Importing AutoCAD Drawings

[bill.92885]

This is just a general question I had. My office sometimes places drawings from other sources (Truss Engineer) on our drawings and makes notations on them to submit for permit. Would we better off creating a plan view and placing all our imported drawings there or inserting them on the respective sheets where they are needed?
Just wondering how other people are handling this.

Thanks.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

You can import them into drafting views and then annotate them. You can then create sheet views and drop the drafting views onto them just as you would any other view. The added benefit of doing it this way is they become Revit views so they can be referenced from other views.

[sleimgruber06]

You can import them into drafting views and then annotate them. You can then create sheet views and drop the drafting views onto them just as you would any other view. The added benefit of doing it this way is they become Revit views so they can be referenced from other views.

On my previous proj. we would just import them right onto the sheet, but importing them to drafting views so they can be annotated is a much better idea. I would stick with that one.

[Damo]

Is there any way to crop an AutoCAD drawing when in a Drafting View?

[kcarlson]

I'm also looking for a way to crop a dwg in a drafting view. I've been using filled regions but I know when I export to CAD it will end up a giant solid hatch. Is there a better way to do this? (Other than trying to teach the CAD monkeys to draft cleaner.)

[Dimitri Harvalias]

I tend to tidy up linework in ACAD if required. (I avoid it wherever possible) If you don't have that ability you can import to Revit, do the drafting and then export back out to dwg.
If you do use filled regions be sure that the solid fill pattern is set to 'no pattern' and not to white. If you do it that way then you won't get the black blob.

(PS... be nice to the CAD monkeys for they know not what they do ;) . They too will see the light)

[cstanley]

I tend to tidy up linework in ACAD if required. (I avoid it wherever possible) If you don't have that ability you can import to Revit, do the drafting and then export back out to dwg.
If you do use filled regions be sure that the solid fill pattern is set to 'no pattern' and not to white. If you do it that way then you won't get the black blob.

(PS... be nice to the CAD monkeys for they know not what they do ;) . They too will see the light)

i have had success importing the cad file (whether plan, elevation, section, etc.) into the view that it would be in Revit. for floor plans, I'll place the cad file into a new floor plan view and turn off all the model stuff. this gives you crop window control, and you can annotate as you like.

same for sections (heaven forbid.) I'll create the Revit section, the place the cad file in the section to line up with the Revit "background." then i turn off all the Revit stuff, and viola! and, it's a "live" Revit reference tag, so it all works.

so far, the only problem with this method is that there were any cad files at all! ;)

[kcarlson]

If you do use filled regions be sure that the solid fill pattern is set to 'no pattern' and not to white. If you do it that way then you won't get the black blob.

Ah, that would help, thanks!

[Damo]

I had a Revit 9 file with some imported AutoCad files which had diagonal hatches.

There are 2 types of diagonal hatch, one with the line pattern about 15mm apart, the other 3mm apart. All imported OK in Revit 9 and plotted as expected.

Upgraded the file to Revit Architecture 2008 and still everything OK.

I had to make an amendment to the AutoCad file and re-import the file into RAC 2008. Now the hatch is a solid black fill.

Any ideas?
PS: Part of the amendment included recreating the exact same 3mm hatch pattern, Don't know whether this is relevant or not.