BIMFix Blog: Model Progression Specifications – Resources

BIMFix Blog: Model Progression Specifications – Resources: As part of my study of Model Progression Specifications (MPS), I have compiled a list of schemas I’ve come across. Model Progression Specif...

Revit OpEd: Revit 2017 - Calculated Values in Tags

Revit OpEd: Revit 2017 - Calculated Values in Tags: This addition permits us to do the same thing to tags that we've been using in schedules. For example, in a tag I'd like to show the...

Evacuation Path Analysis with Dynamo and Revit

Report from BIM Toolbox

04/22/2016

Evacuation Path Analysis with Dynamo and Revit

More and more we face challenges to find new ways to perform custom architectural analysis. In this post I want to share with you a short and simple (for once) Dynamo script that can be used to analyze the evacuation paths in your building design in Revit. The script (that you can download at the bottom of this post) will calculate the accumulated distance from several points to a selected emergency exit and display the results in a selected Revit view.


A detailed explanation and full script and dataset can be found on this link.
Dieter Vermeulen

Revit OpEd: Revit 2017 - Text Editor Features

Revit OpEd: Revit 2017 - Text Editor Features: Long awaited, much rejoicing was heard when Revit users heard the news, there is a new text editor. Really? Can it be true? Yes they've ...

Combining the Power of ITO with a Model Comparison Check

From the Solibri blog.

In addition to using the Model Comparison Ruleset to compare model versions, this article defines the steps to create an Information Takeoff (ITO) that displays the changes in Quantities in the ITO table format. This allows for easy review of any changes in the model quantities, in real-time.

A model recreating the screenshots and model conditions in this article is available here: SMC Building – ITO Model Comparision.smc

For tutorial information about using the ITO tool, please see our previous article on the topic:  Understanding Information Takeoff (ITO)

In Solibri Model Checker, with two different IFC versions of the same model loaded, create an ITO sorting the model by Components. ITO sorts elements within the model by the values of their properties of the left most columns.

Now, create an ITO column for the “Model” property of the “Identification” column type and ensure that “Grouping” is checked.  By doing this, ITO will create an individual row for each type of component in each model.  In other words, one type of component will be listed twice: one row representing the component(s) in Model A, and a second row representing the component(s) in Model B.



Next, decide which quantities are relevant for the comparison.  In this example, we have added columns for length, width, height, area, volume, and count.  For each column, ensure that “Grouping” is turned OFF, and the function is set to “SUM”.  This means that ITO will not use these columns as a sorted grouping mechanism and that the quantity displayed in the column will be a sum for the components.



The resulting ITO will resemble the results below.  Each Component type is listed on two rows, representing the components and their quantities from each of the respective two model versions.



Please use the example model to explore the screenshots from this article, and to experiment with the settings in ITO.

Revit OpEd: Revit 2017 - New Features and Enhancements

Revit OpEd: Revit 2017 - New Features and Enhancements: Long Post Warning, worth it I hope. Last night I was able to download and install Building Design Suite 2017 from my Autodesk subscription...

New COBie for Navisworks tool now available

Over at Beyond Design, they have an interesting blog post on the new COBie tool for Autodesk Navisworks. Even if you don't intend on using Navisworks as part of your COBie delivery process, the post is interesting.

Model Checking - What Tools Do You Use?

Working on updating my Modeling checking presentation for RTC EU. There are a lot of good model checking tools on the market including but not limited to:

• Autodesk Revit Model Review
• Autodesk Model Checker for Revit
• BIMAssure
• Assemble Systems Insight
• Solibri

I am interested in hearing about other tools that people might be using for model checking in addition to those listed above.

Revit OpEd: Space Naming Utility for Revit 2017

Revit OpEd: Space Naming Utility for Revit 2017: Hi Autodesk Revit Team! It's me Mr. OpEd again. Imagine me with a pointy stick , I'm poking you in the eye...metaphorically...with ...

BIM in the Field

I have been looking for cost effective ways to bring BIM to the field wondering what options other people have found.

I have used Glue in the past, but it's very expensive. While I have not used it, I do have some colleagues that are using the MS Surface successfully. But I don't own a surface and not very many of those on the jobsite.

What have you used and what are the pros and cons?

Model Review - What's in the Model

During a visit with a client this morning, I was reminded on a common task we perform to review models. One of the first things I like to do when reviewing models is see how the Revit sheets were put together. Is the geometry from model elements, Revit's 2D elements or CAD.

Our process is very simple. We simply compare the original sheets provided by the designer to sheets we create out of Revit after we get rid of any linked CAD files, CAD imports and Revit's 2D linework. We then use the power of Bluebeam to compare the two sets of PDFs. Bluebeam will highlight the differences between the two sets of PDF's.

Why is the beneficial? It really depends on how you intend to use the model.

I have seen a lot of "BIM jobs" that have sheets that have been exported out of Revit and "embellished" in AutoCAD. The embellishments are very interesting as this can be anything from adding new callouts to altering the geometry. Using this PDF compare method will quickly allow you to see what is from the model and what is from elsewhere.

This process can be done very quickly. In 15 minutes you can determine how deep you need to dive into your Revit model review.