Another OBJ Exporter for Revit – addin for download

Luke Johnson

 A long while back, I posted about an OBJ Exporter for Revit by Jeremy Tammik. Looks like there is another way of doing this now, and it has been released for Revit 2014 and 2015. The purpose behind this addin is to allow easy import to Blender for rendering – but it could be used for many other things too.

>>Download ZIP File<< – Version 1.8.1 – Revit 2014 & 2015

Main page at Ingelgreen:
OBJ Exporter for Revit – free plugin – New v1.8 « INGLEGREEN.com – BIM/Revit and Architectural IT in Bournemouth and Southampton


A free Revit 2014/2015 add-in to export Projects and Families to OBJ format. The OBJ files have been tested with 3ds Max Design 2014/2015, Blender and Octane Render.

Heads-up from Punto Revit:


Here’s the link to the zip file containing instructions and .dll and .addin manifest
via
Punto Revit: Free plug-in OBJ Exporter for Revit

Copying RVT Links between Revit files

Luke Johnson

Let’s say you have 15 RVT links in FileA, and you want to copy them into FileB. Revit doesn’t usually want you to have two instances of the same linked file loaded into two different open files in a single instance of Revit (that was a mouthful!) 

However, we need to work in the same instance of Revit to be able to copy/paste. So, here is how you can do it (relatively reliably):

  1. Open FileA.rvt
  2. Open FileB.rvt
  3. In FileA.rvt, Select all of the Revit links that you want to copy (easiest in a 3D view)
  4. Switch to a Plan view and Ctrl+C
  5. Still in FileA.rvt, open Manage Links dialog and unload all of these links that you are copying
  6. Switch to FileB.rvt, and go to a Plan view that matches the one in step 4
  7. Modify – Paste – Aligned to Current View
  8. Even though they are unloaded in FileA, the important stuff is in the Clipboard in memory, so Revit can still paste properly into FileB, and you don’t have a “conflict” of the file being loaded in two files at once
  9. Save FileB, close FileA without saving (or reload the links etc)

There you go, you have learned how to copy unloaded RVT links. Enjoy!

(Note: this was tested on Revit 2013 Update Release 3)

IFC Exporter updates for Revit – July 2014

Luke Johnson

IFC Exporter for Revit 2014 (v3.11):
http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3aifcexporterforrevit2014%3aen

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2014 (v2.11):
http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3arevitifcexportalternateui2014%3aen

IFC for Revit 2015 (v15.1):
http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3aifc2015_windows32and64%3aen

Updates from the previous version are listed below.  Please upgrade to the newest version!

If you do not wish to receive upgrade notices, please reply and I will remove you from the mailing list.

NOTES:
1.       IFC Exporter for Revit 2013 will no longer be getting regular updates.  IFC Exporter for Revit 2014 will continue to do so for the next year

via email from Angel Velez

Imported CAD file does not respect view depth and simply shows the whole element in Section views

Luke Johnson

There are two additional recommendations I would make to the Autodesk solution below: use a Generic Model inplace family, and the import can be placed on an additional Subcategory to allow for easier control over visibility in the project environment.

Here is the Autodesk solution:

Issue:

You want to display cut 3D drawing models in section views. Revit displays the entire drawing without regard to cutting plane, both in section and floor plan views. 

 

Causes:

Revit cannot currently display cut 3D drawing models in section views.

Solution:

  1. In AutoCAD, run EXPORTTOAUTOCAD to export a DWG file.
  2. Import or link the DWG file into an in-place family.

Support page:
3D drawing is not being cut in section or elevation in Revit | Revit Products | Autodesk Knowledge Network

Managing Tags with Dynamo

Luke Johnson

Konrad has posted a video along with Dynamo nodes to demonstrate the management of tags based on their host type. Fire rated walls receive a certain tag, while non-fire rated receive a different one.

This is just one example showing that Dynamo isn’t just good for form creation. It has a legitimate role among the Python / Ruby / vanilla macro / API addin realm of Revit modification and customization.

Downloads at:
Revit/Dynamo | archi-lab

Original post:
Managing Family Types with Dynamo | archi-lab

Free Basic Video Introduction to Revit

Luke Johnson

Al Gore has posted 2.5 hours of free Revit tutorials for beginners over at:
Learn REVIT – REVIT FAMILIES AND COMPONENTS

He provides these starter files:

 and describes how to navigate and manipulate the model starting from here.

The videos include more advanced topics as your proceed through the series, including items related to documentation (not just modelling).

According to Al, over they years they have:
“put together a strategy, from many different sources, on how to draft in Revit. Now we have created a system to teach people that strategy. Through teaching hundreds of students and many professional we understand their sticking points, where they go wrong, and what they struggle with. So for the beginner in Revit I am very happy with what we have put together and think it will be of great value.”

My Federated Model Streamer Idea – Could part of the answer be in Revit 2015 External Reference API? IExternalResourceServer?

Luke Johnson

My idea from 4 months ago:

So, maybe its not Glue… with the benefit of current knowledge, maybe its Project Skyscraper, or some combination of these. But the External Reference possibility starts to make some of these things truly achievable. Watch this space!

The post from The Building Coder, 1 July 2014:
The Building Coder: Referenced Files as a Service

My tweet:

Converting a SAT file to IFC for Import to Revit and Navisworks and Exploding to individual forms (better element hierarchy)

Luke Johnson

This can be done with AutoCAD MEP 2015, or Architecture, or similar verticals that have the IFCEXPORT command.

  1. Open AutoCAD MEP
  2. New DWG file
  3. IMPORT -> select SAT file
  4. IFCEXPORT
  5. Open IFC in Revit

The advantage of doing this over importing the SAT directly to a Generic Model family is that the IFC method will result in individual forms for each bit of the SAT file. If there are 1200 forms, you will get 1200 families in Revit. This, in turn, will export to Navisworks with this level of element hierarchy (instead of just one big imported SAT element).

This will also result in higher granularity of clashes when using the converted SAT via IFC method (more forms to clash against).

You probably know that you can attempt to explode a SAT in a Revit family, but I find that sometimes unsupported elements disappear using this method… so I like my way via AutoCAD a bit better at this stage.