Thursday, October 05, 2006

Detailing in Revit

Many people who haven't used Revit claim that it doesn't do detailing well. They are wrong in two areas:

1. Revit doesn't 'do' details, a person does. It seems obvious enough but just because you have the ability to cut sections through components doesn't mean that section will know the specific conditions that you need to communicate...
2. Revit does have a robust set of detailing tools that enable you to draw BETTER details than AutoCAD.

You need to ask the following question before you start detailing:

1. Should I model this in 3D, 2D or both?

These questions help you answer this:

a. Will this condition be visible from any other views?
b. Is this a generic detail that is used over different projects, or is it specific to this one only?
c. How far are we into the design, will this part of the building change drastically?

An good example is a door section.

Will you see the structural lintel and flashing from other views? No, draw it in 2D on top of the section/callout view.
What about the connection to the wall, insulation, frame extrusion shapes etc? Again, no. Draw it in 2D overtop of the section/callout view.

Will I see the masonry lintel from another view? Yes. Model the lintel in the door family in 3D so it shows correctly in sections and elevations.

If the door manufacturer has sent their own pre-engineered detail in AutoCAD just import that file into a Drafting View and link it to a callout. Why 'reinvent the wheel'?!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good straight advise thanks