New Features in Revit Structure 2009 - Beam Tag Improvements

Beam tagging is an important part of creating a structural framing plan. Depending on the complexity of the structure, beam tags can contain many different pieces of information. Providing the structural engineer and drafter with the tools to place and modify this information is crucial.

Spot elevations are improved to enable you to select beams in Coarse mode. The spot elevation “asks” the beam for its elevations at the end- and midpoints, based on its bounding box. Note that spot elevations can be taken at the top or bottom of beams. Spot dimensions (spot elevations and spot coordinates) can also now be rotated.

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Dimensioning Enhancement

Well, finally, we have the ability to override text in a dimension. Now, you cannot change a dimension to another dimension, but you do have the ability to remove the dimension itself and replace it with text.

You also have the ability to add a Prefix or Suffix, as well as add text above or below the dimension line, making detailing much more flexible!

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Dimensioning Enhancement

Two new Dimension Threads have been added for the ability of dinensioning your Elements: Baseline and Ordinate. This will bring up the total number of options to 3 (including the original Continuous Dimension Thread)

First, the original Continuous Thread is still available, as always:

Secondly, the Baseline Thread option is now available:

Lastly, the Ordinate Thread is also available:

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Dimension Improvements

Revit Structure 2009 has improved many aspects of the Dimensioning tool.

You can now:

Dimension at line intersections: lines, grids, reference planes, location lines (walls, floors)

Run linear dimensions to center of arcs without turning on visibility of the center mark and dimension concentric arcs with linear dimensions

Apply bold, italic, underlining, and width factor to all dimension styles

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Foundation Improvements

At long last, users can now add multiple Footings and Wall Foundations at the same time, as well as manipulate (strecth) Wall Foundations past the Wall they are connected to:

Similar to adding Columns and Beams, users can now use Grid Intersections to add Footings. Now, however, they can also use Columns to add Footings.

When placing Wall Footings, there is now an addition to the Option Toolbar where users can select to add multiple Wall Footings to a multiple selection of Walls at the same time.

Lastly, users can stretch Wall Footings beyond the Walls they are attached to. Now use the grips at each end of the Wall Footing to manually stretch the Element.

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Concrete Reinforcement (Rebar Covers)

The Rebar Cover is now a property of concrete elements, making it much more flexible to edit and modify. Covers can be set by the different faces of the concrete element, enabling you to take into account the exposure of certain faces to weather.

A new Rebar visibility state, also enables you to view Rebars as solid in the 3D View.

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Concrete Reinforcement

Revit Structure 2009 increases the user’s ability to place individual reinforcement bars into a concrete model as specified by third-party analysis and design software.










Many standard rebar shapes (00, 01, S1, T1, and so on, for ACI codes) are available in a browser, and each bar can be placed with one mouse-click.





















Rebar shape dimensions (A, B, C, D, E) can be edited in a manner similar to that for the Revit families.




Additional parameters can be displayed in schedules, and reinforcement automatically created by a third-party application can be accurately scheduled.

Release Dates of Revit 2009 Software!

Well, finally, the shipment dates of the Revit Software is out! Get ready for April 15th!

Revit® Architecture
April 15

AutoCAD® Revit® MEP Suite
April 15

Revit® Structure
April 15

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Available Extensions

Autodesk® Subscription customers can benefit from extensions available for Revit Structure 2009.

The Reinforcement extensions increase the user’s ability to incorporate automatic reinforcement into concrete elements.

Easy to install and use, they extend the capability of Revit Structure 2009 to handle concrete reinforcement details.

As shown, reinforcement macros are avilable for concrete columns, beams, footings, walls, pile caps, and slab openings.

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Vertical Move by Common Join

In previous releases, the ability to change the elevation of Beam Joins was only available for individually selected Beams. Now, in Revit Structure 2009, the elevation control is possible for several Beams joined at one intersection.

























The user can now select a set of Beams at a common join and change the elevation. When an elevation is changed using the control, the selected beams disjoin, move to the desired location, and rejoin. In each beam property, the end and start level offset values are adjusted correspondingly.

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Edit Beam Joins

In Revit Structure 2008, cutbacks were applied to all members of an end join, no matter what. They were all the same in the Settings Pull Down Menu, specific to the elements they were joined to. However, now it Revit Structure 2009, we are allowed to change the join at each end of Beams, depending on the need:

Imagine viewing your joint this way:

How about this way?

What about this?

The beauty is that this can occur in a singe model with several different connections, different areas of the model, dofferent beams...Note that the shape handles at the end of the beams remain. These shape handles were created for the Coping tool; therefore complete coordination between the symbolic (Coarse mode) and model geometry (Medium and Fine modes) cannot be guaranteed with the use of the shape handles. These options are available for wood, steel, as well as concrete.

New Features of Revit Structure 2009 - Slope Slabs

The first enhancement of Revit Structure 2009 allows you to edit the shape of Slabs with curved edges:

Improvements have also been made when adding points to a Slab. Now, users have the ability to manipulate the split lines that are added to the Slab when the point is positioned:

Lastly, the option does not limit the actions to Concrete Slab. Now, Slabs made of Metals Decks can also be sloped and warped:

New Features of Revit Structure 2009

Structural Modeling

Sloped Slab Shape Edit

• Edit the Shape of Slabs with Curved Edges
• Modify the Split Lines that the Software automatically creats in the Slab when it is warped
• Slabs made of Metal Decks can now also be sloped and warped

Beam Cutbacks

• Modify the Join Configuration and provide Graphical Controls at the end of the Beams participating in a Join
• Miter Joins can be created for Elements of the same Type

Vertical Move by Common Join

• Elevation Control at the intersection of several Elements that Join

Avaialble Extensions

• Reinforcement Macros for Concrete Columns, Beams, Footings, Walls, Pile Caps, and Slab Openings

Concrete Reinforcement

• Place individual Reinforcement Bars into a Concrete Model
• Many standard Rebar Shapes are available in a Browers
• Rebar Shape dimensions can be edited in a manner similar to Revit Families
• Additional Parameters can be displayed in Schedules
• Reinforcement automatically created by a Third-party Application can be accurately scheduled
• Covers are now a Property of Concerete Elements
• View Rebars as Solid

Foundation Improvements

• Create multiple Foundations at the same time
• Wall Foundation Ends can now be Modified

Construction Documents

Dimension Improvements

• Dimension to Intersections
• Run Linear Dimensions to Center of Arcs without turning on Visibility of the Center Mark
• Dimension Cencentric Arcs with Linear Dimensions
• Apply Bold, Italic, Underlining and Width Factors to all Dimension Styles
• Create a set of Dimensions that all start from a common Baseline
• Create multiple Dimensions that measure a perpendicular disctance from an Origin Point

Dimension Text Override

• Replace Numerical Values with Text Values
• Add Supplemental Text to a Dimension String

Beam Tag Improvements

• Place Spot Elevations on Beams at the Top or Bottom
• Place multiple Beam Tags
• Tag Curve-Driven Elements
• Create a Single Label from multiple Parameters

Concrete Drawings

• Concrete Auto-Join: Column to Slab, Column to Wall, Beam to Slab, Beam to Wall, Slab Edge to Slab
• Enhanced Default Join of Beam to Beam

Graphical Column Schedule

• Add shifted Columns to Graphical Column Schedules
• Add Grouped Columns to Graphical Column Schedules
• Add a drop-down list to the Column Element Properties that shows different Graphical Column Schedule Label Combinations

Revision Numbering

• Revision Tags and Schedules can use Alphabetical, Alphanumeric or Mixed Convensions
• New Revision Parameters have been created for Title Blocks
• New Revision Columns have been created
• Add Revision Names without a Cloud

Usibility

Selection Count

• Count the Number of Objects in different Categories within the Filter Dialog Box

Visibility Tools

• Visibility Graphics for Revit links available "By Linked View" for Sections, Elevations and 3D Views
• Improved Linework for linked files

3D Navigation

• View Cube Feature
• Steering Wheel Feature

Linked Files Visibility

• Native DWF support for Windows Vista users
• No Plug-Ins required
• Windows XP support available

Using Drawing List to Speed Up Productivity

In larger firms, it is most likely that multiple people will be working in the same file, and creating separate sheets, needing the Checked By, Drawn By, and Approved By to have a different set of initials. However, in smaller firms, one designer may be working on creating all the sheets, working on all the plans, sections, details, etc. This can make for a very timely process when this information needs to be entered in for every sheet, everytime a new sheet is created. However, utilizing the Drawing List, even if not in the actual final set of Construction Documents, may com in handy here:

First, create a new Drawing List:

Second, add the necessary Fields/Parameters, as if you were creating a schedule:

















Lastly, change the necessary information in the Drawing List, rather than in each individual Sheet…

RAM/Revit Structure Link

Recently, Bentley hosted a Webcast on the link between RAM and Revit Structure. They began by discussign the Elements brought into Revit Structure when creating your original model in RAM, the Elements brought into RAM when creating your original model in Revit Structure, and what Elements will be re-imported either way. They also discuss limitations of the link. Included in the Webcast is a demonstration of the link, starting with a model created in RAM, and how it is imported in Revit Structure.

I found this was a good introduction to the link between RAM and Revit Structure. It also includes contact information at the end of the Webcast, for additional questions.

Below is the link for the recorded webcast, as well as the document of questions compiled during the Webcast. For those of you starting to link between the two programs, I encourage you to watch this Webcast for a brief overview:

http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Promo/Structural+Team/RSS+Revit.htm

This will take you to a Webpage to View the RAM/Revit Structure Integration Webcast, the Questions compiled during the Webcast, as well as the ability to dowload the most current RAM/Revit Structure Link.

Enjoy!

Plan Region – Overview

The Plan Region command lets you define a region within a plan view that has a different view range from the overall view. Plan regions are useful for split level plans or for displaying inserts above or below the cut plane. Plan regions are closed sketches and cannot overlap one another. They can have coincident edges.

Plan regions are view-specific. You can copy and paste them into the same view or different views. When you copy a plan region into a different view, the view range settings are maintained from the previous view.

Plan regions export and print when they are visible in a view.

Creating a Plan Region

1. Open a plan view.
2. Click View menu>New>Plan Region, or on the View tab of the Design Bar, click Plan Region.

3. You will now be directed into a Sketch Mode. Sketch a closed loop using lines, rectangles, or polygons. Note: When in Sketch Mode, you have to create a closed loop, otherwise, you will receive an error.
4. On the Design Bar, click Region Properties.
5. In the Element Properties dialog, for View Range, click Edit.
6. In the View Range dialog, specify the primary range and view depth. If the value for Cut Plane is specified as Parent View’s Level, then the level used to define all the clip planes (Top, Bottom, Cut, and View Depth) is the same as for the entire plan view.

NOTE: Values for offsets need to make sense with respect to one another. For example, the top offset cannot be lower than the cut plane offset, and the cut plane offset cannot be lower than the bottom offset.

8. Click Finish Sketch.

You do not have to enter sketch mode to edit the shape of a plan region. Each boundary line of the plan region is a shape handle, as shown in the following image. Select the shape handle and drag it to modify the size.

Controlling Visibility of the Plan Region

1. Click View menu>Visibility/Graphics, or type the shortcut key combination VG.
2. In the Visibility/Graphics dialog, click the Annotation Categories tab.
3. Scroll to the Plan Region category.
4. Select or clear the check box to show or hide the plan region.
5. Click in the Project/Surface Lines column, and click Override to make changes to the line weight, line color, and line pattern of the plan region.
6. Click OK.

How Do You Add a Revision Schedule?

Adding a Revision Schedule to a Custom Titleblock

1. Click File menu> New Titleblock.

2. Select the appropriate titleblock template, and click Open.

3. Sketch borders, and then add text as desired.

4. Sketch a border for the revision schedule area.

5. Click View menu> New Revision Schedule.

6. In the Revision Properties dialog, add the fields you want included in the schedule. The data for the available fields comes from the revision clouds that you add to the project.

7. Apply any sorting, formatting, or appearance parameters to the schedule. For more information on these tabs, see Specifying Schedule Properties.
8. Click OK to create the schedule.

9. In the Project Browser, expand Sheets.

10. To open the sheet view, double-click the node under Sheets.

11. In the Project Browser, expand Schedules.

12. Select the Revision Schedule, and drag it to the desired location.

13. Save the titleblock family and load it into the project.

How to Create a Zone Color Fil...

Zone Properties:

1) Create a Project Parameter as such:

Don‘t forget to assign the Zone to the Room Category…

Note the Parameter is now part of the Room Element Properties:

You need to duplicate a sub-category within the Rooms Category:

Zone will be part of the Color Scheme Definition…however, until you enter in Zone Numbers within the Zone Parameter in the Element Parameters of the Rooms, there will not be any Values associated to the Color…

Revit Structure 2008 Crashes

Are you having issues with Revit Structure 2008 crashing when importing or exporting DWG files? Nicolas Mangon has posted a fix for the following build numbers:

DVD Build is: 20070324_1700
Web Build is: 20070404_1700

After some inquiry, he found that the reason was because an older version of DWG TrueView is located somewhere on the computer. Below should resolve the issue:

1) Uninstall DWG TrueView
2) Upgrade the latest free version of DWG TrueView available at http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/mform?siteID=123112&id=9078813 .

After the upgrade of DWG TrueView, RST2008 should be able to import/export DWG files properly.

For more of Nicolas Mangon and Wai Chu's Blog on Revit Structure 2008, click on the following link:

http://bimandbeam.typepad.com/bim_beam/

Revit MEP 2008 and EIS

Even with the improvements with Revit MEP 2008, some of the wish list items I hear from MEP Engineers have not been met. However, now that Autodesk has partnered with IES , MEP Engineers have the abilitly to work on their analysis within Revit MEP itself, rather than having to rely on a third party software to do so. I recently took a look at the IES website, and found the following information:

http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s4_24

Revit & the IES
There is now a direct link between the 3D modeling platform Revit and the IES . Jointly developed between IES and Autodesk, it represents a revolutionary change for design teams working from a common model. Not only does IES software calculate heating & cooling loads within Revit MEP, but the suite can be launched in order to carry out the full range of sustainable design analyses. Dedicated toolkits have been developed to make these analyses more accessible to users who are new to the field.

The Toolkits make it extremely easy for Revit users to undertake a range of building simulation analyses from the earliest stages of design which will greatly assist the sustainable design process. The Toolkits are available to Revit MEP 2008 through a direct link. Revit MEP has an interface that enables the user to assign information to the building and individual rooms. This information is then passed through the IES and the Toolkits are displayed.

The Sustainability Toolkit
This is the first of the toolkits to be launched within Revit MEP 2008. IES have developed a LEED Toolkit which is free upon request to all Revit users until its release in October 2007. The Toolkits could not be easier to use. Select any button and the Toolkit will run the chosen analysis by using the model transferred from Revit and automatically running the analysis, interrogating the results and creating an html report of relevant information.

Currently the Sustainability Toolkit consists of the following three tools & the following informaiton is provided by each report:

ASHRAE Loads calculation:
> System Heating Loads
> Room Heating Plant Loads
> System Cooling Loads
> Room Cooling Plant Loads
> Room Sensible Cooling and Air Flow Rates with engineering checks.

ApacheSim: Dynamic Thermal Simulation:
> Building Systems Energy Consumption for each month
> Monthly CO2 emissions for the building.
> Peak Hourly Room Loads plus cooling checks.
> Room Environmental Conditions including Comfort Measurements for occupied period
> Room Environmental Conditions including Comfort Measurements for all periods.

FlucsDL: Daylighting Assessment:
> Percentage of area above 25 fc.
> Average illuminance in each room.
> Average weighted percentage of area above 25 fc.

A series of Revit animations have been created to help demonstrate the integration of Revit MEP 2008 & the IES . Take a look, they are a great learining tool!

http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s4_24_14