Modeling in Inventor?

[RevitNinja]

I'd like to know if anyone has had success building a model in Inventor and importing it into Revit MEP. My original plan was create our equipment in Inventor, import them to Revit, and add the duct/electrical connections from there. I have tried importing as a 3D .dwg and also as an .sat file, but Revit does not recognize any of the object's faces when I try to add a connection. I have also added connections in Inventor through the AEC Exchange, but Revit does not seem to recognize them either.

I can model our equipment in Revit, but I am much, much faster in Inventor. Please contact me if you can help. Thanks.

[hand471037]

The problem with modeling anything in another program and then importing it into Revit is that none of the intelligence is there. In other words, it's just a 'static' model that doesn't know anything about itself.

What you need to do is at some point within Revit define those parts you need to be intelligent once you've imported the models from another software.

I don't use MEP, so I'll have to use a different example. Let's say I model up a chair in Inventor, and then import it into a blank Revit Family. I'll need to first off set it to be in the Furniture Family, and then I'll need to put in some Strong Reference Planes to define where the bounds of the chair are so that it will snap properly to things. Finally, I might want to hide the chair in plan, and draw a simpler version with symbolic lines, so that it appears properly in plan.

You've still got a bit of work ahead of you when you model the Families in a different software and import them in other words. You'll need to define those connections after you've imported those solids into your Families. I haven't worked with Systems in a while, so I don't remember how to do that off the top of my head, so let's hope someone else chimes in.

One final note: too much imported stuff can be a drag on Revit. It handles 'native' models much more efficently than imported ones. So while you're faster in Inventor, I'd only use it for models that are so complex that they are hard to create in Revit, and just make the simpler models in Revit. Also, people tend to over-model a bit at times in Revit. Like adding all the fillets and chamfers to a particular pipe fitting. Again, that's going to drag things down without really adding any value...

[Steve_Stafford]

There was a class last year at Autodesk University on this subject and one again this year. If I could get my hands on a crystal ball I'd probably be able to predict that there will be something to discuss someday otherwise why bother to indulge the subject?

[RevitNinja]

Thanks for the insight, guys. I have been exploring this for a couple of weeks, and right now I have decided to use Inventor for the complex modeling tasks when parametric flexibility isn't critical. I can import the model to the Revit family editor as an .SAT file and add the necessary connections and information. As long as I choose the 'mechanical equipment' template when firing up the family editor, Revit will allow me to add duct/electrical connections and also define discipline-specific information such as CFM, voltage, cost, manufacturer, etc.

If anyone else is trying this on their own, be sure to save the imported .SAT file as an .RFA file before you attempt to add connections/information. Good Luck.