ArchiCAD Connection add-in updated for Revit 2019

Graphisoft has recently updated its ArchiCAD Connection Revit add-in that streamlines the dataflow between ArchiCAD and Revit through the IFC format.

ArchiCAD Connection has several main features:

• “Improved IFC Import” has extra options compared to the native Revit IFC importer.
• “Link IFC” merges IFC models into the current Revit project as a non-editable reference.
• “Export to ArchiCAD” enhances Revit elements conversion to IFC for use in ArchiCAD.

ArchiCAD connection may be also useful for non-ArchiCAD users, because it correctly exports IFC with shared coordinates.

The add-in is available for download from Graphisoft Interoperability section after logging in.

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Getting some data from Revit shared parameters with Dynamo

I recently ran into an issue with shared parameters that have the same name but different GUIDs. This happens when somebody creates the new shared parameter instead of using an existing one. And the difference between parameters’ GUIDs is a huge problem: Revit knows that these parameters are not the same by looking at the GUID.

Revit does not show parameter GUID unless you export this parameter to the txt file. And this may be a problem if you have tons of shared parameters loaded to the project.

So I thought that it would be a good idea to build a Dynamo script for reporting some information about shared parameters. Firstly I queried unique Ids for the shared parameters:

Turns out, these Ids are not the GUIDs that I was looking for. This could be checked by opening the shared parameters txt file. That’s why I built a couple of custom nodes using the Revit API to extract data from shared parameters:

The first one (called “SharedParameters.GUID“) extracts names and GUIDs from the shared parameters in the Revit project. These are the GUIDs that could be found in the shared parameters.txt file.

The second one (called “SharedParameters.Info“) extracts type, group, and unit type from shared parameters in the Revit project. This data may be useful for managing parameters (like sorting / grouping) in Dynamo.

Shared parameters nodes are included in the recent Zhukoven.com package update (2018.9.21 – see the downloads section).

What’s better than clash detection? Live clash detection!

We’ve been doing iterative clash detection in out projects for years. This is an old-fashioned and time-consuming process, which consists of repetitive manual or semi-automatic tasks:

1. Convert each discipline model into the Navisworks / Solibri file formats.
2. Update project federated model.
3. Run multiple clash tests.
4. Publish results.
5. Introduce results to the design team.
6. Next hour/day/week/month repeat steps 1..5

Wouldn’t it be great if we could spend our time in a more effective manner? There are actually a couple of software platforms that offer live (real-time) clash detection inside Revit environment.

BuildingSP ClashMEP

Read more about ClashMEP here

MagiCAD for Revit 2019

Read more about MagiCAD for Revit 2019 here

Both of these Revit add-ins use the same concept: they provide you with clash detection in real time, while you build your model. There is no need to iteratively run clash tests, and you can visually see the conflicts in views and schedules. You can see the full process in these videos above.

The future of clash detection is coming!

Conductor Revit & Rhino add-in becomes free and open source, bringing Trello boards inside your models

Conductor is a Revit and Rhino add-in that integrates Trello task management with your models. This add-in has originally been released as paid application (I’ve already mentioned it in my post last year) by Nathan Miller from provingground, and now it’s available for free.

Conductor uses Trello API to move your tasks between Revit (Rhino) and Trello. The integration is clean and seamless:

 

Below you can find the the add-in requirements:

• Revit 2017/2018*
• Rhinoceros 5.0 64-Bit for Windows*
• Windows OS (Developed and tested with Windows 10)
• ClickOnce installer is best used with Internet Explorer
• ClickOnce user installer assumes a standard Windows user setup
• Internet connection
• Trello account (you’ll also need to authorize the app with your own Trello token)
• * Versions for Revit 2019, Rhinoceros 6, and Navisworks 2019 are forthcoming.

You can also read the full description here (including the download links), and release notes here. Source code has been posted to bitbucket.