ACA 09 switch to Revit??

[vand43dp]

Hello all. I have been using ACA 09 for about a half year or better and really like the features. The program has speed up my production and made things more simple. My boss and I just got done viewing a web presentation of revit.

After the presentation was over, I was left a little confused. I was not impressed with the features of revit. It seems that everything that Revit can do, ACA can do as well. So my question is, why would any firm or individual switch from ACA 09 to Revit? If Revit is implemented, is there any need for ACA?

My boss trusts my input, and will probably go off my recommendation to purchase this program or not. So any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[patricks]

I'm not familiar with AutoCAD Architecture 2009. Do you model objects in 3D with that program? Are things like view references and sheet references automatically coordinated? Are plans, sections, and elevation views actually views of a 3D model?

[nsinha73]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhz4uyXKsmQ

Check YouTube, for more Revit Demos

[azmz3]

I'm not familiar with AutoCAD Architecture 2009. Do you model objects in 3D with that program? Are things like view references and sheet references automatically coordinated? Are plans, sections, and elevation views actually views of a 3D model?

AutoCAD Architecture can model things in 3D, not usually the same way Revit does, and from what I have seen at my office and with people I know they dont actually ACA like it can be, they still use it like plain autoCAD. it can cut sections and generate elevations, but changes are not made on a global scale like Revit.

[vand43dp]

"Do you model objects in 3D with that program?"

Model, well no, you cant really manipulate objects like you can in 3D max or viz. But it can produce some impressive renderings of a house with realistic materials.

"Are things like view references and sheet references automatically coordinated?"

Yes. In Revit its called project browser, in ACA, its called project navigator. The drawings in any given project can be x-refed in and out of any view and sheet drawings. I think this is what you were asking about.

"Are plans, sections, and elevation views actually views of a 3D model?"

When you draw a house or building in ACA in a 2D environment, its drawing it in 3D as well. Any section or elevation drawing can be automatically produced from the main drawing "Construct" and be made in a "view" drawing. Then plotted from a "sheet" drawing.

[cliff collins]

Call your local Autodesk reseller. They can give you Autodesk's own reasons
why to use Revit--it is true BIM. It also has companion products for Structural and MEP.

Revit is programmed with an underlying database which ties all 3D objects
with their intelligence ( Information ). It uses parametric modeling, so that changes
are instantly updated in all views in real time.

There are hundreds of threads on countless forums about this--- but again, to hear it from the source ask your Autodesk reseller why Revit is BIM and ACA is not, and why that is important in today's design world.

Personally, I would highly recommend Revit, as a licensed Architect with 20 years in the business--starting with hand-drawing, to 2D AutoCad, to Microstation 3D, then Architectural Desktop, to Revit.

Revit is by far the best BIM product on the market, which is why Autodesk aquired it and is slowly phasing out ACA.

cheers........

[vand43dp]

Wow, your recommendation really says a lot!

The reseller was the one that gave us the presentation. I asked them the same question I posted on this site. They had never worked with ACA before, so they were no help. They tried to sale the product to us by showing us all the bells and whistles, rather then comparing and contrasting our current operation to what it could be by implementing Revit.

[azmz3]

"Are things like view references and sheet references automatically coordinated?"

Yes. In Revit its called project browser, in ACA, its called project navigator. The drawings in any given project can be x-refed in and out of any view and sheet drawings. I think this is what you were asking about.

Actually this is not the same as the way Revit coordinates between view references and sheet references. In Revit, if you make a callout or detail bubble on your plan, and place that detail on a sheet, it will automatically update that bubble on your plan. Anytime you move that detail from one sheet to another, that bubble will update on any plan or location it is shown in. This is difference than an xref in ACA and has nothing to do with the Project Navigator.

Also, all the views/files for a Revit project are set up in one file, so there is no need to xref a construct into a view to annotate it then onto a sheet to print it. In Revit the "View" is the construct, where all the annotation happens, then we drag/drop that onto a sheet to print.

[eviele]

I've been using ADT since 3.0 and have fully modeled the exterior of every project I work on. The projects were generally large courthouses, U.S. Embassies, and university work. Our office uses schedules, fields, project navigator, dynamic blocks (autocad, i know), multi-view blocks, custom doors and windows, custom property set definitions, project standards, etc. A lot is automated using tool palettes and some custom lisp routines.
In short, we're probably using a lot of the features reasonably well.

We started using Revit eight months ago or so. We currently have two projects running Revit 2009. One is a very large dormitory and the other is a smaller student center. Each day we learn a little more Revit, so we're not the most sophisticated users out there, but we haven't really been stumped yet. In short, we're probably average Revit users who are learning from our own bad decisions, or from forums like this.

Still, the users here love Revit.

They enjoy drawing and modeling. In a lot of ways, the Revit tools are more "fun" than the ACA tools and respond more intelligently to their surroundings.

They like the bi-directional nature of Revit. No more updating the plan constructs and reloading the changes in other views (yes we know about refedit). Need to change a room number? Do that in either the schedule, or the room tag.

They like the power of the database. No more making a change to a wall style and applying project standards to the whole project, or opening all of the constructs so the wall style updates. Change the wall style and it immediately shows throughout the project. Need to schedule how many walls and what wall types are in Revit? Five minutes and you have it.

They like that you can't break a link to a callout or title tag.

I find that the users here and my students at school can create more complete and coordinated documents faster.

I find that the users use more of the advanced tools in Revit than in ACA.

I find that Revit manages many of the things that a CAD manager would normally have to do in ACA. Or, put another way, the tools are easier to learn and more accessible to the users. No more rules for elevations, just easy view templates that everyone can use. No more Property Set Defs and Attributes, just Parameters and Labels that seem more understandable to the everyone.

The feature set for many of the BIM products can be described as similar. They can all add walls, so that's similar, right? So it's a similar feature, but in use, the walls in Revit can be constrained to the level, or floor, or ceiling above. The cleanups are a snap and Revit doesn't have any more than five wall priorities instead of the countless ones generated in ACA. So although both Revit and ACA have the same wall feature, users prefer to work with the Revit walls because they work more intelligently with their surroundings and require less user involvement.

Revit is no panacea and it sure can be frustrating, but I never want to deal with the multiple file structure of ACA again.

Remember, YMMV, IMHO, and all other caveats apply...but, only one of our twelve pilot users would prefer to go back to ACA.

Sorry for the lengthy post... :(

[patricks]

I find that the users here and my students at school can create more complete and coordinated documents faster.



This....

is why Revit is awesome. :)

[Baldwin_4-6-0]

Don't forget out "drag and drop" sheet set up. No Xrefs or Referencing
That right there is worth it for me.

[vand43dp]

Thanks all so much for the input. Its all been helpful.

At the company I work for, we do all residental custom and spec homes. Is anyone out there using revit doing the same or similair? And if so, how has the program helped or hurt you or your company?

Thanks again.