We recently introduced the causes that encouraged us to focus on making Smart Browser more team-oriented, more modular. Now let’s cover the main module of Smart Browser: BIM MANAGER.
This module consists of two tools: Smart Browser Manage and BIM Tree Manager. The BIM MANAGER module has the fullest functionality, starting from company library creation and ending with real-time extensive management of all elements present in an active Autodesk® Revit® project. BIM MANAGER saves weeks of work when it comes to Revit family library creation and full control of all family parameters inside created libraries and in ongoing projects. Revit users with the BIM MANAGER module can control how a company library is seen and whether it is accessible to other project participants.
Starting this year, we decided to showcase Smart Browser as a more team-oriented tool. Along with the updated user interface, we reworked Smart Browser allocation into modules. We hope that this will help larger teams decide how the tool should be implemented within their company. To showcase all the features of this fantastic tool, we will post a series of blog posts with information about Smart Browser’s features and different ways they can save your time.
2020 is the year when we’ve changed the user interfaces of many of our tools. And Smart Browser is no exception. Not only does it have a new look in the ribbon and a remade library manage window, but it also has gotten some additional features, which can help you create a better library for everyday work.
First things first, let’s see the “new” look in the Revit ribbon. Instead of having to choose all the functions from a single drop-down menu, we decided to move the most-used commands to the front face of the tool.
So, what can you do now from the main control panel?
Open Family Library Manager window
Browse Families present in the current project
Choose to continue working on previously started family modification tasks
Run one of the created family modification tasks
Further changes to the UI have been made inside the Family Library Manager window. And we’ve added some extra features in addition to modifying the overall look.
Our MEP Hangers tool assists Revit users with distributing hangers and supports for MEP systems throughout Revit models. It lets you create very precise rules that describe on which exact elements hangers should go and how they should connect to structural elements in different cases. With a lot of filtering available, it’s even possible to create one configuration to facilitate putting hangers on a large system all at once with just a few clicks.
An updated user interface has been long in the works for MEP Hangers. Over the course of this past year several of our tools have gotten new UI’s, and now MEP Hangers joins their ranks. The functionality of the tool has not been changed with this latest update. The changes just affect the way the tool looks in your toolbar and some small additions that were made in the Configurations window, which we’ll look at more closely below.
Here’s how the interface has changed visually.
The new UI of MEP Hangers takes up less space on the screen and has a new look (which should be familiar to users of our wood and metal framing tools). Hovering the mouse cursor over one of the newly-created icons will provide an extensive tooltip about the command that that button activates:Read more »
The advent of 3D design and BIM put a new spin on MEP coordination: resolving clashes between elements in a model instead of lines in a drawing. MEP engineers working 2D have to imagine piping or ductwork in their heads while making drawings that then need to be checked for viability by the structural designer or perhaps even on-site by the builder. BIM integrates MEP and structural design so that architects, structural & MEP engineers know in advance exactly where MEP elements will be placed during the construction phase, enabling them to create precise models and schedules. Nonetheless, MEP runs still need to be checked to ensure structural integrity and constructability, and that’s a very time-consuming procedure requiring a lot of attention to produce the desired result, error-free.
Fortunately, there is a way to dramatically increase productivity in this area. AGACAD’s Cut Opening BIM software not only inserts openings in your projects where MEP elements intersect structural elements but also facilitates coordination between different disciplines and engineers working on the same project. When openings are created, each has its own parameters to mark whether it is acceptable or not, and, with the Opening control window, you can check the parameters of every single opening in your project that was inserted with our Cut Opening tool. What’s more, the control window allows you to create a dynamic section box that will move the section box in your 3D view directly to the opening selected in the table, making it easier to locate and check openings requiring review.
In addition to the features above, the opening families we provide with Cut Opening are available for any user modifications. It’s possible to add things such as sleeves or collars to their geometry, add parameters, and change their representation according to company needs or country codes. We encourage users to take full advantage of the flexibility that Cut Opening brings.
After a long time coming, our MEP Hangers extension for Revit is stepping into the Fabrication Parts arena! With the first MEP Hangers update of 2020 we present you the possibility of placing fabrication hangers on fabrication ducts and pipes.
Join our free, 20-min webinar on March 19th to see how you can use Fab Parts with MEP Hangers, what the possibilities and limitations are, and what to expect in the future.
Two questions are often raised about our MEP Hangers tool for Revit, usually during training sessions or a short time after beginning to use the extension. These popular questions are related to each other and have to do with hangers for HVAC services that have insulation and how to transfer information from MEP elements to hanger families in your project.
Q: “How do I put hangers on a duct or pipe over insulation? And how do I make it so hangers that I create myself will account for insulation too?”
A: You can control this using two parameters inside the hanger family. What you need to do is create a parameter that copies the thickness of the insulation from the MEP element to the hanger family and another parameter that controls whether the insulation thickness is added to your hanger size. Here’s how to make those parameters.
Step 1. Create a parameter that copies the “Insulation Thickness” value from ducts or pipes into your hanger family. Use our MEP Hangers Revit extension to do this because it lets you copy different parameter values from interconnectable MEP and structural elements into the connecting hanger family. MEP-element (host)-related parameters are transferred under the “Model Properties” parameter category.
In this webinar, we’ll showcase one of our BIM Solutions that benefits MEP Engineers, Structural engineers, Architects and BIM coordinators alike: Cut Opening. Not only can this tool insert openings for MEP elements in linked files or in the same model, but it can alsocreate openings for doors and windowsin a structural model according to their arrangement in an architectural model. And there’s also functionality for inserting fire dampers in walls whose fire rating is specified.
Let’s cut to the chase. When it comes to streamlining BIM workflows, Cut Opening packs a punch. And during this webinar we’ll show you what it can do. We hope you’ll join in.
The 30-minute webinar + Q&A will be hosted twice on December 19th, so please join the time most convenient for you.
This webinar will serve as a review for some and hopefully a discovery for others of what our MEP Hangers tool for Revit is capable of: instant large-scale insertion of hangers and supports throughout a Revit model for ducts, pipes, cable trays, and conduits.
Ideal for architects, structural and MEP engineers, BIM coordinators, and really anyone who needs to distribute hangers, supports, clamps, or similar elements along MEP systems in Revit.
Whether it’s clothes, food or furniture, people often tend to associate factory-made items with lack of quality. While this might be true to some extent, it’s definitely not the case with modern prefabricated houses. They’re just as good as any other building, but they’re built off-site. Imagine having every part of the structure made within the confines of a factory, delivered to the construction site and assembled in a matter of weeks. Not only that, prefabricated housing can help save money, time and also contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.
The legend of Solomon’s Temple
While it’s difficult to say who constructed the first prefabricated structure, we can be sure that one of the earliest successful attempts took place about 3000 years ago in ancient Jerusalem. This is evident from a vivid Biblical account of how the Temple of Solomon was built. It seems that every piece of the temple was carefully crafted off-site and assembled on-site:
“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.” (1 Kings 6:7)
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After a long time coming, our MEP Hangers extension for Revit is stepping into the Fabrication Parts arena! With the first MEP Hangers update of 2020 we present you the possibility of placing fabrication hangers on fabrication ducts and pipes.
Whether it’s clothes, food or furniture, people often tend to associate factory-made items with lack of quality. While this might be true to some extent, it’s definitely not the case with modern prefabricated houses. They’re just as good as any other building, but they’re built off-site. Imagine having every part of the structure made within the confines of a factory, delivered to the construction site and assembled in a matter of weeks. Not only that, prefabricated housing can help save money, time and also contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.
