Enscape for Revit - The New Material Editor in 3.1 (Replay!) w/Josh Radle

 

On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Josh Radle to discuss Enscape for Revit.   Enscape continuously adds awesome and valuable new features with each release, and 3.1 is no different.  For a "point" release it is impressive.  

I have been a long-time user of Enscape for both design and visualization and I am super excited to have Josh on to share what's new in the platform.  

Some of the topics we covered:

- Brande NEW Material Editor (displacement maps in Revit?!) and how to USE IT!

- Material Library (Preset Materials that look AWESOME in Enscape)

- The new 3.0 user interface and some of the benefits of it...

- How to get FREE sample files.

Plus, we took questions along the way!

Oh, and don't forget about the "BIG 'BAD' BIM Tip of the Week"... The tip this week came from Dan and had to do with stacked walls... dun dun dun.

Links Mentioned:

Try Enscape for FREE today 

Revit / Enscape PBR Materials Blog Post

Enscape FREE Sample Files

Envision 21 Conference

Shared Parameters in Revit (Replay)

If you missed the livestream last night the replay has now been posted!  

I talked about the different types of parameters, why shared parameters exist, and what to do if you delete your shared parameter file!!

Oh.... And I gave into the peer pressure and opened a shared parameter file, too.... 

Revit Structural Framing - Cut Rafter at Ridge Beam Revit Tutorial

In this Revit Structural Framing tutorial I run through two approaches to cutting rafters a ridge beams in Revit.  This tutorial was inspired by a member of the BIM After Dark Community, Chris.   Thanks Chris!

If you are interested in joining the other 150+ members (and myself) within the BIM After Dark Community, take advantage of the current 14 day free trial I am offering!

As a member of the community you'll get access to:

- Self-paced Revit courses (all four! and any new courses to be added in the future) with sample files, live chat, and community support.
- Access sample files from your favorite "Revit Kid" tutorial posts.
- Exclusive access to online "office hours" with Jeff and guests.
- Connect with other Revit users to share ideas, best practices, and ask/answer burning questions as a community.

Click here to start your FREE trial today...

Importing Google Maps into Twinmotion Tutorial (in 3D!)

In this quick Twinmotion Tutorial video I will build on the process I demonstrated a few weeks ago (here is the video) and show you how to take a mesh made from Google Maps and bring it into Twinmotion for context and visualization purposes.

Also, don't forget, if you are interested in leaning more about Twinmotion, check out my FREE From Revit to Twinmotion course!

Parametric Revit Family Tutorial - Curtain Panel "Chippendale Rail"

In this parametric Revit family tutorial video I walk through the thought process and steps it took to build what we are calling the "chippendale rail".  The solution ended up being a fully parametric Revit curtain panel family that had some unique characteristics and demonstrated some really cool Revit family creation techniques.

Thanks to Jak of the BIM After Dark Community for inspiring this Revit tutorial video!

Importing Google Maps into Revit Tutorial (in 3D!!)

 

In this really neat tutorial I will walk you through a process I developed that gives you the ability to import Google Maps into Revit .... in 3D!!

Continue reading to check it out...

It's a Girl !

 

On the last episode of BIM After Dark Live I mentioned I would be taking a break from the live show for a bit because my wife and I were expecting... 

Well, two weeks ago we were blessed with our daughter, Adalyn Grace.

As you can see from the image above, Adalyn and her older brother, Jacob, are having a good old time together.  Meanwhile, my wife and I have spent the last two weeks trying to remember all the "newborn" things while figuring out how to balance TWO children under the age of 3...  If you have any tips, I am all ears... haha!

Well, I am now "weaning" myself back into the office again and wanted to keep you all updated on some cool things going on this month....

What Makes the ULTIMATE Revit Computer System?

 

What is the best Revit laptop? What is the best Revit desktop? What is the best Revit computer? In over 12 years of blogging about Revit, I think this could be the most common question I get. On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I will be joined by Buck Davis. Buck is the founder of BIMBOX and has spent the last 12 years taking his AEC experience to specialize in the hardware we use (ie. computers, laptops, peripherals, etc...). I asked Buck to come on the show to talk generally about what it takes to piece together the perfect Revit laptop / desktop. The goal is to help you better understand what hardware selections to focus on when you're building your next Revit computer system.

We talked about what to look for when specifying a new Revit computer including processors, graphics cards, RAM, storage, cooling, and more...

The conversation was great and the questions from the live audience were probing.  If you have ever had to spec a desktop or laptop and were wondering "does this speed matter?  How many cores should I get?  How much RAM?".. Then you HAVE to give this episode a watch...

Continue reading to see the replay and view the links mentioned....

Enscape 3.0 and Revit (w/Dan Stine)

 

Dan Stine has joined me here on the show twice now to talk about Enscape... (Episode 12 and Episode 26) So, when Enscape 3.0 for Revit was launched, I had to have him back on to chat about it.

The release of Enscape 3.0 has some great and welcomed new features (as well as improvements on some old ones).  

Yesterday, Dan showed us some of the great  new improvements and features the Enscape team has put in place with this milestone release.

We talked about the UI/UX, view management, settings, visual setting control, video paths, displacement maps, custom assets, and more!

Oh, we also chatted a bit about Dan's role at Lake Flato (an award winning architecture firm, and one of my favorite design firms, personally) and how they are using BIM/Technology/Revit...

Continue reading to view the replay and links mentioned...

Community Open House Replay + Big News

 

Yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live was as humbling as it was fun.  

First, my little man, Jacob, joined us for the introduction and BIMBOX sponsor read... Before heading off to nap with Mommy.

Second, I was joined by a bunch of amazing BIM After Dark Community members!  Walking through the community platform and showing the livestream audience around sparked some great conversations in the chat and also between us on the call.  In fact, we broke into a few discussions about Revit issues (like topography edges) we almost forget we were live!

Third, I made a couple BIG announcements about the blog, livestream, and community...

Continue reading to learn more...

Revit 2022: The New Features You DON'T know about, but SHOULD (w/Aaron Maller)

 

By now you may have heard about all of the fancy new features in Revit 2022... Or have you? Instead of doing a simple "here are the new features" run-down of the latest Revit release, we thought it would be fun to have friend of the show, Aaron Maller (of Parallax Team), join us to talk about the less glamorous (but super important) features in Revit 2022. You know, the ones that will truly enhance your workflow, improve your lives, and eliminate some of those ridiculous workarounds you have been doing for years.

We had some great questions and great conversation about Revit 2022 and our opinions on the features.

Also, this is one with A LOT of links mentioned so be sure to continue reading...

"3D Coordination" Explained (Revit + Navisworks) Replay w/Sample Files

 

I wasn't sure what I was expecting going into this episode of BIM After Dark Live.  I know its an area of BIM that a lot of people aren't very familiar with, or if they are, it's an area of mass frustration.  Either way, the topic of 3D coordination with Revit and Navisworks was a huge hit.  Over 200 of you joined me live and there were tons of great questions that guided the conversation.

Some of the topics we covered were:

- An Overview of the 3D Coordination Process (w/a sweet diagram, see below)

- How design teams can help improve the process

- How to export from Revit to Navisworks

- The only tools you need to know in Navisworks (for coordination)

- Running Clash Detection in Navisworks

- Ways to communicate issues with team members

- and more...

Continue reading to view the replay, see the diagram, and download sample files...