How you prepare reinforcement drawings?

[asim99]

Hi,
I have used Revit Structure only for two projects only. What I am not sure till now is how to set up reinforcement drawings in revit structure. Remember I am talking about construction level drawings, not about shop level drawings. I have come to known two ways,

1- prepare concrete drawings and show reinforcement with detail lines ( more like autocad).
2- Prepare Concrete model. Show reinforcement in 3D at some location ( which you want to use in details) and cut sections at such locations and then complete detailing.


There is not much help available in my office as I am the only one using Revit so I would appreciate if you guys can share your experience that how you prepare your reinforcement drawings. If there is better way to prepare reinforcement drawings? If you can share some models that will be more helpful.

Regards

[Craig_L]

You are right, those are 2 of your options, however there is an additional option which is export your plan to AutoCAD and detail in CAD.
Personally, I have found little difference between 2D detailing in Revit and 2D detailing in CAD. They are about as fast as each other, Revit can be done a little quicker because you can use detail elements to place shapes, but otherwise it is on par. I also think it is preferable to produce as much as you can in one software package this just means your documents look consistent, but you can always import the CAD file into revit and place it on a title block within Revit that way.

If you are the only one in the office, I would recommend against trying to model your reo as it will just be too time consuming and when it gets tricky there is no one to help you out. There is not a lot to be gained by modelling the reo - I suppose your details are ready to go, that is a plus but drawing a few bars doesnt take all that long. What I have done in the past was model beam, column and pad footing reo as these were simple and easy to place without complex steps and Z bars and L bars etc, and in most cases I can create one footing with reo and one column with reo and then group that, and copy the group around.

Honestly at the end of the day it is personal preference, and what you need out of your model. If you are scheduling quantities and what not for Reo then modelling it is certainly beneficial, otherwise do you gain much from modelling it?

[asim99]

Hi Craig Thank you for help. I am structural engineer and have to do both design and drafting. The company where I am working is famous for bridges but I am working in building design section and the problem is their details database for buildings is very very limited and whatever details they have are in AutoCAD. They are trying to migrate to Revit and prefer to do all new building projects in Revit. I am trying to improve my Revit Skills and confident that with help of people like you i'll definitely get better with time.

Regards,

[Craig_L]

Something to always keep in mind when thinking about modelling additional things is simply "what do I gain by modelling it"?
If you need to use revit to schedule and take quantities of reo, then I would say its a very powerful and accurate tool, but there is a trade off in that it takes longer to model and depending on the complexity of the structure you might find yourself in over your head trying to create shapes or processes that arent in place yet, and all the time still trying to hit your deadlines. There is a good package out there that is great for detailing reo if you need to create reo fabrication lists and details it is by a company called "Sofistik" and a google search should get you to them. Its a german company I think, and I am yet to try it out, but we are considering trialing it. From what I have seen it looks quite good, but we also produce the reo fabrication drawings here, and we will ultimately benefit from this - at the moment we export to cad and do our reo with existing packages that work and we have standards in place for. I know I mentioned this in the first response, but its really pivotal with thinking about what and how you are going to model. A company in Australia that has had a lot of success with bridges and revit is GHD I am sure you can find some info and some of their work shown on the internet somewhere if that interests you.

I spent a bit of time building the same library database up in revit in the past. Essentially just redrawing the same 2D library that you have in cad so you can place those details in revit and keep your documents looking consistent. This is actually a good task for someone else who is learning revit, as it teaches them the 2D functions of revit and by the end of it they will be 2D pros in revit. Its pretty simple in that environment, but it will give them a good grounding with the interface and also good for juniors to work on the standard details because then they know exactly where they are, and what they are when it comes to working on a project.

Good luck.

[e.jsarmiento]

Hi.
I AutoCAD Structural Detailing use, the process is simple and the results are satisfactory. implementation obviously takes time, but now the workflow is faster not only in creating the plans but also in the modification process.
My process begins with modeling in Revit and then exported that model to AutoCAD Structural Detailing using extensions for revit.
Check this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Ah6yi-nXc
Regards
Juan Sarmiento

[Mark.vB]

What we have successfully done is export the concrete outline to CAD. (create a special view for this) We then create a blank CAD file and Xref in this outline. We draw the rebar onto this new drawing which is great for technicians who are good at CAD but not Revit.

We then link (not import!!!) this rebar drawing back into Revit and adjust the layer visibilities, line widths, etc in visibility graphics.

Hope this helps.

[ELB-Revit]

One last idea, again as Craig said at the end of the day it's your personal preference, you can do your detailing in CAD and then print to PDF from CAD. Then use the export to PNG option in adobe. Then you can take that image and place on a sheet in revit. That way you can keep the size of your revit file down, print everything from revit, and keep all those nasty linked CAD drawing/details out of your project. This is something we have used in the past on a few hybrid projects. In any event, good luck and have a good afternoon.

[Lines&Circles;]

Hi,
Like you I scratched my head trying to get Revit to work with me to streamline the detailing of reinf. quicker than Autocad as that's the reason we bought into the Revit fantasy. Personally I would recommend staying in Revit and not jumping between packages. The longer you work with Revit the smarter you get with Revit and the information base in the program grows with your development of families.
We dont schedule reinf. in Australia the reinf. companies do that but in some instance its helpful to model the floor slab reinf. using the area reinforcement tool because once done its very quick to make changes if need. You just need to get your tags looking the way you want. This took me some time but I think im getting there.
I would recommend making up detail items to represent things such as Z bars and the like and using keynotes to set up a library of different alternatives this is where Revit speeds things up. Make your detail items represent as many alternatives as possible then its just a case of ticking things on or off to get the type you need. To do this you just make visibility parameters in the detail item family to show the alternatives.
Another important thing is to create View Templates to show or hide things such as top or bottom reinf. Together with filters you can hide or change the look of things easily and quickly.
RC Beam elevations have always been difficult to setup but I believe 2015 has improved the process. I'm yet to load the new version but that upgrade will definitely get some attention from me.
Stick at it. Hunt down videos on the net and it will eventually start making sense
Regards

[ckruit]

Hi,
Depending on What version of Revit you use you can try using SOFiSTiK Reinforcement Detailling. Using Revit 2014 it's a free version from the Autodesk Exchange/Apps. Using Revit 2015 it's a payed version available with 30 days trail.
I have great experience about using this App.
You have to make 3D Reinforcement at you model and getting only the rebar you want on your drawing to be placed with annotation you want.
Therefor you don't have to export to AutoCAD and keep all into one 3D Revit model and drawings.
Hope this will help.
Regards