BIM & BEAM

Create and Use Windows® Fonts for Local Reinforcement Symbols

Some symbols are not supported by the existing Windows® fonts; hence they could not be shown up correctly in Revit, e.g., some Chinese reinforcement symbols. To fix the issue, a Windows® font should be created specifies to the symbols, here are the steps:

1. Create Windows^® fonts.

   Sketch the corresponding symbols in a fonts creator and assign each symbol with a Unicode number, when all the symbols are created, save the font file to the Windows fonts folder. Here are some Chinese reinforcement symbols, the font file was saved as Revit.ttf and the font name was also set as Revit.

   

   

   
   
2. Use the font in Revit
   1. Input text in Revit or customize the tag fonts, click Element Properties button, and choose Revit font in the Text Font list.

   

   1. Input reinforcement symbols

      $ represents $,

      % represents,

      & represents,

      # represents.

      
      

      

      
      
      
      
      

       

   For example, if '$10@100 (2)' is input with Revit font set, it will show as' 10@100 (2).'
   
   2. Customize structural rebar bar types

      The following shows how to customize rebar symbols.

      In the project browser, rename the rebar type name with $%&# etc., when tag the rebar with rebar tags, it will show the right symbols.

Revise the rebar names in accordance with the font

Tag the rebar with bar types refined and the customized the rebar tag.rfa

 

 

1. Set Windows^® settings to display the Rebar Bar symbols correctly in the project browser. The steps are ,

• Click the right button in Desktop, go to display properties
• Click Appearance Tag
• Click Advanced in the left bottom of the dialog

  In the Advance Appearance dialog, choose Menu for Item and Revit for Font.

Launch a Revit Project (.rvt), the Rebar Bar types in the project browser will display correctly.

Note: By default, the other software Menu Fonts will also follow such settings, if it doesn't meet the expectations; please restore Windows® menu font after exiting Revit.

Other special symbols could also be created in this way.

Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 Subscription Advantage Pack is Now Available!

 

  

Description

The Autodesk® Subscription Advantage Pack for Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010 extends the capabilities of Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010 software. Productivity-enhancing functionality and features better support structural analysis, modeling, concrete reinforcement, interoperability, and construction documentation, while improved tools help you work more efficiently within the software.

In addition, new applications that complement Revit Structure 2010 workflows will help you:

• Validate the accuracy of building information models created in Revit Structure 2010 against pre-determined standards.
• Import and export data between a Revit project and an external database, and then more easily maintain the relationships of linked data.
• Facilitate the use of building information modeling (BIM) for building renovation projects by creating 3D models from 2D digital photographs.

This Subscription Advantage Pack is available exclusively for Autodesk® Subscription customers through download in the Autodesk Subscription Center: http://www.autodesk.com/subscription

 

Features and Benefits

1. Subscription Release Pack for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010—Improve productivity with the Subscription Release Pack for Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010:

• Gain exclusive access to new functionality and tools, such as the ability to add insulation detail or generate non-workplane based structural framing using pick lines on imported 3D AutoCAD® drawings.
• Work more efficiently with greater control of keyboard shortcuts and improved access to some frequently used commands.
• Access the latest updates available for Revit Structure 2010 (Update 2).

2. Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010—Revit® Extensions extend the capabilities of Revit Structure 2010 in key areas, including structural analysis, modeling, concrete reinforcement, interoperability, and construction documentation. This pack contains updates to previously released Revit Extensions as well as 3 new features:

• Wood Framing—More quickly and precisely model a wood frame structure within interior and exterior walls.
• Bridge—The Bridge Extension enables you to more accurately and efficiently model 3D bridges and helps generate typical 2D drawings of plans and sections.
• Rebar Collision Detection—The new rebar collision detection feature allows structural engineers and drafters to check for interference of reinforcement earlier in the design process.

3. Autodesk Revit Model Review—Automate the process of reviewing and auditing BIM projects in Revit Structure 2010 with the Autodesk® Revit® Model Review plug-in:

• Check the accuracy and consistency of a model against standards set by your firm, your clients, or industry best practices.
• Correct inconsistencies with a single click or with instructions provided when manual fixes are required.

4. Autodesk Revit DB Link—Import and export data between a Revit Structure 2010 project and an external database, and then more easily maintain relationships of linked data with Autodesk® Revit® DB Link.

• A grid view of the data enables you to make any final edits before import.
• Databases can be updated following internal or external changes.
• The grid control enables you to create Revit shared parameters to add new fields to related tables in the database.
• Changes to new fields within the database automatically update Revit shared parameters upon future imports.

5. Autodesk ImageModeler 2009—Use 2D digital photographs to more quickly and cost-effectively create, edit, and texture 3D models for building renovation projects and energy-efficiency analysis. Bridging the 2D and 3D worlds via DWG™, Autodesk® ImageModeler™ 2009 software helps enable you to:

• Capture building design elements
• Take measurements
• Create 3D models based on the form of existing buildings

By leveraging models developed directly from the physical environment, ImageModeler 2009 helps structural engineers better integrate improvements or renovations in BIM projects.

Applicable Products

Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010

AutoCAD® Revit® Structure Suite 2010

Autodesk® Education Master Suite 2010

Autodesk® Education Suite for Architecture & Engineering 2010

Autodesk® Education Suite for Civil & Structural Engineering 2010

Check out the Multi-Threaded Solver Technology Preview for Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis 2010

Analyze your Robot Structural Analysis models in less time!

 

Check out the Multi-Threaded Solver Technology Preview for Autodesk^® Robot^™ Structural Analysis 2010

When desiging a building, as you know, it can require multiple calcuations and equations that can consist of a few thousand unknowns! Now imagine that process simplified by shortening the calcuation time.

Check out the new Multi-Threaded Solver Technology Preview for Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis 2010 software on Autodesk Labs website.

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

The Multi-Threaded Solver Technology Preview  leverages the math function library Math Kernel Library (Intel® MKL) through the application. Intel® Math Kernel Library is a library of highly optimized, extensively threaded math routines for science, engineering, and financial applications that require maximum performance.

 

Using this add-in allows for:

• Optimal work on an Intel® processor, including use of the parallel processing in multi-core processors; as a result, the analysis tables included below demonstrate improved calculation performance in the sample models used.
• Better memory use which results in the ability to calculate larger and more complex projects.

Download today!

 

 

 

 

 
  

 

Use shared nested families

Some elements, e.g., bolts or piles, are the assemblies of a host family, e.g. a steel connection or a pile cap, and they might be nested/ used in multiple families. People usually expect them to be scheduled independently.

Those elements should be created as "shared" families before they are nested into the hosts to enable them to be "shared" among hosts. The example is shown as fig 1,

 
 Fig. 1, Family Category and Parameters' settings of a shared steel pile

If a host is nested with shared components, after it being loaded into a project, each nested shared assembly will be shown separately in the project browser under its respective family category, shown as fig 2. As a result, the shared nested families (e.g., the steel pile) could be scheduled independently, shown as fig 3.

  Fig 2, project browser shows the nested shared steel piles after the pile cap is loaded

 
Fig 3, Pile cap scheduling, shared nested components are schedulable.

Thanks

Wai

Create Revit Site with Google Earth Surface

Autodesk labs site provide "Google Earth ^TM Extension"for AutoCAD, Architecture, Civil 3D, Map 3D, the usages of the tool are:

• Import Google Earth image to .dwg applications (AutoCAD, Architecture, Civil 3D, Map 3D)
• Publishing 3D DWG Models to Google Earth ^TM
• AutoCAD Drape a grayscale Google Earth ^TM image onto a 3D mesh in AutoCAD applications

The 3rd function provide a method to import the elevation data for the current Google Earth view into AutoCAD as a mesh, then one can link the site .dwg as a reference to create Revit site, here are the steps:

1. Launch AutoCAD (or Civil 3D, etc), do as per the guide (please refer to page 8-11 of the Google Earth ^TM Extension white paper, shown at the bottom of this article) indicates. Here are the results,

Google Earth TM Site
Imported mesh (.dwg file)

 

1. Launch Revit application or open a Revit project file (.rvt), link and put the .dwg object onto the target level, adjust the location, size (scale factor) if necessary.
2. Activate the Mass & Site tap, create "Toposurface"

    
   

3. Choose "create from import\select import instance" option and select the linked dwg file.

    
   

4. Here is the result in Revit GUI,

 

Note,

Google Earth ^TM Extension downloads site: http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/google_earth_extension_beta/term_and_condition/

Google Earth ^TM Extension white paper:

http://labs.autodesk.com/files/201_300/205/file_205.pdf

SOFiSTiK Releases New Link for Revit Structure 2010!

Autodesk Structural Engineering Premier Partner SOFiSTiK recently released their link for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010. Download the new link from the SOFiSTiK website today!

 

SOFiSTiK – Finite Element Analysis & Design Software. Based in Germany, SOFiSTiK is a leading developer of Non-linear Finite Element Analysis & Design Software. The program portfolio offers solutions for buildings, light weight structures, bridge design, geotechnics & tunneling and computational fluid dynamics. SOFiSTiK comes with various design-codes as for example ACI, EC, BS, SNIP, Austrian, Australian Standard, BAEL, EHE. 

For more information on SOFiSTiK please visit their website at: www.sofistik.com

Or feel free to email: info@sofistik.com

How to use the Revit Structure 2010 Element Positioning Extension (released in Subscription Center on April 2009)

Download the Extension from the Subscription Center under the “Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010” link.

Revit Structure has various tools to adding tags to your structural elements.  One can add them to the element one-by-one or, by using the “Tag all” tool, can add them automatically within the current view.  However, it would be more practical if it could be able to add tags by defining more than just the current view as well as to be able to set a distance for the placement of the tags and number them by element, type, and/or level.   

Revit Structure 2010 now has an extension that will give more flexibility to adding tags within your project.   This Element Positioning extension allows these basic functions:

·         Create a set of elements and divide them into categories and types

·         Sort elements depending on their location in the project

·         Add a tag describing a user-defined position at the location specified

The extension allows loading necessary information from Revit Structure such as:

·         Object category (e.g. beam)

·         Object family (e.g. steel W-section)

·         Object type (e.g. W12x26)

·         Object geometry

·         Object location (level)

·         Material of which the object is made (after you select the option)

·         Bars reinforcing for RC elements (after you select the option)

The Element Positioning dialog is separated into 4 areas:  Elements, Numbering, Naming, and Tags

1.       Elements  - you can select all the elements in the project or select the elements first before launching the extension

 

2.       Numbering – you can define the tag number sequence from the location of the elements and to specify the auxiliary options

3.       Naming – you can define the syntax for each tag position name to include a tag number to display a number by set of objects with identical type and features or by each element, and can also display the  number of the elements’ lowest level.

 

4.       Tags - you select which tag you want to use for the selected category elements, the tag-to-element distance, the place of tag insertion, tag orientation, and if you need a leader added to the tag.

If you need to add the tags to these same type of elements within other views, by picking the “Selected views” option and then the “Select...” button will display the “Selected Views” check box dialog.

 

 

Check out the Reinforcement Design Extension!

The Reinforcement Design Extension is a part of the Robot Extensions available on the Subscription Center.

Using the Reinforcement Design Extension for Revit Structure user can:

·         verify reinforcement defined in Revit® for a selected RC structure element. Verification is performed in Robot Structural Analysis in compliance with the requirements of an RC code that you select. You can verify only reinforcement that was generated using a dedicated Revit® Extension.

·         design (generate) reinforcement in Robot Structural Analysis for an RC structure element selected in Revit®. Reinforcement is calculated and generated in Robot Structural Analysis in compliance with the requirements of an RC code that you select.

·         import reinforcement from Robot Structural Analysis to Revit®.

You can design and verify reinforcement both for stand-alone elements and for components of a larger structure model. Reinforcement for RC beams, RC columns, and spread footings can be calculated.

 

After you select an RC structure element and launch the Extension, the Reinforcement design dialog displays where you can define: reinforcement design code and steel grade for longitudinal and transversal reinforcement.

 

In Robot Structural Analysis you can set additional reinforcement parameters and add loads and then design reinforcement.

 

When the reinforcement is calculated you can import 3D reinforcement to Revit® using the same extension.

 

 

Double Shapes- Analysis vs. Modeling

In Revit Structure, the structural beam, column and brace are regarded as bar elements, and the analytical mode lines join with one another at the nodes, shown below,

        

For some steelwork however, the joints require the elements not to be overlapped with one another while two or more elements are connected, e.g., as the following image indicates, two C shaped elements are placed in parallel to bearing the forces or bending moments. If two beams are put there, there will be two parallel analytical lines from one node to the next, and it will cause the analytical error.

To solve the issue, two steel elements are created in one family, and a spacing is set to control the horizontal offset of the beams, shown below. As a result, both modeling and analysis purpose are satisfied in the project.

Check out Structural Integrators (SI) Tools for Revit Structure!

Structural Integrators, LLC is a company who focuses on integration and efficiency for engineering firms.

SI Tools for Revit® Structure is a Revit Structure add-in that provides advanced selection capabilities for structural members. 

Use the ribbon panel buttons to quickly select all beams, columns, or walls on a single level or in the entire model, regardless of type or material.  Or use the Advanced Selection options to select a custom combination of beams, columns and walls.  Learn more!