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Thread: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

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    Default Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    Within CAD I was able to get away with using no more than 5 lineweights: 3mm, 5mm, 7mm, 9mm, and 1.5mm for really heaving lines. 5mm was usually the thickness of my cut walls in plan view, but when going over to Revit, it appears that isn't thick enough In relation to Revit, my 5mm (0.0050") line weight is pen 3, but I need to end up using pen 10 (0.0210"). Whats the deal and why am I having to work with 16 pen styles.

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    Revit Technical Specialist - Autodesk Scott D Davis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    pen 3 isn't always .005, and pen 10 isn't always .021. Linweights change depending on the scale of the view. If these lineweights are not heavy enough for you, you may need to make adjustments under Manage>Settings>Lineweights. You'll notice in the attached screenshot of the lineweights dialog box that the actual printed lineweights are different depending on scale.
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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Davis View Post
    pen 3 isn't always .005, and pen 10 isn't always .021. Linweights change depending on the scale of the view. If these lineweights are not heavy enough for you, you may need to make adjustments under Manage>Settings>Lineweights. You'll notice in the attached screenshot of the lineweights dialog box that the actual printed lineweights are different depending on scale.
    Acutally for me they are the same for every scale (for now).

    I'm trying to establish consistency, I'm afraid users will get confused on which pen type to use based on the scale they're using. If all linetypes are the same throughout it eleviates that issue.

    Thoughts on that topic are welcomed as well.

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    Revit Technical Specialist - Autodesk Scott D Davis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    Quote Originally Posted by guitarchitect7 View Post
    Acutally for me they are the same for every scale (for now).

    I'm trying to establish consistency, I'm afraid users will get confused on which pen type to use based on the scale they're using. If all linetypes are the same throughout it eleviates that issue.

    Thoughts on that topic are welcomed as well.
    My thought would be that you are over-riding a key feature in Revit by making all lineweights the same across scales. What happens when you change scale of a view now? Don't have your users reliant on a pen weight per se....just that they know pen 1 is thinnest and 16 is thickest. Object styles and your template should take care of the rest. Your users should not get confused if the templates and object styles are set up to your liking. I would definately consider changing it back to the default settings, and then tweak the settings from there.

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    I could stop if I wanted to TroyGates's Avatar
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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    At a previous company I used about 8 lineweights in AutoCAD which also happened to be colors 1 thru 8. I matched our Revit lineweights 1 thru 8 to be identical. Users found it very easy to transition using this system.

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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    The lineweight table that Scott pointed out is daunting at first, but is actually not difficult to use once you play around with it a bit. We started with 1/8"=1'-0" scale as our baseline for lineweights and worked up and down from there. We use six lineweights for virtually all of our drawings (there are some additional very heavy lineweights provided for special purposes/presentation graphics) but once you set the table up for your template, you will probably never get another question about lineweights from users. Adjusting scales and detail levels in different views is like buttah.
    It takes a little experimenting, but the exercise is worth the effort. It's a small price to pay for not having to worry about layers. I think your five lineweight spread is probably sufficient for virtually all the work you need to do. We used the National CAD Standard as our reference. There is a class handout from AU2008 that gives an excellent explanation and jumping-off point (class #CM311-2) that is available online if you are a subscription member.

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    Revit Mararishi aaronrumple's Avatar
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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Davis View Post
    My thought would be that you are over-riding a key feature in Revit by making all lineweights the same across scales.
    Not really. I've flattened our pen weights with the advent of view templates, which make the adaptive pen settings somewhat obsolete.. View templates make it very simple and much more direct in managing pen settings at different scales.

    While the adaptive pen weights are a cool technology, it just requires too much testing for different conditions (civil, architectural, presentation CD's,, etc...) View templates give me one spot I can check everything and make QA/QC simpler.

    We use a system that has Revit/AutoCAD/Rapidograph names for all generations of architects.
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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    I'm glad I brought this topic up as there seems to be even a difference of opinion between how to handle line weights. With Pen Weights, Object Styles, and Visibility override graphics, there are clearly various wasy to control lineweight, but what is the standard most effective way?

    I understand the idea of having the option of different weights based on scale, but now I don't have a consistency with my pen styles besides what was mentioned before, "pen 1 is lightest, pen 16 is heaviest".

    And I still have my oringal question, why doesn't 5mm weight print the same as it did in AutoCAD? I don't like the idea of having to remember more than 6 or so lineweights just to control my drawing. Idn't 0.0050" 5mm?

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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    most of the time its because the users don't want the pens thickness too thick at the larger scales. If i have a 0.5mm wall line weight at 1:50 at 1:5000 it will plot out an just be an absolute blob! Revit has the great feature of adjusting the line weights so that they are readable no matter what scale the view is at - in my opinion a very good feature.

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    Default Re: Line Weights, AutoCAD vs Revit

    Quote Originally Posted by guitarchitect7 View Post
    ...And I still have my original question, why doesn't 5mm weight print the same as it did in AutoCAD? Isn't 0.0050" 5mm?...
    Well if you have the pen settings truly the same at a given scale they ought to print the same or close enough that you can't tell a difference. The plotter and driver may be a factor. I used a Xerox 8830 in the past that used its own pen driver for Microstation and the Windows driver for Revit. Drove me nuts for awhile.

    A 5mm pen would run you out of ink and money FAST! A technical pen of 0.5mm is a pretty thick line, like for a wall cut in plan or section. Typical pens are 0.13mm, 0.18mm, 0.25mm, 0.30mm up to 1.0mm. The 1.0mm was the thickest pen I ever used on vellum or mylar,and rarely at that.

    P.S. Watch for the next AUGI | AEC EDGE issue, there will be an article that discusses this a bit. There is also a pretty good chapter about this in the Mastering Revit Structure 2010 book, chapter was written by David Harrington. Hmmm, David wrote the article for the magazine too, coincidence?

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