Month: October 2011

M-SIX , Phil Read and VEO cloud-based platform

Luke Johnson

At RTC Australia this year, Revit Legend Phil Read spoke to some of us (in quite a mysterious and tantalizing way) about a new project he was working on…and it looks like this may be it:

M-SIX is building VEO™, a cloud-based platform for use in the design, construction, and operation of buildings and other structures. 

We have partnered with some of the largest AEC firms in the United States to help us understand their needs and to stress test VEO with large, complex projects. In addition to refining our technology, we are paying a great deal of attention to the “anthropology” – the collaborative workflow. 

When connected inefficiently, the tools used in Building Information Modeling add as much friction and complexity as they do valuable insights. Connect these capabilities with a smooth, realtime workflow in which all decision makers have the information they need when they need it – then you will have a solution. 

Then you will have VEO.

via
M-SIX: Overview | LinkedIn

How do you Remove Paint in Revit 2012?

Luke Johnson

In previous versions of Revit, you could ‘re-paint’ surfaces using the By Category material.

However, this is not available in Revit 2012.

Instead, you need to use the drop-down arrow associated with the Paint tool – this will reveal the ‘Remove Paint‘ button (see image below).

Also, note that I have moved the Modify ribbon panel to be next to the Home panel.  Do you know how to do this?

Just hold Ctrl and click and drag the Ribbon Panel title to put it where you want it…

The new, free Rondo App for iPhone & iPad

Luke Johnson

Rondo is a company involved in the manufacture and supply of a wide range of lighter gauge roll formed steel products and systems, primarily for the construction industry in Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

They have released an iPhone / iPad app:

Free to download from the Apple Store to your iPhone and/or iPad, the Rondo App is a practical tool that allows you to;
  • Work out what Rondo products are needed for a project
  • Calculate maximum loads and spans for a wall or ceiling design
  • Determine the most economical Rondo Steel Stud Wall Framing System design possible for a particular layout and the next best solution
  • Estimate what quantity of Rondo products are needed and the pack size they come in
  • Find out the radius required, sweep angle and length of arc for curved designs
  • Email yourself or colleagues a copy of the wall or ceiling design
  • Locate the nearest place to source Rondo products, either by current location using GPS technology or by running a search
  • Simply email your calculated results directly to a Rondo stockist to receive a quote, click to call or get directions using Google maps

The Rondo App is available to download now from the Apple Store on your iPhone/iPad by simply running a search for “Rondo” or by clicking here.

via http://www.rondo.com.au/Corporate/News/ThenewfreeRondoAppforiPhoneiPad.aspx





Upgrading RVT to 2012 makes Linked Imports disappear (update)

Luke Johnson

This happened to me recently on a very big workshared project.  Turning off the Crop of the view made the links reappear, but when I zoomed in, they disappeared again!

The solution?  Turn off the Far Clipping for the view in question.  This made the Linked Import reappear and act in a predictable manner.  Most of the views I’m working with already have Display Model set to ‘Do not display’, so it doesn’t cause graphical problems for me to turn off the Far Clip.

This is why upgrading large projects to the next version of Revit is scary to me.  I thought waiting to Web Update 2 would be safe – but it still wasn’t!

Now I need to go through lots of views that have Linked DWGs and check if they are ‘broken’ and need the Far Clip to be turned off…

UPDATE
Some more information:

  1. The views in question seem to Print Preview and Print correctly, suggesting this is some sort of graphical problem?
  2. The Linked CAD Import is selectable, but not visible.  Once selected, it is shown highlighted like any other element.
  3. Not all views are affected, only certain ones (most affected seem to the Linked Imports living in Detail Views and Sections).  Drafting Views appear to be immune.
  4. If no one else has this problem, I may have to look into my hardware configuration.
  5. If a file ALREADY had No Clip set, the Import may STILL not display.  Toggled the view to ‘Clip with Line’ and then back to ‘No Clip’ – and the Import reappeared!
  6. New Revit session has no effect
  7. New Local from Central has no effect
  8. Synchronise has no effect
  9. Reloading the affected Import has no effect

See video below (to prove that what I’m saying is true)

Autodesk and Gehry Technologies Working Together – using Revit

Luke Johnson
“Autodesk sees joining forces with Gehry Technologies’ consultancy services as a powerful way to help AEC firms transition to a BIM process,” said Jay Bhatt, senior vice president, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Solutions, Autodesk. “Our business relationship is designed to take advantage of our strengths as world leaders and will add additional momentum to the adoption of BIM as a process throughout the AEC industry, and the use of Autodesk’s comprehensive end-to-end portfolio of BIM solutions.”

Under the terms of the business relationship, Autodesk will provide Gehry Technologies’ consulting division with extensive support and training in using Autodesk BIM solutions, including the Autodesk Building Design Suite, the Revit family of products, Autodesk Navisworks, AutoCAD Civil 3D and Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC. As a part of a comprehensive agreement, Autodesk has made an equity investment in Gehry Technologies.
 

via
Gehry Technologies – Autodesk and Gehry Technologies Working Together

Image from Gehry Technologies

Story via
Adventures in the World of BIM

Three years of What Revit Wants

Luke Johnson

Today is the 21 October 2011, exactly 3 years after I started publishing this blog.  I want to thank you all for following me and for offering some great comments over the past few years.  I thought you may be interested in some statistics for What Revit Wants:

Blogger page views all time: 293,141

Statcounter page views: 297,551

Feedburner subscribers: 739

Twitter followers (@lukeyjohnson): 118

Facebook likes: 54

Blogger followers: 30

LinkedIn followers: 245

Technorati authority: 415

Here is a link to my first blog post, 21 October 2008 (along with a partial quote):
What Revit Wants: If you are interested in BIM, Revit or IT, you’ve come to the right place!
“I am a keen Revit user from Australia, and I would love to share the things I have learned.


As you know, Revit can be quite quirky and temperamental. However, if you really give Revit what it wants, it will reward you by operating in a predictable, productive manner.

This blog will give you specific, brief tips on how you can give Revit what it wants…”

You will notice that in the above-mentioned post, I give credit to the major blogs that helped me to get to know Revit – Revit OpEd (Steve Stafford) and BimBoom (Greg Arkin).

So, if you want to stay on the cutting edge and be more productive, then follow one of the leading Revit blogs worldwide:
What Revit Wants

Whether you are just starting out or you are a Revit veteran, you will find something helpful on this blog.  And tell your Revit friends about it!

Masking the un-maskable

Luke Johnson

Some objects in Revit are very difficult to mask over.  However, sometimes you just really need that quick method of masking something to save yourself hours of work.

Here is how you do it:

  1. Go to the Sheet view
  2. Make some text
  3. Set the text Type to Opaque and make the color just one very small step above pure white (253-253-253), otherwise Revit will make your ‘white’ look like ‘black’
  4. Draw some full stops (periods) to fill in the text box
  5. Put it on top of what you want to mask

In the video below, I show how this method works to mask a Color Fill Legend.

There is another method that is slightly more involved – you can put a shared Generic Annotation family with a Masking Region into a Drafting View and put that on the sheet.  Check out this link, where I reposted this method from The Revit Clinic.

Codeless Revit Customization – October 2011 AUGIWorld

Luke Johnson

The October 2011 AUGIWorld magazine contains an article titled ‘Codeless Revit Customization’.  You might think that it is about customizing the UI and Option settings.  However, it is actually a how-to guide on developing your own Template, including workflows for incorporating General Notes and adding typical CAD details.

The author, Ibrahim Hakki, also gives some tips on presenting your model to a Client and setting up Sheets in your Template to speed up documentation.

He also makes plenty of references to Star Trek, and some to Star Wars (which do your prefer?).  Spock and Kirk both get a mention.

Direct Link to article – http://issuu.com/augi/docs/aw201110hr/35

Download links for AUGIWorld October 2011:
Low Resolution PDF (5.3mb)
High Resolution PDF (50.3mb)

Issues | AUGI

NATSPEC BIM Portal

Luke Johnson

The review process for the NATSPEC National BIM Guide has been completed and it is now available for use.
Learn more about the project or download the NATSPEC National BIM Guide document set v1.0. [390 KB]
The associated NATSPEC BIM Object/Element Matrix can be downloaded separately here. [4 MB]

NATSPEC is a specification framework that is widely used here in Australia.  I received an email from Mark Cronin today that alerted me to the significant number of BIM related resources they have developed or facilited.

The main portal link is:
NATSPEC BIM Portal

On the projects page you can find links to a number of other resources, such as:
NATSPEC BIM Scheduling project
Start date: 2010 Status: Complete
NATSPEC undertook this project as an initial response to subscribers’ requests to develop a standardised Australian practice for the exchange of digital building information. The goal of the project is to recommend a consistent, systematic approach to allocating properties to BIM objects to facilitate the generation of useful schedules.
View pages about the project or download the project report.

Further information on BIM scheduling can be found at the Resources page

buildingSMART BIM survey
Start date: 2010 Status: Complete
NATSPEC hosted a survey on current patterns of use of BIM in Australia as part of the economic study commissioned by the Australian Government’s Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC) to examine the potential for BIM to improve the productivity of the building sector. (See BEIIC BIM Economic study.)
See a summary of the survey results in Chapter 5 of the BEIIC study report . Click on link at bottom of page to download

Thanks again to Mark Cronin for the heads-up on this one!