configurator for Revit and to beginning defining the checks. The second step is to start defining the structure of the configuration file.
  1. Click on the New button to start defining a new Model Checker Configuration.
  2. Under General Settings and under Structure, click Add Heading.
  3. Edit the Heading Title and Description. Name the Heading to reflect the theme of the checks you will be defining.
Figure 3 - Adding a Heading

The next step is define sections for our checks. For example, we may want to define specific rules that check parameter data and other rules to perform checks on geometry, etc. Using sections, we can organize our checks into groups.
  1. Click the Add Section button under Structure.
  2. Edit the Section Name and Description.
Figure 4 - Adding a Section
The next step is where we start to define the individual rule. In this example, we are going to look for duplicate elements.
Figure 5 - Defining the Element Check Configuration
  1. Click the Add Check button under Structure.
  2. Change the Title Name to Duplicate Elements.
  3. Run Default. If this option is checked, the check will be set to run the first time the configuration is opened.
  4. Enter the Description for the Check.
  5. Failure Condition: There are two options which I explain below. We are going to using the Report Matching Condition option.
    1. Report Matching Condition: When individual model element failures will be reported for all elements matching the filters defined. If no elements match the filters, success will be reported.
    2. Report Failure when No Elements are Found: A failure will be reported if no elements are found that match the filters. Success is reported is elements are found that match the filters.
  6.  Element Filter: This is the section that defines what we are checking. For our duplicate element checking, we need to define three filters.
Figure 6 - Duplicate View Filters
With these steps complete, you can now save the configuration. The file will be saved as a .XML file. You can now switch over to Revit. To run our new check, you first need to configure the Model Checker to run our configuration check. In Revit:

Figure 7 - Model Checker Pane
1. Navigate to the Addin's tab and click the Configure button in the Model Checker pane (Figure 7).
2. In the Model Checker | Open Configuration (Figure 8), click on the Open an Existing Configuration File radio button in the lower left-hand corner of the dialog. Then click on the more button to the right to open a dialog to select the example .XML configuration file that we created. When the configuration file is loaded, click the OK button to close the Model Check | Open Configuration dialog. This will open the Model Checker Configuration dialog (Figure 9).
Figure 8 - Model Checker | Open Configuration dialog

3. The Model Checker Configuration dialog (Figure 9) will list all of the rule configurations that are available in the .XML file that we loaded in the previous step. In this dialog, you have the option to turn on and off the rule checks that you do not want to run, by unchecking the checkbox next to the rule. When you are done making any changes, click the Finish button on the toolbar. This will save the file and make the configuration file available to run.

Figure 9 - Model Checker Configuration
4. Navigate to the Addin's tab and click the Run Check button in the Model Checker pane (Figure 10). This will run the configuration file that we have loaded in the previous steps. Clicking the Run Check button will open the Model Checker Processing Options dialog.

Figure 10 - Model Checker Pane
5. The Model Checker Processing Options dialog (Figure 11) provides would will options to select the models (links) loaded into your current project that you want to process and/or to add additional files to process. Clicking the checkbox to the left of the file name enables that model (link) to be processed. Clicking the Run Report button on the toolbar processes (Figure 12) the models (links) selected.

Figure 11 - Model Checker Processing Options dialog

Figure 12 - Model Checking Progress Checking
Once the models have been processed, a report (Figure 13) is generated detailing any of the issues that have been found. The nice thing about the report is that it will provide you with a link that will take you to the model elements in question.

Figure 13 - Model Checker Report


Friday, November 13, 2015

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

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Tuesday, November 3, 2015

ASCENT- Center for Technical Knowledge Partners with CADLearning to Provide Free Autodesk Certification Preparation Materials

11/03/2015

ASCENT- Center for Technical Knowledge Partners with CADLearning to Provide Free Autodesk Certification Preparation Materials

Thirty Days of Free Online Access to ASCENT’s Official Certification Preparation eBooks and CADLearning’s Video Content is the Stress-Free way to Prepare for Autodesk Certification

OWINGS MILLS, MD

Rand Worldwide (OTCBB: RWWI), a global leader in providing technology solutions to organizations with engineering design and information technology requirements, today announced that its courseware division, ASCENT- Center for Technical Knowledge, is partnering with 4D Technologies to provide free access to their Autodesk Certification Preparation content online for a limited time. The new online certification preparation portal includes Official Certification Preparation content by ASCENT and rich CADLearning video courses by 4D. These materials, available for free from November 3 to December 3, will ensure an unrivalled learning experience for those taking certification exams at Autodesk University 2015 in Las Vegas.
 
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ASCENT- Center for Technical Knowledge develops professional training courseware and technical documentation for engineering applications including those from Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes and PTC. ASCENT is an Authorized Author, Publisher and Developer of Autodesk curriculum and the sole provider of Autodesk Official Training Guides. ASCENT training guides, eBooks and Instructor Tools are available to educational institutions and training centers, individuals and corporations and can be purchased directly from theASCENT eStore (for volume sales, contact an ASCENT representative). For more information visit the ASCENT website and follow ASCENT on Twitter at @ASCENT_CTK.
 
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CADLearning’s comprehensive, self-paced professional learning content is designed to maximize performance with Autodesk 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Users leverage CADLearning for self-paced learning, as an ongoing resource, and as a help tool. CADLearning is developed by 4D Technologies, LLC. Visit http://www.cadlearning.com to learn more.

Revit Model Checker - Sample Rule Configurations

As mentioned in the previous post, the Revit Model Checker comes with several per-defined sample check files. In this post, we will walk thru the setup and configuration for the sample check files.
Figure 1 - Revit Model Checker Sample Check Files
 
One installed, the Model Checker panel is added to the Add-Ins Ribbon tab within Revit.
Figure 2 - Model Checker panel in Revit

Included with the Model Checker are four sample rule sets (Figure 1) that provide sample configurations for checking yours models for:
  • COBie Compliance
  • General BIM Modeling Checks
  • Comprehensive and Quick USACE BIM Requirements checks
To load and use one of these sample rules:
  1. With a model open within Revit, navigate to the Add-Ins Ribbon tab.
  2. Click the Configure button from the Model Checker panel of the Add-Ins Ribbon tab.
  3. From the configuration dialog, click Open.
  4. Choose Open An Existing Configuration File (Figure 3) from the Open Configuration dialog, and navigate to the one of the sample Model Checker Configurations (.mck) file.
  5. Click OK to return to the Revit Model Checker for USACE v4.0 dialoig.
Figure 3 - Revit Model Checker Configuration dialog
Now that we have a sample Model Checker Configuration file loaded, we now have the ability to modify the default settings for our particular project. To configure the Model Checker (assuming the Configuration dialog is open):
  1. Choose modules to be run by selecting corresponding check boxes. All available checks are enabled with a check mark by default.
  2. Expand individual modules to choose specific checks, and level-of-detail of applicable.
  3. Click Save As to generate a new Model Checker Configuration (.mck) file that includes configuration changes for units, enabled and disabled checks, and the level of detail settings associated to select checks.
Figure 4 - Configuring Rules


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