Drafting Views

[indusinkc]

Is it faster to draw 2D details in Revit or create AutoCAD details to import into Revit, to create Drafting Views?

This is assuming, the line work and everything else will be converted to Revit.

Thank you!

[jsteinhauer]

You're best bet is to draft with native Revit content (lines, hatches & detail component). Importing CAD will create tons of line types that become a hassle to manage. Best bet is to link in CAD, draw over the top, and remove the CAD when finished. Detail components are similar to blocks, be can be used to create repeating detail components for faster drafting of lets say CMU or Brick.

Cheers,
Jeff S.

[MikeJarosz]

I agree. Most likely you will import many details, not just one. That will create the "tons of line types" Jeff warned about above.

If some of these details are used often enough, you may even consider drawing them in 3D. In our practice we do courthouses all over the country. Certain details like secure doors, repeat on every job, so I modeled them in 3D. You can even put them in your project template. When placed in the model, they create great perspective views, and callouts can bring up great details from the same family without having to also draw a redundant 2D of what is the actually the same object.

[JonTheBIMGuy]

Well for a matter of speed, it is really going to depend on if you are more comfortable drafting in Revit or AutoCAD. If you can draft at the same speed in either, then I would agree that drafting in Revit is the way to go.

[breckbaird]

If you are faster in AutoCAD, or have existing details in CAD, another option is to import you CAD details into a temporary Revit model and explode the CAD import there. Then convert the tons of imported line types that Jeff S. mentioned into the native Revit line types that you are using in your real Revit project file, and convert the imported hatch regions into native fill regions. Finally, create new drafting views in your real Revit project and copy-paste your cleaned up details from the temporary Revit model.
This way you will be able to easily manage line types, fill regions, etc. It is not as good a method as creating the details in Revit, but it is a good workaround until you get comfortable drafting in Revit (or if you have a bunch of old typical details).

[david_peterson]

To throw another 2 cents in there. As another option (I'm not a big fan of this idea, but I've seen it used before on projects where you have no time or budget to create new stuff) if you have a bunch of acad details that you want to use, print each detail to a pdf, and convert to a png file. Insert the png file in your drafting view, done.
Again, I'm not saying this is a great idea, but for canned typical details that you haven't yet had time to convert to revit, it's a quick workaround.

[DaveP]

I have a quibble with you, breck.
I sort of agree with you that if you have existing CAD details you can bring them into Revit and re-create them.
BUT, as the people above have said, you really want to draw in native Revit.
Even if you're in a temporary model, NEVER Import or Explode a DWG!
It's going to take you just as long to convert those lines an Hatches as it would to draw over the top of them.
LINK the DWG, then use the Pick Lines tool86936 to trace over those Lines.
That way, you can start with native Revit Lines (as opposed to converted AutoCAD Lines)
Ditto for Filled Regions. You can trace the borders, but you can use a native Revit pattern. A converted AutoCAD pattern is never going to be exactly the same, so you still end up with a lot of similar Filled Regions.

Go ahead and use a Temporary model and do the Copy\Paste trick to save you final detail, but Link the DWG instead of Importing. That way you can Remove the Link before you C/P, which is even cleaner.
But the best advantage to using a pure Revit approach is that you'll much more quickly start developing an using Revit Detail Components in your details.
If you "simply" Import and Explode your DWGs, you'll end up with all of you details being nothing but lines. Once you start either using the OOTB, or creating your own Detail Components, you'l not only make converting your details faster, but you'll build up a library that you can use forever so that EVERY detail you make from now on will be better.
One of the reasons people say "AutoCAD is faster than Revit" is because they've already spent years building up that library of components in AutoCAD. 15 years ago, they used to say hand drafting was faster that AutoCAD because they had to create all those Blocks.

[indusinkc]

Suppose we have access to PDFs or JPEGs of the as-built drawings and we need to create Drafting views in Revit, is drawing 2D directly in Revit still better than creating them in AutoCAD first?

Thanks for all the replies.

[bbeck]

Suppose we have access to PDFs or JPEGs of the as-built drawings and we need to create Drafting views in Revit, is drawing 2D directly in Revit still better than creating them in AutoCAD first?

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes, draw in Revit. Every imported dwg file adds weight to your Revit file. By that I mean Linetypes, Line Patterns, Object Styles, potentially dimension types. Think xref|layername in AutoCAD for all of this in Revit.

[MikeJarosz]

if you have a bunch of [...] details that you want to use, print each detail to a pdf, and convert to a png file. Insert the png file in your drafting view, done.


There is another reason to do this. We had a millwork specialist who did brilliant details. This guy went to carpentry trade fairs all over the world. He knew all about the shop equipment the millwork contractors have. Hardware was no problem. Could tell exotic species just by looking. There was just one hitch. He was the last of the paper and pencil architects. All his details were done on 8.5x11 graph paper. On big millwork jobs like courthouses, there would be hundreds of them.

We just scanned them and dumped them into Revit.