topic Nightmare import step sat situation in Revit MEP Forum

Nightmare import step sat situation

dsummersPEG — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:00:55 GMT

I am trying to create a family from a manufacturer's 3d file. They offer the product in every 3d format EXCEPT revit. I've got SATs, STEPs, IGES, DXFs, and more.

However, the geniuses decided to include both components (a flow meter and a separately installed transmitter) together in one file. And what can we NOT do to imported CAD files in Revit? Explode, or separate the two. So now I have to import it into Autocad instead, separate the two components, and then re-export. But guess what happens when I import these files back into Revit? Not to scale. And what can we NOT do to imported SAT files in Revit? Scale.

What is the correct process in this situation?

Is there some clever way to scale the components in Autocad prior to exporting them such that the import into revit is at the correct scale?

I'm not looking to manufacture or get this drawing hyper-accurate. I won't even go into how my other arm is being tied behind my back. I'll just say this family is destined for a model created from an imported SAT file which was already exported from Revit "because the rvt file is too big".

Re: Nightmare import step sat situation

iainsavage — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:50:50 GMT

Regarding the scale issue check what the units settings are in Autocad.

You'll often find the scale is 25.4 (millimetres per inch) or 0.039 (inches per millimetre).

Often the units for the drawing are set to metric but the units for insertion are set to imperial. or vice versa.

Re: Nightmare import step sat situation

dsummersPEG — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:05:02 GMT

I ended up leaving the scaling alone in Autocad, even though the components were several times bigger than actual, they ended up importing back into Revit scaled back down to the correct size. I checked the units in Autocad up and down, and could not find why this is happening. Thanks for the suggestion though.