The Revit Clinic

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Revit Architecture 2010 Massing Environment

Here is a demo that was part of the Feburary 6th press webcast on the new Massing environment for conceptual design in Revit Architecture 2010.  Check it out.

Rendering Library is not installed

This problem came up when Revit 2009 products first released, but was asked to me the other day so I thought I would post on it. 

With the 2009 release of the Revit products there is a new rendering engine included with the products.

This new engine uses a Rendering library to render views within Revit and this library is necessary to enable the rendering feature in the products.   Without it, you cannot render a view.

If you have seen this error there could be a few reasons. 

1. You choose not to install the Rendering library content.
2. You are using Revit Structure and choose the default installation.  Revit Structure does not install the Rendering library as default with the installation.  You need to enable the installation of the Rendering Library in the installation of the product.  Check out a solution here for the steps to solve this problem. 
3. You installed the Rendering library but Revit cannot seem to find it.  Revit looks for the Rendering library location as it is specified in the Options dialog box as shown below.  
    
   
   Revit is looking for a file called assetlibrary_base.fbx in this location.  If this location does not contain the file, the rendering feature will be disabled.  Pointing Revit to the location where the assetlibrary_base.fbx file is stored should prevent this error from popping up and will enable Rendering.  By default, Revit stores this file in C:\Program Files\Revit Architecture 2009\Data\Rendering\
   
   If you need to download the rendering library because you did not install it the first time, download the ProteinMaterialLibrary.cab file from here that contains the rendering content for the webupdate you have installed. The same download CAB file works for Revit Structure and MEP.  
4. Finally, your machine might not meet the minimum requirements for using the Rendering Engine. 
    
   The rendering engine requires that you are using a processor that uses SSE2 technology.  Intel Pentium 4 processors or equivalent AMD Athlon proccesors use this technology.  If your processor does not use SSE2 technology you will not be able to utilize the rendering engine in Revit 2009 products. How do you know if your processor supports SSE2 instructions?  You can use a free application called CPU-Z to ID your processor.  Download it from here.

3D Printing

Last week I provided some Revit Architecture Training for Z-Corp.  Z-Corp is a company that makes 3D Printers and does 3D printing.  Most of the training involved how to get your Revit model to print out thick enough so that it could be printed.  I am actually working on a sample project (not finished yet) I build in Revit and trying to see how difficult it is to thicken. 

A major part of the process is using the STL Exporter for the Revit 2009 platform (any Revit 2009 product) that is available from Autodesk labs to try out.  STL is a file format that most 3D printing software can use to print models. 

STL Exporter for Revit Platform 2009

As I suspected, the hardest part in thickening your model is getting component families thick enough to print.  This involves having to edit the family and stretch extrusions and geometry so that it would print out correctly or this is a good place for different family types.  If you’re doing a lot of 3D printing, you could create types for every size of window and door in your model for your 3D Print.  This would make the swapping out process easier, could be time consuming to create all the types, but if you use the same families a lot, maybe you would only have to create them once. 

The next hardest part has been around thickening curtain walls.  It’s pretty easy to thicken the curtain wall panels, but difficult to thicken the mullions because changing their type requires unpinning all of them.  This is a little time consuming.  Instead, I just decided to create a new curtain wall type that had the thickness I needed and then replace the entire wall instead of a piece at a time.  

As part of my research I looked into a website called CADspan.  CADspan has a free tool called the 3D Print Thickness Calculator.  This helps you to understand how thick things need to be in your model for you to print correctly at the scale of the print.  It has helped me out in getting my model in good shape for printing. 

The last thing I wanted to mention about 3D Printing is controlling the visibility of what prints.  Revit is very nice for this because of Visibility and Graphics.  You can use visibility and graphics to easily turn off any geometry that you do not want to see print.  To further limit geometry you can use a Section Box.  This limits what is exported via the STL Exporter (and a good way to create interior prints).

I’d be interested to hear about any experiences you have had with 3D printing and the challenges you have had with getting Revit models to print.

2010 around the corner

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 is coming around the corner.  Last Friday, Autodesk held a web-cast announcing the new 2010 Revit products and showing some of the enhancements that are coming.  I am pretty excited to see the new product. 

What’s New

• Conceptual Design Enhancements
  • New and innovative conceptual design features provide easier-to-use tools for freeform
    modeling and parametric design, and the ability to support the earliest design
    analyses.
  • Sketch freely, create 3D forms more quickly and manipulate forms interactively.
  • Prepare models for fabrication and construction with built-in tools for conception and
    clarification of complex forms. New tools to divide, pattern and panelize designs make
    forms more buildable.
  • Autodesk Revit Architecture automatically builds a parametric framework around your
    most complex forms as you continue to design, offering you greater levels of creative
    control, accuracy and flexibility.
  • Users can now take designs from concept model all the way to construction
    documents within one intuitive environment and user interface.
• Improved User Interface
  • New streamlined user interface helps users find favorite tools and commands faster,
    locate lesser-used tools more efficiently and discover new features more easily.
  • Customizable Quick Access Toolbar allows one-click access to a user’s favorite and
    most frequently used tools.
  • The ribbon feature is organized around the way designers work, enabling users to find
    the tools to accomplish tasks without searching all over the user interface.
  • Consistent user interfaces between most Autodesk software applications allows users
    to move between programs more smoothly.
• Performance and Interoperability
  • New native 64-bit support enhances the software’s ability to handle large projects and
    improve performance and stability for memory-intensive tasks such as rendering,
    printing, model upgrading and file importing and exporting.
  • Expanded API (application programming interface) support.
  • Export to AutoCAD® Civil 3D® software and import from Autodesk® Inventor® , while
    preserving parametric data.
  • gbXML (green building XML) improvements allow users to help streamline the
    collaboration process with external analysis applications.  

I don't know about the rest of you, but these are things that I have been waiting for in Revit for a while.  The native 64 bit support for greater abilty to handle memory usage and large projects, a new user interface, and the conceptual design environment all look to be great additions. 

Check out these images from Revit Architecture 2010:

The new streamlined user interface optimizes workflow and
increases discoverability of new tools.

 

New conceptual design features allow you to sketch freely, create 3D models quickly, and take your
design from concept to construction documentation all in one environment.

New conceptual design features help you to prepare models for fabrication and construction with builtin
tools for dividing, patterning and panelizing complex forms.

Top Tips for Implementing Revit Architecture

Looking for some tips on how to implement Revit Architecture in your office? Switching from a CAD based application to Building Information Modeling is not a simply switch of applications.  It requires planning, training, and when you are ready,  piloting a project before you are ready to dive into the world of BIM. 

Autodesk's own Ask Amy, Amy Fietkau, teaches valuable tips and provides detailed information on how to implement Revit Architecture in your workplace in a great webcast.  I work with Amy fairly often helping to answer email questions that are sent to her and answering questions during her webcasts.  She is a great resource for information.  Check out the Autodesk Revit Architecture Resource Center as well.

I highly recommend that if you are considering the move to Revit or have made the move but are struggling to get everyone in your office on board, that you check out this webcast.  There is a little form to fillout prior to watching, but it is worth it. 

Top Tops for Implementing Revit Architecture

Central or Local Linking?

Jeff Hanson (one of our Subject Matter Experts in Techincal Publications and contributor on my blog) asked me to look into a question that he had heard the other day.  Jeff was wondering what is the recommended way to link in a workshared file into another Revit project.  Should you link in a Central file or a local file? 

His question dealt with getting a Revit file from somone outside your company like a consult that was using worksharing and what you should do to link it into your project.  A good example would be any MEP engineers out there linking in architectural Revit files to use in your designs. 

I wasn't completely sure about the answer so I talked to developers with the workshring team to find out what they had to say.  

The recommendation is to use central files and not local files.  The reason for this is that performance might be improved by making sure the link is a central file.  This is because Revit often tries to refresh permissions upon opening a file.  Editing permissions are required to make changes, so that requires access to the central file.  If a local file is linked in, Revit will try to access the central file to get those editing permissions.  If the central file is not accessible (e.g. the server does not exist, possibly because the file you got from the consultant thinks that its central file is on the another firm's network), this can cause the Revit to be delayed as it works out that the central file in not available.  Revit relies on the OS for this process and this can take on the order of half a minute or more for it to figure out.

Also, if you link in a local file, Revit is going to care about where the central file is located anyway for checking certain error conditions. You're not allowed to link a file into itself. You're also not allowed to link a central into its local, or vice-versa. Nor are you allowed to link two locals of the same central file into each other.  Revit checks for these conditions when you link in a file so using central files can make these checks happen faster. 

Bottom Line:  If you are working with a consultant that is using a Revit workshared file, you should make sure that you are linking in a central file into your file. 

To do this you may need to open the consultants workshared project in Revit first and save it as a central file on your network.  This way, when you link in the file into your project it will be read as a central file and Revit won't be delayed attempting to check permissions on the file or checking for error conditions. 

Sneak a Peak

Do you want to get a sneak peak at the 2010 AEC products? 

Later today is a webcast on the Autodesk Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Geospatial 2010 products.   This includes the 2010 line of Revit products.  I encourage you to check it out.

When:  12 Noon Today,  Eastern Time

Where: Click here

The AutoCAD Revit Architecture Visualization Suite

Last week we annouced a new Product Suite called the AutoCAD Revit Architecture Visualization Suite.

I highly recommend that you click on the hyperlink and read about this new Suite.  This new suite of products includes Revit Architecture, AutoCAD Architecture, Autodesk 3DS Max Design and Autodesk Navisworks Review.

This a great group of products that gives you unmatched flexibility for understanding and communicating your designs from concept to the final presentation.  Check it out.

Can you create the coolest Family?

Today I got a message from Turbosquid that I thought I would share.  They are holding a Revit Family Contest on their website. 

The contest will run from Dec. 2, 2008 to March 31, 2009.

Prizes will be awarded in three categories:

• Individual/Freelancer - Professionals submitting their personal creations
• Corporate - Submissions on behalf of a company or other entity
• Student - High school, university, or community college students

1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes will be awarded in each category:

• 1st prize: $2500
• 2nd prize: $1000
• 3rd prize: $500

Two things will be judged in the contest:

• Quality of design (aesthetics, structural)

Number of published Revit families used in scene

The idea is to take a original Revit family you have created and create a scene with as many of them as possible.  Sounds like it might be fun and you could win some money.  Plus you get to show off your family modeling skills.