Working with Meshes in Revit (Episode 85) - Replay

As expected, last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live was a ton of fun! 

I talked about and explored various concepts around working with meshes in Revit.  With the release of Revit 2023 came some welcomed improvements to how Revit deals with meshes and I wanted to share some of what I have learned and how to take advantage of the new features.

Some of the things we talked about were:

- The file types you can import and compare how they look in Revit.

- Dealing with materials (rendered and shaded) when it comes to imports.

- Modifying imported mesh files to make them easier to use in Revit.

... Oh, and I downloaded, and imported "Thanos" while live on air, thanks to a suggestion from the audience...

Click here to see the replay of Episode 85 of BIM After Dark Live ...

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...

Architects, Developers, & BIM: Test-fitting with the TestFit Team (Replay)

 

I remember seeing a GIF of TestFit a few years back on Twitter.  It showed a 3D diagram of a simple apartment looking building and a parking lot around the outside.  The site was pulled in one direction and the building grew,  changed shape, and the parking lot reconfigured as it was stretched... 

Mind blown.

Fast-forward to today, TestFit is a platform that blends architecture, building codes, crowd sourced input, real-estate developer knowledge, BIM, and generative design to completely disrupt the early stages of a project development.

On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Clifton and Nat to not only discuss how an application like TestFit interacts with your Revit models, but also about how an understanding of what developers value and an acceptance of co-creation tools will ultimately benefit you as much as them...

The conversation was awesome, the questions were great, and Nat showed us how you can bring a TestFit building into Revit ... yes, those are Revit Walls, Floors, Roofs, etc... Automatically!

Continue reading to view the replay and see it in action....

Interactive 3D Revit Models in Power BI (w/Nate Miller) - Replay w/Links

 

On yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Nate Miller to talk about Revit, Power BI, and an application he built that gives you the ability to interact with 3D models IN a Power BI dashboard... Nate is the founder of Proving Ground, and has a long history of creating useful applications for architects, engineers, and contractors including LunchBox, Rhynamo, & Slingshot. Nate will be joining us to talk about some of his new projects that deal with how Power BI can interact with 3D modeling programs (like Revit & Rhino). Tracer, his suite of applications that let you export Revit data, import it into Power BI, and generate an interactive 3D model (in Power BI) is sure to be a game changer for data analytics, visualization, and more...

We had a great conversation, Nate showed some awesome stuff, and there were excellent questions from the audience...

Continue reading to view the replay and the links mentioned (and to try out Nate's dashboards!)...

Managing LARGE & COMPLEX Sites in Revit and Twinmotion (Replay w/Links)

 

On last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live I broke down how my team and I manage large, complex, and phased scenes in Revit & Twinmotion 2020 to create construction logistics/phasing plans, aerial views, and more... There are a lot of aspects to this session for Revit: - Model setup of super large scenes (acres upon acres of land). - Use of Container models using the design teams files. - Managing multiple phases, fencing, and more... Then, there are all the lessons learned when using Twinmotion 2020 with these large scenes, such as: - Export/Import Tips for less crashes. - Managing Phases/Sequencing, etc... - More efficient and stable model refreshes on large scenes - Best trees and material settings for aerial views. - Best lighting settings for aerial views...

Follow along as I walked through two different projects with their own unique approaches to creating large site models in Revit and managing how those scenes are built in Twinmotion.

Also, it's worth watching this episode to see how nervous I was while running two instances of Twinmotion 2020, two instances of Revit, and streaming live to YouTube from a 2K monitor... Talk about risky!

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (as well as the Twinmotion light settings I walk through at the end)...

Residential Revit - Under Construction (Replay + Links)

 

In this episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my ongoing home addition project ("Split Level Redux") and talk about some of the ways Revit has helped during the construction phase. 

So often in residential construction, as the architect, we spend countless hours working with a client to design their dream home (or addition).  However, there isn't always a connection between that effort and the efforts in the field.  

I have been using my own personal project as an opportunity to explore how Revit (and "BIM" in general) can add value to residential contractors, too.

In this episode we explored:

- General construction updates on the project (with some cool footage).

- How I am using Revit to track progress.

- How Revit is helping me place material orders.

- Real-time diagramming and problem solving using the model..

- And of course, some of the head-aches along the way....

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (there were quite a few links mentioned!)... 

Revit and Drones - Mapping, Point Clouds, and More...

If you missed last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live, do yourself a favor and check out the replay below...  If you're an overall technology junky/geek like me, you

Drones and Revit are two technologies I have been trying to figure out how to connect for a couple of years now.  Recently, a colleague of mine introduced me to a technology that makes it all possible.

In this episode I walked through how I was able to take a $600 (Black Friday sale drone) and map out an existing building, export it to a point cloud, and bring it into Revit...

Oh, and so so much more...

Like this really cool looking image...

Continue reading to see what I am all jazzed up about and to see the links (software and hardware) mentioned...

Parametric Dining Room Light Fixture Family in Revit - Start to Finish

 

I built a parametric family in Revit on yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live.

But, not just any old Revit family.  A dining room light fixture. 

Why a light fixture family?  

Well, I've noticed over the years that light fixtures are probably some of the most wanted families.  Probably because there are literally millions of fixture with all sorts of little details within them.

Another reason I wanted to walk you through the creation of this fixture live is that is contains a whole bunch of great family creation tips and tricks along the way.  

There were some great questions and I shared a lot of "process" references (like sketches, and diagrams) that are worth checking out...

Topics Covered:
- Laying out a Parametric Object
- Using Nested Families (when, why, and how).
- Using multiple light sources in one family.
- Carrying parameters (like materials) through nested Families
- When to use sweeps over extrusions
- Tips for making "rods"...

And so much more.  

If you missed it, be sure to continue reading to see the replay and view all of the reference materials...

AMA Replay (Plus, a 30% Off Discount!)

 

To wrap up 2020 with a bang, I thought it would be fun to host another "Ask Me Anything (AMA)" style episode of BIM After Dark Live.  The last time I did an AMA style episode was almost 20 episodes ago.  

That day, I hosted a double header and couldn't even keep up with all the questions I got!  (Check out the replays here.)

Yesterday, there were so many questions is was hard to keep up!  Thank you all for joining, asking questions, and making this live show thing... well, a thing!

Topics the we Covered:

- Building a wall under a ramp (and other ramp options).

- Creating Door Window and Curtain Wall Elevations (touched on it).

- Revit Backup File Management

- Creating a Concrete Mass in Revit

- Using the overhead line trick ... sort of ...

- 3D Details and When to Model versus draft (hint, MODEL MODEL!).

- My middle name...

Continue reading to view the episode...

Calculating Occupancy in Revit, Automatically

 

On the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Dana De Filippi to talk about automatically calculating (and tagging) occupancy loads in Revit.  Dana is a co-host on the BIM Thoughts Podcast and a BIM technologist within the field of architecture and kicks all kinds of Dynamo butt.

Dana shared the workflow she developed that will automatically (and accurately) calculate your occupancy loads and place them into tags for you!  Something I know you all just love doing manually ... ;)

Topics Covered:

- Creating and using Area Schemes in Revit

- Constructing key values and using conditional formatting in Revit schedules.

- Use Dynamo to collect Revit and Excel Data

- Discover how to integrate user selection of different code requirements.

This is a DO NOT MISS for all of my fellow Architects out there (and FP engineers, too!)...

Continue reading to view the episode and download the sample files Dana was so gracious to share!

Revit + Twinmotion 2020: Rendering a Night Scene (Tips and Tricks)

 

On this special Tuesday episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my own house project and jumped back into some Revit & Twinmotion 2020 content.  

We talked about rendering night scenes in Twinmotion 2020 with Revit.

This episode was inspired by a student's question following our Twinmotion class.  She asked about making a "moody" nights scene.  Then, it dawned on me, I had yet to make a NIGHT SCENE in Twinmotion.  

So, I dug in, spent some time, and figured out some of the tips and tricks to creating sexy, moody, and super-fun images!

Continue reading to view the replay an all of the links mentioned (including my FREE Revit to Twinmotion course...)

Flipped Interview w/ BIM Thoughts (Talking AU2020, Fishing, & More!) + Announcements!

 

On last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live, I welcomed Dana, Bill, and Carl from the BIM Thoughts podcast.  It was nice to have a drink, sit back, and chit chat about myself, AU2020, 3D printing, fishing, and more...

Also, a couple important event notes for next week (before you check out for the holidays!):

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

Tips for Deploying Dynamo Scripts w/John P (+ Datasets)

 

On yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by the one and only SixySecondsRevit (aka John P). John is a Design Technologist at Parallax Team and is also the creator of one of my favorite Dynamo custom packages (Rhythm). John will be talking about his approaches to handing off and deploying Dynamo (for Revit) scripts. This is huge! Once you've created the greatest script ever, understanding how to share it and let other users actually use it is the next big step... Some things John and I discussed... - Drop down considerations (for Revit versions) - Grouping ideas

- Dynamo Templates!!!?!? - Showing View Extensions to Help - and more...

Continue reading to view the episode and download the datasets...!

Revit & Enscape 2.8: Design, Present, Collaborate (w/Dan Stine)

 

Dan Stine returned to BIM After Dark Live last night to talk about some of the new features in Enscape 2.8 (and what's to come in Enscape 2.9)...  Similar to our previous episode with Dan he didn't just run through the features, he also demonstrated some useful tips and tricks along the way!

Personally, I am most excited about all of the new healthcare content in Enscape 2.8, but even more excited about the FBX/OBJ import options in 2.9 to come!!!

Topics Covered:

Enscape 2.8

BIM 360 freeze fixed
Collaborative annotation
"Puddle Tip/Trick"
Animated vegetation
New assets
Carpet material
BIM Mode

Version 2.9 beta

Video textures
Custom asset library (and editor!!!)
Offline asset library

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

Practical Revit Family Tips and Tricks (w/Special Guest Philip Chan)

 

Mind. Blown. 

That is all I can say about last nights episode of BIM After Dark Live.  Philip Chan, of the Phil-oshophy in BIM blog, joined me to demonstrate some practical family tips and tricks.  

Ahead of the episode, Phil only sent me a few bullet points about what he was going to talk about. He did not give away any of his "punch-lines".  This is one of those episodes that you will want to watch regardless of your experience in Revit.  The little tricks that Phil demonstrates are not just useful but also show how you can use creative thinking to develop new ways of doing things in Revit.

Just some of the content we covered included:

- How to use nested profile to control rotation in your family 

- How to use nested profile to make exposed curve end beam family - Tips on getting the manufacturer family behave the way you want it

- Tips on re-purposing existing content as nested family

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