First screen seen in Revit 2010 when starting new project. |
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| Developer(s) | Autodesk |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2012 / March 2011 |
| Operating system | 32-bit & 64-bit Windows |
| Type | CAD Building Information Modeling |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Autodesk Revit site |
Autodesk Revit Architecture often referred to as simply Revit is a Building Information Modeling software developed by Autodesk. It allows the user to design with both parametric 3D modeling and 2D drafting elements. Building Information Modeling is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) paradigm that employs intelligent 3D objects to represent real physical building components such as walls and doors.
In addition, Revit's database for a project can contain information about a project at various stages in the building's lifecycle, from concept to construction to decommissioning. This is sometimes called 4D CAD where time is the fourth dimension.
Autodesk purchased the Massachusetts-based Revit Technology Corporation for US$133 million in 2002.[1]
The latest released version is Revit Architecture/Structure/MEP 2012 (March, 2011)[2] and the corresponding AutoCAD Revit Suite 2012 products. (AutoCAD Revit Suite combines a seat of AutoCAD with a seat of Revit on a given workstation for a slightly higher price than Revit alone.) On September 29, 2008, Autodesk released 64-bit versions of Revit 2009 products for subscription customers. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Revit 2010 and 2011 products are available without subscription in the standard installation. Revit is localized into multiple languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Czech, Polish, Hungarian and Russian.
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Since purchasing Revit, Autodesk has developed three versions of Revit for the varying building design disciplines:
Revit uses .RVT files for storing BIM models. Typically, a building is made using 3D objects to create walls, floors, roofs, structure, windows, doors and other objects as needed. These parametric objects — 3D building objects (such as windows or doors) or 2D drafting objects (such as surface patterns) — are called "families" and are saved in .RFA files, and imported into the RVT database as needed.
A Revit model is a single database file represented in the various ways which are useful for design work. Such representations can be plans, sections, elevations, legends, and schedules. Because changes to each representation of the database model are made to one central model, changes made in one representation of the model (for example a plan) are propagated to other representations of the model (for example elevations). Thus, Revit drawings and schedules are always fully coordinated in terms of the building objects shown in drawings.
When a project database is shared, a central file is created which stores the master copy of the project database on a file server on the office's LAN. Each user works on a copy of the central file (known as the local file), stored on the user's workstation. Users then save to the central file to update the central file with their changes and to receive changes from other users. Revit checks with the central file whenever a user starts working on an object in the database to see if another user is editing the object. This procedure prevents two users from making the same change simultaneously and prevents conflicts.
Multiple disciplines working together on the same project make their own project databases and link in the other consultants' databases for verification. Revit can perform collision checking, which detects if different components of the building are occupying the same physical space. Revit is one of many varieties of BIM software which support the open XML-based IFC standard, developed by the buildingSMART organization. This filetype makes it possible for a client or general contractor to require BIM-based workflow from the different discipline consultants of a building project. Because IFC is a non-proprietary format, it is archivable and compatible with other databases, such as facility management software.
Revit uses a work environment similar to Inventor to create its 3D models. This environment lets users extrude, revolve, trace the path of, or morph shapes drawn on a 2D plane in order to make them into 3D objects. Furthermore, these actions also apply to already-made solid objects, to cut or reform them. However, Revit lacks the ability to allow the user to manipulate an object's individual polygons.
As simple or primitive as this may seem, an experienced user can create realistic and accurate models of objects, as well as import existing models from other programs. This also ensures that the generative components of an object are retained so they can be parametrically controlled. Revit families can be created with parametric dimensions – that is, controlled by parameters. This lets users modify a given component by changing predefined values such as height and width.
In 1997, Charles River Software was founded by Irwin Jungreis and Leonid Raiz, the core software development team for ProEngineer. The first round of venture capital was in 1998 and the first office was located in Wellesley, MA. They started the company to solve what they thought was an absence of a parametric modelling platform for architecture. The management team and boards of directors were CAD industry veterans with years of experience with innovative software technology. Their flagship product, Revit, incorporated the same 3D concepts as Pro/E, but focused around the model concept.
In 2000 the company was renamed Revit Technology Corporation and on April 5, 2000 in Cambridge, MA the first version of Revit (1.0) was released. First offered as a software lease (you could not buy it), Revit was the first parametric building modeler specifically designed for the AEC industry (if you don't count ArchiCAD, which was created in 1987). Its technology offered the model concept with an easy-to-use platform designed to enable architects, engineers and contractors to do life-cycle planning for building projects. Revit's intelligent design environment encouraged design revisions because there was real-time synchronization of the documentation.
On February 21, 2002, Autodesk (the maker of AutoCad) announced plans to acquire Revit Technology Corporation; the acquisition took place. It produced more research, development and improvement of the software. Autodesk has released several versions of Revit since 2004, and since they no longer used the lease model, it meant that Revit could be offered for a more affordable price. Since the release of Revit Architecture 2009, it has become the BIM (Building Information Modeling) standard in the AEC industry.[3]
Revit is intended to be a major component in Building Information Modeling. A main function of Revit is to eliminate redundancies such as having multiple models across industries. Currently, architects, consultants, general contractors, and manufacturers all create their own models and databases from information handed down in a chain of command. BIM intends to replace this approach with a more centralized one. Revit models created in different disciplines (Architectural, Structural, and Mechanical) can be linked and/or combined into one model. This allows a single model and associated database to be kept, ensuring that all parties have the latest information and that there are no errors in translation. Revit also utilizes its rendering engine to remove the interpretation from complex geometries, allowing more intricate designs to be made and understood.
Revit uses the term 'family' to describe a discrete definition of a part of the building model. There are many Categories of Families, but three main types: System, Component and In-Place Families. Where other programs may use terms such as 'block' or 'insert', Revit uses the term 'Family'.
A hierarchical system is used, where a Family tells Revit how to make something, a Type (of a Family) forces certain parameters to be applied, and an Element (or Instance) (of a Type) is the actual part of the building model. For example, a Swing Door may be the name of a Family. It may have Types describing different sizes, and the actual building model will have instances of those types placed in Walls.
When a user makes a building, room, model, or any other kind of object in Revit, she or he may use Revit's rendering engine to make a more realistic image of what is otherwise a very diagrammatic model. This is accomplished by either using the premade model, wall, floor, etc., tools, or making her or his own models, walls, materials, etc.. The wall- and model- making process is simple enough to pick up in a day or so. Revit 2010 comes with a plethora of premade materials, each of which can be modified to the user's desires. The user can also begin with a "Generic" material, which can be customized to a level of detail not offered by many 3D modeling programs. With this, the user can set the rotation, size, brightness, and intensity of textures, gloss maps (also known as shinemaps), transparency maps, reflection maps, oblique reflection maps, hole maps, and bump maps, as well as leaving the map part out and just using the sliders for any one (or all or none) of the aforementioned features of textures.
Cloud-based rendering with the experimental plug-in dubbed Project Neon, located on Autodesk Labs is in the beta phases and allows for the user to render their images through their Autodesk account instead of locally through their own computers.
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