Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit 2014

Revit® Extensions for Autodesk® Revit® 2014 extend the capabilities of Autodesk® Revit® 2014*, Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2014, Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2014, and Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2014 software in key areas, including structural analysis, modeling, reinforcement, interoperability and construction documentation.

This download contains a portion of all previously released Revit Extensions. The following content has been migrated to Autodesk Exchange Apps as separate installations:

• Wood Walls Framing, Roof Framing, and Roof Trusses extensions are available now as Timber Framing package
• Compare Models
• Grids Generator
• Civil Structures
• CIS/2 Import/Export
• SDNF Import/Export
• Excel based model generation
• Frame Generator
• Composite Design

What’s New

The new Structure Generator Extension for Autodesk® Revit® 2014, Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2014 and Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2014 software helps users to create and visualize a physical and analytical model of a structure based on the massing model.

With a parametric approach, common data format, and faster model regeneration, the Structure Generator Extension helps users to create different variants of architectural models and helps them to validate the structure of the model. The extension helps to coordinate models between the architect and structural engineer and can help reduce the number of changes required in the model during the later phases of design.

Contents

The Revit® Extensions for Autodesk® Revit® 2014 software products package contains the following Revit Extensions:

Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis 2014

• Load Takedown
• Reinforcement Design 

SOFiSTiK 3D-PDF Export 2014

3D PDF files are a convenient medium to exchange information between different actors in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process, since they are commonly used almost everywhere and constitute a multiplatform mean of communication.

SOFiSTiK 3D-PDF Export extends the functionalities of Revit® through the generation of standard PDF documents with embedded 3D graphics; the files produced by the program can be opened by any PDF reader that supports the PDF 1.6 standard, such as Adobe Reader 7.0 or later. SOFiSTiK 3D-PDF Export uses the geometric definition of the elements in order to create an equivalent representation of the model in U3D format. Descriptive information about the particular Revit® objects is embedded.

Main features:

• Support for all elements which can be visualized as solid in Revit.
• Support for Rebar, Rebar sets, Area reinforcement and Path reinforcement, including all the relevant parameters of these elements as metadata.
• Creation of a U3D file, which can be used to create interactive 3D / 2D PDF documents using a standard PDF editor.
•  The U3D file is written using a Boundary representation of the Revit® objects and a high compression through binary encoding. Likewise a fully referenced data structure is implemented, which is reflected in the model tree organization.
• Support for free-form curves and surfaces, by means of the discretization of the elements.
• Generation of predefined views in order to ease the usage and visualization of the model.
• The Quality of the model is controlled by means of two parameters in the settings dialog. They allow to modify the level of detail of standard elements and reinforcement in order to improve either the model appearance or the performance.
• Customizable general format of the PDF file.
• Support for additional JavaScript’s, which can be used to improve user interaction.

There's more information about this add-in on the Autodesk Exchange | Apps website, for the 64-bit version here and the 32-bit version here.

Free Revit IFC Export Alternate UI 2014 from Autodesk

"This application provides an alternate user interface for the export of IFC files from Revit 2014 and Revit LT 2014. This new user interface offers additional options not provided in the standard Revit user interface, and provides the ability to store setup configurations into the Revit model for reuse."

This free add-in may be downloaded from the Autodesk Exchange | Apps website.

Free IFC Exporter for Revit 2014 from Autodesk

"The IFC exporter for Revit 2014 and Revit LT 2014 contains up-to-date improvements on the default IFC export capabilities of Revit contributed by Autodesk and our Open Source contributors. While this app is not necessary for IFC support, it is recommended that users that depend on the quality of their IFC export download this app and keep it up-to-date, as new enhancements and defect fixes are added."

This free add-in may be downloaded from the Autodesk Exchange | Apps website.

MDX Exporter for Revit 2014

"Collaboration and Data Management

"Meta Data Exporter software helps organize, manage, and track data creation, simulation, and documentation processes for design and engineering workgroups. Get more control over design data with revision management capabilities and quickly find and reuse design data. This allows for easier management of your design and engineering information directly from the 3D model. Parametric Components from Revit help calculate detailed material quantities and track material quantities for cost estimates. The MDX engine helps support more accurate material takeoffs.

"Free Trial offers FULL functionality for 30 days, so you can experience all the power and features MDX for Revit® has to offer."

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

3D PDF Converter for Revit 2014

"3D PDF Converter for Revit® is an integrated software working within the Revit® environment that enables users to publish rich, interactive 3D PDF files that are significantly smaller than the original Revit® 3D models.

"The 3D PDF Converter for Revit connects the extensive Building Information Modeling (BIM) community for the first time with a Revit plug-in that supports data sharing using 3D PDF based on the PRC file format.

"The software uses the Adobe 3D Technology as a one button file conversion that is easily exchangeable and viewed with the free Adobe Reader.

"Free Trial offers FULL functionality for 30 days, so you can experience all the power and features 3D PDF Converter for Revit® has to offer."

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

Free View Template Controller Add-in from Case (Updated)

"The View Template controller is a simple tool that enables you to visualize and change View Template assignments for views in your model. Just drag and drop views onto a View Template name and your views will update instantly taking on the new view template settings."

There's more information about this free add-in on the CASE Apps website.

Update 5/8/2016: CASE and the CASE Apps website are no more but, courtesy of WeWork, the CASE Apps are now open source. They may be accessed on GitHub.

 

Autodesk Labs' BIM Coordinator Graduates to Shared Reference Point on the Autodesk Subscription Center

"Avoid juggling coordinate systems.

"Many of you recall the BIM Coordinator for AutoCAD Civil 3D / Revit when it was a technology preview on Autodesk Labs. The technology preview has since graduated. I am happy to report that the technology is now available in the Autodesk Subscription Center as the Shared Reference Point tool. The download can be found on the "Productivity Tools for AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013" page.

"A version for 2014 should follow in a reasonable timescale."

Credit: Scott Sheppard's It's Alive in the Lab blog.

Unifi - An Add-in for Managing Content from Public Websites for Revit and AutoCAD (Updated)

Updated 8/7/2014: This post is out of date and no longer accurate. It is maintained for historical purposes only. For current information on Unifi, please see this post.

Unifi natively integrates into Autodesk Building Design Suite including Revit® & AutoCAD® providing users a powerful tool to better manage, organize, find and rate content across an array of public sites.

Users can organize BIM content, ACAD content, applications, documents and other electronic resources within a customizable desktop environment.

There's more information on the INVIEWlabs website.

Credit: the AEC-APPS website.

Rebuild Walls – Convert AutoCAD 2D Lines into Revit Walls

Emanuel Favreau has created an add-in to convert AutoCAD 2D lines into Revit walls or model lines.

This add-in may be downloaded from Emanuel Favreau's website.

Crowd - A Free Random Element Generator Add-in for Revit

Crowd is a free add-in that places random elements in Revit.

Crowd may be downloaded from Emanuel Favreau's website.

Credit: the AEC-APPS website.

Revit Precast Add-in for Revit Structure

"The latest development of IDAT GmbH is a design software for precast concrete detailing based on Autodesk Revit Structure.

"The software Revit Precast will be developed to a complete solution for precast concrete design in the next months. The first module of that product family for the design of Hollowcore Slabs is released for practical use currently. Further modules for the design of other precast slab types and also for precast walls, columns, beams, stairs and facades will be released within the next months. Revit Precast is available in 2 different versions. Revit Precast Engineering includes functionality for precast segment generation directly from Revit objects and assemblies (automatic segmentation of precast walls and slabs), functionality for reinforcement generation, material management and functions to generate and manage info for commercial accounting and estimation. The version Revit Precast Factory includes additionally all functionality requested for the panel production like automatic generation of individual shop drawings and site plans and the generation of data for the CAD/CAM interface to run production machines and robots automatically.  Furthermore data for the optional software IDAT-Stacker (for graphical transport stacking) and IDAT-Palettizer (production bed planning) will be offered."

There's more information available on the IDAT website.

Credit: the AEC-APPS website.

Sparkframe - Free Cloud-based Collaboration for Revit Projects

Sparkframe is the effective and efficient way for architecture / engineering / construction design teams to communicate while using building information models. In particular, the Sparkframe Revit Add-In for Autodesk Revit 2013 empowers users to converse, record screenshots, and manage tasks on Revit elements. This cloud-powered, BIM-based collaboration ensures project team coordination that retains a consistent, reliable relationship with a shared digital model.

Can your email do that?

Because Sparkframe is a cloud service, your project team can continue conversations in real-time and manage BIM element-specific tasks day or night from any web-connected device, such as mobile phones and tablet computers. No Revit installation is needed, so anyone can read and add to a conversation.

With Sparkframe, your project team will more efficiently communicate and track design coordination with your Revit models.

Getting Started

Getting started with Sparkframe is as easy as opening a model, naming it, and adding it to your team's project.

Start a Conversation

Simply select any element, and then click "Start Conversation."

Your conversation is then attached to that element, directly with your model.

Because comments can attach more Revit elements, your conversations are always connected to the shared model. This is real BIM communication.

Collaborate

At any time, add a member of the design team to your conversation.

Need something more direct?

Assign your message as a task to a member of your team. You can even assign yourself tasks to keep track of your progress and design decisions.

Screenshots

Attach a screenshot with the touch of a button.

Because conversations and comments are attached to Revit elements, so is your screenshot. Effortlessly keep a visual record of your model elements throughout collaboration.

Manage, Mobile

No one needs a Revit installation to read and take part in conversations. This is perfect for project managers and teams on the go.

From a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone, just open up a browser to see and add to your team's progress.

No installation needed.

Cloud-Powered

Sparkframe is a cloud service, meaning there is no worry about storage, security, training, or technical know-how.

Everything is stored in the cloud, so Sparkframe will not increase the size of your Revit models, and all your information is automatically secure.

There's more information on this free add-in available on the En Masse Studios website.

Credit: the AEC-APPS website.

View Reference Master Add-in

"View Reference Master is a set of tools to save time when placing reference section cuts and reference callouts.  The process of placing reference views is greatly streamlined by allowing the user to select a sheet from a list of the sheets in the project and then a view from the selected sheet.  Once the sheet and view are selected, the reference section or callout is placed by the user in the active view.

"An additional tool in included which will relabel all views on the sheets with the sheet name and then detail label. This tool helps organize views in the project browser.  It also, helps order the views when placing a reference view using the standard Revit section and callout tools."

View Reference Master starts at USD 15 per license.

There's more information on the View Reference Master add-in on the Plain Tools website.

Credit: the AEC-APPS website.

An Update on the AEC-APPS Website - Social Networking for Apps!

It's been over 4 months since I last visited the AEC-APPS website,  the community-driven collection of apps for the AEC industry, created by SOM and CASE. The site was in Beta for these past 4 months. Now, at official launch,  there's a plethora of Revit add-ins available on the site, and it's easy to browse for add-ins too, though I don't see a way to filter for just Revit add-ins. I got better results searching using the keyword "Revit".

Here's the official announcement for the AEC-APPS launch on the designreform blog.

I'll be posting on the Revit Add-ons blog about the add-ins I've not previously covered that I see on the AEC-APPS website.

My hat's off to SOM and CASE for pulling off this innovative idea!

US Customers Can Try Online Versions Of Autodesk Revit 2014 and Autodesk Revit 2014 LT

"Autodesk Revit 2014 and Autodesk Revit LT 2014 online trials went live on autodesk.com [on April 18th].

"The online versions do check for eligibility. At this time, these links are not visible to everyone. Users must be in the US and must have a decent internet connection to our [Autodesk's] data centers  For those who meet the criteria, this is a great way for them to try Revit without having to download and install the application itself."

Here are the links:

http://www.autodesk.com/products/autodesk-revit-family/free-trial

http://www.autodesk.com/products/revit-lt/free-trial

Credit: Scott Sheppard's It's Alive in the Lab blog.

Free Building Coder Samples Updated to Revit 2014

Over on his excellent The Building Coder blog, Jeremy Tammik has migrated his Building Coder Samples to Revit 2014. These free code samples may be downloaded here.

Free COINS Auto-Section Box Gets a Major Update!

The COINS Auto-Section Box tool gives you tremendous speed and agility over managing three-dimensional views when analyzing model areas of particular interest. It allows you to quickly create temporary and permanent views to be used for immediate interrogation of the model or for construction document deliverables. This works by allowing you to focus on the model instead of managing views or a view’s properties.

New features:

• Support for Revit 2014
• New "Toggle Section Box" command
• Ability to arrange the section box view side-by-side with the selected view
• Support for creating section boxes from view outlines, section lines, and scope boxes
• New "Quick Auto-Section" command (twice as fast!)
• Worry-free selections - automatic filtering of 2d and datum elements

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

 

 

 

Free Autodesk COBie Toolkit for Revit

"This  toolkit is intended to assist project teams produce COBie deliverables in conjunction with their Revit model development. COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) is a framework for organizing data developed and accumulated during the course of a building project for delivery to facilities owners and operators involved in lifecycle management. COBie is evolving under the direction of the Engineer Research and Development Center, U.S.  Army, Corps of Engineers.

"Autodesk Revit 2013 and Building Information Modeling (BIM) solutions support the facility lifecycle management processes with tools and applications making lifecycle management easier, more efficient, and less costly.

"The toolkit contains the Revit template to produce COBie spreadsheets in conjunction with Revit model development and all of the template's supporting information."

According to the Inside the System blog,  when using this add-in, Autodesk was able to win the January 2013 BuildingSMART Alliance’s Design COBie Challenge, in convincing fashion:

• Autodesk Revit 2013 - 9 minutes to correct
• Bentley Systems AECOsim Building Designer (BETA) - 3.6 hours to correct
• Graphisoft ArchiCAD 17 (BETA) - 8 hours to correct

The free Autodesk COBie toolkit may be downloaded from the Autodesk website.

Kiwi Codes Family Browser Pro 2014 Add-in

Kiwi Code Solutions have introduced a new version of their Family Browser product for Revit 2014, Family Browser Pro. In addition to the previous features of Family Browser that users and BIM managers have come to know and love, the Pro version includes 3 significant enhancements that are specific to the Revit 2014 release:

• Project Specific Group.
• Ability to import Views.
• Ability to import system families and groups.

There's more information available on the Kiwi Codes Solutions website.

Free Structural Analysis and Code Checking Toolkit 2014 from Autodesk

The Structural Analysis and Code Checking Toolkit for Autodesk Revit software is a suite of tools that supports the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process and allows structural engineers to analyze and check your structure from within the Revit environment.

The toolkit contains the following items:

• Structural Analysis for Autodesk® Revit®
• The link with Autodesk® Robot™ Structural Analysis Professional 2014
• Structural Results Storage & Exploration tools
• Code Checking framework

Using this toolkit structural designers and engineers can optimize their workflows in the cloud and on the desktop by using the analytical model built in Autodesk Revit to conduct cloud-based structural analysis with access to Autodesk 360 services and by extending the Revit model to Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Professional software or supported third party analysis solutions. Once complete, analysis results can be easily stored and explored in the Revit environment.

Using the toolkit structural engineers can also verify and design structural elements according to local building codes and regulations which can be easily and quickly implemented by using the Code Checking framework.

This free add-in may be downloaded from the Autodesk Exchange | Apps website.

ofctools PRO Add-in

"When you work with Revit some tasks can be very exhaustive and slow like creating, editing or deleting multiple Revit elements. ofctools helps you optimize and streamline your work either with individual tasks or through a batch process. You may also combine different commands in a row to accomplish combined tasks.

"ofctools PRO does provide advanced maintenance commands. If you just need basic features you may want to check ofctools LITE that provides simple maintenance commands."

The ofctools PRO add-in is available on the Autodesk Exchange | Apps website for USD 19.99.

ofctools LITE Add-in

"When you work with Revit some tasks can be very exhaustive and slow like creating, editing or deleting multiple Revit elements. ofctools helps you optimize and streamline your work either with individual tasks or through a batch process. You may also combine different commands in a row to accomplish combined tasks.

"ofctools LITE does provide simple maintenance commands for quick results. If you need advanced capabilities check out the ofctools PRO version that contains not only everything you have in LITE version but 4 additional advanced commands."

The ofctools LITE add-in is available on the Autodesk Exchange | Apps website for USD 4.99.