Exporting to NWC - loss of detail / quality

[columd1978]

I have inserted Some revit families into a project and its appears fine in Revit – when I export to NWC format the wireframe detail is somehow flipped around and is causing a few headaches with other contractors in a federated model.

Have anyone seen anything like this before??

 The workflow is as follows

• The 2D drawing is extruded and converted to a solid in Autocad
• The autocad drawing is then inserted into revit and a family is created
• The  Family is then loaded into the project
• The project is then exported to navis

Im thinking its a compatibility issue between the 3 platforms – autodesk – revit – navis

we would like to see this finer detail in the navis model also as it is shown in revit

this finer detail is too difficult to draw again in revit - this is why we insert the dwg into the revit family

If anyone has any ideas on how to resolve this im all ears - thanks

[dbutts7]

Are those 2D drawings on the faces of the equipment as just lines, or actual 3D components? If so, is the rotated part the 3D model form AutoCAD? Only the 3D components are exported by the Navisworks exporter. How was the equipment defined - did it come over from Inventor as an ADSK file or RFA family - or was it another format?

Can you post the family so I can take a look?

thanks - db

[columd1978]

Those are 2D lines on the face of the equipment. I extruded the profile in AutoCAD and exploded the 2D entities then put them onto thier relevant 3d sold face.  I then purged and 'blocked' the panel and saved

I created a new electrical equipment family in revit

inserted the dwg of the 3d panel 

saved as an .rfa

the detail appears fine in Revit and is generally ok. its only appearing rotated and outside of the 3D panel when I export the model to Navis

I dont know how to post the family ! 😞

[dbutts7]

OK, to post the family, in your reply, scroll down below the text window. There's a line for attachments - select the Browse button to the right, and locate your file. once you select OK, it adds it to the reply when you select Post. From there, I can download it and take a look.

If you have the Ultimate Suite, Inventor is included. It's better tool for converting families to Revit, but any 2D items are going to have the same issue. Navisworks sees it as an "image" rather than an object, so it doesn't translate the way you would expect.

You might want to include the 2D DWG you used as well, I might be able to get it correctly inserted back into the family for you so at least it doesn't rotate.

Remember that Navisworks isn't a design tool, but is really a coordination tool to check for conflicts, help with construction simulation, etc. For me it's more important to have the 3D box than the pretty picture, so we can make sure it has the clearances needed.

Get those files posted, and I'll take a peek.

thanks - db

[columd1978]

Thanks for the input so far -

I have attached the files - .dwg & .rfa

I have had the exact same problem before christmas and i somehow managed to over come it - but dont ask me what i did

see the two screen shots below - left is navis - right is Revit

from what i remember i used the same workflow but maybe used a command 'CONVRTO - something' - ive tried to do this again for these panels but have no luck

Unfortunetly I am not responsible for the generating of the federated navis model - this is done by the principle co-ordinator on the project

[dbutts7]

had to get a project fixed this morning - working on the family now

thanks - db

[dbutts7]

Ok, here's the first thing I'd do - make sure any model you want to import - DWG, SAT, etc...is oriented in the source drawing the same way you want it to be oriented in the model. That solves most flip problems, by keeping the x-y-z axis the same. It won't happen in every model, but the more complex the file, the more likely it will screw up when you try to work with the imported model.

Another is the level of detail. Anytime you bring another file into a family, that contains more than 10,000 elements (whether it's lines or model elements) Revit has an issue with it. Yours has 17066, so I'd figure out a way to reduce detail. I ran into this on another family of a conveying line, where part of the model flipped when I exported back to AutoCAD. It becomes more pronounced when you try to explode the DWG in Revit (and it won't allow it).

When I exported the family from a project, all I got was the 3D body shape, since that's what Revit would normally export.

Doing these two items would be the first thing I'd try to fix. Here's a tip - if you really want the detail, or at least most it, in Navisworks, pare the file down to where you can explode it. Convert the remaining lines to model lines in the family. The try t export - the image should not shift, since the items are now model items in the family.

But be aware - and I don't really recommend this - when you explode a DWG with this much detail, you're going to have a large family.

A better solution - get the vendor to send you a STP file or an Inventor IAM file. Open the file up in Inventor, and use those tools to clean up/shrinkwrap/remove unneeded detail. That's the best method for doing this - not bringing in 3D models that have 2D images or linework pasted over the top. It may look pretty, but...

Try the Inventor method, and see how it works. I've covered this at AU in 2013 and 2014, and can send you the links to the recordings if you want.

thanks - db