Revit Model File Size Max

[david_peterson]

As a BIM Coordinator I find myself trying to figure anticipate problems, and try to solve the problem before it becomes a problem. (Fixing bad habits and using best practices)
At this point (for this particular project) I'm really not concerned about the next guy that gets the mode, I'm really only worried about our team.
In theory we shouldn't be doing much more work in the model since we've submitted for construction, but I'm sure we'll be clouding and such for the next few yeaars.

My problem is trying to convince the team they need to clean up their model due to it's size.
Hardware really shouldn't an issue, we all have 32GB of Ram and based on past experience we shouldn't end up using all of it.

Right now the file sits just shy of 800mb.
I'm wondering at what point do I start to take action and split something out (like say furniture or other stuff) to reduce the file size.

Is there a limit at which a model won't run, or is that merely a function of your hardware?
Should I be forcing their hand to clean up their model? (Purge, Delete unused views, create a new central, compact???)

I've seen a lot of best practices out there on model management, but file isn't one I've seen.
I tend to take the approach of if it's still running it's ok. (At first do no harm)

Anyone have any sage advice?
Thanks in Advance!

[meng005]

I am amazed to hear that one can work effectively in an 800 mb file! How long does it take to open a model that large?

We try to keep our models under 300 mb. We may have several models in excess of 500 mb.
Our larger projects may consume an aggregate of 15+ gb RAM (Revit.exe in Task Manager).

We are upgrading our standard BIM laptop from 16+ gb RAM to 32; however most of them have under 24 gb RAM.
This is one of the reasons for trying to limit the file size.

Less is more.

[jsnyder.68308]

I am not aware of any limit on file size. The analogy that I give people to put things in perspective is that it is like driving your car on the freeway in second gear. You can do it, but don't be surprised if it breaks.
When you say "clean up" the model, I assume you refer mostly to Review Warnings, yes? Here is a quick ROI example for review warnings:

•A project with 1000 review warnings takes 1 minute longer to SWC than a comparable one with 100 review warnings.
•Both projects have 4 people on the team SWC once an hour. This is 32 minutes a day wasted.
•If the project lasts for 6 months, this adds up to 64 hours...

I would be somewhat less concerned with file size as opposed to file performance since I am not convinced that there is a direct correlation.

[JUBAL REVIT]

Better upgrade your computer system.

[dhurtubise]

No sweat David, we also have several models that are fairly big. If it's model properly then it works flawlessly. The problem is not really with the file size but how many people work in the file, that's more of a concern to me as it slows down sync time dramatically.
Revit only moves the datum when it syncs so i bet that a few of my 800 MB models are actually faster then a lot of yours 300 people ;)

As for splitting, wait for the next deadline and jump on it. By the nature of the projects we do we typically have 5 files
- Site
- Building
- Shell
- Vertical Circulation
- Furniture

Of course it does change depending on the projects

[tds1spygod]

jsnyder- I know this is an old post but the info you provide regarding warnings and their affect on SWC - where did you get this? I'm hammering this point to my team and want upper management in on it also, hence the citation. Thanks!

[Brian Myers]

tds1spygod - While I have never seen those statistics specifically before, it feels about right based on my almost 12 years of using the products. It's also a fairly easy statistic to check by timing the before and after of a few project cleanups.

Additionally, while this is an old thread, I will add that I regularly see models over 2GB in size once you count the linked files. So it takes proper management through splitting of models and worksets (along with decent hardware) to keep the projects moving smoothly. It's not a file size issue specifically... it's about what needs to be processed. Models with lots of warnings take longer because Revit needs to check the model against those warnings constantly. The more warnings, the more checking Revit is doing behind the scenes. Checking = Time processing... thus longer delays.

Other things that will slow models down include curved surfaces and imported CAD files. Why? Because each face of the curve needs processed and each line in the CAD file needs processed. The less objects, the less warnings, the faster the project will run. It's not (in most cases) about project size with the improved hardware we have today, it's more about the load we put on our processors and the access times we put on it for pulling data from our hard drives and networks.