I find it interesting that AutoCAD 2013 can directly link (XREF) DWG files directly from the Autodesk Cloud.   Just Insert – DWG Reference… – then press the Autodesk 360 button in the dialog.

Revit Server is necessary technology (at the moment), but it is essentially a ‘do it yourself’ server system.

When will see the little Autodesk 360 button appear in our Revit Link dialog?

Read more at:
XREF Drawings from Autodesk 360 | The CAD Geek Blog

There are a few freely available applications for AutoCAD that allow it to do some powerful spline editing – tools we don’t have in vanilla Revit just yet.  You can use the tools below to do some line operations in AutoCAD and then Link / Import the resulting elements into Revit:

Splines to Polylines
Download VLX from page below and use APPLOAD in AutoCAD to load it, then SP2PL to run it:
http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/download.asp?fileID=1488

Polylines to splines
Copy / paste the script from the page linked below into a text file, then save as pl2sp.lsp
APPLOAD in AutoCAD, then PL2SP to run it
Here is a routine that allows you to turn a “Fit Curve” Polyline into a Spline…
AutoLISP: Polyline to Spline | AutoCAD Tips:

Oftentimes, you will want to flatten a DWG file before bringing it into Revit, so that Revit isn’t confused by all the Z-values… you can use FLATSHOT or the DXB plotter methods, as described below:

Issue
You want to create a flattened two-dimensional (2D) drawing of a three-dimensional (3D) model.

Solution
If you are using AutoCAD 2007 and higher, the FLATSHOT command is available to convert 3D solids to flattened 2D views. (Note this command is not available in AutoCAD LT.)

The other method to create a 2D drawing from a 3D model is to:

  1. Configure a DXB plotter using the Add-A-Plotter wizard

Read the rest at:
Autodesk – AutoCAD Services & Support – Flatten 3D model to 2D

Revit users have been able to import SKP directly for many years … now AutoCAD gets an app for exactly that purpose:

The SketchUp Import plug-in allows you to import a SketchUp file (*.skp) into an open drawing as a block reference. The SketchUp model will be imported as a block containing mesh and other objects. This plugin works with SKP files created in Google SketchUp version 5 or later. 

Download at:
Autodesk Exchange Apps

This fixed some persistent crashes on my AutoCAD install – here is the link if you haven’t installed it yet.

It needs to be installed AFTER Service Pack 1.

Direct links copied below:

AutoCAD® 2012 Based Products

acad_2012sp1_x32_ribbonfix.zip (zip – 937Kb)
acad_2012sp1_x64_ribbonfix.zip (zip – 1011Kb)
Readme (htm – 45Kb)

AutoCAD® LT 2012

acad_lt_2012sp1_x32_ribbonfix.zip (zip – 937Kb)
acad_lt_2012sp1_x64_ribbonfix.zip (zip – 1012Kb)
Readme (htm – 45Kb)

via
Autodesk – AutoCAD Services & Support – AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2012 SP1 Ribbon Hotfix

Dear AutoCAD® 2012 Customer:

Autodesk has recently released a maintenance update for your product. Errors similar to those you have encountered have been resolved and are part of this update.

We recommend that you install this maintenance update to update your product, or contact your system administrator.

 Error Report Summary

Computer     Date     The problem title you provided Autodesk
Not provided    15/06/2011    Tried to separate hatches again.
Not provided    15/06/2011    Trying to separate hatches in a XREF.

 Download
     AutoCAD (R) 2012 x64 Service Pack 1 19.359 MB
    Readme (Learn more…)

You must have administrative permissions to install an update.

David Light recommends it in this Tweet:

Freedom capabilities of #autocad 2012 are so cool, forms work very nicely with #revit & #vasari; & no i haven’t gone all soft on you 😉

via @davewlight David Light on
Twitter / @davewlight: Freedom capabilities of #a …

If you are interested in the Patch, Fillet, or Offset Edge tools, check out this video:

If you are interested in the spline form editing, check out the video at this link
http://download.autodesk.com/us/autocad/2011_featurevideos/autocad_3d_freeform_essentials_1044x828.html

Something is coming from Autodesk and my guess is that it is design related. Many Autodeskers have been teasing an upcoming announcement from Autodesk that will be made on the 16th of August 2011.
www.cad-a-blog.com

The AutoCAD team has a big day coming up, and we want you to help us plan it!
LT Unlimited: Somethings coming

 Here is the Entry Page

 

What do you think?

What is coming on August 16?