March 2013 – Autodesk Revit Structure

Over the next few weeks I shall be showcasing some of the new features within Revit Structure 2014 and some of the platform enhancements of Revit 2014. One of the key new tools is the ability to change the join order of concrete elements.

Link to YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/B190xWO8NvQ

I always found it very annoying when the slab took priority over the columns, the main reason was that when you produce a graphical column schedule the columns appeared broken at each floor! You can now finally choose your intended join order.

Below are two images showing the two possible results based on the Switched Join Order.

You can now also see that the graphical column schedule is displaying correctly, of course, this was only an issue with concrete members.

LawrenceH

Recently a few contractors have indicated that they would like to be able to create a 3D model of piling from a piling schedule produced by a consultant. This is achievable using the Excel Based model generator which can be found on the Extensions ribbon. You will need to have Microsoft Excel 2010 installed if you are using Revit 2013.

I have started off by taking an existing pile schedule from an FPS spread sheet and then copying this into the Excel Based model generator. You can see that I have used some of the spare columns to convert some values from meters to millimeters anything outside of the marked columns you can use for your own calculations.

Make sure that you have the families that you want to use loaded into the active project and that you use the Footings tab as shown in the above image. Also take note of the default units and make sure you convert to the correct values. Once this is done and you think you have all the correct values in the spread sheet you can verify the data. You will see this on the quick access toolbar at the top of the Excel based model generator. If the data is verified then the last icon will proceed to produce a Revit model.