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.