New to Revit

[rrigard]

Hi everyone. "I'm new here. I don't know what I'm doing." I am currently trying Revit Arch 2008 and ACA 2008 to see the differences between the two. They are both so in depth it is hard to get a good handle on them in a month. I do mostly post frame (glorified pole barns) and SIP construction that become mostly commercial buildings. Using girts, purling and steel a lot of the time. I know that the ACA is very customizable I'm just not sure quit yet how to do all this yet but learning. Is Revit as customizable for different kinds of construction as your basic stick frame? I am coming off ACAD LT so these are huge programs for me, but I can see the potential of both. I know that this subject has been beaten to death, but if anyone can give me some incite on which program might be better for my type of construction and why. I have looked up a lot on the search and learned a lot about both programs pros and cons, but most of what I came up with is from past programs and standard construction. Thanks for the info.

[tc3dcad60731]

First off welcome to the AUGI forums! Second, do not look any further at ACA! Third, come and enjoy the wonderful world of Revit. It is probably the best thing on the market for you. Yes, I think that Revit is just as customizable for you and what you are doing with pole barns and sips. I use it for houses to garages to screened porches, etc. It is a matter of manipulating what is available to you and creating what you need. The Family creation forums here are very helpful. Keep looking around the forums and see what you can find.

[clog boy]

I agree it's best to focus on one program only, but I don't know if Revit is the right choice. (perhaps Revit Structure is)
Acad, be it 2D, might be more customizable, just because it's been on the market much longer and more people have experience with customizing that. If 3D is important to you and your steel structures are fairly straightforward, Revit Structure (or Revit Architecture's structure tab) might be very much worth your time.

I hope you'll manage getting the hang of the program in a month's notice, it took me over a week just to design a good base window. Don't give up just because Revit doesn't do what you want, but also don't hesitate too long to quit if Revit can't do what you need. Chances are you might have to tackle a few speedbumps before hitting the 'fast lane', and the time is now as it's starting to get crowded overthere. According to 'recent' research, offices migrating to Revit did rougly 120% as long on their initial pilot projects but six months later they cut it down to 50%.
If more people in your office are doing a Revit course, it is of great importance they apply that training ASAP. The whole integration process hinges on that one fact for an important part.

Welcome and good luck. Enjoy yourself.

[SkiSouth]

Welcome to AUGI ! This site really helped me a lot when I first switched to Revit from ADT. You've done the correct thing - Ask the questions you have.


Using girts, purling and steel a lot of the time. I.

One of the main reasons I switched. Complete buildings with foundations, framing, hvac, elec, sections, etc. in 20 hours or less with Revit. (simple buildings mind you) - plus you get a rendering to boot.... Revit will make you money. ADT cost me money from day one, especially with every new "update"...( Although I REALLY liked Softdesk - the pre-ADT).

Attached is a simple building done for a transportation building. Note the girts and z framing. The wall z framing are sweeps placed as I draw walls, none placed individually, The roof girts are single members placed, then copied along the slope, then "equally spaced" using Revit's dimensioning command. The render is a reduced resolution of the resulting Revit file.

[dhurtubise]

Hey skisouth, you;re right about the simple building mind you ;-)
but it's cool to see all the structural framing on a building

[captainbunsaver]

Welcome to the Forums!

I tried ADT/ACA/AA/whatever, and like the others have said, it will waste time and money.

You absolutely must go through the tutorials that come with Revit. They are the best of all the software packages that I have used.
With the tutorials and this forum, you will be well on your way to success. There are no dumb questions here (I know, I've asked plenty). I can't begin to thank the guys and gals on this forum who take time to pass on their knowledge (and family components!).

Good luck and enjoy Revit!

TC

[rrigard]

I want to thank everyone for their in put, very helpful. Skisouth the drawing help out a lot. It is pretty close to the type of building that I do. Did you do that in Revit Arch. or Struc.? Also the drawing look great, but can you get good structural drawing out of Arch. for the builders? This is so much more fun than ACAD LT. I'm pretty excited about this.

[SkiSouth]

I but can you get good structural drawing out of Arch. for the builders? .

As per just about any computer program, its limited only by what the program itself can do, and the brains of the user. Revit Architecture does has limits, mainly civil work and a few areas at this level you probably don't need to be concerned about at this time (tweaks and annonances that need to be dealt with). As far as detailing, yes, you can document as much or as little as you want. Will you be able to do it tomorrow - probably not. You do need to work the tutorials, it takes an entirely different mind set to work with Revit. Drafting wise is VERY easy, again- once you forget ACAD.

[SkiSouth]

Hey skisouth, you;re right about the simple building mind you ;-)
but it's cool to see all the structural framing on a building

When you're as confused as I stay, the simpler the better.:lol:

[rrigard]

Thank's skisouth. I know that I have a long way to go before I can do a lot of the tasks, but I was just making sure that it was opperator error (which I thought it was) and not the limitations of the software. Once I decide on a which software to get I plan on getting on of the tutorials from Paul Aubin which I have heard good thing about. If any one has any other suggestions I'm all ears.

[twiceroadsfool]

My suggestion? Live on this forum. Get the software, go through the tutorials, then try to reproduce a job youve already done, so youre not just doing horsey duckey things in the tutorial. When you have an actual end result to aim for, youll encounter problems and/or tactics you dont know yet.

Thats when living on this forum comes in handy. Its been my greatest resource since i started using revit a year and a half ago. :)

[Calvn_Swing]

Same here. I started at this company about a year + 2 months ago. I took my Revit training here in August of last year. As of now I am running the Revit implementation across three offices scattered about the US. The difference between me and the other guys that had been using Revit here for 4+ years is that I got on the forums from day 1, and as Aaron said, I live on them.

Makes ALL the difference in the world.

[SkiSouth]

Thank's skisouth. I know that I have a long way to go before I can do a lot of the tasks, but I was just making sure that it was opperator error (which I thought it was) and not the limitations of the software. Once I decide on a which software to get I plan on getting on of the tutorials from Paul Aubin which I have heard good thing about. If any one has any other suggestions I'm all ears.


Listen, I STILL remember opening Revit for the first time and almost cussing looking for the Line command - boy did I not get it! :Oops:It's worth the struggle though.:)

[rrigard]

Thanks guys. I still have a little bit more left on my trial so I'm going to keep playing around with it. What an amazing program. The only thing that was concerning me was that you might lose some of the control and detailing with it because of the modeling, but that doesn't seem like the case at all. Like all of you said I just need to get into a new frame of mind. This website is a great resource. I wish I would have stumbled on it sooner.