Importing 3D dwg into Revit Model

[s.messing]

Hey guys,

I am trying to import MEP information into the Revit model. Their information is in the form of a bound Autocad 2006 3D file. I tried what seemed to be the obvious approach:

File: Import/ link: CAD Standards: Link (instead of import): Invert colors: Origin to origin: Open

which yielded a flattened, repetitively overlayed, and incorrect linked cad plan on top of our Revit plan and no 3D imagery whatsoever. Any ideas? Is it an issue from my importing/ linking, or an issue in how they gave me the file? Do I need to manipulate their cad file and then import it? Please advise.

Thanks,
Stephen

[phyllisr]

Are you in a 3D view when you import the file? Did you want to see only the 3D content or were you hoping for everything? The only problem we have had is some left-over stuff from trying this with converted AEC objects from ADT drawings. I attached a clip of the "ignorable" message we get - does not seem to hurt much and we lose very little. This was what we did before direct SketchUp imports in Revit 9.

Would you mind zipping the AutoCAD file and posting it? Might at least be worth a second set of eyes.

[s.messing]

Thank you for your concern.
I am zipping the file now. I have tried it in the 3D view and in plan views. Same results. Maybe I am missing something...
I was under the impression that it was pretty straight forward, but I am not an expert in CAD and certainly not an expert in Revit.

Thanks again,
Stephen

[s.messing]

I am also attaching a doc with (2) screen shots. One shows all of the overlapping tagging on a Revit floor plan (after the MEP import) and the other shows that Revit model on the bottom in 3D and how the MEP 3D CAD stuff is all over the place. Please let me know what you all think.
Thanks,
Stephen

[David Haynes]

If the MEP was done in ABS/ADT there are two methodologies as per this pdf from a recent Revit User Group in Sacramento.

Hope this helps.

[phyllisr]

If the MEP was done in ABS/ADT there are two methodologies as per this pdf from a recent Revit User Group in Sacramento

Mr. Haynes, you are correct in your guess. This is an ABS model, not an AutoCAD model. It was not exported to 3D solids. The xrefs creating the model were bound (now blocks instead of xrefs) which causes even more complexity with all the $*$ content.

Stephen, we still have ADT 2005 licenses but much of the ABS content is not accessible to me so I cannot do much to fix this file as is. I suggest you ask your consultant to export the content to 3D solids before sending it (assuming you want to see the 3D work). If it were me, I would prefer all his stuff exported and rather than getting a drawing with bound xrefs, I would prefer the model drawing and the relevant xrefs separately. This way, since it appears to be an 11 story building, you have a little more control over what you import into which view and how much of each discipline you want to see.

Just out of curiosity, I tinkered a little with this using Object Enablers and also tried bringing it in to SketchUp and back out to AutoCAD but it was all a bunch of extra work. Best bet is to ask your consultant to provide the 3D content exported from ABS.

If you get the files you need and are still stuck, post again and I'll see what I can do. When all else fails, you could buy a NavisWorks license.... :)

[s.messing]

Thanks Phyllis,

Your answer was both insightful and thorough and I truly appreciate it. I feel like maybe I am a little over my head on this one because I still can't seem to get it right. Now I wonder if it is definitely me, or still what I am being sent from the MEP guys. He sent me a dwg [screen shot 1] which included only the MEP stuff from the 5th floor. I tried to link it in again on the 5th floor and got the 5th floor plan to look like this: [screen shot 2] . The 3d solid stuff does show up in the 3D View. I linked in origin to origin and his stuff is out in no man's land.

So: any ideas on how to successfully move it all to the right place from my end?
Should I just have him send things over floor by floor and move it all myself? Or:
Ask him to adjust the origin and then send the floors over one by one?
Am I missing something?

As always, I appreciate you continued support and advice.
thanks,
Stephen

[phyllisr]

[screen shot 1] ... [screen shot 2]
Did you forget to click Upload? :)

[s.messing]

Upload?
where?

[phyllisr]

Upload?
Sorry. I missed this from the earlier post. You can position this in your model by zooming to fit and finding something you are confident is the correct location (a column line perhaps) and using the align tool. Do this first in plan then in an elevation, both NS and EW. Just save the location once it is where it belongs.

The "junk" you are seeing (do not shoot me, I am only the messenger) is not necessarily modeled content. Often, depending on the skill of the drafter originally, you get skewed lines when snapping to points on AEC objects. Might just be lines. The problem is knowing on what layer(s) they were created and what they are. Some might be AEC objects within mirrored blocks (sometimes a problem but not always). Some might be AEC content (maybe columns?) that the ABS model did not have modeled correctly - perhaps not in their scope of work. Just to hard to tell without seeing the actual file.

You might try linking the file (start over) and use the Select Option instead of using the default. Uncheck anything that looks like annotation plus anything that is likely non-plotting (Defpoints, A-Anno-Vprt) and layer 0. Linking AutoCAD files (ABS in this case) is obviously not a slam-dunk...

[s.messing]

Well, the good news is that I can successfully link in the 3D MEP dwg without all of the text etc and to the correct origin! (Of course, that is because the consultant cleaned the file up, removed all of the excess text, and re centered their model onto our origin). But now I can't seem to pull it all together. Their images appear on every plan view, even though I only linked into the first floor plan! You can't actually see their model, but I know that it is there because when I scroll wheel in, you can see the cad info for a split second as it regenerates. Our model has suddenly become insanely slow (double the STC time and double every other time). The linked file is (only) 13 MB. Now I am confused on a number of levels. I have sent this issue to support to see if they have any ideas, but sometimes it takes them a little while to come up with anything, and I am now approaching a deadline...
Final thoughts or ideas? Phyllis, you have been very helpful and I really do appreciate it.
Thank you,
Stephen