Using Civil3D to increase your Topography resolution in Revit

Luke Johnson

You receive a DWG file from a surveyor, and you need to get it into Revit.  You go through all the usual cleanup steps.  You have purged, scaled, done a write-block, audited.  You link the DWG into Revit, create the topo – and it looks like rubbish.

If your survey data has some severe gradient, perhaps relating to a steep retaining wall on the site, you may find that Revit does not model it ‘smoothly’.  Here is an example

The problem is likely related to Revit’s triangulation method for topo surfaces.  You get weird flat surfaces where things should look much smoother and more organic.

Here is a quick workflow that I have used to add some realism to a survey DWG without sacrificing accuracy (note – this method uses AutoCAD Civil3D, you can download a trial):

  1. Open the survey DWG in Civil3D
  2. Create a new Surface (Right click Surface in the Toolspace – Create Surface…)
  3. Add the objects to surface (can be easier to isolate the necessary layers first).  To do this, expand the Surface node, then the Definition node, then select the Drawing Objects entry.  Right-click and choose Add…  You may want to add Contours separately using the Contours node.
  4. Edit Surface Style
  5. Contours – Contour Interval.  Change contour interval to something very small – I find 10mm works well
  6. Turn on the Contour layers for the Surface in: Surface Style, Display.  Also, set a new Layer to be the ‘layer’ for the Surface Contours (major and minor)
  7. Extract the newly created contour objects (select the TIN Surface and click ‘Extract Objects’).  To make my site look better in Revit, I actually had to export the Triangles as well.
  8. Select the extracted Contours / Triangles and save them out to a new DWG file (you can use write-block or the inbuilt Export command in C3D). You will need to take some geometry from the source file (like boundaries) so that you can locate these new contours in your Revit model.  Or keep them in the same file with the new layers you made in step 6.
  9. Import this new ‘high resolution’ contour plan into Revit
  10. Use these contours to make your topography (select only the appropriate layers when using Import Instance while creating Revit toposurface).
Lots of contours here – thanks Civil3D

The result?  Something with a much more ‘organic’ appearance:

Better Revit surface (Realistic View, Edges off, Subregion applied)

Obviously, this method has a couple of caveats:

  • it will take a bit of processing power, both on the Civil3D side and on the Revit side
  • once you have your high resolution data in Revit, it will mean you are dealing with lots (thousands) of points in the topo – you have to decide if the nicer looking surface is ‘worth it’ to you 

Also, using my Quadro FX580, if there were too many points, my computer would basically just hard-crash to a BSOD – save often!  I ended up switching to software emulation (turning off Hardware Acceleration in Revit).

      A very quick way to export a very clean RVT file

      Luke Johnson

      You may want to do a very aggressive cleanup of your Revit file, getting rid of all Views while retaining all 3D elements as proper Revit elements.  You can use the ‘Save to New File’ function to do this. (Note: when I say aggressive, I mean it – use at your own risk, and be sure to verify the contents of the output file).  Thanks to the revitogbim blog for this tip.

      This is the trick: when you right-click a 3D view, the Save to New File option is grayed out, but when you put it on a sheet – its back!

      Here’s how to do it:

      1. Create a Sheet and place a 3D view on it.  The 3D view has to ‘contain’ all of the elements you want to keep in the new file.
      2. In the Project Browser, right-click on the created sheet and select “Save to New File …” (it will take a while as it collects the elements, then it will prompt you to save the RVT file somewhere)
      3. Open the exported file and Transfer Project Standards for Line Weights / Patterns / Styles and also Object Styles (and anything else you want)

      Views in the resultant file:

         (the following lists are not exhaustive)
        Things that are removed:

        • Design Options
        • Floor Plans – well actually, the only view that remains is the ‘export’ view and the Default 3D view
        • Everything else that was unused or not visible

        Things that are retained:

        • Floor levels
        • The 3D Revit elements that you could ‘see’
        • RVT links if they were visible in the 3D view
        • the Sheet that was exported

        To make things look right, you will probably need to Transfer Project Standards for things like:

        • Line Weights / Patterns / Styles
        • Object Styles

         For my test case, I also turned off all Annotation Categories in the original 3D view, and I scaled it so it would fit the sheet.

        This workflow and the basic steps were from:
        Translated version
        of
        http://revitogbim.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/model-export.html

        Should a video card for Revit cost $100 or $1000?

        Luke Johnson

        RFO Co-founder iru69 recently (14 October) updated his very detailed post on video cards and Revit at:

        Revit Hardware : Video Graphic Cards

        I recommend that you read this prior to investing in a new graphics card for use with Revit.

        The post even includes an FAQ section – here is a little sample:

        “Autodesk/my reseller/unnamed CAD expert says I should only use “Professional” (workstation/CAD) cards with Revit. But then I read here that lots of people use and recommend “Gaming” cards for Revit. Who is right?”
        Despite what you may have been told, consumer (gaming) video cards can work just as well with Revit as professional video cards.

        “Someone told me that SLI or CrossFire will double the speed!”
        SLI and CrossFire are great for the latest video games, but it’s of no use at all for Revit. At least it’s never been demonstrated. If you want to give it a try, be my guest. 😉

        Don’t forget about Autodesk’s recommended hardware list page:
        http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?id=18844534&siteID=123112

        Revit 2013 Update 2 download links

        Luke Johnson
        EDIT: Updated Links

        Note – the Enhancements List shows a lot of improvements to stability, so this Update comes highly recommended.

        Revit OneBox / RVT (for Suites) Update 2

        Revit 2013 UR2 (32-bit) (exe – 59699Kb)
        Revit 2013 UR2 (64-bit) (exe – 83079Kb)
        Readme (select language version):

        English (htm – 32Kb)

        Enhancements Documentation (select language version):

        English (pdf – 206Kb)

        via
        Autodesk – Design & Creation Suites Support – Revit 2013 Update Release 2

        Revit Architecture 2013 Update 2

        Revit Architecture 2013 UR2 (32-bit) (exe – 59699Kb)
        Revit Architecture 2013 UR2 (64-bit) (exe – 83079Kb)
        Readme (select language version):

        English (htm – 32Kb)

        Enhancements Documentation (select language version):

        English (pdf – 202Kb)

        via
        Autodesk – Autodesk Revit Architecture Services & Support – Revit Architecture 2013 Update Release 2

        Revit Structure 2013 Update 2

        Revit Structure 2013 UR2 (32-bit) (exe – 59699Kb)
        Revit Structure 2013 UR2 (64-bit) (exe – 83079Kb)
        Readme (select language version):

        English (htm – 34Kb)

        Enhancements Documentation (select language version):

        English (pdf – 203Kb)

        via
        Autodesk – Design & Creation Suites Support – Revit Structure 2013 Update Release 2

        Revit MEP 2013 Update 2

        Revit MEP 2013 UR2 (32-bit) (exe – 59699Kb)
        Revit MEP 2013 UR2 (64-bit) (exe – 83079Kb)
        Readme (select language version):

        English (htm – 32Kb)

        Enhancements Documentation (select language version):

        English (pdf – 203Kb)

        via
        Autodesk – Autodesk Revit MEP Services & Support – Revit MEP 2013 Update Release 2

        Older post:
        It doesn’t seem to be ‘official’ yet, but the Update 2 download links are live at:

        Revit Architecture 2013 Update 2
        http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/rac2013ur2.exe

        Revit Structure 2013 Update 2
        http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/rst2013ur2.exe

        Revit MEP 2013 Update 2
        http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/rme2013ur2.exe

        Revit OneBox / RVT (for Suites) Update 2
        http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/rvt2013ur2.exe

        For Revit OneBox (Building Design Suite version), the link should also eventually appear at:
        http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/index?siteID=123112&id=2334435&linkID=16831210#section21
        when it is available (I will also update this post when there is an official suite version Update 2 link)

        Heads-up via:
        Revit OpEd: Watch for Web Update 2

        A message from Autodesk

        Luke Johnson

        Do you want to join the Revit User Experience team and you have very specific experience in construction modeling?  Autodesk asked me to post the message below the bar:
        You are an expert in modeling for construction. You pursued this career path because you are energized by complex problems, passionate about getting the details right, and convinced that technology can shape our environment. You are a designer at heart. You are able to lead and also follow. You want to work collaboratively with a team of equally committed, talented, and driven professionals.

        If this is you, we’d like you to consider joining our team as a user experience designer for Revit, focused on modeling for construction. Don’t worry if you’ve never written a line of code or designed a software application, if you are the right candidate, we can teach you what you need to know user experience design.

        Are you excited by this opportunity? If so, you can review the full position posting here. Please send a statement of interest and resume to chris.yanchar@autodesk.com. Want to wow us? Send us a link to some work of which you are really proud and tell us about your role in making it real.

        Native Revit can make PAT files too – you just have find them …

        Luke Johnson

        I previously posted a way to generate PAT files from an exported DWG file.  One of the comments to that post gives a great alternative method – so unique it actually made me smile.

        You may have noticed that when you export a DWG file, Revit temporarily creates PAT files in the export folder, and then it deletes them, just leaving DWG and PCP files.

        To recover the deleted PAT files, you can simply use the program Recuva!

        I’m not sure how well this works for network shares or NAS devices, but it should definitely work if you export the DWG to a local drive and immediately recover the PAT files (before doing anything else).

        Pretty tricky huh?

        Image from http://ricardocc.com/

        via
        Recuperar os ficheiros *.PAT gerados pelo Revit | Truques e Dicas | Revit | Blog

        A really small piece of Revit pi

        Luke Johnson

        This post was prompted by this from Darren Snook.

        Firstly, let’s see actual pi to a decent level of precision:
        3.1415926535897932384626433

        Can Revit handle high precision pi calculations?

        As a test, let’s use a circle with a diameter of 2000mm (radius of 1m).  Using the above precision, the area should be equal to pi in m².

        Make a new project in Revit, no template, Metric.  Draw a Filled Region with radius of 1000mm.  The Properties Palette reports the area as:

        3.142m²

        Ok, obviously we need to increase the precision of Area in our Revit project.  Into:

        • Manage – Project Units – Area.  
        • Set Units to square millimetres, Rounding – Custom, Rounding increment:
          0.000000000001 (I couldn’t get Revit to accept any higher – it would just say ‘Invalid Input’, which I take to mean “what you’re asking for is a bit ridiculous”.)

        Properties box for the filled region NOW reports:
        3141592.854703690900 mm²
        3141592.653589793238 (same amount of digits from the definition of pi)

        The percentage of inaccuracy between the two?
        0.0000000640165425247805 % (the Revit value is slightly larger)

        This was a value difference of 0.201113897662 mm²

        However, I am prepared to accept the above level of precision, at least in 99.999994% of my projects 🙂

        The lesson?  If you are going to use Filled Regions for areas AND you want good precision, make sure you adjust your Project Units accordingly.

        In response to:
        Revit @ Waterman: Revit Needs to Go Back to School


        Turn Revit drawings into hand sketches

        Luke Johnson

        Sometimes, you may want to make your Revit drawings look more like hand sketches – either to make your design look somewhat less concrete than it may already be, or simply for presentation purposes.

        I have previously posted about moving data from Revit into Autodesk Impression.  But to be honest, I find Impression 3 to be a bit crashy, and I also find it a bit of a pain to be super-disciplined with scale and layers.  In any case, I wanted an easier way to make my Revit drawings look sketchy.

        Enter Photoshop.  The idea is simple – export an image from Revit, apply some sketchy filters, then print or export to PDF.  But we also want to make it easy to update the drawings if necessary.  So, we use Smart Objects.

        By turning a layer into a Smart Object, we can apply Filters on a ‘live’ basis.  Then, when we replace the contents of the original source layer, the Filters automatically re-apply themselves.

        Here is quick step by step:

        1. Export image from Revit.  I use PNG, 100%, 300dpi.
        2. Open image in Photoshop.  Save as PSD.
        3. Right click layer and Convert to Smart Object.
        4. Go to Filter – Filter Gallery…
        5. Choose Smudge Stick.  My settings are shown in the image below.  Other filters that (I think) look interesting are: Fresco, Cutout, Conte Crayon and Rough Pastels.  You may need to set your Foreground / Background colours to make these work properly.
        6. I also used Image – Adjustments – Variations to tweak the colours a bit.
        7. Save as PDF – done!

        Now, to update the image after altering your Revit model, just:

        1. Re-export the PNG (same settings)
        2. In Photoshop, right click the layer and Replace Contents…
        3. Done!

        Tip – choosing a font that looks handwritten can also go a long way…


        Some links that you may find helpful:
        Turn Revit into a hand sketch drawing

        RevitCity.com | Hand-drawn effect

        How to Render AutoCAD drawings for Presentations 

        Vico BIM Webinars for free viewing

        Luke Johnson

        The Fridays with Vico webinars are a free, educational series geared towards general contractors and owners… topics range from BIM trends, to case studies and best practices, to new concepts for the industry.

        For example, the BIM Master Class Series:  The series grows progressively more difficult with complex theory, methodologies, and best practices.  The goal of the BIM Master Class series is simple: instruct as many construction professionals as possible about the many facets of BIM.  

        Unfortunately, you do need to fill out a registration form to view the recorded webinars, but you don’t have to provide credit card details or pay for anything.  After entering registration details, you will receive a link to a streaming ASX file, which in turn links to a WMV via the MMS protocol.

        If you want to store an offline copy (ie. download the WMV), use SDP Downloader from:
        The SDP Multimedia website for ASF download and MMS protocol specification
        (you will probably need to set protocol to HTTP in Setup)

        Here are the links to the Master Class Series:
        BIM 101: this course examines the progression from 2D drawings to the 3D model to the 4D schedule and the 5D estimate.  We also look at layouting solutions from Trimble and highlight how to use the preconstruction work as production control on the jobsite.
        BIM 201: in this course we examined the subject of coordination.  Instead of concentrate on 3D clash detection, we introduced the idea of coordination in time and place.  This nuance is a very important distinction which helps tremendously with coordination priorities.
        BIM 301: BIM contracts are starting to work their way into the legal lexicon and this primer on the ConsensusDOCs and AIA 202 is essential. Contracts play a central role in defining deliverables, interactions with project stakeholders, and risk obligations for commercial building projects.  Special guest speaker, Richard Lowe, Partner from Duane Morris LLP and chair of the AGC BIMForum Legal Subforum, delivers the course content.
        BIM 401:  focused on the theme of model-based scheduling, this course highlighted flowline theory, a visualization of the crews by location by date.  We addressed major themes for Schedulers: location breakdown structures; task lists and logic; quantities in locations; task criticality and prioritization; risks; production control measures; contractor meeting procedures; and resource and production rate commitments.
        BIM 501: model-based estimating starts with a robust construction quantity takeoff.  With these construction-caliber quantities, GCs can drive precise estimates and schedules.  And with the easy visualization the model affords, estimators can quickly see which elements have been costed already and which elements still need attention.  And it also allows Owners to see which/how areas of the building are contributing to the total cost of the building. 
        BIM 502: even if the bid is due in two weeks, a massing model can still provide a great basis for the Conceptual Estimate.  This conceptual estimate can then be linked to the model progression specification.  Now the estimate can evolve alongside the design.  The “marketing bid” now becomes cost plan version one and numerous alternate cost plans can be quickly created to offer the Owner insight to the design iterations.  This data-driven decision making replaces 2D spreadsheet estimating.
        BIM for Executives: the series concludes with a session specifically for senior managers. This course puts the dollars and cents around the technology, methodology, and personnel.  As company’s embrace BIM and train their staff to use these new tools they find out, often too late, that there is a new language they need to learn and that they need to be prepared to translate for their clients. Senior managers, though they may never use the software or delve into the services, need to know what BIM does, how BIM works, and most importantly – how to sell it to clients and colleagues.

        See the rest of the free webinars at:
        Fridays with Vico | BIM Webinars | Vico Software

        Also on Youtube at:
        http://www.youtube.com/user/FridaysWithVico/videos?flow=grid&view=1