REVIT Structure 2008 Rebar Area Reinforcing

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Rebar Rocks !

The new Area Reinforcing system family makes laying out nominal steel a sinch.

Because REVIT tools all work the same it really takes no practice at all.

Select the slab or wall, click the area reinforcing tool and sketch the area outline including openings.

Perhaps use the pick tool and perhaps lock the sketch lines to the slab edges. We've done this before with floors and roofs.

Then simply use the properties to specify the top and bottom rebar size, spacing, bla bla bla and you're done.

This rebar does not show up in 3D but it does show up in all sections.

In true REVIT fashion it parametrically updates everywhere as you make changes in any view.

Below is a link to a great video CADclip showing how Area Reinforcing works.

REVIT CADclip - Area Reinforcing

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

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RAC 2008 Color Schemes Demo

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I have to say, I never quite got on the band wagon for the 'Color Fill Schemes' features of REVIT......until now that is.

This is clearly a 'value add' service I now provide. It's so easy it will make your head spin.

It's 'all about' the 'Room' objects. Data in = Data out.

Listen closely now.....you can assign a Color Scheme as a property to the view. SO...Duplicate a view......assign a Color Scheme...bla...bla...bla.

Once you place the room objects (which get created in a single click) you can provide the room information. ie: Room Name, Number, Floor Finish, Base Finish, Ceiling finish, Wall Finish, Department, Occupant. Then that's it......the work is all done.

'Areas' are automatically calculated as you would expect and readily available. You can also use 'room seperators' where walls are not present but rooms change information.

The Color Schemes take over from there and they automatically assign the colors. Then you can re-assign any color you choose.

How would you like it colored up?

By department? By room name? By a set of user created area ranges? It's all up to you.

You can even add new system parameters to rooms through 'project parameters' to add in a field that does not come with the out of the box 'room' object.

Perhaps you want to sort / color a plan by 'lighting type' or 'heating source' or 'type of carpet' 'type of tile' anything you want.

Below is a link to a great video CADclip demonstrating these great Color Fill Schemes features.

REVIT Tutorial Video CADclip - Color Fill Scheme Demo

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

REVIT 2008 Shape Editing Roof Tools

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REVIT 2008 Architecure and Structure have made leaps of progress in the way of Roof, Floor and Slab tools.

"It's Warped" .....pun intended.

With these new 'Shape Editing' tools (shown below), the sky is the limit. As indicated they work with Roofs, Floors and Slabs.

With the Draw Points, Modify Sub Element, Draw Split Line and Pick Supports tools you can specify the relative elevation of points or edges on a roof, floor or slab.

It works just like the existing toposurface 'points' tool but for floors and roofs.....I think these REVIT people are really listening to us?!

The green nodes are the roof perimeter points, the blue nodes are user created and the red ones are active.

You can even use the good old ctrl+click to select more than one point or edge at a time.

The perimeter roof edges are green dashed lines and not really obvious in the image above.....but trust me, they are there and they are fabulious.

The REVIT Developers R O C K !

You must start with a flat roof, floor or slab and if it's a roof it cannot be attached to another roof but I'm here to tell you "it really works wonders on modeling flat sloped roofs".

You can however 'attach' walls to the top / underside of these warped roofs and floors. You can pick 'beam supports' as shape criteria and the floor, roof, slab will form a split line over the beam and create the slopes. The beam supports themselves can be sloped!

The image below says it all. 4 corners at 4 different elevations.

Outside these great new shape editing tools I really like the ability to provide a 'variable' thickness to perhaps...........a rigid insulation layer of a roof structure!

The image below shows the new Variable thickness option for a roof component layer. Only one layer can be variable as you would expect.

Then you can create a roof (or floor) that slopes on the top but is horizonal on the bottom even if there is only one component.

Below is a section of the result. YEAH !

Perhaps even take it a step further and use the new 'spot elevation' dimension to indicate the surface elevations anywhere you please. YES YES YES !

Below is a link to a great video CADclip explaining how to a model a sloping flat roof with a variable rigid insulation layer.

REVIT - Flat Roof with Tapered Insulation Layer
(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

REVIT Furniture Cost Schedule Tutorial

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I have had a few inquiries about getting 'costs' and 'total costs' quantified in a schedule. It's a little tricky so I thought I would create a video tutorial.

You start by filling in the 'cost' parameter (field) for the family. Then you create a schedule, select the catagory (furniture in this case) and add the fields you want to quantify such as cost, family type and floor level of the furniture item.

Then we use the Grand Total and Total Costs schedule properties to list the information.

Below is a link to a great CADclip explaining how to create a Furniture Schedule and Total up the costs.

Video Tutorial Link - REVIT - Furniture Cost Schedule

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

REVIT Mass Building Maker Tutorial

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Autodesk has provided us with the REVIT Building Maker tools to convert Mass Object faces to Walls, Roofs, Curtain Systems and Floors.........and maintain associativity.

The key is we have to make sure the Mass Object Family is of the Family Category > 'Mass'.

You can maintain two seperate 3D views to manage the Mass object and the new Building Components simultaneously. You can change or alter the Mass object and 'Remake' the building components and watch the model update instantly. It's like magic.

Below is a link to a great CADclip explaining how to use the 'Building Maker' tools.

Video Tutorial Link - REVIT - Building Maker Video

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

The REVIT Factory

Check out the REVIT Factory web site !

You can buy and / or sell revit family content and tutorials.

Products, Forums, Competitions, Resources, Support .......

REVIT Dependent Views - Plan Application

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All the REVIT 2008 products can take advantage of the new 'dependent view' tools.

Esentially, you can cut up a primary view into other smaller views while still keeping the connectivity. The smaller, dependant views are organized below the primary view n the Project Browser for convenient access.

The image above say's it all !

Below is a great CADclip link explaining how to use the new 'dependent view' in an elevational aspect.

REVIT - Dependent View CADclip - Plan Application

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

More info here > for Dependent Views and hiding objects

REVIT Dependent Views - Elevation Application

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All the REVIT 2008 products can take advantage of the new 'dependent view' tools.

Esentially, you can cut up a primary view into other smaller views while still keeping the connectivity. The smaller, dependant views are organized below the primary view n the Project Browser for convenient access.

The image above say's it all !

Below is a great CADclip link explaining how to use the new 'dependent view' in an elevational aspect.

REVIT - Dependent View CADclip - Elevation Application

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

More info here > for Dependent Views and hiding objects

Annotation Crop Region

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Have you ever tried to crop a view and the dimensions (or some of them) don't get cropped ?

Well REVIT introduced the 'Annotation Crop' region to solve this problem. The reason is: The objects that the dimensions or annotations are related to are still within the 'model crop' region even though the actual dimensions are not.

If you turn on the 'Annotation Crop' region you will see a new 'Green' crop region that will solve the problem.

By default the primary views in revit do not have the 'annotation crop' region turned on but it is completely available.

Below is a great CADclip link explaining how to use the new 'annotation crop' region.

REVIT - Annotation Crop Region CADclip

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

Over 300 REVIT Jobs posted here

It's starting to look like a good REVIT user has got wings ! ....what I mean by that is if you get yourself trained up on REVIT, learn how to manage worksets, learn to be able to make families and perhaps start to get a handle on the BIM aspect you can pick your job and location around the world. With the introduction of REVIT Structure and MEP to compliment the Architecture it's starting to gain some serious steam. And if my better judgement is correct I would say...a shortage of experienced users is in the making. Steve Stafford has created another great blog specifically for posting REVIT jobs and as you will see from the links below, the world is the limit. There is really nothing like having the skill set that allows you to travel the world. It's a great feeling ! For those of you who haven't jumped on the REVIT wave. . . . . . what on earth are you waiting for !! Here are some REVIT job sites you should bookmark. Steve Stafford's Blog http://www.revitjobs.blogspot.com/ REVIT City job postimngs http://www.revitcity.com/jobs.php/ 264 REVIT jobs posted here and more added every single day ! http://autocad.jobs.monster.com/jobsearch.asp?q=revit&re=0&sort=rv&tm=&sq=autocad&aj=revit You may also notice that Autodesk thenselves are looking for REVIT people !! Does that not send a bit of a message ? Get REVIT trained now from > CADclips

Country Style Porch Roof

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REVIT - Country Style Porch Roof - Video Tutorial

(click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and "save target as..." to download)

This is a tutorial that can be joyfully applied when you design your dream cottage from making so much money using REVIT !

In this tutorial we learn how to use the 'Roof By Extrusion' to instantly create the roof you see above.

You can further adjust the roof footprint by using the 'cut plan profile' tool.

Oh, I should mention . . I drew the rest of the house in under 5 minutes !

* Click HERE to read about 100's of REVIT jobs *

Roof with a Kicker

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REVIT - Roof Kicker - Video Tutorial

(click the link above to play or right click and "save target as..." to download the CADclip)

There are a couple ways to create the roof you see above. Both options explained below use two different roofs to accomplish the same task.

Option 1
You use two different roofs with different slopes. You create the lower roof by 'Footprint' then use a 'Cutoff Level' and 'Cutoff Offset' property to eliminating the top part of the roof. Then you create the upper roof by 'Foorprint', size it accordingly and align it vertically within the opening in the lower roof.

Option 2 (prefered method)
You also use two different roofs with different slopes. However for the lower roof we use a model 'Opening' to cut a hole in the roof. Then you create the upper roof by 'Footprint', size it accordingly and align it vertically within the opening in the lower roof. I find this my prefered method as it is simplier and easier to adjust. If you delete the 'Opening' the hole dissappears.

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REVIT Diagonal Wall Reveals

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REVIT provides a quick and easy way to create Vertical and Horizonatal Reveals and Sweeps but creating diagonal or 'non linear' sweeps and reveals is not so obvious.

Below is a link to a 10 min. CADclip explaining how to create a diagonal or 'non linear' wall reveal or sweep.

Once you go thru this lesson you can apply this method to create all kinds or 'irregular' reveals or sweeps.

REVIT - Diagonal Wall Reveal - Video Tutorial

((click to play or right click and "save target as..." to download)

* Click HERE to read about 100's of REVIT jobs *

Plan Region - View Range Tip

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Can you see the difference ?

I am a little embarassed to say I was down right puzzled with a wee Plan Region / View Range problem over the last week or two.

Specifically in regards to windows. I was able to get the window opening to show in the plan region but not with the window frame, glass and sash detail to display.

I revisited the area off and on each time I opened the model, always frustrated with no success. Yes, I was even contemplating drawing in detail lines to represent the window frame, glass and sash that would not show up....aaaaaaahhhhhh !

I had stretched the Plan Region boundary before to get doors to display properly because the door panel would not show up.......and THEN THE LIGHT BULB CAME ON (I love it when the light bulb comes on). I quickly panned over to the window area and stretched the Plan Region boundary in width just a micro smiggin (even though the window was already completely within the plan region boundary) and SHAZAM ! It worked. Two words....Miller Time.

So I figure......I can't be the only one who has had this problem.

Just below is a 4 min. CADclip to explain the deal.

(I keep refering to the 'plan region' boundary as the 'view range' boundary...sorry about that...they kind of work hand in hand)

REVIT - Plan Region / View Range Tip - Video Tutorial

((click to play or right click and "save target as..." to download)

Wall Girt System

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Below is a link to another great video CADclip tutorial and some additional notes on how to use the REVIT Structure 'Beam System' tool to place Wall Girts between columns.

REVIT Structure - Wall Girt System Video Tutorial

click the link above to play the CADclip or right click and 'save target as..' to download

Above is an image of the way it would be used.

Below are two more images demonstrating how you can change the rotation and girt type while keeping the 'system' intact.

1. We start with a basic Structure of Columns and beams.
2. Then we add in a new Reference Plane, in Plan view and name it Girt System.
3. Then we open an elevation view perpendicular to the reference plane, looking directly at the proposed Girt wall.
4. Then from the Modelling tab of the design bar we start the Beam System tool.
5. We specifiy the new reference plane as our working plane.
6. We check the beam system properties and specify the beam / girt type, layout style / spacing etc.
7. We sketch in the beam (girt) system outline and clck finish.
8. Then we can control the overall girt location by manipulating the location of the reference plane.
9. We can edit the beam (girt) system outline, spacing and direction.
10. We can change individual girt types and rotation angles.
11. We can move a grid line and see REVIT's parametric technology at work.
12. From then on it's just a matter of playing with the new beam (girt) system to your liking.

I use a c-channel girt but you can make your own 'Z' girt shape if you want and use that instead.
Too easy.....REVIT .....%$#^& ......ROCKS !

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Girder Joist Purlin Assignment Rules

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I'm on a REVIT Structural kick right now and quite enjoying it !

I know most of you already had this figured out but not being a structural 'designer' I was a little confused about the 'Structural Usage' property of the term 'Beam'.

Well now I have it figured out and thought I'd pass on what I learned.

1. Girders, Joists and Purlins are all 'Beams'
2. First of all if you leave the Usage as Automatic REVIT will infact assign the correct usage.
3. The structural usage determines the 'linestyle' for 'course detail' visibility. (note the line weights and styles above)
4. The Structual usage can also be specified in a schedule.
5. If you click on on the beam after the fact and check the 'structural usage' property it will tell you what has been assigned and you can change it.
6. REVIT assumes the usage based on what the beam is being connected to at each end.

Here's the rules in a nut shell

Column to Column = Girder
Column to Girder = Girder
Girder to Girder = Joist
Column to Joist = Joist
Joist to Josit = Purlin
Joist to Purlin = Purlin
Purlin to Purlin = Purlin
Column to Purlin = Purlin

ie: Girders are the big ones and Purlins are the small ones.

If you're not sure, try drawing a bunch of Columns and Beams using the 'Automatic' usage then check the beam properties and see what REVIT has assigned !

That's it......next topic.........

R E V I T.. really does ..R O C K !

.

REVIT Structure - Sloped Flat Roof System

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View the Video CADclip link below

REVIT Structure - Sloped Flat Roof

click the link above to play or right click and 'save target as' to download.

Ok, I've started digging back into REVIT Structure and from the words of an old structural drafter 'I am very very impressed'. I love this stuff !

I had the opportunity to use REVIT Structure in the past but then I had to drop it due to other workloads.

The first thing that I wanted to model, (and what most structural engineers want to see) is some of that cool 3D stuff that the architects have been creating.

What better subject material to test the application with than a Sloped Flat Roof Model.

As you can see from these images of the model I created in 10 minutes,

it's too easy.

Then in true REVIT fashion, once you create the model, it is fully parametric. So if you move a grid line the entire model updates and all the slopes adjust. Then of course you have 'UNLIMITED' parametric views and sections that you can extract from the model.

Then it just becomes fun.

The interesting thing is, this is available in

REVIT Building / Architecture

as well as REVIT Structure.

* Click HERE to read about 100's of REVIT jobs *