WARNING! This may void your Manufactures 

warranty: Dissecting Revit Content with the Pros

Jarrod BaumannBIM Manager – Tilden-Coil Constructors,

Inc.

Joel LondenbergBIM Manager – ACH Mechanical Contractors,

Inc.

Class Summary

• With Building Information Modeling (BIM) being widely accepted and adopted, a wave of Revit MEP content is being produced by manufacturers. Knowing what to look for and what your models should contain can make or break your company's workflow. This class will serve as your MEP content crash course and you will learn how to separate the good Revit MEP content from the bad.

Who we are:

•Jarrod Baumann– BIM Manager– 15 years AEC design and modeling experience– Active user of Revit since 2006

•Joel Londenberg– BIM Manager– 7 years AEC design and modeling experience– 8 years manufactured equipment 3D design

• BIMAdvent

Learning Objectives

• Identify purpose driven, quality BIM content

• Identify key factors that make the transition from ‘Generic’ to Manufactured easier

• Identify key factors that truly hinder project performance, Myths vs. Facts

• Apply additional little-known tricks to your content creation workflow

Who is developing BIM standards?• Government Sectors

• Agencies and Organizations

Can’t Find the Standard you Need?

• At a minimum refer to the Revit Model Content Style Guide

– http://seek.autodesk.com/revit.htm

• Visit online hosting sites such as Autodesk Seek

• Refer to best practices demonstrated at RTC, Autodesk University or local user groups

Why Aren’t You Using Manufacturer Based Content?• Imported, Non-Revit Geometry

- No Visibility Options - No Linking of Materials - Effects Project Performance

• Lack of Meta-Data - No Data? - Improper data/data types

• Content Providers Lack of Industry Knowledge-Hosting Behaviors, Incorrect Data Types, Incorrect Family

Categories etc..

• Over Modeled Geometry• Revit Models are NOT Fabrication Drawings

• Too Many Parameters or Un-Organized Parameters

• Scheduling Conflicts • Lack of Standardized Parameters

Why Aren’t You Using Manufacturer Based Content?

Advantages When Using Quality Manufacture Content

• Time Saving

• Swap nested annotation symbol to firm standard easily

• Accurate Data/Geometry

• Highly Customizable Content

• Visibility Settings/Graphics Configured to Work Within a Project

Revit Family Performance TestingMYTH - Voids use up more file size

– Voids use exactly the same file size– Only add file size when voids CUT solid geometry

SCENARIO:One solid shape uses 20 KB.Copy the solid and make it a void. Together, they now equal 40 KB.Cut the solid with the void. Family now equals 60 KB.(Average increase factor of 1.5)

Imported CAD vs. Native Revit GeometryMany say NO to imported CAD, but for the wrong reasons.

– Imported CAD uses LESS file size AND loads faster– Materials CAN be assigned through imported CAD layers.

Blank Family 10,000 Instances05

10152025303540

Imported CAD

Revit Drawn

CADRevit

CAD GeometryProject File Size (10,000 1x1x1 boxes) = 5,420 KBRevit GeometryProject File Size (10,000 1x1x1 boxes) = 9,128 KB

KB

Imported CAD vs. Native Revit Geometry

Real reasons: AutoCAD files are often over modeled/detailed for Revit’s purpose. Materials not set through traditional method No flexing Visibility: all or nothing Stability

Nested Families

MYTH - Any nesting beyond 2 levels will kill your family

Our test:

Structure:• Parent Family (288 KB)

Level 1 (288 KB) Level 2 (288 KB) Level 3 (288 KB) … Level 8 (288 KB)

Testing Variations:• Only Geometry• Geometry with linked

parameters• Geometry with types

What was Tested:• Load times• Project file size• Project performance

observed

Nested Families – Project File Size

1 N

est

ed L

eve

l

2 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

3 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

4 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

5 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

6 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

7 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

8 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

Only GeometryGeometry with Linked ParametersGeometry with Types

KB

Nested Families – Load Times into Project

1 N

est

ed L

eve

l

2 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

3 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

4 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

5 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

6 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

7 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

8 N

est

ed L

eve

ls

0.02.04.06.08.0

10.012.014.016.018.020.0

Only GeometryGeometry with Linked ParametersGeometry with Types

Seco

nds

Things to avoid - ARRAYS

ARRAYS

Affects load times and responsiveness

Family File Size (KB)600

650

700

750

800

With Arrays

No Arrays

Load Time (s) into Project0

10

20

30

40

With Arrays

No ArraysSeco

nds

Things to avoid - GROUPS

GROUPS

Affects load times and file size

Time to Load Into a Project (s)0

30

60

90

120

150

180

Ungrouped Geome-try

Grouped Geometry

Family File Size (Kb)0

500

1000

1500

2000

Ungrouped Geometry

Grouped Geometry

Seco

nds

Things to avoid – 3D Text

Family File Size (Kb)0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

With One Sentence of Model TextWith out Model Text

Time to Load Into a Project (s)0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

With One Sentence of Model Text

With out Model Text

Seco

nds

Tips and Tricks

Exploding Families

• The problem: difficult to edit stacked geometry

• The solution: exploding families

Hidden Nested Family Geometry

• The problem: difficult to hide nested families

• The solution:

Set the visibility of nested family geometry to a new yes/no parameter. Then, inside the parent family, map this parameter to the same one you would the ‘Visible’ parameter.

Visibility of Voids

• The problem: Can’t hide void shapes

• The solution: Move it so it doesn’t intersect

Error Messages

• The problem: Can’t control user selections (other than types)

• The solution: Output Error Messages– 3D Text– Symbolic Lines

Clearance Areas

• Tip: use solid geometry to identify areas that should remain clear of any other geometry in the project. This will enable powerful collision detection

• Other considerations:– Only visible in 3D– Assign subcategory: Clearance Areas– Symbolic lines to represent it in plan/section views– YES/NO parameter to turn on/off– Depth should default to industry standard

Snap-in-place families

• The problem: Difficulty in assembling products

• The solution: Make it easy by improving references for Snap-in-place behavior

Flipping Connectors

• The problem: Multiple connectors in a family with options become un-assigned connectors in the project

• The solution: Create geometry that will host and flip / orient the connector into multiple positions

Questions?