Using AutoCAD Details / Managing Line Weights

[ben]

We are adding people to our project drafting team that are inexperienced in Revit. Because of this, I thought we'd do most of our detailing in AutoCAD, linking to the dwg files in a Revit drafting view. This would allow us to maintain the superior document management of Revit while allowing inexperienced drafters to work on the team.

However I'm having problems getting some layers to import correctly. For example, I'd like the AutoCAD 'DEFPOINTS' layer to import as an invisible, refrence, or no-plot line. Also, I'd like lines in AutoCAD that are screened (i.e greyscale) to be imported as grey lines. Is there a way to specify this kind of importing behavior or are there any workarounds?

So far I've be assigning Revit line weights to imported AutoCAD color numbers but this only works for black lines, not the two situations outlined above.

Please help!

I'd also be interesed in any lessons learned when working with autoCAD details in this way.

[aggockel50321]

After you import your acad .dwg, go to Settings/Object Styles.

Select the imported opbject tab at the top of the dialog box. You will find all your acad .dwgs listed here.

Select the dwg you want to work with, click on the + sign, scroll down through the layers, select & modify layer colors & lignweights as desired.

[christo4robin]

Ben,

I haven't tested this - it is just an idea.

I believe that when you import a .dwg file, Revit automatically creates a linestyle associated with each AutoCAD layer. Because of this, I'm thinking you could set up a template file that has a "dummy" dwg import in it with the layers that you need this performance from (defpoints and grayscale). Then, in that template file you could setup the linestyles to be invisible and/or gray. You simply need to make certain that all the detail drafting maintains the same layer names from file to file.

In the project that is underway, you ought to be able to make this change once and then it will work with all the details that are imported/linked.

Again - untested idea so I hope it helps somewhat.

[sbrown]

Just a suggestion, I found introducing revit detailing to new users helped them feel like they could participate in revit and it starts creating you revit detail library. New users can easily learn to detail and in my experience quickly prefer it to detailing in acad. So you may want to have the users start converting the acad details to revit details(yes this eats some fee, but you will be training and building your revit library) They don't even have to do this within the job file, you can create "detail projects" for them to create the details in, then you cut andpaste them into your job.

[aaronrumple]

Agreed. Just put them in Revit. It takes about a week or two and then they will prefer Revit over AutoCAD. As we bring people into a project - we go all Revit.

[Jit]

When I have acad drawings linked into revit, ocasionally revit crashes, does anyone else have this problem ?