Drawings from NavisWorks Freedom

[Anonymous]

Hi

I plan to import models fron Revit (construction and arch), MagiCAD (Electrical installations, pipes) and TEKLA (Steel) into NavisWorks Simulate.

Is there a way to produce Drawings from NavisWorks that contain 1) all these CAD drawings in one? 2) i e produce a drawing with Construction + Electrical installations (as a selected choice)?

If not, is there a better way to maybe produce total (or selectable drawings) from 3 CAD systems with a viewer ?

Regards

Stein

[Anonymous]

Hi

I plan to import models fron Revit (construction and arch), MagiCAD (Electrical installations, pipes) and TEKLA (Steel) into NavisWorks Simulate.

Is there a way to produce Drawings from NavisWorks that contain 1) all these CAD drawings in one? 2) i e produce a drawing with Construction + Electrical installations (as a selected choice)?

If not, is there a better way to maybe produce total (or selectable drawings) from 3 CAD systems with a viewer ?

Regards

Stein

[lee.mullin]

DO you mean produce 2D drawings from Navisworks? At this moment this isn't supported.

You can create a 3D model from all the files in Navisworks, but there is no ability to turn these into 2D sheets from any of our export routes.

Use Navisworks Exporter in Revit

Either import MagiCAD model with Object enabler installed or export from native application

TEKLA model should be exported to IFC then this can be imported to Navisworks.

Navisworks Exporter utility can be found here for machines without access to Navisworks Simulate or Manage

http://www.autodesk.com/navisworks-nwcexportutility

[lee.mullin]

DO you mean produce 2D drawings from Navisworks? At this moment this isn't supported.

You can create a 3D model from all the files in Navisworks, but there is no ability to turn these into 2D sheets from any of our export routes.

Use Navisworks Exporter in Revit

Either import MagiCAD model with Object enabler installed or export from native application

TEKLA model should be exported to IFC then this can be imported to Navisworks.

Navisworks Exporter utility can be found here for machines without access to Navisworks Simulate or Manage

http://www.autodesk.com/navisworks-nwcexportutility

[Patrick_Aps_9121]

Tekla can export 3D DGN also, that NavisWorks can read. This results in smaller NWD files than the IFC way, but less information about the steel profiles used.

With NavisWorks you can create a perendicuar view and slice that to create a JPG file that views the model like a floor plan or 2D section would, but it is not a drawing, just a JPG file....

If AutoCAD could reference and slice NWD files however, like I already requested, the combination of AutoCAD and NavisWorks could do this.

Or maybe just load the 3D DGN file from Tekla into Revit and see how far you get...

[Patrick_Aps_9121]

Tekla can export 3D DGN also, that NavisWorks can read. This results in smaller NWD files than the IFC way, but less information about the steel profiles used.

With NavisWorks you can create a perendicuar view and slice that to create a JPG file that views the model like a floor plan or 2D section would, but it is not a drawing, just a JPG file....

If AutoCAD could reference and slice NWD files however, like I already requested, the combination of AutoCAD and NavisWorks could do this.

Or maybe just load the 3D DGN file from Tekla into Revit and see how far you get...

[Anonymous]

>>> DO you mean produce 2D drawings from Navisworks? At this moment this isn't supported.

This I would like very much, put it in Navisworks Manage and you get some extra bucks. For large coordination projects where the models comes from a variaty of cad systems, it would be very nice to be able to create 2d line plan/section drawings from the Navisworks 3D view.

In larger coordination projects there are very few software that can handle the models as good as navisworks, generating 2D linework from the view should not be that difficult.

Please add to development list, I promise to buy some more licenses!

/Markus

[Anonymous]

>>> DO you mean produce 2D drawings from Navisworks? At this moment this isn't supported.

This I would like very much, put it in Navisworks Manage and you get some extra bucks. For large coordination projects where the models comes from a variaty of cad systems, it would be very nice to be able to create 2d line plan/section drawings from the Navisworks 3D view.

In larger coordination projects there are very few software that can handle the models as good as navisworks, generating 2D linework from the view should not be that difficult.

Please add to development list, I promise to buy some more licenses!

/Markus

[lee.mullin]

Do you want to give us some feedback via this page about your workflows and how this might help?

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=1109794

[lee.mullin]

Do you want to give us some feedback via this page about your workflows and how this might help?

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=1109794

[Anonymous]

I realize this is really old, but it's the only reply I got googling.  Has this been addressed yet?  Being able to export 2D CAD files or any other sheets to scale would be very, very helpful.

[Anonymous]

I realize this is really old, but it's the only reply I got googling.  Has this been addressed yet?  Being able to export 2D CAD files or any other sheets to scale would be very, very helpful.

[dgorsman]

And very, very dangerous.  Not to mention complicated - your sheet drawings are probably different from ours, are probably different from others.  Best to do it in the applicable software (Revit, Plant3D, Civil3D, Inventor...) which is designed from the get-go to produce those drawings properly, without polluting Navisworks with kinda-sorta tools for each and every application under the sun.  Lets keep it as it is - a coordination tool, not a drafting tool.

[dgorsman]

And very, very dangerous.  Not to mention complicated - your sheet drawings are probably different from ours, are probably different from others.  Best to do it in the applicable software (Revit, Plant3D, Civil3D, Inventor...) which is designed from the get-go to produce those drawings properly, without polluting Navisworks with kinda-sorta tools for each and every application under the sun.  Lets keep it as it is - a coordination tool, not a drafting tool.

[Anonymous]

You must be an architect.  I'm not interested in your sheets or numbering as they are pretty much irrelevent to what I'm doing on the construction side once the trade contractors have prepared their models.  In fact, the workflow is irrelevent to this discussion.  If it can't be done currently in Navisworks, it should be added.

I'm actually not interested in doing this fron Freedom, but Manage, but this is the only place I could find this utility being discussed.

When I get models from multiple trades, all generated from different programs, and spend the time to bring them all into Manage to coordinate, issue a report, get new models, re-import and re-run to check that they corrected the clashes, it's asinine to have to jump out to a seperate program to generate contract-required 2D coordinated drawings.  I should be able to take views, to scale, within Manage to satisfy that requirement, not have to re-compile everything into some separate program, or push it out to DWF to do it.  That is all a time eater.

If YOU don't require this functionality, don't use it.  Autodesk adding it to help someone else in the industry shouldn't affect you at all, anf frankly shouldn't be at all difficult for them to do.

[Anonymous]

You must be an architect.  I'm not interested in your sheets or numbering as they are pretty much irrelevent to what I'm doing on the construction side once the trade contractors have prepared their models.  In fact, the workflow is irrelevent to this discussion.  If it can't be done currently in Navisworks, it should be added.

I'm actually not interested in doing this fron Freedom, but Manage, but this is the only place I could find this utility being discussed.

When I get models from multiple trades, all generated from different programs, and spend the time to bring them all into Manage to coordinate, issue a report, get new models, re-import and re-run to check that they corrected the clashes, it's asinine to have to jump out to a seperate program to generate contract-required 2D coordinated drawings.  I should be able to take views, to scale, within Manage to satisfy that requirement, not have to re-compile everything into some separate program, or push it out to DWF to do it.  That is all a time eater.

If YOU don't require this functionality, don't use it.  Autodesk adding it to help someone else in the industry shouldn't affect you at all, anf frankly shouldn't be at all difficult for them to do.

[dgorsman]

Not architect, process piping industry.  So when I say "bad" I don't mean ugly or a low ceiling.  I mean five-o'clock news BOOM-toxic cloud-dead people bad.  While its fine to get general dimensions and visualizations for reference purposes, we, our clients, and our fabricators have zero interest in anybody being able to generate construction drawings from Navisworks which can conflict with the actual engineering drawings.  And as a CAD admin I have zero interest in bloating up the program with features which can, and have, been done in other applications.

"Yes" and "no response" aren'the only valid opinions.  Sometimes you've gotta raise the hand and say "I don't think so, Tim."

[dgorsman]

Not architect, process piping industry.  So when I say "bad" I don't mean ugly or a low ceiling.  I mean five-o'clock news BOOM-toxic cloud-dead people bad.  While its fine to get general dimensions and visualizations for reference purposes, we, our clients, and our fabricators have zero interest in anybody being able to generate construction drawings from Navisworks which can conflict with the actual engineering drawings.  And as a CAD admin I have zero interest in bloating up the program with features which can, and have, been done in other applications.

"Yes" and "no response" aren'the only valid opinions.  Sometimes you've gotta raise the hand and say "I don't think so, Tim."

[Anonymous]

So regardless, you're design-side?

Look, arguing about whether or not you think these drawings should be produced is silly.  They WILL be produced, they HAVE BEEN produced in the past, and they WILL BE produced more and more in the future.  I am seeing more and more government contracts that require coordinated drawings as a submittal.  Federal, state, and local/county. So the choice becomes to either be able to produce that submittal out of Navisworks, with all the correct files that were used for the coordination, and the drawings that will produce the drawings that will be used for construction, or to start over from scratch in a program that allows me to produce the required submittal.  Like it or not, the trade contractors are going to take their final coordinated shop drawings and build from those, so the idea that something is changing in this process isn't really accurate.  I'm asking for an improved workflow that affects nothing in the real-world construction process.  You don't think a ductwork subcontractor works off of design drawings in the field, do you?  The drawings that I have to produce are not meant as construction drawings, but they will simply be overlays of the models that will produce the contruction drawings.

Nobody uses every single aspect of any software package.  It's 2012, I think we can drop the "bloat" complaint from the discussion from now on as it's not like the computers we're all using can't handle larger programs, or that there isn't already all manner of features in any software package that one person or another isn't using.  I'm not a tech guy, or a computer guy, I'm just a guy that has to comply with a contract, and wants to do it in the least amount of time and with the least amount of opportunity to make mistakes.  Either that or Autodesk should go back to selling Navisworks like they did when it was Jetstream so we can all a-la-carte the features we want and only pay for what we're using.

[Anonymous]

So regardless, you're design-side?

Look, arguing about whether or not you think these drawings should be produced is silly.  They WILL be produced, they HAVE BEEN produced in the past, and they WILL BE produced more and more in the future.  I am seeing more and more government contracts that require coordinated drawings as a submittal.  Federal, state, and local/county. So the choice becomes to either be able to produce that submittal out of Navisworks, with all the correct files that were used for the coordination, and the drawings that will produce the drawings that will be used for construction, or to start over from scratch in a program that allows me to produce the required submittal.  Like it or not, the trade contractors are going to take their final coordinated shop drawings and build from those, so the idea that something is changing in this process isn't really accurate.  I'm asking for an improved workflow that affects nothing in the real-world construction process.  You don't think a ductwork subcontractor works off of design drawings in the field, do you?  The drawings that I have to produce are not meant as construction drawings, but they will simply be overlays of the models that will produce the contruction drawings.

Nobody uses every single aspect of any software package.  It's 2012, I think we can drop the "bloat" complaint from the discussion from now on as it's not like the computers we're all using can't handle larger programs, or that there isn't already all manner of features in any software package that one person or another isn't using.  I'm not a tech guy, or a computer guy, I'm just a guy that has to comply with a contract, and wants to do it in the least amount of time and with the least amount of opportunity to make mistakes.  Either that or Autodesk should go back to selling Navisworks like they did when it was Jetstream so we can all a-la-carte the features we want and only pay for what we're using.

[Patrick_Aps_9121]

I also do see the need,

and i;m also in the piper business.

If your Equiment models are deleiverd as DWG files out of Inventor

and the Steelwork are IFC files from Tekla

and the piping is in PDS or PDMS

and the architecture is in ....

in which tool are you going to make the drawings and review and clash detect where the equipment has to be located.

Navisworks, right.

and you cannot get out a decent 2D plan that states how it should be erected ?

[Patrick_Aps_9121]

I also do see the need,

and i;m also in the piper business.

If your Equiment models are deleiverd as DWG files out of Inventor

and the Steelwork are IFC files from Tekla

and the piping is in PDS or PDMS

and the architecture is in ....

in which tool are you going to make the drawings and review and clash detect where the equipment has to be located.

Navisworks, right.

and you cannot get out a decent 2D plan that states how it should be erected ?

[Anonymous]

We are a multi discipline office Civil, Structural, Architectural, Mechanical, Process and Controls.  We use AutoCAD, AutoCAD Plant 3D and three flavors of Revit.  We currently produce 2D deliverable sheets on our typical projects from 2 and sometimes three different applications.  As much as we try, the sheets look slightly different.  Producing 2D sheets from NavisWorks would be a fantastic.

Or move Plant 3D to the Revit family like it should have been in the first place.

[Anonymous]

We are a multi discipline office Civil, Structural, Architectural, Mechanical, Process and Controls.  We use AutoCAD, AutoCAD Plant 3D and three flavors of Revit.  We currently produce 2D deliverable sheets on our typical projects from 2 and sometimes three different applications.  As much as we try, the sheets look slightly different.  Producing 2D sheets from NavisWorks would be a fantastic.

Or move Plant 3D to the Revit family like it should have been in the first place.

[Anonymous]

I use to really desire this feature in Navisworks as well it would be great to click a button and produce coordination drawings however I feel that it would never be that easy and would complicate things. We already have tools to produce drawings. Each trade or whoever is producing the model should be able to produce a set of drawings in there respective modeling software for there trade. These all can be combined in AutoCAD or Revit for the overlaying of everything and even isometric views. You can do your clash detection in navisworks and keep the drawing in Revit/AutoCAD.

[Anonymous]

I use to really desire this feature in Navisworks as well it would be great to click a button and produce coordination drawings however I feel that it would never be that easy and would complicate things. We already have tools to produce drawings. Each trade or whoever is producing the model should be able to produce a set of drawings in there respective modeling software for there trade. These all can be combined in AutoCAD or Revit for the overlaying of everything and even isometric views. You can do your clash detection in navisworks and keep the drawing in Revit/AutoCAD.

[Drafter1981]

O.K...

I just want to clarify what is being asked.

Can Navisworks Export a file in "DWG", DXF, or PDF format?

Basically, I need to a specific yes or no answer.

If we can also get some clarification about why you can, or can not get an exportable format that would be helpful.

Thanks,

[Drafter1981]

O.K...

I just want to clarify what is being asked.

Can Navisworks Export a file in "DWG", DXF, or PDF format?

Basically, I need to a specific yes or no answer.

If we can also get some clarification about why you can, or can not get an exportable format that would be helpful.

Thanks,

[dgorsman]

No, it can't.  Thats not the job of the software, especially since the originating software can (and and does) do a much better job.  Consider how much work and install size would be required to get the features of AutoCAD, and Revit, and Inventor, and everything else into Navisworks.

[dgorsman]

No, it can't.  Thats not the job of the software, especially since the originating software can (and and does) do a much better job.  Consider how much work and install size would be required to get the features of AutoCAD, and Revit, and Inventor, and everything else into Navisworks.

[Drafter1981]

dgorsman,

Thank you.

Not going to get into the detail but I seems as if my straightforward answer was not good enough.

Thanks again,

[Drafter1981]

dgorsman,

Thank you.

Not going to get into the detail but I seems as if my straightforward answer was not good enough.

Thanks again,

[Anonymous]

The issue (for my company) is not exporting a file type, or recreating a design tool inside NavisWorks, you are correct that would be silly, It is 2D orthographic contractual deliverables files that are the actual sheets of paper, the stuff the contractor has in his hands when the project is getting built. 

Now those sheet are produced from Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, AutoCAD Plant 3D and possibly others and as much as we try to get all of the sheets to look like they came from one company it is a challenge to make sure our title blocks and annotation look consistent from all of the different applications different departments in our company and outside contractors. 

I agree it wouldn’t work for everyone.  A single discipline company would produce sheets from the App they use.  There is no one application that can Design everything.  They each do their job very well.  But when you are producing a project that has as many as 6 different Disciplines using 4 or 5 different design tools, using NavisWorks to produce those sheets would give you the ability to create a consistent set of drawings that look like they came from one source.  It could be a standalone flavor on NavisWorks.  Call it NavisWorks DRAFT. 

Cheers!

Ted-

[Anonymous]

The issue (for my company) is not exporting a file type, or recreating a design tool inside NavisWorks, you are correct that would be silly, It is 2D orthographic contractual deliverables files that are the actual sheets of paper, the stuff the contractor has in his hands when the project is getting built. 

Now those sheet are produced from Revit, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, AutoCAD Plant 3D and possibly others and as much as we try to get all of the sheets to look like they came from one company it is a challenge to make sure our title blocks and annotation look consistent from all of the different applications different departments in our company and outside contractors. 

I agree it wouldn’t work for everyone.  A single discipline company would produce sheets from the App they use.  There is no one application that can Design everything.  They each do their job very well.  But when you are producing a project that has as many as 6 different Disciplines using 4 or 5 different design tools, using NavisWorks to produce those sheets would give you the ability to create a consistent set of drawings that look like they came from one source.  It could be a standalone flavor on NavisWorks.  Call it NavisWorks DRAFT. 

Cheers!

Ted-

[Anonymous]

Ted, we have essentially the same issue but from the Contractor's side.  Owners want 2D deliverables, and will for a long time to come.  When they require BIM/VDC, or just require coordination, from the Contractor they want "proof" and the proof they want is 2D drawings.  Whether or not that is the best means to convey the information or prove that the coordination has happened is irrelevent.

I cannot get a DWF out of Navisworks, not 2013 or 2014.  The program crashes when I try.  I would be willing to try and work with the DWF, but the program can't even give me that.

If there is another, better, tool for producing the 2D record drawings I'm all for it, I just don't knowwhat that tool is, especially when dealing with trade-specific fabrication softwares and CAD plugins.  Revit won't read all of those files all the time.

[Anonymous]

Ted, we have essentially the same issue but from the Contractor's side.  Owners want 2D deliverables, and will for a long time to come.  When they require BIM/VDC, or just require coordination, from the Contractor they want "proof" and the proof they want is 2D drawings.  Whether or not that is the best means to convey the information or prove that the coordination has happened is irrelevent.

I cannot get a DWF out of Navisworks, not 2013 or 2014.  The program crashes when I try.  I would be willing to try and work with the DWF, but the program can't even give me that.

If there is another, better, tool for producing the 2D record drawings I'm all for it, I just don't knowwhat that tool is, especially when dealing with trade-specific fabrication softwares and CAD plugins.  Revit won't read all of those files all the time.

[Anonymous]

rsloyer, how do you guys handle it from a contractors side? Do you have all of the subcontractors create 2d drawings based off the model that they have submitted for coordination?

[Anonymous]

rsloyer, how do you guys handle it from a contractors side? Do you have all of the subcontractors create 2d drawings based off the model that they have submitted for coordination?

[Anonymous]

In terms of each sub's submittals/shop-drawings, they each produce 2D drawings from their models.  This has been going on for years with ductwork, fire protection, and structural steel.  Plumbing and electrical subs traditionally did not submit field/shop drawings for layout, but now that they participate in BIM/VDC they can if required.

The stumbling block, for me, is producing the record set with all the trades in one 2D drawing.  I would never do this unless required by the Ownera and our contract, but several of our Owners have required it.  I have done this in Revit in the past but it is extremely slow and Revit bogs down horribly, and I have a file now on a current project that won't open in Revit at all so even the slow process won't work (not to mention the project is extremely complicated and would probably bog down even worse).

[Anonymous]

In terms of each sub's submittals/shop-drawings, they each produce 2D drawings from their models.  This has been going on for years with ductwork, fire protection, and structural steel.  Plumbing and electrical subs traditionally did not submit field/shop drawings for layout, but now that they participate in BIM/VDC they can if required.

The stumbling block, for me, is producing the record set with all the trades in one 2D drawing.  I would never do this unless required by the Ownera and our contract, but several of our Owners have required it.  I have done this in Revit in the past but it is extremely slow and Revit bogs down horribly, and I have a file now on a current project that won't open in Revit at all so even the slow process won't work (not to mention the project is extremely complicated and would probably bog down even worse).