Dealing with the Orange Voids showing in your Model

Luke Johnson

I worked with a Structural Engineer recently who used to model Void Forms in his Structural Columns so that he could “cut” them into walls and other geometry.

However, this created a bit of an issue when the Structural model was linked into the Architectural – namely, orange voids would occasionally show up, because they were not cutting anything.  Obviously, this type of scenario is not ideal, but it is actually quite common to come across modelling practices that associates or other companies use that don’t really fit directly into your own workflow. In those situations, you often need to find a workaround, or perhaps discuss this issue to try and come to a compromise.

In this case, the engineer recommended this course of action:
I just noticed some of the columns have the yellow voids displaying, this is a Revit gremlin that creeps in overtime and needs to be fixed every few days or before issuing but I forgot. I can fix it and re send alternatively if you have started working with the file, it is as simple as editing the family changing a parameter and reloading It, essentially doing a regen. The other option is to select all rectangular columns and change the parameter ‘void offset’ to say 2.

How do you deal with differing modelling practices?  Have you been able to solve these issues, or have they become permanent headaches?  At Virtual Built, it is our primary goal to make teams function more efficiently throughout the entire BIM process.  Do you have a problem that needs solving?  Or do you have a great workflow solution that you would like to share?  Feel free to contact us.  Let’s collaborate!

http://bit.ly/MuT5fT

Using DataTools, Excel and Appearance Profiler together

Luke Johnson

This forum post by John Lipp is definitely worth a read:
http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Navisworks-General/changing-part-color-in-Navisworks-by-Excel/m-p/3437673#M3555

In part:
Then repeat for the other datatools links changing the Category for COLORS_proengineer, COLORS_INVENTOR, and COLORS_User Data.

Then after the profiles are set up, you can click Run in the appearance profiler, and the colors will change according to color properties that are being pulled from the excel file.

I’ve attached the Excel file, Appearance Profiles dat file to import, and the NWF with the datatools links setup.  If you drop the three files in the folder with your models, open the NWF, import the .DAT file into the appearance profiler tool and run it, it should change the items in the models to either red or blue based off of the colors specified in the excel file.

This example has colors specified in the excel file, but you could use some other property in the database such as “Out of Service” column with a value of either yes or no and create an appearance profile that checks if that property is yes, and if so, set the color of those items red.

With the appearance profiler, you need to actively run the appearance profiler to set the colors if the excel file is updated.  If you wanted more automation, then you may wish to look into the Navisworks API.
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Attachments:

Attachment BLOCKS_support.zip ‏12 KB
 
 

Glue and Navisworks together…

Luke Johnson

Quote:
By using Navisworks with BIM 360, you can ensure that everyone on the team has access to the “single version of the truth,” collaborate and connect with the rest of the team for collaborative project review and coordination workflows.  This integrated BIM 360 solution gives you and your team access to the most up-to-date project data in the cloud, anytime, anywhere. There are different points of access tailored for specific roles, such as direct access from desktop apps for designers and VDC managers, and mobile access for project managers, clients, and field personnel. 

It’s important to know that Navisworks and BIM 360 share the same core technology for large model viewing, navigation, and clash detection. If you run a clash test in Navisworks and the same test in BIM 360, you will get the same results. Navisworks and BIM 360 share the same data structure – which supports round-trip data exchange throughout. 

Read more:
http://beyonddesign.typepad.com/posts/2013/10/how-to-use-bim-360-and-navisworks-on-your-projects.html

Access Autodesk 360 files in any application, including Revit

Luke Johnson

When Autodesk 360 is installed (current version is 4.7.0.802), it creates a “special” Autodesk 360 link that lives directly under My Computer.  Additionally, certain Autodesk applications can directly access Autodesk 360 using a special link.

However, some current Autodesk applications do not seem to have direct access to Autodesk 360 via any special “links”.  What to do?

  • In Windows Explorer, open the special Autodesk 360 link (which has your Autodesk login name appended), and then
  • right-click on a subfolder and
  • select Open in New Window
  • Now, click in the address bar and the “location” should be revealed…

In my case, it was:
C:UsersLuke JohnsonAppDataLocalAutodeskAutodesk SyncCloudluke.johnson

So, yours should be:
C:UsersyourWindowsUsernameAppDataLocalAutodeskAutodesk SyncCloudYourAutodeskLogin

I know its not rocket science, but you can now use this path to access Autodesk 360 from any application.

You could also add this address to your Revit My Places list, and then modify the name of it in the Registry to be Autodesk 360 🙂

This is the current tree node for editing Revit 2014 My Places names:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAutodeskRevitAutodesk Revit 2014ProfilesAllAnavDialogs

Hypothetically, the above method allows you to Link a CAD file from your local sync of your online Autodesk 360 data directly into a Revit project.