Unable to bind x-refs within exported DWG...

[hand471037]

OK, so I don't know if this is really a Revit problem or not, but I've got a project where we would like to export the model of a large apartment building with linked in townhouses to a DWG file to give to a rendering guy who uses Max. I've exported the model with no issues to DWG, and it opens fine and looks fine. The Townhouses are turned into X-refs just like normal, and everything seems fine.

However, the Max guy wants us to bind those x-refs into the main. When I try to do this, I simply get within ADT 2004 a 'Regenerating Model...' message, then after a little while, an '*Invalid*' message, and the bind fails. :/ Way to go, AutoCAD, those error messages really help. *Invalid* what?

OK, so I've tried everything, I've unlinked and re-xrefed the townhouses, I've opened all of the files and purged and audited them. It fails on both bind & insert options. All layers are unlocked. So what gives? Can anyone shead some light on what's happening here?

I'm hoping to not have to waste time removing the xrefs and blocking everything into the main instead, for there are many townhouses, some of which are mirrored, and it would just be a pain...

[Kevin Janik]

Check to see if the XREF names are too long. Sometimes AutoCAD does not bind because of that. When using the bind not insert option of bind command the layer names exceed the maximum string length.

Also check the block names since the same name thing can happen with names also.

In AutoCAD we also find that drawings with ADT Multiview blocks are a problem and need to be removed at times to bind by erasing the block and then Wblocking the drawing out to itself (The only way to purge Multiview blocks we have found.)

Kevin

[hand471037]

Thanks for the help, but that's not it. I shortened the names of the xrefs, both in file and within the DWG, and have made certain that there aren't any strange charaters that ADT might choke on.

Also I've exploded everything within one of the townhouses so it's nothing but a bunch of polyface meshes, no blocks of any kind, and it's still not working. So unless ADT has added MVBlocks to the file automatically when it was opened with it, doesn't find them with the quickselect tool, and refuses to purge them, I can't think of what else it could be.

Also I'm using the standard AIA layer name export filter, so the layer names are all short and proper.

god do I hate ADT. ;)

[hand471037]

I'm gonna post this over to the ADT group, and if it does turn out to be some side-effect of Revit's exporting, I'll post that answer back here...

[hand471037]

From digging some more on Google, I'm starting to beleve that it's not Revit's fault, but ADT's. Wish me luck ;).

[Cathy Hadley]

Just a thought... but have you tried it with vanilla autocad? and not ADT? 2005 ? Or maybe 2002 ? If you'd like I'd be happy to play with it alittle, if you want to send it along... just email and I'll give you my FTP site to post it.

This one I can see becoming an issue for many of my clients... so please keep us posted...

Cathy

[Nelson V]

Jeff,
I tried to recreate your situation and got the same results, xref won't bind or insert. So i tried the regular insert and that seems to work.

[hand471037]

Cathy, I've done some research and posted on the ADT group as well, and while I haven't tried it for I don't have plain ol' AutoCAD (oh how I wish I did), I beleve it would work, for it has in the past (well, at least with Revit 6.1's exports).

When you say plain insert, you mean just inserting it just as a block? I can do that, I'm hoping not to, for it would just be stupid to have to re-place all the linked files, and I'd much rather find a way to make this work correctly. Thanks for the tip though, and when I find out what's going on from the ADT folks I'll post it here too.

[hand471037]

Thanks to the brilliant Chris Yanchar the issue hsa been solved!

Turns out that ADT/AutoCAD (and Revit too) don't like some of the available third-party Accurender material names, for they are long and contain non-accetable charaters.

So, names like 'BMCD2ARSolid Materials \Glossy Colors\Low\Slate\Dark' that are in some of the older RUGI families and such we've got within our library aren't good, for it's too long, and Revit at least doesn't like having the ' \ ' charater within the material name. or is it the ' / ' one... I forget... but when you go to rename these matierals, and if you don't change the name and just hit OK, you get an error showing the non-standard charaters that can't make up a material name. So apparently they can be brought into your project when you load content, but can't be defined within your project as such.

This is gonna be an issue, for certain, for Material names within Revit are very much like xdata and block-nested layernames within AutoCAD, in the fact that they are 'viral' and can be difficult to track down and properly remove...

So by running MATLIB, purging all the materials out of the xrefs & the main, and then reloading them in the main they were able to be bound properly.

Thanks again Chris, and now I'll start the hunt for removing/changing all those materials names from our Revit content...

[Scott Hopkins]

Jeffrey,

Thanks for passing that along. That is good to know for future reference

[hand471037]

well, it's also an issue if you use any of the Accustudio stuff and/or any of the Modern Materials library... watch out!

[Cathy Hadley]

Thanks for the heads up... now need to look into MATLIB...its been awhile.

CZH