Ideate Explorer for MEP Engineers

MEP engineering building information models present their own unique challenges to project navigation and auditing within the Revit environment. Ideate Explorer is here to help with both daily production tasks and project auditing tasks that are unique to MEP engineers. 

For example, MEP engineers make extensive use of the Revit filter tool to control visibility, but with Ideate Explorer those same filters can be leveraged to dramatically enhance element selection within any view. In the image below the Mechanical Supply Filter is being used in conjunction with the Level-based sort, making it easy to quickly view and select only the ducts and fittings that relate to the supply. 

Additionally, MEP Engineers can use the Ideate Query tool within Ideate Explorer to Review the Elevation Values to discover quickly if any of the elements have been assigned to the wrong elevation or offset or to sort the project data quickly by the Level or Phase settings.

Learn more about how MEP Engineers can make the most of Ideate Explorer in this short video.

This blog post was originally published on the Ideate Software blog.

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About the Author

Vasudha Dixit - ENI Application Specialist 

Vasudha is an MEP Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. based on San Francisco office. She has a Master’s degree in Energy Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she specialized in HVAC design, green buildings and energy analysis. Prior to Ideate, she interned at a few multinational companies where she performed finite element analysis for design validation of components. Vasudha provides Revit MEP training and support for various AEC firms.

Ideate, Inc. Announces a New Update for Ideate Explorer for Revit

San Francisco, CA, 12/18/2014–Ideate, Inc., a multi-decade veteran Autodesk Developer Network member and Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller today announced the availability of Ideate Explorer for Revit 2015.1. This Ideate Software solution includes enhanced functionality customers have requested, specifically a modeless interface. Now, users will be able to work in the Autodesk Revit and the Ideate Explorer for Revit environments at the same time. 

Ideate Software is a set of far-reaching Building Information Modeling (BIM) data management tools that help the Revit community clean up models, delete problem items, analyze files quickly, improve speed and accuracy in data flow, increase collaboration and overcome repeated workflow interruptions. 

This recent Ideate Explorer for Revit update provides BIM and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) managers, project leaders, facility managers, architects, engineers, and other users an enhanced tool for model auditing, power selection and model maintenance. With it, they can get a global view of model contents, and locate, isolate, modify and/or effectively delete unwanted elements from the Revit model.  

Ideate Director of Software Development Glynnis Patterson says, “This new release lets our customers delve both deeply and seamlessly into their Revit files, since they can now work in Revit and Ideate Explorer at the same time. We make sure our BIM data management solutions are robust and our updates meaningful and frequent. This new functionality answers a No. 1 customer request.”

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc. says of the new Ideate Explorer release, “As our AEC customers ask for greater speed and fluidity in our Revit-based solutions, we respond. This point release is another leap forward in our ongoing commitment to our customers’ success.” 

Customers who tested the new functionality offered comments on the most valuable aspect of Ideate Explorer to their workflows. Marcus Roman, Associate/Architect for NBBJ, noted greatest value in “Being able to quickly see elements in the model and identify errors.” Andy Brahney, Senior Revit Technician at Ramboll UK said, “Being able to find which workset elements are on; this helps greatly with the QA process.” And, Dan Dankert, CAD/BIM Manager for Mead & Hunt acknowledged, “Finding lost and incorrect objects.”

Ideate Explorer for Revit carries a five star rating on the Autodesk Exchange Apps Store, and is available with a non-commercial free trial. For more information, call 888.662.7238, contact sales@ideatesoftware.com, and for support, contact support@ideatesoftware.com.

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. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

This post was originally published on the Ideate Software Blog.

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Spring Cleaning for Revit 2015

Now that Revit 2015 has been published, many of our customers are starting to do their early prep work in advance of their official migration to Autodesk Revit 2015. In light of this work, here are a few simple spring cleaning tips for your consideration.

Before You Migrate to Revit 2015...

Family Audits

1. Open your office standard family (.RFA) files created in the past one year.
2. Launch Ideate Explorer for Revit.
3. Review all contents and delete anything that surprises you.*
4. Purge and then repeat to ensure nested content has been removed.

Template Audits

5. Open your office standard template (.RTE) files.
6. Launch Ideate Explorer for Revit.
7. Review all contents and delete anything that surprises you.*
8. Purge and then repeat to ensure nested content has been removed.

If you don’t have time to review all your new content (hah!) then at least be sure to audit your templates and your Titleblock and Annotation families, as they often have non-standard lines and sometimes an import or unexpected raster image may sneak in.

*Use Ideate Explorer’s built-in audit filter to find the most common culprits.

A toilet and title block family as seen by Ideate Explorer within the Revit Family Editor

Upgrading a Revit Project to Version 2015

Important information from Autodesk about the upgrade process, new to 2015.

Autodesk’s best practices when upgrading your project.

About the Author

Glynnis Patterson, NCARB – Director of Software Development Glynnis is a Registered Architect and has worked with the BIM industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is currently the Director of Software Development Services at Ideate, Inc. and continues to work with AEC clients across the nation, developing, and implementing best practices solutions. In her spare time Glynnis does volunteer work and builds Lego projects. @GVPinNJ