Advertisement

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Modlar Tools Add-in for Revit

From the Autodesk Exchange Apps website...

The app adds new buttons to your Autodesk® Revit® ribbon that allow you to:
  •  Browse to Modlar Home page
  • Browse a smaller toolbar sized version of Modlar's library within Revit  and download families directly into your project
  • Browse all of the families you have already downloaded
  • Create a quick schedule of all the families used in your project and loads more!





There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

CAD Studio Revit Tools V1.9 Released

From the CAD Studio website...

RvtTools 2015 V1.9 supports all variants of the BIM application Revit 2015 (except version LT). Beside a couple of bug fixes and a streamlined ribbon, this new version contains several new functions developed by CAD Studio per wishes received from existing users.

The function Extended filter offers - compared to the default Revit filtering - a more detailed selection of drawing elements. It allows to limit the selection to the project, to the current view or to the selection set. You can group selected components by level, room or category in any order. You can also filter by parameters contained in families.


The new function Export and Import of schedules can easily export selected Revit tables (schedules) to Excel. You can modify some data in Excel and then reimport the updated data back to the Revit schedules.


Besides of this, new functions were added for wall-pipe dimensions, for automatic door-swing detection in curtain walls (L/R) and for more detailed setting of Revit Tools options.

More information about this CAD Studio add-on tool, including detailed description of its individual functions, videos and download of the trial version can be found on the page Rvt Tools.


Updated versions of Revit Tools will be available soon also on the Autodesk Exchange Apps store.

Also, I missed the previously released V1.8...

The new version 1.8 adds e.g. unit setting, saving data to related files, numbering format for duct renumbering, customizable L/R door labels.

There's more information available on the CAD Studio website.

Related:
New CADstudio Revit Tools 1.7 for Revit 2013 and 2014
CADstudio - Revit Tools

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

What Interesting Times We Live In...

All year I've felt an increasing level of maturity in Revit add-ins and related technologies (more on that at year end when I write up the 2014 Revit add-in award winners) and in the last week the pace of exciting change has seemed to be cranked up to 11 (with all due respect to Spinal Tap).

For instance, energy analysis came to computational programming via Dynamo.

Autodesk Labs rolled out 5 new sustainable design apps:

Also, CASE announced a research project they initiated, BLDG 2.0. Inspired by the principles of mass collaboration and collective intelligence, BLDG 2.0 seeks to fill the void between design intent and verified building performance by providing an open-source analytical interface to building performance databases, a collaborative community of experts, and an online marketplace for ideas emphasizing building energy performance and open innovation.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Google set out to automate the A/E/C industry. Before I go into details on this one though, allow me to share a related personal story. 

In the late 1990's, I read an op/ed piece by the editor of MicroStation Manager magazine. It was about a new Internet search site named, you guessed it, Google. The editor, whose name I've long since forgotten. opined that this. was going to change. EVERYTHING.

I checked out the Google site, saw the now iconic sparse page design – the single search field surrounded by a sea of white – and exclaimed, out loud, at work, "Who gives a [expletive]?!?! And what the [expletive] is an article on an entirely unrelated piece of technology doing in MicroStation Manager magazine?!?!"

Until now I've only resented the editor's foresight because, in my imagination, he's retired and sitting on a tropical beach in a chair made of cash. Now I resent him even more on the grounds that he may truly have had the gift of foresight – because now Flux, the first startup company to spin out of Google[x], the research moonshot lab and incubator at Google dedicated to projects such as the driverless car and Google glass, has set out to automate the AEC industry by creating "seed" buildings that take on different forms and characteristics depending upon where they're "planted" in the urban built environment. 

I've long thought that BIM was not the end state of building design technology (regardless of what the marketing folks tell us, BIM as a technology is really just better CAD – lots better, but still...) One of the most interesting questions to me has been, what's next? I've long thought it to be computational design ala GenerativeComponents, Grasshopper and, now, Dynamo. I think I was right, but I wasn't forward thinking enough. Google, however, was. 

There's a fantastic article about Flux and their efforts to automate the A/E/C industry here.

How to close an article that touches on so many exciting developments rolled out or announced in just the past week? Being from Seattle, I can only think of one of the signature calls of the late great Hall of Fame Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus, "My oh my!"

Credit:






Solar Radiation for Revit Now Available via Autodesk Labs

From Scott Sheppard's It's Alive In the Lab blog...

I am happy to announce another technology preview available via Autodesk Labs that you can try for free. Revit 2014 and 2015 users can now quickly, easily, and iteratively perform solar analysis on the faces of a mass in Autodesk Revit. They can visualize and quantify the distribution of solar radiation on various areas of a mass by taking into account the shading effects from adjacent objects, such as vegetation and surrounding buildings in an urban setting. The technology preview can also help with shading device design (effective strategies in blocking unwanted solar radiation) and aperture placement (allowing wanted solar radiation). So check this one out.



There's more information available on the It's Alive In the Lab blog.

Credit:

Free Open Source mantis shrimp: Grasshopper to Dynamo

From the archi lab website...

Mantis Shrimp is a Dynamo (Revit) and Grasshopper (Rhino) interoperability project that allows you to read Rhino’s native *.3dm file type as well as export geometry from Grasshopper. It is written in Python in form of a user objects (on Grasshopper side for exporting) and custom Python nodes (on Dynamo side for importing). It’s an OPEN SOURCE project with all of the source code available on GitHub. At the moment it’s a collaboration project between myself and Mostapha Sadeghipour.

There's more information available on the archi lab website.

Credit:

RoomMass Add-in for Revit

From the Autodesk Exchange Apps website...

Simple and useful 

Do you need to automatically create mass elements from a room’s objects in your project?

Create geometry from room’s objects so you can visualize it volume in 3D view?

RoomMass is the right solution.

RoomMass for Autodesk® Revit® provides a tool to automatically create mass elements (mesh geometry) from a room’s objects so you can visualize the room’s volume in 3D View.

Download a sample rvt file to view mass generated from rooms from this link: http://a360.co/1sGallL

Watch a video demo: https://screencast.autodesk.com/Main/Details/461f9e72-4166-41a9-96c0-96af91c68450





The RoomMass add-in is priced at USD 15.00.

There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

Topo Align Add-in for Revit

From the Autodesk Exchange Apps website...

Topo Align allows you to pick elements (walls, floors, roofs, pads) and align topo surfaces to either the top or bottom face with variable offsets.

You can also align topo surfaces to individual edges and some limited support for aligning topo surfaces to families.

This screencast shows some testing of the addin with floor, roof and pad elements and several examples of how pick edges might be used.

App Dialog

 Topo surface with floor, wall, roof and pad elements placed

Topo surface after aligning to the elements

Topo surface after using edge align to align to 2 edges of the wall

The Topo Align add-in is priced at USD 1.99.

There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Attention Revit Add-In Developers: A Call for Updates

It's relatively easy to find and post here about new Revit add-ins, but it's much more difficult to be aware of and find information about updates to existing products.

Now or in the future, if you're a Revit add-in developer and have made a significant update to your product that I haven't posted about, please drop me a line with the details so I can write about it for the community. Thanks!

Roundup: New and Updated Revit Add-ins on Autodesk Exchange Apps for the Week of 10/19/2014








UPDATED ADD-INS

IFC 2015
Autodesk, Inc. | Win32 and 64 | 10/21/2014 | Free

Seamlessly replaces the built-in IFC import and export capabilities of Autodesk® Revit® 2015

IFC Export Alternate UI 2014
Autodesk, Inc. | Win32 and 64 | 10/21/2014 | Free

This application provides an alternate user interface for the export of IFC files from Autodesk® Revit® 2014 and Revit LT 2014.

BIMstop Revit Tools
Modlar Limited. | Win32 and 64 | 10/21/2014 | Free

The BIMstop Revit Tools app allows you to easily browse and place families directly from BIMstop.com

IFC Exporter 2014
Autodesk, Inc. | Win32 and 64 | 10/21/2014 | Free

Seamlessly replaces the built-in IFC export capabilities of Autodesk® Revit® 2014


BIMiTs Workshop Drawings 2013
i-Theses bvba | Win64 only | 10/20/2014 | Free

Tool to generate 2D drawings (sections, elevations ...) of selected Autodesk® Revit® objects, directly in AutoCAD® 2013 or AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2013.

Material Batch Deletion
Shanghai ESoo Software Co., Ltd. | Win32 and 64 | 10/20/2014 | Free

Search and delete multiple materials from project document easily.


CTC BIM Project Suite 2015
CTC, Inc. | Win32 and 64 | 10/19/2014 | Free

Automate tedious tasks, use the power of Excel with Revit, manage content, compare a project at 2 points in time, validate families in rooms and much more. For Revit 2013-2015.

CTC BIM Manager Suite 2015
CTC, Inc. | Win32 and 64 | 10/19/2014 | Free

For people who manage Autodesk® Revit® content and projects, BIM Manager Suite contains tools to help standardize, protect, and quickly change Revit families and projects. For Revit 2013-2015.

EasyDimension
Shanghai ESoo Software Co., Ltd. | Win32 and 64 | 10/19/2014 | Free

EasyDimension tool could help you add dimensions for all visible elements in a view for several different categories.


NEW ADD-INS


RevitWorks Door Factory 2015 LITE
RevitWorks Ltd | Win64 only | 10/20/2014 | Free

Create Doors & Curtain Panel Doors quickly with the RevitWorks Door Factory LITE: a FREE door maker add-in. The Door Factory creates doors that are incredibly easy to use within Autodesk® Revit®.

Related: Other roundups.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Energy Analysis for Dynamo – Open Beta Release!

From Thornton Thomasetti's CORE Studio website...

We are very happy to announce the open beta release of Energy Analysis for Dynamo, available today in the Dynamo Package Manager, and on Github. Energy Analysis for Dynamo allows for parametric energy modeling and whole-building energy analysis workflows in Dynamo 0.7. The package also allows the user to configure the energy model from Autodesk Vasari and Autodesk Revit, submit to Green Building Studio for DOE2 energy analysis and dig into the results returned from the analysis.

There's more information available on Thornton Thomasetti's CORE Studio website.

Credit:

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Clash Sphere Generator Add-in for Revit

From the BIM One website...

IMPORT CLASHES FROM NAVISWORK TO REVIT

The clash sphere generator is a tool by BIM One that helps project coordinators to communicate clashes location more efficiently to the design team.

Once the report is exported by Autodesk Navisworks® in XML format, the tool is able to read locations and create clash spheres in the building information model. Each sphere is identified by an identification number stored in the report which makes it easier to track and solve using Revit schedules.

Besides information about selected objects, the clash sphere generator gives you an ability to store information about issue status and the team member assigned to solve it. Processed issues can be marked ‘completed’ and comments can be added, which means that only active issues and not the entire BIM model need to be communicated between team members. This capability enables a powerful and open collaboration workflow between all parties during the design and building process.

Using the clash sphere generator results in a more efficient and accurate workflow because communication within a project, and between team members is improved as well as eliminating the need to transfer large BIM files over the Internet. The clash sphere generator focuses on the process and how to cooperate with different BIM software.

Benefits:
  • No additional model checking software training required.
  • Review clashes in their original context to easily solve them.
  • Improved collaboration workflow.
  • Saves you model checking software licenses.
  • No need to transfer large file over the Internet.







The Clash Sphere Generator add-in retails for USD 79.99.


There's more information available on the BIM One website.

Credit:

Free Color Splasher Add-in for Revit for Model Checking (UPDATED)

From the BIM One website...

VISUALIZE AND VERIFY THE INFORMATION IN A MODEL WITH COLOR

The Color Splasher is a tool by BIM One that allows to graphically visualize and verify the information in a model. It filters, selects and colors elements based on the values of a defined parameter to let you visualise if there are errors or a lack of information. User first selects the desired category, then selects a parameter and finally, sets colors for each value of this parameter.
  • Quick Review of potential problems
  • Facilitates monitoring of model quality




There's more information available on the BIM One website.

Credit:

Updated 12/5/2014 to change add-in name from "Model Checker" to "Color Splasher."

Free Bim One Add-in Manager for Revit

From the BIM One website...

INSTALL OUR APPLICATIONS WITH EASE!

The BIM One Add-Ins Manager let you install, update or uninstall BIM One Add-ins from your account in a couple mouse clicks.

Make sure Revit is closed and let the Manager do the job for you.

Benefits:
  • Easily manage add-ins
  • Access our applications in one single click
  • Seamless updates



There's more information available on the BIM One website.

Credit:

Align Road to Topo Add-in for Revit

From Moustafa Khalil's website...

About the Tool:

As promised, this is an extension to my previously developed tool “Align Topo to Road” but this one is completely opposite. In this tool you will Align Road to a Topography. in our real life we use road coordinates/Levels as a constrain to alter and grad topography, but may be we need this tool to draw a bumpy walking path over a mountain where we can assign a landscape stone material to.

How it works:

I have simplified the core code concept to allow the designer don’t think much and let him use the same understanding for Align Topo to Road. Please read explanation for Align Topo to Road here to get a background understanding of this tool.

A briefed tutorial:

Lets commence on a fast tutorial to experience the results of our tool. before before selected


  1. Create any shape of topography surface.
  2. Create a very simple Roof: Define slope property must be disabled “unchecked” Roof type is Foot print type The segments must be preferably of type ”Line or Arcs or Ellipses”, Spline can be used but might give you unexpected results.
  3. A new button will be appeared in ARCH4HUM Ribbon Panel at Geometry Panel named “Road Topo” click on it.
  4. A new dialog will appear seeking some tweaking


Watch Revit finishing the long hours of Adjustments… these are examples of what it can do. The image below shows the results of using the tool. For more detail please visit the below link for a video clip.



You may try this application via this link here.

Caution

At demo mode, you will not be able to save or save as or print or export your document. It would be highly recommended to save your work before you try. To release this restriction and to be able to commence all Revit functions normally, either to input your Activation Code or close current Revit document and reopen it

There's more information available on Moustafa Khalil's website.