Showing posts with label CAD Imports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CAD Imports. Show all posts

March 25, 2014

Ideate, Inc. Publishes Spotlight Success Study Featuring NBBJ Seattle and Ideate Software

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 03/25/2014 – Ideate, Inc., a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer and Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry with a special focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM), today announced the publication of its latest “Spotlight on” customer success profile featuring NBBJ Seattle and its use of Ideate Software.

NBBJ is a design practice of worldwide scope with locations in Beijing, Boston, Columbus, London, Los Angeles, New York, Pune, San Francisco, Seattle and Shanghai. The firm’s comprehensive, end-to-end services include architecture, environmental graphics, interior design, landscape architecture, lighting design, planning and urban design. Important projects in the US Pacific Northwest have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington, the Seattle Children's Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center, Bellevue, Washington, and Amazon.com at Denny Triangle, Seattle, Washington.

The firm has been using Ideate Software, a comprehensive set of Autodesk Revit tools, to maximize its BIM advantage by improving information flow, facilitating collaboration and making the management of BIM data faster and easier. Richard Sachs, Project BIM Coordinator, NBBJ, Seattle, Washington says of Ideate Software, “I have been using both Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Explorer for Revit heavily.” He adds that without these advantages, “I would not be able to do my job as project BIM lead.”

The firm has used one Ideate Software solution, Ideate BIMLink, for the sequential labeling and scheduling of 9,000 curtain panels. The fact that the solution is automated and accurate via Microsoft Excel has saved the firm valuable time.

NBBJ has used a different Ideate Software solution, Ideate Explorer for Revit, to create selection sets for the panels. As Sachs explains, “Revit allows you to select all Instances by Type, but it’s more difficult to select all the Types of one Family; Ideate Explorer makes short work of it.” 

BIM project auditing is another Ideate Explorer for Revit use. With it, Sachs says, “I can easily find CAD imports that Revit gives you no easy way to find. I can select all the room separation lines and move them to the correct workset.”

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says, “Our customers are relying on our robust, resilient Revit tools to power them through their most complex, sophisticated BIM projects. We are delighted with the success of our Ideate Software customer, and gratified to learn of our role in making data management on a vast scale much easier for NBBJ.”

Ideate has published “Ideate Software Presents: Spotlight on NBBJ Seattle” online. Download the Customer Spotlight Success Study at http://ideatesoftware.com/ideatebimlink/success/

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM). As an Autodesk solutions provider, Ideate has offered quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in California, Oregon and Washington, Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization. 


Ideate Software is a comprehensive set of far-reaching BIM data management tools. Ideate BIMLink powers the “I” in BIM, allowing users to pull data from an Autodesk Revit file into Microsoft Excel for fast and precise editing, and push the data back into Revit with equal ease. Ideate Explorer for Revit lets users search, filter, quantify and select to easily manage the 100,000+ elements in a Revit model. Both solutions help Autodesk Revit users solve problems in AEC workflows and help the Revit community leverage BIM to its fullest advantage.

Autodesk, Autodesk Revit and ATC are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Microsoft Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.    
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September 16, 2013

Dealing with CAD Files in Revit

Did I link it or did I import it? Was the box checked for “Current view only” selected or not? Where is it! It wasn’t exploded was it??? Do these phrases come to mind when asked these questions? I don’t remember? I think I did? I have no clue…, I hope not! I recently had a conversation with a client who wanted to search for CAD files within a Revit Model and had  these very questions. With the latest release of Ideate Explorer for Revit you’ll be able to answer these  questions and more…

Did I Link or Import the CAD file?
Within the Revit products the only way to know if a user linked a CAD file is to go to Insert tab and select the button then the CAD Formats tab.   Using this function in Revit gives the user an idea of what CAD Files in the Revit Model have been Linked. Note that it does NOT provide any information about files that have been imported!

Ideate Explorer informs the user if CAD Files are Linked or Imported by separating them out into two distinct categories: CAD Imports & CAD Links.

Was the box checked for “Current view only” selected or not?
 
Within the Revit products the only way a user knows if the “current view only” option has or hasn’t been selected is when the CAD File shows up in a view other than the inserted view. That is of course, as long as a team member hasn’t turned it off with the various Revit graphic tools. 

Ideate Explorer informs the user through separating out the CAD files into DWG File or DWG File <View-Specific> whether they are linked or imported.
  • DWG File = CAD Files found in this section informs the user that these CAD Files may be found in multiple views because the “Current view only" option wasn't used during insertion/linking.
  • DWG File <View-Specific> = CAD files found under this section informs the user that these CAD Files can only be found in the view that they have been inserted in, or there was a check in the box for “Current view only”.

Where is it!  It wasn’t exploded was it????
To find a linked or imported CAD file within the Revit products it is truly a "hunt and peck" process for the user.
One of  the method that could be used to find an Import is by using the Line Stylestool found in the Manage Tab > Settings panel.  Within this tool the user is able to tell if an imported CAD file has been exploded by the presence of certain line styles. 

When using Ideate Explorer a user can quickly determine if an imported CAD file has been Partially or Fully exploded.  My two favorite ways within Ideate Explorer are:1. Searching for symbols = Within Ideate Explorer CAD Imports category I look for DWG files that repeat multiple times with symbol name at the end.



2. Search for Line Styles – Within Ideate Explorer I look at the Lines > detail Lines category looking for CAD Layers names like DEFPOINTS etc.


Ideate Explorer can quickly find elements in the model like imported CAD Files.  Ideate Explorer has a Show Elements tool which when selected will zoom to the item in Revit that you’ve.  This is similar to the “Highlight in Model” function in Revit schedules.  Users can access the Show Elements several different way.  My favorite method is as follows:
• Select an element in the Results window  
• Select the Show Elements (Zoom to Selected) button from the Top right of the Results window.

Happy searching! If you would like to make suggestions on what you would like to see in future releases of Ideate Explorer for Revit send us your ideas.



Eugene . O’Day, IX
AEC Application Specialist

Eugene A. O’Day, IX, with more than 25 years of architectural and mechanical experience, offers a trained focus on all things Revit and BIM. Teaching is a passion of his. Eugene has been an instructor in undergraduate degree programs, has traveled worldwide teaching Autodesk solutions to major corporations, has taught at accredited ATCs throughout the Northwestern region, and is a frequent and popular instructor, speaker, and presenter for AUGI® CAD Camps, Revit – and related product user groups. He has also been a trusted public school district advisor on new drafting instructor hires. At Ideate, Eugene provides training and support for Revit Architecture, Revit Structure and AutoCAD. Eugene is also a Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Professional.

Get it. Know it. Use it.