Form Z & Revit model

[gwnelson]

Does anyone have any experience in exporting 3D into Form Z?

[kpaxton]

No real experience, but going to FormZ's website, they offer the following information on Import formats. I have MARKED the Revit output formats below. As far as I know, the material definitions made in Revit should still come across.

3D import/Export formats:
3DStudio
ArtLantis
DWG
DXF
FACT
IGES
Lightscape
Lightwave
OBJ
RIB
SAT
Shockwave
W3D
STEP (requires plugin) (http://www.formz.com/products/plugins/STEP_Translator.html)
STL
3DGF
3DMF
VRML

Hope this helps! Anyone else have helpful hints?
Kyle

[patricks]

I used FormZ when I was in school, didn't care for it too much. It was HORRIBLE for trying to draft 2-D drawings.

I like Revit much better. :)

But I wonder why you would need to export a Revit model and bring it into FormZ? I know it uses RenderZone for rendering, and can do radiosity (called Radiozity haha), but is it better than what Revit can do?

[AP23]

I guess it is easier to make a master plan in FormZ and import your Revit building into FormZ. Also, if you want to ad organic shapes to your building and need your building as a reference.

[gwnelson]

Actually we have a rendering guy who's program of choice is Form Z. I have been running Revit for about 3 years now & haven't had the time to pput into the whole rendering thing. Also, for what few that I've done, they fall short of photorealism by a fairly large margin. So because I have to concentrate on production we are in need of a render that is easier to farm out. :-?

[hand471037]

I guess it is easier to make a master plan in FormZ and import your Revit building into FormZ. Also, if you want to ad organic shapes to your building and need your building as a reference.

Just for the record, I know of three firms that are transitioning off of using Form-Z and onto Revit for master planning. Mostly because of the Schedules in Revit, the all saw that and then decided they were spending way to much time counting and calculating by hand. So there's plenty of master planning going in in Revit too, I don't see anything special about doing in Form-Z other than the sheer inertia of how a firm is used to doing it...

[bhaslow]

I've been using FormZ for the past couple of years for architectural renderings. It is a great program if you are looking for photorealistic renderings. It's rather easy to model in and can produce some great images in a fairly short period of time. My firm has just started using Revit which is amazing but lacks in the "Rendering Department."

I am having a heck of a time getting the 3d Revit Model into FormZ. I've tried the lonely 3 file types that Revit allows you to export in but have only had mild success with the SAT files. The DWGs and DXFs have not been work properly. I'm not sure if this is a FormZ or Revit problem. I would stick with the SAT file format but it puts all of the geometry on one layer in FormZ and sorting through a big complex model to layer everything back out is just not something I am interested in doing.

The DWGs and DXFs show up properly in AutoCAD as 3d objects but imported into FormZ I only get the doors and a few misc. lines. It's very odd. I would be interested to know if anybody Else has had any of the same trouble.

[bhaslow]

I believe the problem I had in the earlier post is a result of FormZ's import routine for 2004 .DWGs. I've had success with the 2004 .DWG and .DXF formats straight out of AutoCAD but it's the exported versions of those files from Revit which seem to give it some problems. Actually .DXFs from revit seemed to be the most problematic.

Anyway,After playing with a few options and settings I have found what I think to be the best way to get Revit models into FormZ. I am working with FormZ 5.0.2, Revit 8.1, and AutoCAD 2006.

First, make sure to use your visibility graphics in Revit to turn off any elements that you do not want in your 3d model (i.e. furniture, mechanical equipment) because Revit will export every tiny little nut, screw, and bolt. This could clog up your rendering process if you're just looking for an exterior shot.

Next, export out a .DWG. I say .DWG and not .SAT. The reason being that I would like a little layer control when I get to FormZ, a .DWG export will set objects on separate layers where .SAT files will just lump everything together on the same layer. That's fine for a little project but can mean hours of frustration for Larger projects.

After exporting your .DWG, open it in AutoCAD and save it as an"AutoCAD 2000/LT2000 Drawing." Basically, bust it down to a 2000 .DWG format.

Next, Import it into FormZ setting the "File Type" and "File Format" settings to ".DWG (Via Legacy Translator)." FormZ will do it's thing and after about 5 mins. (depending on model complexity) you'll have a layered FormZ model.

My model was rather large so I had to use the "Convert Object" tool in FormZ to change the model from a smooth model to a faceted model. Once I did this, the model worked like a dream.

Luckily, I work in an office where I can use all of these programs together. While the problem was ultimately a Form Z issue I could have saved a step if Revit had more export options including exporting to older versions of .DWGs and .DXFs, or maybe even some different file types like .3DS, or .OBJ. It feels really limited in it's exporting options, at least in it's 3D exporting options.

[janunson]

I've had success with the method you list, bhaslow. Downsave in AutoCAD seems to fix most import problems in FormZ. I think this is just because of FormZ's inport, not Revit's export.

[Chirag Dedhia]

After exporting your .DWG, open it in AutoCAD and save it as an"AutoCAD 2000/LT2000 Drawing." Basically, bust it down to a 2000 .DWG format.

I could directly export to 2000 file Format out of Revit... Am i missing something?

[janunson]

I could directly export to 2000 file Format out of Revit... Am i missing something?No, If you already have a 2004 file, you have to open and save back.. but 2000 DWG/DXF import fine into FormZ most times. I've encountered once or twice a need to get into AutoCAD and re-export as an R14/R12 dxf though, but not recently. I don't even know if 2006 saves back that far.

[bhaslow]

Actually I missed the option revit has of saving the files out as AutoCAD 2000 versions. This actually skips the AutoCAD step in the process I mentioned before.

[troberts]

I am interested in going the other way. I have a Formz model that I want to bring into Revit.

How can this be done?

[brethomp]

I export to formZ from Revit all the time, and have had very little difficulty with it. Here are a couple of tips I have learned to make it a little easier. Revit 2008 SP2 & formZ RenderZone Plus 6.5.2.

Before you export:

Make sure your window families are properly using the "Glass" and "Frame/Mullion" subcategories for all of the solids in the family. Otherwise it will be difficult to separate the glass from the frames to assign materials once in formZ
In the Type parameters of all of your wall styles, make sure the Wall Function parameter is set correctly. This will put the exterior walls on a separate layer from the interior wall. Which makes assigning materials in formZ easier.When Exporting:

Export from a 3D view in Revit, with the visibility setup to only display the object categories that you need. Extra stuff will just slow the process.
Export to AutoCAD 2000 DWG. I haven't really tried the newer formats, but the 2000 format seems to dumb it down really well for import into formZ.
In the export dialog, under the Options button, set the Solids pull-down to "Export as ACIS solids".When Importing:

In the import options of formZ under the Composition section check them all:
Construct 3D Solids
Same Color Surfaces
Same Layer Surfaces
Join Adjacent Coplanar Faces
These settings will slow down the import, but improve the geometry and make it easier to work with in fromZ.
Be patient, a large building will take a while to import.formZ's rendering engine is much easier to use then anything else out there IMHO. Lights can be a little tricky, but the materials are simple, especially compared to the AccuRender nightmare. formZ's 2D drafting system does suck, but that is not the purpose of this software. The new rendering features in 6.5 are slick (Ambient Occlusion and Final Gather).

[Dimitri Harvalias]

Here are a couple of tips I have learned to make it a little easier. ).


Nice summary of tips. Thanks. Although I don't do a lot of rendering at this point, these sorts of simple summaries certainly ease the pain for first time attempts.:beer:

[Calvn_Swing]

I am interested in going the other way. I have a Formz model that I want to bring into Revit.

How can this be done?

Save it out as a 3D DWG from FormZ. Bring it into Revit as a massing family. There are instructions in the Revit help file that cover bringing in geometry from DWG into masses.

Good luck!