Combined Plant 3D and Revit Project

[jpatflora]

Hello,

Our company is about to begin our first large scale project in which Plant 3D and Revit will be fully utilized. I was wondering how others are handling combining the drawings? I realize Navisworks will be the goto for viewing the final product and clash detection, but what about using the other disiplines drawings as xrefs in yours? Do you both (P3D and Revit) export to AutoCAD then xref or what is the standard?

Any help, as always, is much appreciated

[Arun_Kumar_K]

Hi,

Please follow the below:

1. Navisworks should be your reviewer.

2. Please create any drawings, revit file with correct coordinates.

3. Keep the 2d layout as xref and model the equipments in seperate drawing with proper coordinates.

4. Area wise divide the models.

5. For reference purpose export the revit model as dwg and keep it.

6. Do review in Navisworks.

You can create any size of plant. All the best.

[dgorsman]

They are so different, you'll need to be exporting dumb models *somewhere* along the line to get a model from one into the other.  Toeing the line of the NDA a bit here, but I'd highly recommend signing up for the current AutoCAD BETA.  Always good to be informed of upcoming developments.

[martinTstewart_Adsk]

Hi Patrick,

Great questions, great topic. And welcome to the Autodesk Community discussion forums. I hope others also jump in on this post. Arun has got it off to a good start!

There are some informative online classes from AU (Autodesk University) that either focus on, or touch on, this topic. Free access, many videos, and class materials for download. I’ve listed some good possibilities further below.

Planning ahead on the project structure, directories, workflow, etc. is smart and important. Such planning may also be influenced by these factors as well:

• Will there be a primary software program for the project? For example is it mostly a Plant 3D project with some Revit involvement? Or is it largely a Revit project with a minor Plant 3D component to it? Or some other combination? This may well influence workflow, export formats, etc.
• May be worth listing each discipline/party involved and the software each are using (for example, who is doing the structure and in what program)?
• What is the makeup and location of your team? Is everyone local, there in your office or is team widely dispersed? Outside consultants? Owner involvement? Contractor involvement? Who will be contributing to or needing access to the project and files? (And do they introduce any other programs that need to be considered in the workflow?)
• What is the IT/Network infrastructure in place for the entire team and what might be the impact/limitations of those choices?
• Since a large project, you’ll want to use SQL Server for the Plant 3D project (rather that SQLite, which is mostly for a single-user).
• Will everyone be on the same year release of software? Hopefully, but if not, what various versions do you need to coordinate?
• And as Arun mentioned, work out your coordinates (and avoid working in high coordinates, far from origin).

Check out these AU classes and materials as a sample:

PD6928: How Not to Start Your First Huge BIM Process Plant Projects

PD6544-R: Step Up Your Game: Plant and Information Design in a Multiple-Discipline Design

PD6236-R-P: Data Exchange in the Process Plant Industry and Oil and Gas Industry

See also:

Managing large AutoCAD Plant 3D projects

If my reply post was helpful, please give a "Kudos" or mark the "Accept as Solution" button below (or both).

[jpatflora]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

• The answer to the first question is a tricky one.I envision this being primarily a P3D project with Revit aspects. The building and all the supports and structural steel will be in Revit and Revit Structure. The process side will all be done in Plant with the piping and equipment all brought in on that side.
• Answered above
• Everyone is local and works out of the same office. The only people that will need access will be here. We will only be showing them "models" to see how things will look in the field.
• We have a great IT department. I'm not sure we will need the SQL server since there will only be primarily one P3D user and that will be me.
• We recently just checked and everyone is running 2015 versions of their respective software so that shouldn't be an issue.
• In AutoCAD we use 0,0,0 as base coords of course and I'm not entirely sure what they do on the Revit side. I will need to look into that.

Thanks for posting the links to the videos. I have forwarded these to our team and we will be reviewing them this weekend.

Thanks,

Patrick

[martinTstewart_Adsk]

Sounds like you’re in good shape. And you’ll find lots of tips and ‘best practices’ recommendations in related AU online classes and materials. And you may get others in the community commenting here too.

A few more tips:

• Export Revit models as solids not meshes.
• Get your object enablers all installed properly. (Usually best to install last, after all other Autodesk software installed).
• Do regular Plant 3D project maintenance: Commands for Project Maintenance
• If applying new processes, configurations, customizations for the first time, consider testing and practice on a test project and not your actual project.
• Do daily (nightly) full backups.

And a recommendation I hear often is get good training for your office personnel. The mistake I hear sometimes is that some companies try to implement new BIM approaches and software for the very first time on critical, large, time-sensitive projects and without getting sufficient training. Then they get into a jamb with the project, their client, and/or deadlines. This may not apply to you and your office at all, but thought it was worth mentioning. And here's a good link also: Autodesk Training & Certification