Autodesk Revit - The Basics

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Note: This article is written and published in Ukrainian and is a translated version of the original published here. 

The real development of Revit began in 1998 after the addition of mathematician Irwin Jungreis, who also worked at PTC since 1987, and attracting investments from Atlas Venture and North Bridge Venture Partners. The first working version of the Revit was presented in 2000 at the same time as the company was renamed Revit Technology Corporation, which was acquired in 2002 for $ 133 million by Autodesk a world leader in computer-aided design systems and a developer of AutoCAD. A successful startup😎 

  

Since then, Autodesk Revit has begun to develop not only as a tool for designing architecture, but also for structural structures, engineering networks and communications, as well as integrating with other Autodesk software and positioning itself as a Building Information Modeling (BIM) system. 

  

 

 

Image from the article "History of Revit Software"

  

What is so special about Revit, compared to the closest competitors such as Graphisoft ArchiCAD, Bentley Microstation, Nemetschek Allplan, and what has been holding me back for 20 years? At least, it does not have the usual means of distributing geometry —Layers, instead of which there is a whole hierarchy with Categories, Families, Types and Elements, as well as several methods of managing them. 

  

Categories - Autodesk Revit system data distribution by function (Wall, Window, Hardware...). Depending on the use of categories, there are: Models,Views andDesign. They have an individual set of properties and parameters, as well as conditions of behavior and interactions.  

Categories cannot be created and edited by users🙃. 

  

• Model Categories usually contain three-dimensional elements and are conventionally divided into Bases (Walls, Ceilings, Roofs, Stairs, Fences...) and Components (Doors, Windows, Profiles, Equipment...). 

• Annotation Categories usually contain two-dimensional elements and are conventionally divided into Breakdowns (Levels, Axes, Reference Planes, Reference Lines...) and Symbols (Dimensions, Text, Markings, Detailing, Lines...). 

• Views Categories contain data display elements (Plans, Elevations, Sections, Nodes, Tables) at the desired scale, visibility and graphics, etc. 

With View Elements all Model Elements buildings are created and edited depending on the display settings, while Design Elements are created and edited only on the Views on which they were created. The exception is Breakdown Elements (Datum), which are essentially three-dimensional with two-dimensional Drafting Elements attached to them. 

  

Having made a figurative comparison of the Categories with the surrounding World, we can say that You in this case, are Views, read these lines based on your location, the scale of perception of information, existing experience and personal mood. Strings, like Model, are the same from the beginning and are displayed in the same way, and are perceived differently by each of You. Moreover, your Thoughts, Registration, are really known only you and no one else. I can only guess about them🤔. But you understand me, because you have the same knowledge of the language, generally accepted principles and rules that are the only and fundamental for the Society, as well as the Elements of the Breakdown for the Model Building. In fact, in Revit it is the Breakdown Elements that are the basis for all constructions, in case of changes, all the Elements associated with them change. 

  

  

  

Subcategories - distribution of data within Categories into components (Frame, Fittings, Designations...). Each Category has its own system set of Subcategories that can be added by users as needed. 

  

  

  

Families - distribution of data within Categories by shape, materials used, manufacturers and working conditions (sash, rectangular, wooden...). Families are: 

  

• System Families - created and edited in dialog mode with strict system restrictions. They are stored only inside the files Projects, Templates and Families. 

• Loadable Families are created and edited using the built-in Editor by combining geometry elements, dependencies, and parameters with fewer system restrictions. They can be stored both inside the files Projects, Templates and Families, and in separate files in Drive in RFA format. 

• In-place Families are created and edited in place within the Project using the built-in Editor by combining geometry elements, dependencies and parameters with the ability to set geometric dependencies with Project elements. 

• Adaptive Families - are a type of Boot" and Local Families created using the updated Editor with the ability to use adaptive geometric dependencies. 

• Nested Families-Nested Families used inside other Families with the ability to install dependencies, but without taking into account in the specifications. 

• Shared Families-Nested Families with the ability to be taken into account in tables and specifications. 

  

  

Why did this division of Families arise? Imagine a construction site where a building is first broken down in place and a pit is dug. After that, they begin to build foundations and walls. For example, walls, as a rule, are erected from bricks, blocks directly on the construction site — this is the same as System families walls that are created and stored only in Projects. But the doors were made at the factory, factory and brought ready-made to the installation site in the same way as the Loading Families doors were created in a separate editor, stored in the Library and uploaded to the Project for further placement.  

  

Very logical, but there are exceptions. For example, monolithic load-bearing columns and beams are Loading families that are erected directly on the construction site. Accordingly, they should be Systemic, but if we take all types of columns and beams — prefabricated, wooden, metal, then they are mostly made outside the construction site. 

  

Types (Types) - distribution of data within Families depending on the set properties and parameters (Doors 2100x900, 2400x1200...). 

  

Types catalogs - a sequential set of values of type parameters Boot families in TXT format with identical file names. 

  

Instances - final instances of data used in projects, with individual properties and parameters in location and relation to certain data, in particular methods of managing them: Stages, Variants, Groups, Assemblies and Sets. 

  

 

  

Revit, like chess, has its own harmony of interactions. At first, as soon as we start playing them, we usually set ourselves the goal of learning, then not losing, then winning, and eventually achieving absolute skill — checkmate in a certain time and number of moves. There is a Project like a chessboard, there are pieces like Elements, and there are means of controlling them, which determine the entire Strategy and Tactics of the game. 

  

Also read "How to start designing buildings and structures in Autodesk Revit?" 

Note: This article is written and published in Ukrainian and is a translated version of the original published here.