MSF22937

Create Structural Shop Drawings for Concrete,

Precast, and Steel Structures in Revit
Dan McCloskey, P.E.
MB BIM Solutions

Erich Bretz, P.E.

MB BIM Solutions

Learning Objectives
• Learn how rebar shops drawings can be created within Revit, and discover the new
tools for rebar modeling and annotation
• See families and workflows that enable precast-concrete fabricators to create
erection and piece drawings in Revit
• Learn how to create concrete-lift drawings in Revit to enhance coordination and
improve field productivity
• Discover new steel connection tools in Revit 2017—and learn how to create steel
shops in Revit and Advance Steel

Description
With the new tools added to Revit software in the last few years, it has become easier for
structural engineers and detailers to create shop drawings and fabrication models for structural
components. This class will demonstrate Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows to take
a Structural Design Team model into fabrication modeling and shop-drawings production for
rebar, precast-concrete, structural-steel, and concrete-lift drawings. Attendees will learn new
rebar modeling and annotation features for rebar shop-drawing creation. They will also learn
how the new steel-connections tool works in Revit 2017 software and links with Advance Steel
software; how to create precast-concrete erection (shop) and piece drawings in Revit software;
and how to create detailed concrete-lift drawings in Revit software. We will also demonstrate
add-ons that make shop-drawing production more efficient for each structural component type,
and we’ll discuss workflows and best practices. This session features Revit Structure and
Advance Steel.

Your AU Expert(s)
Dan McCloskey received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois
at Champaign-Urbana. After spending 2 years designing bridges for URS Corporation,
McCloskey attended Purdue University, where he obtained a master’s degree in structural
engineering. McCloskey then moved to Denver, Colorado, where he worked as a structural
design engineer and then structural project engineer for S.A. Miro. During his 5 years with Miro,
McCloskey became an in-house expert in Revit Structure software, and he helped develop

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Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based structural detailing services. In 2011, McCloskey co-
founded MB BIM Solutions as a BIM-focused consultancy that provides construction-level
modeling of structural systems and components for its clients. McCloskey is active in the
Denver-area BIM community with Rocky Mountain Building Information Society, has taught
several classes at Autodesk University, has been published in AUGIWorld magazine, is a Revit
Beta contributor, and is also a Revit Gunslinger participant.

Erich Bretz's ability to quickly and effectively solve engineering challenges has given him the
opportunity to work on a wide range of construction projects including healthcare, educational,
institutional, multifamily residential, resort, office, and retail projects. In the recent past, he has
established himself as a leader in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and virtual design and
construction (VDC) technology. His extensive knowledge of these technologies has given him
the opportunity to bring real value to owners, general contractors, fabricators, architects, and
engineers on many projects. Bretz holds a BS in civil engineering with a minor in computer
science, and an MS in structural engineering, all from the University of Illinois.

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Introduction
Due to new tools available to design teams and contractors, faster construction schedules, and
the increased in integrated project delivery through the use of BIM, the ‘who’, ‘how’, and ‘when’
of shop drawings and fabrication models is changing. It is now possible to leverage a structural
engineer’s design model to create shops drawings and fabrication models for rebar, precast,
structural steel and miscellaneous metals, and to create concrete lift drawings.

The ‘who’ is starting to change from fabricators and subcontractors to structural engineers, and
BIM consultants. The ‘how’ is changing from 2D CAD for rebar, concrete lift drawings, and
precast concrete, and from Tekla and SDS/2 for steel. Revit (and Advance Steel) can now be
used to do this on a true BIM platform, with the advantage being to re-use the information and
knowledge in a design Revit model further downstream into fabrication and construction. The
‘when’ is being change from a linear design-bid-build structure to a collaborative structure in
which shop drawings and piece drawings are being produced in the late stages of the design
process. This new approach enables schedule and constructability efficiencies by engaging the
fabrication and construction team’s knowledge and preferences before design is complete.

General Who/When/Why/How
The goal of this class is to provide an introduction on how to create shop drawings for structural
elements using Revit, and will focus on the how rather than the why. For in-depth information
on the business insight of this topic, please see FAB20958 - Structural Detailing Services by
Structural Engineers – Who, How, When, and Why?

In general, making the switch from traditional shop drawings and fabrication level drawing to
using BIM to create these drawings has an effect on how the process works from start to finish.
BIM can be used by engineers and BIM consultants to create fabrication level drawings for
rebar, precast, structural steel and concrete lift drawings.
Who (and Why)?
Making the switch from fabricators to BIM consultants and engineers to create fabrication
drawing affects many different entities in different ways. As outlined below, the process is much
more collaborative with each member to the team having a seat at the table early in the
process.
Design Team
Because of the collaborative nature, using BIM for fabrication drawings presents less
risk to the design team, yields a higher quality product and creates less adverse
relationships with the construction team.
Fabricators and Subcontractors
The drawing quality and coordination level is improved through the use of BIM resulting
in more efficiency and accuracy for fabricators and subcontractors.
General Contractors
Having a seat at the table early in design, general contractors are able to influence
design decisions. This, along with the better drawing quality provides less risk and less
waste for the GC.

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 Owners
Owners will see a better product with less change orders, faster scheduled and lower
overall cost through the use of BIM for fabrication drawing.
When?
Making the decision to switch from fabricators to BIM consultants or engineers to create
fabrication drawing needs to be made as early as possible. As outlined above, having all parties
at the table early on is an important step in the process. However, depending on the service
offered, the exact ‘when’ can vary. Having the process implemented early in design allows the
GC to begin construction planning early. The models can be used early in design to assign data,
estimate quantities and plan construction activities. These models can then be fine-tuned and
taken to fabrication level models used to produce drawings.
Why (and why not)?
With construction schedules getting faster and owners wanting ‘more bang for their buck’, BIM-
produced fabrication drawings can be used to expedite the process with a higher quality
product. However, there are cons to using BIM produced fabrication drawings.
Advantages
In general, using BIM to produce fabrication drawings yields a higher quality product, a
faster schedule, less field issues, more accurate drawings, field efficiencies, material
savings and more available data.
Disadvantages
Using BIM to produce fabrication drawings doesn’t make sense for every job. And using
BIM to produce fabrication drawings vs. the traditional process requires a change in
mentalities. This process requires more communication; the roles are less defined and
there is a change in risk structure.
How?
The focus of this class will be on the how of using Revit to create shop drawings for structural
elements. We will cover rebar, concrete lift drawings, structural steel, and precast concrete.

Rebar Modeling and Shop Drawings in Revit

Why (and When) to Model Rebar

Modeling rebar for an entire building is very time intensive and takes considerable effort.
Modeling rebar for the sole purpose of meeting an arbitrary BIM LOD (level of detail)
requirement is not recommended, unless that rebar model is going to be pushed downstream
into fabrication/construction and used to save schedule or money.

Why/When to Model Rebar

• Shop drawing production
o Why – construction schedule and material tonnage ($$) savings
• Constructability, congestion, and coordination studies
o Why – better constructability, reduced congestion issues, enhanced
coordination
Why/When NOT to Model Rebar
• Because you can
o Why not – you’ll blow your budget

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 • To draw details for construction documents
o Why not – you’ll end up chasing around bar in other unrelated views,
modifications are more of a pain, and you can draw details faster using
detail components

General Considerations for Starting the Model

One of the first things to consider, in the case of a structural engineer acting as EOR for a
project and simultaneously creating a rebar model and shop drawings, is whether to combine
the rebar and design models, or create two separate models. We prefer to have two separate
models, which are obviously then linked and copy/monitored. Here are the pros and cons of the
separate model approach:

Pros:
• Design modeling vs. construction modeling – different needs and LOD
• File size – these models can get very big, and tougher to work with for the design
team
• Possibility of design team inadvertently messing up rebar
Cons:
• Duplication of work, possibility of design model not matching rebar model
• Some data and details will need to be generated twice

It may make sense to combine the design and rebar model for some firms or for specific
projects. In this case, using worksets is a good way to separate the rebar from the rest of the
model.

Before starting on a rebar model, we recommend meeting with the fabricator, installer, and GC
(or concrete sub) to kick off the project and determine pour breaks, bar lengths, installation
preferences, BOM data preferences, etc..

Multiple Rebar Models?

Another thing to consider is whether or not the project justifies the use of multiple rebar models.
This may seem counterintuitive from a workflow, model management, and bar numbering
standpoint. However, the bar numbering problem can be easily solved by using partitions that
are created to work across different models.

Pros:
• Lighter models
• Avoid unintentional interaction between rebar of different element type, like
columns and slabs
Cons:
• If using these models in Navisworks or as linked models, more models to
manage
• Need to jump between models to modify different bar in an area where bar from
the different models interacts (i.e. core wall dowels and core wall verticals)

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 FIGURE 1: FOUR REBAR MODELS LINKED TOGETHER, COLOR-CODED BY MODEL

For a large (2000 ton) rebar modeling project, we had three main models. Figure 1 shows the
foundation model in green, the walls/columns model in blue and the slab in red. The main
driving force to our decision to use multiple models was model weight and concern that a user
could inadvertently modify rebar in one element by adjusting rebar in another element.

Rebar Parameter Management

When setting up and managing parameters in a large Revit rebar model, it is a good idea to
take a step back and think about how to best organize these parameters. The goal should be to
use the fewest number of parameters possible, and have those parameters be used across a
multitude of tools and processes:
• Sheet / view visibilities / filters
• Bend schedules and bills of material (BOM’s)
• Tags
• Assemblies
• QC
• Bar marking and numbering
Parameters Used
We use the following parameters for the following purposes. We try to minimize the number of
parameters to keep the system simple for users, but also flexible across our processes:

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 FIGURE 2: REBAR INSTANCE PARAMETERS

Partition:
This is the parameter from which automatic bar numbering in Revit is set. For each
partition, Revit will find identical rebar and assign the same rebar number. Therefore,
this parameter is extremely important in managing and defining your bar marking and
numbering system. Possible uses of the partition parameter are to organize the rebar
numbering scheme in your model by construction sequencing and phasing (pours), host
element types, location within a host (i.e. top and bottom bar), or location in the model.
For 17W and on most jobs, we use the partition to signify the element type from which
the rebar is hosted (i.e. caisson, mat slabs, columns, walls, slabs, etc.), and poured as
one. This way, a typical 4L0254 slab edge rebar (‘candy-cane’ bar) at Level 5 has the
same bar mark as the identical bar at Level 11, even though they are in different pours.
Then our client can steal bars from different deliveries as needed, and their rod-busters
are placing consistent bar marks on repetitive jobs. Another thing we do with our
partitions is to use an ‘S’ suffix for straight bar of the same element type, since straight
bar doesn’t typically have a bar mark. For example, all slab rebar has partition ‘L’ or
‘LS’. This allows us to filter straight bar out of bend schedule, have different tags for
straight or bent bar, and use partition filters that use ‘contains L’. This also helps us to
easily QC the partition within the data.

Rebar Number:

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As mentioned above, the rebar number is defined automatically per partition. This is
really the workhorse in automatic bar numbering, and was a very powerful, game-
changing addition to rebar in Revit when it was introduced.

FIGURE 3: PARTITIONS AND REBAR NUMBERS

Pour:
We assign the ‘Pour’ parameter to all CIP elements, parts, and sometimes views. This
is used across rebar bend schedules, BOM’s, view filters, and view templates.

Delivery:
As discussed above, this is assigned to rebar and is used in BOM’s, view filters, and
delivery QC views.

Bar Comments:
This is our ‘catch-all’ parameter that we use for a whole slew of view filters, tags, and QC
applications. We try to use keywords in the bar comments such as ‘DOWEL’, ‘TOP’ (or
‘T’), E.F., FS, TH, etc. This can be thought of as any extra information that you would
like to automatically show up in a live tag, or information that you would like to use to
search the model. For example, if you want to find all field bent bar in a model, you can
set up a filter for which Bar Comment does not contain ‘FIELD BEND’, and turn that bar
off. This is also used for graphic purposes, such as making all bar that has bar
comments = (B) turn dashed on slab rebar plans.

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 FIGURE 4: BAR COMMENT EXAMPLES

User Bar Quantity:

This is assigned to rebar and is used as a work-around. We recommend using this as
little as possible. Our main use case for this is for column vertical bar. We typically
model column vertical bar as a rebar set on each face of the column, but Revit will only
automatically report the rebar quantity for each set. This is how we tell the rebar that is
has ’16 - #9 VERT.’, with the 16 being the value that is set in the user bar quantity.

Epoxy Coated and GR75 Rebar:

The way we denote epoxy-coated and grade 75 rebar in our models is somewhat of an
anomaly. We have different bar types in our model for each of these. For example, we
have a ‘#4’ bar and also a ‘#E4’ (epoxy) bar, and we have a ‘#9’ and also a ‘#9 Gr 75’
bar. We do this because it is so critical that they not get mixed up, and by using a
different rebar type, this data will always show up in tags, schedules, BOM data, and
never have the potential of getting missed. Of course, this also allows us to easily set up
filters and QC views that reference this data.

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 FIGURE 5: REBAR TYPES WITH GR75 AND EPOXY

Use of Parameters Across Model Management

The parameters described above are used across the following tools and processes:

Bar Marking and Numbering:

As described above, automatic bar marking and numbering is accomplished by a
combination of the Partition and Rebar Number parameters. Our bar marks are simply a
combination of the bar size (which is just a type parameter for each rebar size), partition,
and rebar number.

FIGURE 6: BAR MARKING BY PARAMETERS

Sheets / Filters / View Templates and Visibilities:

As described above, the Partition and Pour parameters essentially work together to
define what type of element the rebar is hosted by, and when this is poured. This is
important for view visibilities and view templates, which are controlled extensively by

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 filters. For example, you usually don’t want your rebar shops to show concrete elements
that will not be formed at the time of rebar placement. For something like slab rebar
shops, you probably won’t want to see column rebar, so you can easily use a filter to
turn off the partition that contains all column rebar.

Bend Schedules and BOM’s:

BOM’s are filtered down to only a specific ‘Delivery’ data input, but bend schedules use
a combination of parameters to filter the bar data down to only what we want to see on a
specific sheet. We use Partition, Pour, and Grade to filter down our bend schedules to
only show the rebar that appears on specific sheets.

Tags:
We have found it best to keep our tagging scheme as simple as possible, and not let
users create new tags for any new use case they come across. Our tags only contain
bar quantity, ‘type name’ (bar size), bar length (for straight bar) or bar mark for bent bar,
spacing, and bar comments. We do have different tags for where the ‘break’ is shown in
the tag, and for bent bar vs. straight bar.

FIGURE 7: REBAR TAG OPTIONS

QC Views and QC Schedules:

The use of the parameters described above in QC view and QC schedules is endless.
We use a variety of filters to isolate only certain properties of bar (such as its placement
in a slab, its size, grade, etc.), and then often assign color to those filters to make the
QC process of a model with tens of thousands of pieces or rebar much more
manageable.

New Rebar Tools in Revit 2017

With each new release of Revit, Autodesk continues to add to and enhance the tools available
for rebar modeling and annotation. In Revit 2017, these tools are geared towards the modeling
side.

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 Reinforcement Connectors
We are now able to model and document reinforcement connectors, such as formsavers
and couplers, natively in Revit. These have properties similar to that of rebar, in that
they are able to be scheduled, assembled, and tagged. They host to the ends of rebar,
and correctly adjust the rebar ends to shorten as needed.

Variable Rebar Distribution

We can now use rebar sets that vary along inclined faces of non-standard concrete
elements. For us, this makes reinforcing and annotating the stirrups in a tapered beam
much easier. Previously, we had to manually adjust the stirrups to increase their depth
throughout the beam, but this new tools creates a rebar set for these stirrups. The
annotation of this is also easier with this new tool. You have the option to assign a
unique number to each of these stirrups, or you can make them the same number and
have a suffix added to each different depth of stirrup.

Rebar Constraints Enhancements

In previous releases of Revit, getting rebar to host within a concrete element where you
want it sometimes was a struggle, partly due to the clunky rebar constraints dialogue
box. In Revit 2017, the user now has a bit more control over the rebar’s behavior within
the concrete element. In the new release, Revit still has the ability to adjust rebar
locations as the concrete geometry changes. However, now the user can graphically
see which concrete faces (or other rebar) the selected rebar is constrained to, adjust the
target (graphically), and adjust the distance from the target. This can be done with all
segments of a piece (or set) of rebar, giving the user much more control over rebar
placement.

Creating Cast-in-Place Concrete Lift Drawings in Revit

Several larger GC’s that self-perform their CIP concrete work has begun to use a model to
create concrete lift drawings, and in the last couple of years we have done this more and more
for our GC and concrete subcontractor clients. These are the benefits that we are seeing:

• Enhance productivity from field crews:

o Much is a result of enhanced coordination (below), but it is also the result of
having clear, concise drawings with dimensions laid out in a manner consistent
with how tape is laid out in the field.
o Isometrics of each pour that allow for field labor visualization of complicated pour
geometry, and QC that all embedded items are included.
• Sharing of the model, pours, and drawings (often to DWG) to the formwork team and
rebar detailing team. This ensures everyone is using the same information.
• Enhanced coordination:
o By included all cast-in elements as well as void forms, wall pours are figured out
well ahead of time and contain all elements and data in one place.
o Field crews do not have to look through design drawings and steel shops
drawings. Concrete lift drawings from the model contain everything shown in the
drawings from all disciplines, as well as embeds.
• Quantity management (embeds, CIP pour volumes), schedule visualization and crew
visualizations.

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• Ability to export point data from the model (for embeds or edge forms) directly to field
layout equipment using Autodesk Point Layout

FIGURE 8: TYPICAL LIFT DRAWING ISOMETRIC

FIGURE 9: LIFT DRAWING COVER SHEET WITH CREW AND SCHEDULE DATA

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Modeling CIP Concrete and Components within CIP for Lift Drawings
Modeling rebar cast-in-place and its embedded components in Revit for the purpose of creating
concrete lift drawings (line drawings) is a bit different than how you would model the same
elements for design documents. Items that are included in a concrete lift drawings model but
not a design model are as follows, and typically incorporated from shop drawings or models
from other trades:
• Walls and slabs split up at correct pour breaks (use parts!)
• Anchor Bolts
• Embeds:
o Elevators
o Stairs
o Steel Framing
o Glazing Systems
o Precast
• Void Forms
• MEP Penetrations
• Point Data (for export to field layout equipment)

FIGURE 10: LIFT DRAWING PLAN AND ISOMETRIC WITH EMBED ANNOTATION

Creating and Annotating Lift Drawings Sheets within Revit for Lift Drawings:
Annotate your lift drawings it in a way that increases field productivity as described above,
keeping the drawings easy to read and understand. Include all information (such as embed
piece marks) that keeps field crews from having to look to another source for the information.
• Use assemblies or CTC Fab Sheets to create views and sheets quickly
• Data to add to CIP elements and elements embedded in CIP:
o Pour
o Crew
o Schedule dates
• Dimension strings – think about how they lay out the tape in the field
• Clearly annotate spot elevations for all changes in geometry.

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 • MEP penetrations – use different colors for the different trades
• Void dimensions and lengths – easy use of blockouts (include a schedule of these)
• Cover sheet with crew info, pour sequence in colors, etc.

FIGURE 11: LIFT DRAWING ANNOTATION AND SCHEDULES

Creating Structural Steel Shop Drawings in Revit and Advance Steel

In our market, there has been a push for EOR’s to offer steel shop drawing services. This is
partly a result of shortened construction schedules, and the desire to start creating steel shop
drawings earlier in the design phase. It also has come from the desire to eliminate the data and
knowledge drop-off that exists between the creation of EOR models and drawings and steel
fabricator models and drawings. This streamlined workflow has allowed for better coordination
carrying through from design into fabrication (and then construction).

We have created steel and miscellaneous metals shops drawings for several jobs now, and
have used both Revit and Advance Steel to produce these models and drawings. Revit is by no
means a steel detailing software platform, and using it to do so is getting outside of the intent of
the tool. However, it is practical to use it as an introduction to steel detailing for design teams
on small, simple projects.

Advantages to Using Revit for Steel Shop Drawings

• Seamless integration with design, and linking with other models
• Simplicity of using the Revit interface
• Low learning curve, staff doesn’t have to pick up another piece of software
• Cost of licenses
• Ease of use with standard, typical framing elements, and small projects (smaller
amounts of data management)

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• Ability to share models with steel fabricators that are utilizing Advance Steel and to
receive models back from Advance Steel

Disadvantages to Using Revit for Steel Shop Drawings

• Steel connections cannot be added to Revit assemblies
• Schedules created in Revit assemblies are limited in their customization and the
parameters that can be added to them
• There is no great way in Revit to create a ‘single part’ sheet for any single item
• Assemblies in Revit are not very good at knowing when they are duplicates of existing
assemblies and when a new assembly type must be created. There are no tools to
identify the differences between two seeming similar pieces. This functionality exists in
Advance Steel and is very important.
• Lack of automation of piece drawings – no ability to automate dimensioning, piece
marking, any other tools typical found in steel detailing software
• Inability to produce CNC output – this is HUGE and limits this to projects with smaller,
less sophisticated fabricators
• Need to create families and connection elements manually with more complex families,
while in steel detailing software this can be done out of the box
• Difficulty to create complex framing and highly detailed elements such as stairs

FIGURE 12: CREATING STRUCTURAL STEEL SHOP DRAWINGS IN REVIT

When to use Revit and When to use Advance Steel

We typically use Revit as the starting point for our steel detailing projects because of the
advantages previously mentioned, most notably the simplicity of using the Revit interface. We
have different approaches for small projects (including miscellaneous metals projects) and for
complex or larger projects. Due to the limitations previously mentioned (most notably the
inability of steel connections to be added to Revit assemblies), we send the model to Advance
Steel to generate piece drawings and erection drawings for complex or larger projects.

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Advance Steel is great for automating many of the tasks that must be done manually in Revit
such as automated creation of drawings, automatic piece numbering, and connection detailing.
Advance Steel has many ‘canned’ connection details that have many input options that allow
you to create customized connections and then automatically apply them to similar conditions
throughout your model.

FIGURE 13: ADVANCE STEEL CONNECTION MODULE

The automatic drawing creation and piece drawing tools within Advance Steel give you a great
starting point to creating your erection drawings, details, and piece drawings. It is important to
note that these tools simply create a starting point to your erection plans, details, and main part
drawings – there is some editing that will inevitably need to be done to make your drawings look
like they should.

For smaller projects and miscellaneous metals projects, we use Revit to create the shop
drawings and work around the draw backs noted above. We utilize assemblies for creation of all
main parts and single parts. The assembly views are used to create the main part and single
part views. The standard ‘Parts List’ assembly view can be modified to create the standard
schedules that appear on shop drawings. One drawback is the lack of the ability to schedule the
‘Length’ property of an instance of a Revit element. This property should appear in the main part
schedules that get dropped on the detail sheets. We suggest introducing a new shared
parameter called ‘Piece Length’, set it to be an instance, reporting parameter and set it equal to
the length of the member in each family. Finally, we recommend utilizing the ‘Mark’ property (in
lieu of ‘Type Mark’) of each instance to create the Parts List for each main part.

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 FIGURE 14: STRUCTURAL STEEL ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE

Modeling Steel Connections

With the release of Revit 2017 and the Steel Connections for Revit package, users can now
easily add standard connections to a Revit model using a connection interface that looks very
similar to the interface used in Advance Steel. The library of standard connections is somewhat
limited in Revit (there are many more connection types available in Advance Steel), but most
common connections used in the US are available (shear tabs, column base plates, clip angles,
etc).

Things to do Before Modeling Connections in Revit

• Load and use the certified Structural Framing and Structural Column families that are
delivered with Revit 2016 and Revit 2017. These are in a folder called ‘AISC14.1’ in the
Structural Framing Library (for example, the Imperial directories are:
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2017\Libraries\US Imperial\Structural
Framing\Steel\AISC 14.1 and C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2017\Libraries\US
Imperial\Structural Columns\Steel\AISC 14.1). To determine if you are using the proper
families, look for the ‘Section Key Name’ type parameter (see Figure 15 below).
• Load any connection that you may utilize in the project into the Structural Connection
Settings dialogue box. To do this, select the arrow at the bottom right corner of the
Connection palette in the Structure tab. The list of available connections will be shown
on the left, and these can be loaded into the project by selecting the desired connections
and selecting the Add button (see Figure 16 below).

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FIGURE 15: TYPE PARAMETER THAT EXISTS IN AISC 14.1 FAMILIES

FIGURE 16: LOAD CONNECTION TYPES INTO A REVIT PROJECT

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To model a connection, simply select the two elements to be joined and select the Connections
button in the palette. The last connection used will be automatically modeled – if this is not the
desired connection, the type selector can be used to change the connection. Connections that
may have more than one configuration may be automatically modeled backwards in Revit – for
example with the girder – beam relationship switched. Each connection has two bubbles that
dictate which element is the primary (supporting) element and which is the secondary
(supported) element. Selecting the connection, and then clicking the dots associated with the
beams changes the relationship.

FIGURE 16: PRIMARY AND SECONDARY FRAMING RELATIONSHIPS

The Steel Connection interface is capable of performing code check analysis on each
connection in the model. A detailed report can be output from the analysis.

Round-Tripping a Steel Model From Revit to Advance Steel and Back

Specifics of using Advance Steel are not described in this class, but with think it will be useful to
show you an overview of the functionality of Advance Steel. There is plenty of literature and
marketing material out there to show you it’s functionality, but instead of describing how steel
detailing software works in this handout, we’ll just discuss round-tripping from Revit to Advance
Steel.

The link between Revit and Advance Steel is constantly improving, with notable improvements
from previous versions including the ability for plates to be round-tripped and proper mapping of
structural shapes between Revit and Advance Steel. This will allow enhanced coordination
between designers and structural engineers.

Precast modeling and Shop Drawings in Revit

Why Use Revit to Create Shop Drawings?
There are several reasons why it is advantageous to use Revit to create precast shop drawings:
• Allows better communication with design team, allowing the precast concrete
manufacturer to have greater impact on design decisions that affect the precast structure
• Enables enhanced coordination with designers and other subcontractors
• Potentially eliminates duplication of effort between the EOR and the precast concrete
manufacturer
• Enables projects to be delivered faster

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 • Enhanced model / erection drawings / piece drawing accuracy
• Revit is very good at counting and tabulating ‘things’. A precast concrete manufacturer
can take advantage of Revit to provide data to facilitate the needs of other entities in the
precast delivery process (material planning, scheduling, shipping, erection)

FIGURE 17: PRECAST CONCRETE FABRICATION MODEL

What Setup is Required Before a Precast Modeling Can Happen?

Preparing a good template that is precast manufacturer specific is essential to being able to
deliver shop drawings efficiently. These are precaster-specific items that will be required to :
• Prepare all standard embed families (plates, rebar, lifting elements)
• Prepare whole standard connection families. These families should contain all of the
pieces that are installed in both elements that are part of a standard connection.
• Develop the required precast product families, using the precaster specific geometry
• Set up view templates for plans, elevations, piece drawings, and any other view that will
be used on a project.
• Set up custom schedules within Revit that are required for piece drawings, data
extraction, etc.
• Develop custom annotation elements
• Develop custom parameters in addition to Revit out-of-the-box parameters to create and
drive schedules, tags, views, view templates, etc.

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Assemblies and the Use of Parameters
The use of assemblies is essential to the precast fabrication drawing process. Each unique
piece and all of the plates, rebar, lifting elements, erection material, etc that are needed to
fabricate that piece are wrapped up into a piece assembly. Assembly views and schedules are
then used to create piece drawings.

There are several custom parameters that are used to drive the assemblies, the schedules
within the assemblies, and all of the project views. Some of these are as follows:
• Piece Control Number: the unique number for each piece in the project
• Assembly Mark Number: the mark for each unique piece in the project
• Plate Host: a parameter that allows you to filter piece drawing schedules to show only
the embedded elements that are part of a single assembly
• Plate Category: allows you to filter between standard plates, erection material, rebar, etc
in piece drawing schedules
• Piece Design Type: the unique design identifier for each piece
• Assembly Weight: a parameter that computes the weight of a piece
• Various view parameters: precast manufacturer specific parameters that are used to
drive views as needed

FIGURE 18: SAMPLE SHEET FROM A PRECAST WALL PIECE DRAWING

Schedules and Legends

Schedules are used during the piece drawing process to send data to the parts of the precast
manufacturing process that are used during fabrication, delivery, and installation. See Figure 19
below for schedules that are used to separate data between erection material, the precaster’s
steel shop, and the precaster’s rebar shop.

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Some other ideas for how schedules can be used:

• Piece marking: Since Revit does not have a great way to tell if a piece is unique (for
piece marking purposes), we use schedules that show a piece length, width, and weight
as a first pass at
• Product counting schedules: used to count the total number of pieces on a project, the
number of plates, amount of rebar, etc
• Piece tracking: Used to track where a piece is in the piece drawing or fabrication
process; each piece is marked as reinforced, annotated, checked, issued, or fabricated.

FIGURE 19: SAMPLE PIECE DRAWING SCHEDULES

Legends are used extensively for text and details that are often re-used on piece drawings:
• Rebar bend diagrams
• Piece finish legends
• Typical piece details (used by several pieces in the project)
• Piece end indicators (end 1 – end 2)
• Assembly view titles

Third Party Tools

There are a few third part tools that will automate some of the repetitive tasks that are required
for precast fabrication modeling:
• Edge^Revit (http://www.edgeforrevit.com/) – we use this tool to automate the assembly
creation process, and the piece drawings view and schedule creation process. Edge has
a tool that automatically detects all of the elements that are cast into a single piece, adds

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 those elements to the piece assembly, and assigns parameter data to those elements so
the data can be properly displayed in the piece drawing schedules.
• AGA CAD Tools4BIM (http://www.aga-cad.com/products/packages/precast-concrete) –
this addin can be used to automate the modeling of precast connections. There are also
tools to automatically create assemblies (similar to Edge^Revit) and to assist in piece
marking.

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