With the release of Revit Structure 2010 we now have the ability to model some very simple connections thanks to the subscription tools. These connections are, however, fairly limited allowing beam to column flange connection and column base plate connections. If you have not yet investigated these tools then feel free to link to our streaming videos:

http://www.excitech.co.uk/Autodesk_2010/revit_structure_2010/revit_structure_2010.asp

A better solution is to export your Revit Structure model to AutoCAD Structural Detailing 2010 and make use of the vast number of macros to generate automatic connections and machining to your steel models. You can then generate detailed 2D assembly and fabrication drawings and then link these back to your Revit Structure project.

To add connections to you steel model you use the ASD Model Ribbon in the Steel module. The Ribbon has a panel especially for connections organised logically into flyouts. These are 65 macros to choose from and if you can’t find one your looking for you can generate your own custom connections and save them to a library.

All the connections macros have a similar theme and are fairly intuitive to use. Once you have entered all the required parameters and sizes you can save your connection configuration as a template or match properties from other connections.

Once you have all your connections and machining created you are ready to produce some 2D fabrication drawings. This process can be highly automated utilising pre configured drawing layouts, scales and preconfigured templates, interestingly, these are numbered by country dialling codes e.g. 44 for a UK drawing! ASD will also add dimensions, tags and notes to the drawing views. All of these styles can of course be configured to your company standards.

Before the drawings can be produced, ASD needs to give each part a unique identifier so the components and assemblies can be referenced on drawings sheets and parts lists. This is done through the Object Inspector. The Object Inspector will have a column called position which will currently be blank.

Once you have run the automatic positioning then the object inspector will be populated with part numbers in the positions column as shown below.

There are many options of grouping parts and assemblies together to produce drawings. Drawings can be made of individual components or assemblies and parts lists and tags are automatically added to drawings sheets.

Here are some examples of individual part drawings and assemblies. Once you have generated the connection drawings you can then link these to Revit Structure using a drafting view so that if you update the ASD model, Revit Structure will update the drafting views. It will probably take you a few hours to get into the workflow but the rewards are worth it, so why not give it a try.

AutoCAD Structural Detailing has been included with Revit Structure Suite for just over a year now and the latest version, 2010, includes a few gems to help with the creation of complex modelling in Revit Structure. One of the weak points of Revit is the inability to easily position complex steelwork through 3D space other than using plenty of reference planes and a liberal amount of cursing!

Revit Structure 2010 now includes a two way link with ASD which is found on the Add-Ins tab on the ribbon. Yes, you do need to be on subscription for these tools. This tool will enable you to update your Revit Structure model from ASD or send your model to ASD for further detailing.

The first step is to start AutoCAD Structural Detailing 2010 and make sure you are using a Steel Project. The screen should look like this. If you are not in the Steel Project then you can select the ASD Start tab and click the steel button.

It is now time to dust off your AutoCAD 3D skills and create a wireframe model of your proposed steel layout. You need to make sure that you only use lines as ASD will not recognise a Polyline as a valid wire. I have also found that curved members are not transferred to Revit Structure so for now you are limited to straight sections.

Once you have created your wireframe model you then can start to convert the wires into structural members. Start by selecting the profile command on the ASD Model tab.

You will then see the following dialog box. In this dialog you can select your profile and then click the Insert by Line command.

You can now begin to pick all the wires that you previously created.

Once you are happy with the model you then need to switch back to Revit Structure. If you have ASD installed on a different machine then you can save the model and use this file to update Revit Structure.

Once in Revit Structure you then select the Add-ins tab and choose Integration with AutoCAD Structural Detailing (Steel)

You can then update the model from Structural detailing or tick the use a DWG file and import the model from a dwg. Notice that you can also send the Revit Structure model to ASD. This is good for generating fabrication details and then linking the drawings back into Revit.

You should then see your model in Revit Structure! Any changes to this framing should be undertaken in ASD and transferred back to Revit Structure. A pretty neat workflow!