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Revit LT coming?


f700es

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Installed Project Spark this week and it does seem to be a Revit LT.

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/spark/

 

Does seem to be for simpler designs. I asked years ago why there was not a Revit geared for more residential users. Maybe this is it. This run will last until July, 2012 so plenty of time to play with it. It seems to lack...

conceptual design, analysis, rendering, advanced collaboration, and API

Also you cannot open Revit files with this or can Revit open Spark files. Revit files can be linked into Spark though.

I might try to recreate a smaller house I did when I worked for a res. developer and see how it does.

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I have Revit 2009, and can't say as I'm impressed. Granted, I've had no formal training, but I've done every tutorial I could get my hands on. It's an interesting idea, and later versions may have improved, but if I had it to do over, I think I would not spend the money. Nearly every one of my customers had asked me if I had it before I bought it, so I took the plunge and then began letting them know I had it. Most of them responded that they were thinking about BIM and all that, but that they just weren't ready to do it. I use it now mostly to generate autocad geometry. I draw the building or house or whatever in Revit, then export the floor plan and elevations to Autocad and do my details. It's really speedy that way. Does Spark export to Autocad?

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I have Revit Arch 2012 as well (we have the 2012 Revit Arch suite - Revit Arch, AutoCAD Arch, AutoCAD & Inventor Fusion) and I have played with it I have yet to take the plunge but I know it's coming. Spark does seem to be able to export to DWG. I started working through the Spark tutorials yesterday and so far I like what I see.

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The more I use Revit, the more impressed I am. The very next job I do, which is a matter of a few weeks, I'm going to Revit MEP full time and not looking back at all. I've used it enough to finally see the intuitive force behind Revit. I don't even know why I'm still messing with AutoCAD, to be honest. Not that I still don't like AutoCAD because I do, but in my specific field it just makes more sense beyond words to use Revit now. Especially bigger projects.

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Most of the time I don't have a Revit model, so I just link in a CAD file, set it to half-tone, adjust certain linetypes, and "draw" over it as I do in AutoCAD.

 

If I do have an architectural Revit model, I purge unnecessary items, link it in, copy the levels that the architect has started with, make my views, adjust my View Templates depending on what's in the model, and then I start designing.

 

:)

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So you just layout out the MECH systems? Do your sheets reference the linked in CAD files?

Oh absolutely. Once you get the CAD file in place, you are golden. The way the Sheets reference Views and other annotative items, in relation to the CAD file, making Plan View construction documents is a breeze.

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Some of my industry is be forced to go to Revit. Some high end architects think they will corner a market. To be honest, I believe it is the wrong tool for what we do.

 

For mechanical type work above the ceiling or below the slab, I can see it's value. For free standing equipment, if you have a collision between and range and a refrigerator, you need to find a new line of work.

 

Our connections and rough in services are so variable, it will always be dependent of the mechanic in the field. Plan all you want, but there will be small adjustment that need to be made during construction.

 

My $0.02 -David

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Some of my industry is be forced to go to Revit. Some high end architects think they will corner a market. To be honest, I believe it is the wrong tool for what we do.

 

For mechanical type work above the ceiling or below the slab, I can see it's value. For free standing equipment, if you have a collision between and range and a refrigerator, you need to find a new line of work.

 

Our connections and rough in services are so variable, it will always be dependent of the mechanic in the field. Plan all you want, but there will be small adjustment that need to be made during construction.

 

My $0.02 -David

The comment in regards to necessitating Revit for collision detection is something I will definitely give you, hands down. However, in my line of work, we are seeing GC's that are utilizing a full Revit model for other things too, specifically the informational part of it. Scheduling is a big thing, for instance. Also, they are starting to produce 3D as-built models where a maintenance manager can literally "walk" through a model, click on key components and it brings up O&M documents, submittal information and a plan view of the as-built construction documents.

 

So, I'm not necessarily countering you for argument, just simply implying the future it's headed that I've already experienced first hand. ;)

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I'm with Tanner. I've been full-bore with Revit since 2007. I was using RAC 2008/2009/2010, then I switched to MEP 2009/2010/2011/2012...now I'm utilizing EVERYTHING in their Building Design Suite Premium. I'm not using Structural to it's full potential, but here at my company, we really push the MEP capabilites. At my last employer, we really pushed the Architectural to the computers limits.

 

We rarely get an Arch model, so two of us will spend about an hour or two putting in rough walls, floors, roof, ceilings, windows and doors for proper space calculations in MEP for loads. Having used RAC as in-depth as I had, it doesn't take me long to churn out a generic model (based directly off the Arch dwg's) for our MEP use. No, we do not give this model back to the architect unless they pay for it.

 

I use AutoCAD for cleaning bases before importing, or verifying what's been exported. Others in the company refuse Revit and stick to AutoCAD, so I also provide support and lisps to them. If the ladder would listen to me, though, I'd take everyone to Revit and drop AutoCAD altogether.

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I see your point David, I used to work for a few modular casework companies and we started getting requests for the Revit families. 99% of the time a simple Acad file with the cabinets in it would have worked but the larger firms wanted the revit info. Yes, overkill to the extreme to use Revit for just casework planning and quotes but you never know down the road.

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I see your point David, I used to work for a few modular casework companies and we started getting requests for the Revit families. 99% of the time a simple Acad file with the cabinets in it would have worked but the larger firms wanted the revit info. Yes, overkill to the extreme to use Revit for just casework planning and quotes but you never know down the road.

The best thing would be to make things Revit compatible via an export option, which is becoming more and more popular I've been seeing. This way, the "owner" of the file can utilize a true Revit object for their purposes, while the end user can still use AutoCAD or whatever for their needs.

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I see your point David, I used to work for a few modular casework companies and we started getting requests for the Revit families. 99% of the time a simple Acad file with the cabinets in it would have worked but the larger firms wanted the revit info. Yes, overkill to the extreme to use Revit for just casework planning and quotes but you never know down the road.

 

Did they want the info or the model with materials? Don't forget that there's also a lot of interior design, and people want to see how different options work/look together.

 

You can make an over-the-top model that is fully parametric and renders beautifully for the 3D guru's, then dumb it down in plan view so you can export to dwg a simple 4-line block for the guys that don't care about 3D, all within one family.

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You can make an over-the-top model that is fully parametric and renders beautifully for the 3D guru's, then dumb it down in plan view so you can export to dwg a simple 4-line block for the guys that don't care about 3D, all within one family.

I think that's the main point to note. Once a nice Family system and library is established, Revit all of the sudden becomes worth something no other CAD application can offer, within the scope of the type of work you do, of course.

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They want it for planning and pricing. Nothing more.

 

Did they want the info or the model with materials? Don't forget that there's also a lot of interior design, and people want to see how different options work/look together.

 

You can make an over-the-top model that is fully parametric and renders beautifully for the 3D guru's, then dumb it down in plan view so you can export to dwg a simple 4-line block for the guys that don't care about 3D, all within one family.

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