Transitioning to Revit

I am trying to figure out the best way to transition from autocad MEP, which i am very comfortable with, to Revit MEP. I took a couple Revit training courses on the basics and electrical but im still unsure as to what i should do to make Revit my "go to" instead of Autocad. Basically i want to know if I can transition enough to not really "need" autocad. We get alot of autocad dwgs from other trades and arch dwgs and such. Do i convert these to revit and do my design work in rwevit or shud i only use revit at times when we are sent revit files? As of now most of our project formats are autocad but we are seeing more and more revit projects coming in. I would like to be ahead and really start to master revit, knowing that it is going to be more and more common. Any input is helpful. Thanks!

You can absolutely use Revit, even if receiving .dwgs. They can be linked into your Revit model. If you can afford the time investment to learn Revit while doing projects that could be done in AutoCAD, do it. The transition might be a bit difficult. There is a learning curve but any time you can put into learning it will pay off in the long run. You will eventually be able to put out entire projects without AutoCAD.

Getting the content that you need will take some time, also. You will probably need to create a lot of things. There is a fair amount of content out there but it needs scrutinizing as the quality of it varies drastically even from the same place. You will be much better off creating it yourself, similar to AutoCAD.

Ive created a few families and a template with our border and stuff but its def a process. So we get alot of 2d backround arch dwgs that i usually clean and get it down to bare bones before starting elec layouts. Should i be importing the 2d arch plans into revit and just go? From my understanding Revit is always a 3D model. So you say link into the model but what if there is no 3D model? Just start a new project with my template and link the 2D cad?

Rob pretty much nailed it.

One thing to consider, is that if you're familiar with AutoCAD MEP, then you're in luck... AutoCAD MEP exists because of Revit. When Autodesk first purchased Revit back in 2002, that's when AutoCAD "vertical products" surfaced (AutoCAD MEP is formally Autodesk Building Systems). It's all based on Revit's intuitiveness, so things will be very familiar to you. Only difference is, Revit does it right.

Well thats good news. First time anyone has said that something i use in autocad will be helpful in Revit. haha. I guess my main issue is where to begin??

Can you approach your company for some formal training? If not, I highly recommend you approach your company for an official Autodesk training book. They run around $100 IIRC. This will give you the fundamentals, step by step, with content to practice with. And they start you out where you need to and guide you along in the sequential order you're suppose to.

And start by becoming familiar with Revit. Link (aka XREF) 2D AutoCAD plans into a Floor Plan View in Revit, and go to town. Learn how to use Sections and Elevations, place Mechanical/Electrical equipment and start running Duct/Pipe/Conduit Families. Then add electrical devices to circuits and watch your panel schedules auto-magically populate, on the proper phase, calculating your VA load and voltage drop, while it schedules the proper size wire and conduit.

It'll take a while but you'll get the hang of it.

Just start a new project with my template and link the 2D cad?

That's a big 10-4. You were probably already doing that with ACMEP.

If not, I highly recommend you approach your company for an official Autodesk training book. They run around $100 IIRC. This will give you the fundamentals, step by step, with content to practice with. And they start you out where you need to and guide you along in the sequential order you're suppose to.

I concur. I'm a big fan of learning software from a book when there is no one around to teach it face to face.

The trouble is that most books are too simplistic and do not work through many of the constraint faced on real world projects. A book is cheap/affordable at $100 although it is the time taken to learn new software that is expensive for a company. E.g. if John has a billing rate of $180 an hour and it now takes him 2/3/45/x amount of time to do the same work in the new software that he is not familiar with then the company is effectively losing a lot of money (i.e. a portion of that $180 per hour extra it takes). Granted, after a period of time the time taken should reduce (and may eventually even even be quicker than the software previously used) although most companies don't have the time/resources/money to lose money on an employee for 6 months to a year while they learn a new software package.

Rob pretty much nailed it.

 

One thing to consider, is that if you're familiar with AutoCAD MEP, then you're in luck... AutoCAD MEP exists because of Revit. When Autodesk first purchased Revit back in 2002, that's when AutoCAD "vertical products" surfaced (AutoCAD MEP is formally Autodesk Building Systems). It's all based on Revit's intuitiveness, so things will be very familiar to you. Only difference is, Revit does it right.

 

Didn't these originally come from buying SoftDesk?

I concur. I'm a big fan of learning software from a book when there is no one around to teach it face to face.

 

The trouble is that most books are too simplistic and do not work through many of the constraint faced on real world projects. A book is cheap/affordable at $100 although it is the time taken to learn new software that is expensive for a company. E.g. if John has a billing rate of $180 an hour and it now takes him 2/3/45/x amount of time to do the same work in the new software that he is not familiar with then the company is effectively losing a lot of money (i.e. a portion of that $180 per hour extra it takes). Granted, after a period of time the time taken should reduce (and may eventually even even be quicker than the software previously used) although most companies don't have the time/resources/money to lose money on an employee for 6 months to a year while they learn a new software package.

On the contrary, a good business plan will include investments to keep employees trained on the latest and greatest. Be it software, equipment, or the latest building codes. What else are they supposed to do? Let John, who has proven himself a good long term employee, go because the requirements for the job he was hired for has changed for someone that already knows the software who will need to be trained on company standards and may not work out? Or do they just stay stagnant and hope that the market doesn't go the way that all signs are pointing? There is a risk no matter what and the choice that usually pays off is to reinvest in quality employees.

What else are they supposed to do? Let John, who has proven himself a good long term employee, go because the requirements for the job he was hired for has changed for someone that already knows the software who will need to be trained on company standards and may not work out? Or do they just stay stagnant and hope that the market doesn't go the way that all signs are pointing?

Most companies do exactly one of those two scenarios. The second scenario is the lest of the two evils in my opinion. I've worked with people who are great at what they do (30 years experience etc) although using old software that moved on 15 years ago... you simply can't train some people in new software regardless of how much time/money is invested; nor is it financially in a company's favour to do so if it is likely the person will retire within a few years anyway.

The larger resources companies tend to operate under scenario #1.

Most companies do exactly one of those two scenarios.

... and that is why most companies fail.

I actually took a basic and electrical training course last year. I have the mastering autodesk revit mep 2014 book too so im taking in as much as i can (although not a huge fan of the book). Seems like now i just need to put my hours into it. Thanks

If you have any questions along the way, feel free to ask. Also, check out Revit Forum. There are a lot more users over there. Some of them are quite knowledgable but are a bit close minded as to their approaches. Their way or the highway. They forget that some of us have to know how to do the grunt work.