Autodesk has recently purchased Ecotect and is making the software available for free (trial basis) on this site...
http://ecotect.com/downloads
Ecotect is an environmental simulation software.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Revit Plugins and Add-ons Review 2008
It seems that in this last year there have been many plugins, add-ons, extensions etc created for Revit. From my perspective plugins are usually best as a stop-gap solution. By this I mean that they do something that Revit out-of-the-box can't do (or do well) at this point in time. CAD/BIM Mangers have an enormous task of installing the latest versions and patches of the core software. Now add on top of that the individual plugins that each user may want. This is compounded by each new release and update. Revit's initial philosophy was to do everything well out-of-the-box. That being said, even Autodesk can't keep up with the developing demands of this hugely popular software. For this good reason the API has enabled people to create some excellent solutions. Autodesk has taken note and even bought up some of the better programs to integrate with the core software.
So, let's review some available plugins for Revit Architecture. (This list is by no means comprehensive. Please let me know of any good ones that I have missed)
IES VE-Ware
"VE-Ware is our FREE building energy usage and carbon dioxide emission assessment software that can make a real difference to the green credentials of a building, as well as benchmark it against the US Architecture 2030 Challenge."
http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s130
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: Knowing how to set up the model before running the calcs is essential.
results: Pretty basic. Not detailed enough but still useful.
price: Free
IES VE-Toolkit
"Our VE-Toolkits are ideal for use at the very early stages of the design process as they give quick sustainability feedback at the click of a few buttons."
http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s158
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: Knowing how to set up the model before running the calcs is essential.
results: Very detailed and graphic results. Great value in my opinion.
price: approx. $1500 (ballpark)
Especs for Revit
"e-SPECS for Revit extends the Autodesk® Revit-based products document coordination and quality solutions to the construction specifications. "
http://www.e-specs.com/especs-revit.html
ease of installation: Not very easy.
ease of use: Easy to use once the difficult setup process is done.
results: For the money the results can be awesome, as long as there is some setup and attention to standards. This has great potential but needs to be more accessible.
price: approx $1700(ballpark)
Avatech Tools:
http://www.avatech.com/solutions/building-design/product-details.aspx?product=44
Autodesk Extensions
available on the Autodesk Subscription Website
ease of installation: easy
price: included with subscription
Autodesk Extensions: Compare Models
ease of use: easy
results: I think this has some good uses but I'm not sure what yet. Useful for diagnostics.
Autodesk Extensions: Element Positioning
ease of use: easy, but not sure what it's for.
results: Seems like this might be a diagnostic tool as well. This one is kind of a mixed bag. There is a tool for tagging but I'm not sure what the rest of the tools do yet. I'll keep you posted.
Autodesk Extensions: Freeze Drawings
ease of use: easy
results: This is very useful for creating static details.
Autodesk Extensions: Text Generator
ease of use: easy
results: A good stop-gap until more tools are added to the Text tool.
Autodesk Extensions: Excel Based model Generation
ease of use: haven't used it yet
results:
Autodesk Extensions: Grids Generator
ease of use: medium
results: creates some 3D lines so you can see where your grids are in 3D. I think it would be nice to toggle ref-planes in 3D.
Autodesk Subscription: Worksharing Monitor
ease of installation: easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: easy
results: a little buggy at times but useful.
price: included with subscription
Autodesk Subscription: Import/Export Google Earth
ease of installation: easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: easy
results: A 'cool' tool but also somewhat useful.
price: included with subscription
Autodesk Subscription: Batch Print
ease of installation:easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: Haven't used it yet.
results:Haven't used it yet.
price:included with subscription
Autodesk Labs: STL Exporter
ease of installation: Haven't used it yet.
ease of use:
results:
price:
BIM Content Manager
http://www.bimcontentmanager.com/
ease of installation: fairly easy
ease of use: kind of complex
results: Autodesk intends to buy the parent company so hopefully a refined version of this lands inside of Revit (not an add-on through subscription).
price: $150 for now...
StrucSoft Metal Wood Framer
http://www.strucsoftsolutions.com/products.asp
"First wall panelizer running on Autodesk Revit Platform for wood and Light Guage metal construction."
Although I haven't used this yet it's very presence is encouraging.
Ideate Explorer for Revit
http://www.ideatexplorer.com/index.php
I haven't used this yet but it looks like a very useful tool.
price: $95
Autodesk Navisworks
Exports a Revit model to Navisworks.
You need to buy Navisworks to get this plugin.
Many macro samples are also available in the SDK (Software Development Kit)
ease of installation: hard
ease of use: medium
results: although they are samples there are some useful tools ie. change case, find-replace etc.
price: free
So, let's review some available plugins for Revit Architecture. (This list is by no means comprehensive. Please let me know of any good ones that I have missed)
IES VE-Ware
"VE-Ware is our FREE building energy usage and carbon dioxide emission assessment software that can make a real difference to the green credentials of a building, as well as benchmark it against the US Architecture 2030 Challenge."
http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s130
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: Knowing how to set up the model before running the calcs is essential.
results: Pretty basic. Not detailed enough but still useful.
price: Free
IES VE-Toolkit
"Our VE-Toolkits are ideal for use at the very early stages of the design process as they give quick sustainability feedback at the click of a few buttons."
http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s158
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: Knowing how to set up the model before running the calcs is essential.
results: Very detailed and graphic results. Great value in my opinion.
price: approx. $1500 (ballpark)
Especs for Revit
"e-SPECS for Revit extends the Autodesk® Revit-based products document coordination and quality solutions to the construction specifications. "
http://www.e-specs.com/especs-revit.html
ease of installation: Not very easy.
ease of use: Easy to use once the difficult setup process is done.
results: For the money the results can be awesome, as long as there is some setup and attention to standards. This has great potential but needs to be more accessible.
price: approx $1700(ballpark)
Avatech Tools:
http://www.avatech.com/solutions/building-design/product-details.aspx?product=44
Avatech Room Renumber
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: easy
results: This is a nice utility that I would consider a necessary stop-gap.
price: free
Avatech Door Mark Update
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: easy
results: This is what happens when someone actually reads the Wish Lists.
price: free
Autodesk Extensions
available on the Autodesk Subscription Website
ease of installation: easy
price: included with subscription
Autodesk Extensions: Compare Models
ease of use: easy
results: I think this has some good uses but I'm not sure what yet. Useful for diagnostics.
Autodesk Extensions: Element Positioning
ease of use: easy, but not sure what it's for.
results: Seems like this might be a diagnostic tool as well. This one is kind of a mixed bag. There is a tool for tagging but I'm not sure what the rest of the tools do yet. I'll keep you posted.
Autodesk Extensions: Freeze Drawings
ease of use: easy
results: This is very useful for creating static details.
Autodesk Extensions: Text Generator
ease of use: easy
results: A good stop-gap until more tools are added to the Text tool.
Autodesk Extensions: Excel Based model Generation
ease of use: haven't used it yet
results:
Autodesk Extensions: Grids Generator
ease of use: medium
results: creates some 3D lines so you can see where your grids are in 3D. I think it would be nice to toggle ref-planes in 3D.
Autodesk Subscription: Worksharing Monitor
ease of installation: easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: easy
results: a little buggy at times but useful.
price: included with subscription
Autodesk Subscription: Import/Export Google Earth
ease of installation: easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: easy
results: A 'cool' tool but also somewhat useful.
price: included with subscription
Autodesk Subscription: Batch Print
ease of installation:easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: Haven't used it yet.
results:Haven't used it yet.
price:included with subscription
Autodesk Labs: STL Exporter
ease of installation: Haven't used it yet.
ease of use:
results:
price:
BIM Content Manager
http://www.bimcontentmanager.com/
ease of installation: fairly easy
ease of use: kind of complex
results: Autodesk intends to buy the parent company so hopefully a refined version of this lands inside of Revit (not an add-on through subscription).
price: $150 for now...
StrucSoft Metal Wood Framer
http://www.strucsoftsolutions.com/products.asp
"First wall panelizer running on Autodesk Revit Platform for wood and Light Guage metal construction."
Although I haven't used this yet it's very presence is encouraging.
Ideate Explorer for Revit
http://www.ideatexplorer.com/index.php
I haven't used this yet but it looks like a very useful tool.
price: $95
Autodesk Navisworks
Exports a Revit model to Navisworks.
You need to buy Navisworks to get this plugin.
Many macro samples are also available in the SDK (Software Development Kit)
ease of installation: hard
ease of use: medium
results: although they are samples there are some useful tools ie. change case, find-replace etc.
price: free
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Elevation Depth Line Quality
Here's a typical question:
We have been working with some elevation views on a couple of our projects in Revit and it seems that in terms of line weights the depth of the buildings do not read well. Is there a setting to control how Revit handles the line weights of different parts of the building particularly those that are further back in the distance? The building I am working on happens to have several parts to the building that are in the mid ground background plane so any help would be much appreciated.
This is a good question which has potential to be a good built in automatic utility. For now, though, here's how to address this.
Right-click on object or objects....
Override Graphics in View...
By Element...
Then adjust projection lines as required.
This will do in most scenarios.
There are times when you may have to break down and use the 'linework' tool. You don't want to use this tool too often though since it could be time consuming to keep updated.
We have been working with some elevation views on a couple of our projects in Revit and it seems that in terms of line weights the depth of the buildings do not read well. Is there a setting to control how Revit handles the line weights of different parts of the building particularly those that are further back in the distance? The building I am working on happens to have several parts to the building that are in the mid ground background plane so any help would be much appreciated.
This is a good question which has potential to be a good built in automatic utility. For now, though, here's how to address this.
Right-click on object or objects....
Override Graphics in View...
By Element...
Then adjust projection lines as required.
This will do in most scenarios.
There are times when you may have to break down and use the 'linework' tool. You don't want to use this tool too often though since it could be time consuming to keep updated.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Rendering with Best Setting
From practice, I have noticed that for the visual difference between the 'Best' and 'High' is not usually worth the time difference. I have also noticed that 'Best' will sometimes even crash the machine.
Let me know if you have seen the same.
Let me know if you have seen the same.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Relative vs Absolute Links
The difference between these two settings (found under File-Manage Links) is the following:
Relative: If you move the Revit file you will need to move the dwg link into the same folder. If you don't do this the link will be broken, although it may still display the file in a static state.
Absolute: You can move the Revit file without moving the linked dwg. The only issue with this is if you were to move it to a location that can't access the path, the link will be broken.
Date: Wednesday October 29, 2008
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
Location: Alice Fazooli's, 294 Adelaide St W, Toronto ON, M5V 1P6.
For those taking the TTC, it is conveniently located near both Osgoode and St. Andrew stations on the Yonge-University-Spadina line.
ORUG is proud to announce its 2-year anniversary. To celebrate, we're holding our first annual EXPO! Members are encouraged to bring and showcase their projects to the group. Participants will be entered to win prizes. Any ORUG member can bring and show their projects but we would like to request that expositions to the Expo have the following minimum criteria to be eligible for the draw:
Revit Model
One exterior rendering that will be submitted to Jay Polding prior to Wednesday October 29. This rendering will act as registration for the prize draw
One interior rendering
One floorplan
One elevation
One section
Brief explanation to the group about the project and the Revit Model
Laptop with the files mentioned above
We are looking for 3 eligible entrants to do "pecha kucha" presentations about their projects. Pecha Kucha presentations require each presenter to use a slideshow of 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds. This results in a total presentation time of 6 minutes 40 seconds.If you are interested in entering and participating, please email jpolding@cadmicro.com.
Exhibition - ORUG EXPO 2008
Jay will provide a brief introduction of the exhibitions in slideshow format.
Our 3 “Pecha Kucha” entrants will then present.
Our 3 “Pecha Kucha” entrants will then present.
Exhibitors will then set up at individual tables and be able to discuss projects with other members.
Finally, we will be conducting a draw from registered participants. The draw will include two seats of 3dsMAX Design 2009 (Not For Resale version).
Autodesk University 2008Are you attending Autodesk University this year?
If you would like to become an ORUG member or attend this meeting as a guest, please contact Jay Polding at jpolding@cadmicro.com. There is no charge to attend.
Monday, October 06, 2008
New Service Pack Technology
This is good news to a lot of people.
"For the first time in the Revit product line history, we have implemented Service Pack technology similar to the AutoCAD based products. This will greatly reduce the effort needed to update the Revit products to the newest build by allowing our users to update their existing installations without having to reinstall Revit. Because of this change, we recommend that you read the Service Pack Readme before installing. "
Web Update 2 is available at this location:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=11017599
"For the first time in the Revit product line history, we have implemented Service Pack technology similar to the AutoCAD based products. This will greatly reduce the effort needed to update the Revit products to the newest build by allowing our users to update their existing installations without having to reinstall Revit. Because of this change, we recommend that you read the Service Pack Readme before installing. "
Web Update 2 is available at this location:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=11017599
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Revit 64 is Out!
Just to let every one know, if you don't already. Revit 64bit is now available for download for Architecture, Structure and MEP. You need to log in to the Autodesk Subscription site to get this. Here's a press release from Autodesk...
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc.,(NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that versions of its Revit software applications for Building Information Modeling (BIM) specifically designed for personal computers using Windows 64-bit operating systems are now available. This marks the company's first venture into 64-bit BIM applications and applies to Revit Architecture 2009, Revit Structure 2009 and Revit MEP 2009. The 64-bit versions are now available to existing Revit platform software subscribers. Customer beta testers reported that the newsoftware applications offer significantly improved performance and stabilityfor memory intensive tasks such as rendering, printing, model upgrading andfile importing and exporting. Some examples of their experience include:
"In every single test I threw at the Revit Structure for the 64-bit system it beat the 32-bit system," said Ken Murphy, BIM manager, Thornton Tomasetti. "On average, we observed approximately a 20 percent performance gain on operations such as saving files and exporting models to other formats for outside consultants. And when it comes to rendering images of large project models, such as an American football stadium with thousands of members, we saw up to a 50 percent performance improvement over the 32-bit platform."
"With 64-bit Revit Architecture we can completely load a very large project into a session and work on it at one time; and that is something that represents a significant efficiency improvement over the 32-bit environment,"said Lonnie Cumpton, Revit task force manager for the Friedmutter Group. "For example, we have a large project that consists of 2.9 gigabytes of Revit data contained in 22 individual files. With 64-bit Revit Architecture we can link all the pieces together into one big model and cut an entire building section to gain an understanding from a section elevation standpoint of the entireproject at one time. Using 32-bit Revit Architecture we'd have to cut individual pieces of sections in each model and then piece them back together. It took us a day to do that. Now we can do it in less than an hour."
"We've been beta testing the 64-bit Revit Structure software and the increases in efficiency and productivity are impressive," said Jamie Richardson, Associate & CAD manager, Ericksen Roed & Associates. "Cutting sections and switching between views is much faster. Moving within the viewsand rotating the model in a 3D view is also noticeably faster and smoother.With what we have seen in our beta testing, and what we're hearing from userstesting the beta on their current projects, we see no reason not to go to the64-bit version of Revit Structure."
The English language versions of new 64-bit Revit software applications areavailable now to existing Revit Architecture 2009, Revit Structure 2009 andRevit MEP 2009 subscribers via the online Subscription Center. The 64-bit software will release in other languages at a later date.
"We're very excited to hear our beta testers report stunning performance gains with the native 64-bit versions of the Revit software applications,"said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Autodesk AEC Solutions. "Breaking the four gigabytes RAM barrier is an important milestone, which helps ourcustomers experience the power of BIM in even their largest projects."
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc.,(NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that versions of its Revit software applications for Building Information Modeling (BIM) specifically designed for personal computers using Windows 64-bit operating systems are now available. This marks the company's first venture into 64-bit BIM applications and applies to Revit Architecture 2009, Revit Structure 2009 and Revit MEP 2009. The 64-bit versions are now available to existing Revit platform software subscribers. Customer beta testers reported that the newsoftware applications offer significantly improved performance and stabilityfor memory intensive tasks such as rendering, printing, model upgrading andfile importing and exporting. Some examples of their experience include:
"In every single test I threw at the Revit Structure for the 64-bit system it beat the 32-bit system," said Ken Murphy, BIM manager, Thornton Tomasetti. "On average, we observed approximately a 20 percent performance gain on operations such as saving files and exporting models to other formats for outside consultants. And when it comes to rendering images of large project models, such as an American football stadium with thousands of members, we saw up to a 50 percent performance improvement over the 32-bit platform."
"With 64-bit Revit Architecture we can completely load a very large project into a session and work on it at one time; and that is something that represents a significant efficiency improvement over the 32-bit environment,"said Lonnie Cumpton, Revit task force manager for the Friedmutter Group. "For example, we have a large project that consists of 2.9 gigabytes of Revit data contained in 22 individual files. With 64-bit Revit Architecture we can link all the pieces together into one big model and cut an entire building section to gain an understanding from a section elevation standpoint of the entireproject at one time. Using 32-bit Revit Architecture we'd have to cut individual pieces of sections in each model and then piece them back together. It took us a day to do that. Now we can do it in less than an hour."
"We've been beta testing the 64-bit Revit Structure software and the increases in efficiency and productivity are impressive," said Jamie Richardson, Associate & CAD manager, Ericksen Roed & Associates. "Cutting sections and switching between views is much faster. Moving within the viewsand rotating the model in a 3D view is also noticeably faster and smoother.With what we have seen in our beta testing, and what we're hearing from userstesting the beta on their current projects, we see no reason not to go to the64-bit version of Revit Structure."
The English language versions of new 64-bit Revit software applications areavailable now to existing Revit Architecture 2009, Revit Structure 2009 andRevit MEP 2009 subscribers via the online Subscription Center. The 64-bit software will release in other languages at a later date.
"We're very excited to hear our beta testers report stunning performance gains with the native 64-bit versions of the Revit software applications,"said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Autodesk AEC Solutions. "Breaking the four gigabytes RAM barrier is an important milestone, which helps ourcustomers experience the power of BIM in even their largest projects."
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