Autocad Solids import problem with Revit

[Spacepig62]

Hello everyone - been a long time since I was on here

 

I've created a solid model using Autocad 2014 which has multiple solid entities that I want to export to Revit 2014 as individual entities.

 

When I import it into Revit 2014 however the drawing comes in as a single item, and if I right click the bounding box and try to either partial or full explode it, it completely disappears.

 

Is there any way of getting the entities changed from Autocad to Revit so I can add BIM information to each separate entity within Revit?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice and a big "Hello" to anyone that remembers me

 

Spacepig

[RobDraw]

What you are trying to do is not recommended practice. Revit does not like imported CAD stuff. You would be much better off creating new objects in Revit. Any families that we (the company I work for) get from external sources are fully examined and imported CAD entities are stripped from them before being used in a project. I am currently converting our entire detail library to native Revit objects. These are 2D drawings and I simplify them as much as possible before I import them. Any solids that I come across in the CAD files, I delete before importing and recreate in Revit.

[Spacepig62]

Hi Rob

 

Yes - I completely agree - however we have in excess of 50000 solids in the completed model - don't really fancy trying to re-create all them in Revit! - is there a work-around to do what I want to do?

 

Many thanks

 

Peter

[RobDraw]

There is, but I've never done it. You said that after exploding, everything disappears.

 

Do you get any messages from Revit?

 

Have you checked visibility settings, different views, etc.?

 

Can you post a small portion of the file that exhibits the same behavior?

[tzframpton]

I'll back Rob that he is 100% on the money with his advice.

 

Yes - I completely agree - however we have in excess of 50000 solids in the completed model - don't really fancy trying to re-create all them in Revit! - is there a work-around to do what I want to do?

What's the motivation behind using Revit? Is the demand coming from another source, or are you creating existing AutoCAD content that you/your company has built through the years? I can tell you first hand that importing 50,000 will take longer and have practically zero functionality than simply recreating 50,000 solids in Revit. Not only that, you can't do anything with an imported DWG file, and if you explode any imported Solid then you still have to jump through hoops to make it parametric and apply parameters.

 

Based on your two posts, here's my assessment:

• If an outside source is demanding a Revit model, then give them a true Revit model. If I asked for a DWG file, last thing I want is something drawn in Microsoft Paint and imported into AutoCAD as a JPG. That would be a fair comparison.
  
• If you are attempting to recreate your own existing content in Revit, then do so from scratch.
  

 

Hope this helps!

[Spacepig62]

I can't remember how to upload images or the dwg, however if I create a drawing in Autocad with 3 solids (say a pyramic, a box and a sphere), save it and then go to revit / open system template / import cad to bring in the drawing, then I get the 3 elements as a single entity hence the bounding box if I hover over any of them....when I try a partial or full explode I get a warning saying "Import contained 3D data or points which can't be exploded. Only 2D data was exploded.

 

If you can tell me how to post bmps or dwg I can upload what I'm seeing

 

Thanks again folks

 

Peter

[tzframpton]

No need to upload anything. If you're importing DWG files into Revit, you're doing it all wrong to begin with. Re-read my list above.

[Spacepig62]

I'm well aware of the "proper" way to do it - I'm trying to find a way around an issue we have at the moment with people who know Revit better than I do - please refer to MY question and answer if there is a way to do it or not please

[tzframpton]

I'm well aware of the "proper" way to do it - I'm trying to find a way around an issue we have at the moment with people who know Revit better than I do - please refer to MY question and answer if there is a way to do it or not please

My apologies in advance if I have struck a nerve. That was not my intention.

 

My full intention, as a seasoned Revit user who has been through all the growing pains, is to give it to you "straight" - as most people would want it. I (or any experienced Revit user) will not promote any instruction on exploding DWG files in the Revit platform. Autodesk themselves have admitted that it's only a matter of when you will have a corrupt Revit model from this procedure, and the tool is there as a very last and only resort, or a temporary and sacrificial way of transitioning geometry from one platform to another.

 

The tool is there, use it as you wish: but be aware of the consequences that will follow.

 

- Tannar

Edited January 24, 2014 by tzframpton

[RobDraw]

On a simpler level from a not so seasoned user, 2D solids give you the same message. That is why I don't import them. Dimensions don't import so well either, so I explode them (he, he, he) and delete the solids that were once arrowheads before importing. Think of it as trying to convert an image to a .dwg in AutoCAD. It can be done but the results are always too messed up to fix. The simpler the entities the better the result in Revit and vice versa.

[Alex Cunningham]

Are you trying to import into the Revit project environment or Family Editor?

 

Are your solids ACIS solids?

 

Can you save it as a .sat file? or process thru Sketchup to a .skp file?

 

Your solids are disappearing because you are trying to explode 3d solids into a software that models 3d solids very differently then AutoCAD. Thus Revit is unable to recreate the solid. Also exploding dwg files into Reivt is the #1 no no. I would fire the person who exploded a dwg on the spot. Sounds like you already have exploded DWG file so your Revit model is already toast and you will experience model corruption sooner or later. This is guaranteed.

 

We really understand your hesitation of re-modeling elements in Revit, do it anyways. Dont model it in AutoCAD in the first place.

 

 

!!!I do not recommend this!!! Note: your model will be very slow with a bunch a DGWs imported into families and it would save you time in the long run to remodel the solids in the family then delete the the DWG from the family.

 

Wblock each element out of CAD. Import these into families. DO NOT EXPLODE anything. Import these families into Revit.

[Spacepig62]

I'm sorry if I was rather touchy yesterday - it's been a very long week and I have no wish to antagonise people who put themselves out to help. To give a little bit of background to the situation and myself, I have inherited a problem from someone else, where all the services in a building have been drawn using cadduct (30 separate drawings), with the simple items such as pipework, ductwork, tray etc being created with the standard cadduct tools and the items of plant such as fire alarm panels, boilers, fire alarm sensors etc being created in native autocad solids. The cadduct entities will IFC out so they become single elements when brought into revit (thus allowing BIM information to be added to them), however the IFC export doesn't export the solids within the drawing, so I have to import them in. This however comes in as a single entity (comprising sometimes several thousand blocks) and I was looking for a way to allow them to come in a individual entities also so BIM info could be added to them. My own background is a very experienced Autocad (30 years nearly) and Cadduct (20 years nearly) user, and whilst I have used Revit for a few years I wouldn't pretend to be a superuser at all in that. I've been brought in on this project since the nature of what's being asked of the coordinated model has changed (ie the client now wants to go down the BIM route), and try as I might I can't find a way to do this short of as you say creating families and doing it correctly (which the client won't pay for). I understand that it is a bad practice to do what I asked, and likely to lead to a corrupt revit model, however I was hoping there was maybe a "work-round" that you, more experienced, Revit users would have come across to allow it to be done.

 

I will simply have to tell the client to abandon the thoughts of going down the Revit BIM process on this case as it should have been included from the start, the only solution I can think of is to use a Navis BIM route where info can be hyperlinked to individual entities.

 

Many thanks for your help anyway folks

 

Peter

[tzframpton]

I will simply have to tell the client to abandon the thoughts of going down the Revit BIM process on this case as it should have been included from the start, the only solution I can think of is to use a Navis BIM route where info can be hyperlinked to individual entities.

That is exactly what needs to be done if they are dead set with completing the project as a Building Information Modeling deliverable.

 

And I thank you for the full clarification of the situation. Now I know exactly what you're painstakingly going through - I've been there before, with CADDuct objects. I can tell you first hand, don't muster another ounce of effort. It will get you nowhere. The client will simply have to accept that anything produced with CADDuct, CADPipe and/or CADMep will not translate to Revit. If they want a Revit model it will need to be redone from scratch - no debate, no discussion, close the book.

 

Feel free to keep us up to date with the outcome of the situation.

 

- Tannar

[RobDraw]

Also exploding dwg files into Reivt is the #1 no no. I would fire the person who exploded a dwg on the spot.

 

There are exceptions to this. I'm working on getting all of our AutoCAD details converted Revit. I have to strip them down and explode them to very simple objects. I then insert, explode, and convert them all to native Revit objects. When I am done, there aren't any imported AutoCAD objects left. I have to redraw some things but this process saves me quite a bit of line drawing and text typing time.