This article dives into the nuances of the CAD Teacher VDCI video course content for the BIM 321 course, Introduction to Revit MEP, providing a comprehensive walkthrough on kickstarting a project file and managing interface elements correctly. The discussion emphasizes on procedures like bringing in a background, linking files, and using the copy monitor feature to ensure seamless project coordination.
Key Insights
- The article guides us through the process of starting a Revit MEP project file, stressing the importance of inserting a background, which is usually an architect's model linked into the project file to accurately place project components based on x, y, and z coordinates.
- Understanding the concept of base points plays a vital role when working with multiple Revit files. The process of clash coordination, which tackles constructability issues before actual construction, needs all Revit models to have the same base point. The positioning should be set to auto origin to origin to prevent discrepancies that could cause issues later on.
- Copy monitor is a significant feature in Revit MEP. It makes a physical copy of different grid lines into the actual file for reference while also monitoring the existing grids. This aids in coordination efforts among different trades by alerting the user about changes made to the original files by architects or designers, prompting prompt action.
Welcome back to the CAD Teacher VDCI video course content for the BIM 321 course, Introduction to Revit MEP. In the previous video, we went ahead and talked about the interface, which is really vastly different from Revit architecture. And so what I want to go ahead and do now is actually start a file.
And we've actually already started a file. I want to start the actual project. So the first thing we need to go ahead and do is we're not just going to start drawing random things in the middle of nowhere.
We need to go ahead and bring in a background. Our background is going to be a LinkedIn file that is provided on the student information system, the learning management system. And we're going to link this file in to serve as our background.
This is kind of how it works with MEP, is that we'll take an architect's model, and we'll bring it in, and we'll link it into our project file so that we can place things in the correct locations with regards to x, y, and z coordinates. So I want to go ahead. Please make sure you're under the Insert tab.
And let's go over to Link Revit. Now, in your folders, you should have created a BIM 321 folder on your C drive, and then another BIM 321 for families, and then BIM 321 linked Revit. And this is where you're going to go ahead and place that linked Revit file here.
%20(1).png)
Learn Revit MEP
- Nationally accredited
- Create your own portfolio
- Free student software
- Learn at your convenience
- Authorized Autodesk training center
And as you can see, I have BIM 321 architectural. I'm going to go ahead and select it. And I'm not going to hit Open just quite yet.
The one thing that when we're working with this and working with multiple Revit files is that we have to understand the idea of base points. Now, the whole purpose of drawing things in 3D nowadays is this process, which is called clash coordination, where we'll take the Revit models, export them to either a DWG or what is called an NWC format, which is Navisworks. Take those files into Navisworks, and then go ahead and figure out where plumbing pipe is running into duct, conduit is running into plumbing pipe, so on and so forth.
We have to bring all these systems together to resolve constructability issues before we even get in the field. The one thing that's very important about this is that they all have the same base point. Now, we're going to be using the architectural as our base model.
Now, if I just go auto center to center down here under my positioning, someone may have a slightly different base point, and that's going to cause issues later on. When choosing this positioning, I want to go ahead, and I'm going to choose auto origin to origin. So please make sure that under positioning, it's auto origin to origin.
This is a very key step that sometimes does get overlooked, and then if you overlook it now, and then you've done a bunch of stuff, it's going to cause problems later on down the road. So make sure under your positioning is auto origin to origin, and go ahead and hit open. And there it is.
Of course, we can always move around these elevation markers eventually, but we're going to go ahead and leave them for right now. Now, one thing that you kind of notice right now is that the walls and everything are kind of grayed out. They're shown as a halftone, and that's not because of our visibility and graphic styles override, but if you look over here in your properties panel, do you see where it says discipline here? We have a discipline mechanical and subdiscipline HVAC.
When I'm set to mechanical, it takes some of this information and grays it back. So let's say I were to pull this down and change it to architectural. Now you see that all of this information is now at full 100% black.
So I'm going to go ahead and make it into mechanical. This is also how we can start to organize our project browser. This is what governs all this information down here.
So as you can see, I'm in mechanical discipline, so I have mechanical here. Then I have my subdiscipline HVAC here, and so those are all grouped under there. I'm going to go ahead and zoom extents, and then go ahead and Control-S and save the file now that we have that link.
We want to go ahead and do a couple other things. One of the biggest things that is going to happen with this is we want to go ahead and start copy monitoring elements. What copy monitor is is that it will take an object.
Right now, all of these are just part of the link. The grids are part of the link. The walls are part of the link.
All the different items are part of the link. What we want to go ahead and do is we want to start copy monitoring specific elements. So what I would like to actually do is I want to copy monitor the grids.
I want to go to Collaborate, and as you can see, I have a copy monitor here. So what this will actually do is it will make a physical copy of these different grid lines, bring them into my actual file here so I have a reference to use for myself, but then it monitors the existing. So what happens is say the architect goes and makes changes to their files here, to the grids in their file.
When I were to get a new uploaded file from the specific architect or the designer, it would let me know, hey, this level or this grid A has moved. What would you like to do? Would you like to match it? Would you like to ignore it? Would you like to dispute it? So that helps us with all of our coordination efforts between all the different trades. So I want to go here.
I want to copy monitor, and I'm going to go ahead and use Select Link. So I go here, Select Link, and I'm going to go ahead and pick on my link. Now, we have to come up here.
I'm going to go ahead. I'm going to go to Copy, and I'm going to choose Multiple because we do want to copy multiple things. So here, now I can just select.
I'm holding down Control to select multiple items, and I'm going to select all of my grids. What I need to go ahead and do now is I actually need to hit Finish, or Finish here, excuse me. It's this Finish here.
So I'm going to finish there. And as you can see, it's done some renaming, which is perfectly fine. But if I close this now, you can see that I actually have physical grids in my file now rather than the ones that are just from the link itself.
The other thing we need to go ahead and do is we're still going to do some more copy monitoring because we need to do our levels. So let's go ahead, and let's hop into our East Elevation View down here. There it is.
We already have these grids copied. So I want to go back up to Copy here, choose Multiple, and I'm just going to go ahead and select all of the levels. There's that.
And I'm going to go ahead and hit Finish. And there we go. If you noticed, it moved our current level 2 to the correct location already.
You'll also notice this little icon. If I hit Escape to deselect, and I select this, I've selected this roof level 1. And you notice this little icon that pops up here. This is the Copy Monitor icon that lets me know that that item is monitoring something from the linked file.
Let's go ahead and hop back into our first floor plan. And here we are. I'm going to go ahead and Zoom Extents, Control-S, save the file.
And what happened here was is that we did not actually save, or we did not finish out of the Copy Monitor effect. I'm going to go ahead and cancel. This is one of these weird things about this Copy Monitor.
OK, file not saved. We have to remember to hit Finish here, but then we also have to remember to hit Finish up here to say that we're done with Copy Monitor. It's just one of these things that Revit has that we just have to get used to.
So I'm going to go ahead, hit Finish. And now I'm actually done. I'm going to go ahead, Control-S, save the file.
And there we go. I'm going to go ahead and stop this video here, and I will see you in the next one.