Autodesk Revit Architecture

[#1]

I am new to using Revit and I am just trying to figure out how it works to be honest. I have made a 2 floor building in ACAD ARCH 13 and when I import the DWG files into Revit, they just show the 2D line drawings even when I look in 3D mode. Do I have to re make all of the walls and such in Revit or am I missing a step to import all of the windows, doors, and wall heights?

[#2 · Accepted solution]

There is no automatic "convert ACA to Revit" tool. You will need to model the building in Revit.

You could use the ACA .dwgs ( 2D / flattened ) to trace Revit Walls over to get a quick start--but be careful--

Revit does not play nicely with AutoCad files, and it will throw up errors saying "line is slightly off axis and may cause unexpected errors" or something to that effect.

The best way forward is to throw out AutoCad and ACA and dive into Revit headlong. I am speaking from years of experience having already gone thru this years ago.

Good luck!

[#3]

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of them selling two different softwares that are supposed to play well togeather? I guess I will need to learn Revit eventually, but I have been using ACAD since R12 when my mom showed me how to draft. I am a mechanical engineer by trade and use Solidworks for that, this is more of a hobby for me since I get the student versions for free because I am a doctoral student. Thank you for your quick reply though.

[#4]

Autocad and Revit are to each other like a horse and buggy and the Ford Model T. You cannot make the Model T work by feeding it oats. I don't recall any promise made by Autodesk that Acad and Revit would work together seamlessly. Revit is not even a product of Autodesk. Revit was an independent system like Microstation. They were bought out by Autodesk and added to the Autodesk product line. Revit existed for years before Autodesk, and the founding principle of Revit was to create a completely new, state of the art system that was not encumbered by maintaining compatibility with the past. Having been taken over by their former competitor, the focus on that principle has blurred somewhat, but the two have many inherent incompatibilities.

Asking for Revit to be more like Acad is like asking Ford to make their cars run on oats so that you won't be required to buy gas for the car.

[#5]

Well I wasn't asking for Revit to be more like ACAD, that would be silly. Perhaps I miss understood how Revit fits into the world of design. This week was the first time I had ever heard of Revit. So is Revit essentially a new way to produce drawings in a more 3D representitive way?

[#6]

Well, in Revit you model the project, from scratch. It does not start by importing a model from another program. As it was said in a previous post, Revit was developed by another company, using a completely different approach, and then that company was adquired by Autodesk.

[#7]

you can import the CAD file into revit as a 3d object if you have created 3d in CAD.

but it won't be intelligent and you can just view it.

[#8]

Sorry if my tone sounded a bit stiff. [My writing is meant to be read aloud, as written by a dramatist rather than novelist.]

The goal of Building Information Management (BIM) is to eliminate drawings altogether. In Revit, drawings are a by-product of the modeling process. It is a database of building parts. Drawings are merely a report of the contents of the database, the same way your checking statement from the bank is a report on the status of your finances.

One of the first things new users discover is the ease of creating sections. In the past, sections were difficult drawings to produce and most architects rationed their use in the drawing set. With Revit, you could have a building section every six inches if you want!