Opinions on Revit .... moving from AutoCAD 2004 - revit a good idea?

[cgill]

I know these forums may be a bit slanted towards Revit but I would also hope some of you have made the change and/or can supply some true feedback.

How does revit handle detailing?

How is it for people that have NEVER drawn anything in 3D?

How is it to set up custom objects?

How does it work when issuing a construction set?

And........

This is a copy of the post I made over at CGarchitect.com, they pointed me towards you:


In the overall wisdom of our firm "the powers that be", that of course really know nothing about nothing, have decided to entertain the idea of switching from autocad 2004 to Revit.

A little background about our firm.
3 offices across the country, nearly 200 employees, in house architect, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, theatrical rigging, and visualization.

Our "bread and butter" is hospitals, however we do work on historic sturctures, historic theaters, and new theaters / performing arts centers.

I am looking for information so during our whole office introduction to the software packing to have knowledgable questions about the product.

So how does this package perform in the real world?

Does it really allow 1 file to contain an entire project, Architecture, MEP, sections, elevations, plans, and etc and really allow everyone to be working in that file at the same time in real time?

What happens if the network crashes?

How does it perform on a LARGE scale project, IE one of our current projects a 500,000 square foot hospital addition/remodel.

How is the transition from using autocad to it?

Is it friendly to go between autocad and viz?

How file format friendly is it, while we do have alot of inhouse consultants there are alot we get out of house.

How does it perform on a really crummy network, although we have very new equipment our network is continuously going from fast to slow to no access to the server to full access to not being able to get to another office's server, and etc in the matter of seconds/minutes/days sometimes.

And of course any other opinions you have on the product.

Thanks in advance,

[rhys]

In the overall wisdom of our firm "the powers that be", that of course really know nothing about nothing, have decided to entertain the idea of switching from autocad 2004 to Revit.

Good on the powers that be, as you research things further,run through the tutorials , play with the demo, you may be surprised to find that, in the case of Revit, they know something about something>

[BomberAIA]

I've AutoCAD since 1985. It didn't do what I wanted then and it still doesn't. Revit is the answer to all your questions. It's easier to use and is totally parametric. You should have attended AU in Vegas and you would have seen for yourself.

[BomberAIA]

Oh by the way, the World Trade Center is being documented by SOM in Revit. It's the way of the future.

[aaronrumple]

Moving to Revit a good idea? The only idea. But don't. I don't need any competition.

[cgill]

The main reason is not to be anti revit, anything to make my job easier is a good thing. I however just want to get some questions lined up for a 3 hour demonstration we are going to have so that I can put my mind and the mind of the partners at ease or put up flares for areas on our end that may need to be upgraded.

The "powers that be" are people that don't actually use a computer more then to check email. So I am looking for feedback from people that really use it and not a salesman.

[Arnel Aguel]

The best way is to contact a reseller near your area and ask for a demonstration in your office together with your Management. Then ask whatever question you would like to ask that you have been doing with autocad. By that all of you can see the real power of Revit and its ease of use. You can even ask for a demo copy of the program for you to try at it out first hand.

My two cents.

[mlgatzke]

I think that moving to Revit will be a positive move.

However, with that said (and not to deter you), you should know that there are concerns for a firm your size that you should keep in mind. You should really be talking to Phil Read from Autodesk Revit Implementation regarding these.

1. If you have firms in different time zones, you should consider having Revit gurus present in each time zone. This way if someone has a question outside of business hours in one time zone, they can contact someone in their time zone for an answer. (Thank you Jim Balding for this one)

2. I believe that the implementation of Revit in your firm will be more of a concern with "process" than "learning" the software. I think that "how" you use the software and modify your "process of a project" will be the biggest hurdle. (Thank you Phil Read for this one)

3. To most effectively implement Revit and bounce back into a fully-productive and billable state, I would recommend contacting the Autodesk Revit Implementation team and have them help you through the "breakthrough bleeding" portion of your implementation. (my suggestion and NO, I don't work for Autodesk)

4. Lastly, I would forewarn you that you and most of your users will be gung-ho for Revit and think that it's the neatest thing since sliced-bread. Then, about 3 weeks into using Revit, you will find some of your users becoming frustrated and beginning to question the switch to Revit. Don't worry. This is normal. Then, at about the 5 week mark, your users will begin to see through their previous "haze" and appreciate Revit once again. Once you're through this stage you're home free. I believe that you'll never question your switch to Revit ever again. Please keep in mind that these estimates in time are approximate and may vary, but I've seen most users to hit these timeline hurdles. Don't fret. Everything will be fine on the other side.

Please don't misunderstand my intent. I do not want you to be discouraged to switch to Revit. I think you'll be glad you did. However, I don't want you thinking that the path will be like a walk on rose petals. I'm trying to enlighten you with foresight of little hurdles you might encounter along your path to Revit Enlightenment.

I teach Architectural drafting at our local community college. I teach AutoCAD, ADT, and Revit. I watch my students struggle to understand and master AutoCAD and ADT. Then I introduce them to Revit. Their biggest hurdle is to overcome their understanding of AutoCAD and ADT "workarounds". Once they understand Revit and how it works, they absolutely thrive. I've watched, since my implementation of Revit two years ago, my students create 50% more work during the same semester while using FAR less lab time to do it. Their drawings are more thorough, better looking, and better coordinated. I know my teaching abilities didn't suddenly get that much better so it must be the software.

I'm sure, in the end, you'll love it. Good luck.

[Martin P]

We have moved to Revit from Autocad. And are in the process of moving the remaining Autocad users to mainly Revit use. Floor plans, sections elevations, documentation etc etc is tenfold faster and easier with Revit.
That said we do and will all still use Autocad on occasion as well. Your firm obviously have Autocad, why let it sit and do nothing? For siteplans I just find Autocad is easier to use, thats a personal preference, for detailing I prefer to use Autocad again a personal preference and the fact that we have most details as Autocad files already, so why change that just for the sake of it? - both these things can be done with Revit - I cant comment how well as I havent really tried. I prefer to keep my Autocad skills running and I find it simple to do these things with Autocad (probably due to the fact that both are Started in Autocad anyway) drafting is drafting in either package (ie "linework") - If you have both I'd use both and if you receive autocad files from others that need edited, you will be doing it in Autocad not in Revit. But 95% of what you do will be done with Revit.

We have increased our productity a huge amount with Revit, no regrets at all here

[ariasdelcid]

If you are doing Architecture there is no question about it... go with Revit... if you are an AutoCad Autolisp junkie... then stay away...