Revit Collaboration Model

[Nicodemo Aidara]

Myworkflow is to create a reference file to hold the Revit import and then reference that into my site model. Subsequent updates to the architectural model is then easy to update. My work heading to architects for collab generally stay within the dwg and pdf realm instead of IFC, etc workflows.

A lot of line work often goes into making the drawing legible and complete in Revit (and Vectorworks) - Grids etc - and therefore you need to also request to the DWG data from model space to be able to use this for coordination in addition to IFC.

I should add here that in the context of this thread, model = 3D file. In the context of CAD generally, of which BIM is a subset, Model = 2D or 3D, i.e. modelspace and the location of the origin is equally critical in a 2D workflow as it is a 3D workflow since the two are intrinsically linked.

Bit of a bump here but do you know which of Revit's origins is the one that needs to align? As far as I know there is a project base point, a survey point and an internal origin and they may not be aligned with each other.

I suggest your aim should be to agree the basic elements of 'transfer/process' before you even start the project. Don't make any assumptions that you will match expectations back/forth - have it in writing (BIM Manual or similar to outline application) if a contract depends on it. You'll then iron-out the pitfalls.

It is good practice to align all three at the start of the project. The critical point is the internal origin. Ideally this would be aligned to the PBP and Survey Point. If the Revit users want to change the location of the PBP after, it will have no impact on coordination as the PBP is peculiar to revit.

Models must be built at the same level relative to the internal origin and a level should not be applied to the PBP in Revit unless agreed (e.g. when the buulding is up a mountain, you establish a common datum and agree that ground floor FFL = 0m in the model = 1000m AOD.

Thanks for all this, a new one for me I've been given a survey in Revit and everyone else is working Revit so I have to tie in with them rather than vice versa (Revit-centric BEP was already written). So I got the Architect to move the project base point to the internal origin/survey point because previously I only had co-ords for the PBP and no way of knowing where it was! So now I have the georeferencing and co-ords set up, but when I tried with the angle to true north shown in georeferencing it went very wrong. What I ended up doing was rotating the drawing north with the same internal origin and am hoping that will make my exports match up. Still a bit of work to do before i get to that point.

Revit Cloud Worksharing allows you to collaborate on Revit models in the cloud. You can co-author cloud models, centralize all project design data, and improve communication and collaboration across the entire team. Access the Revit Cloud Worksharing section of the Revit help to learn more.

When all team members are connected to a Local Area Network (LAN), and there is a file server connected (for example: Z://FileShare) to this LAN, then the team can use this file server as the place to store the Central Model File. The picture below explains this.

To set this up (for example, at home or in a small office), you connect your computer and a NAS device or file server to your internet router. With some minimal configuration for this device (there are consumer models available, starting below $1000 for 24 TB), you will be up and running in no time. With a VPN solution, you can extend access to this LAN to users who are not residing where the LAN is located.

The schematics of working on a shared Central Model file on a WAN are shown in the next picture. Office 1 can be in Texas, whilst Office 2 can be in Timbuktu: all four computers in the schematic are connected to the Z://FileShare in Office 1.

The cost drivers for file-sharing on the WAN are a charge for network bandwidth and for the use of the storage. A rough estimate (please check with your IT department) would be $5 per Mbit of bandwidth and $0,10 per GB of storage.

You might be wondering why you need the help of servers to share the Revit Central Model file on your WAN. The reality of doing work-sharing over a WAN is that you will be sending a lot of data back and forth between the local files on the LAN to the Central Model file over the WAN. This will eventually bog down your WAN and therefore your users. The solution that Autodesk has developed is called Revit Server. The software that is required to set this up is entirely free of charge.

The cost of this setup is a set of additional servers for each LAN. Although Autodesk provides this software for no additional cost, this solution will have some additional costs over file-based WAN. An internal IT department will typically charge more than $1000 per server per month to keep this machine up and running. Assuming 20 users per accelerate server, this adds an additional $50 per user, per month.

Designair provides high-end virtual desktops for architects, engineers and designers, and we recently added a FileShare service to our portfolio. This service is a shared drive that lives in the cloud, and is connected to Designair's virtual desktops.

This functionality of the FileShare service is comparable with the internal File Server (options 1, 2 and 3). The major different is that it is available in the cloud. It does not have the bells and whistles of BIM Collaborate (such as chat options), and it is only available with a Designair virtual desktop.

The second scenario is the support of flexible work policies, and environment where users can work from the office as well as work from home (WFH). Depending on several factors, either an on-premise or a cloud-based scenario have their merits.

The simplest, most affordable option to work with the Revit Central Model File is clearly on the LAN. In combination with a VPN solution it is still viable for WFH, but VPN does add costs (about $20/month per user) and at some point you will run into performance issues, especially at peak hours.

If you already have a WAN in place, and your organization can not or will not move Revit files outside its own premises, then this is your best option. If you run into any performance bottlenecks, you can extend the usefulness of your WAN setup with Revit Server. With a VPN, you can extend the WAN to WFH users, with the same caveats as for the LAN.

In comparison with WAN-based collaboration, BIM Collaborate is definitely more affordable, and offers more capabilities beyond file-sharing. But it is out of bounds if your company can not or does not want to have its Revit files in the cloud.

Architecture staff is using collaborate pro, but consultants such as Civil and Mechanical are not using BIM 360 or Collaborate pro. This means that we have to Manually place them on the cloud so that the other architects can access them.

This means that we have to create cloud models every time we get an update from a consultant (which is daily). It is too much work and it dumps all these central models in C:\Users\(insert user here)\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2020\CollaborationCache\W6RYLZ6UQVE34.

The old replaced models are just piling up as the local copy of the cloud models just stay there taking up space. How could Autodesk make a product that cannot link to non-collaborate models? This makes the software too difficult to keep using and we should just use virtual server instead. Maybe I am missing something, but I predict failure unless there is a way to link them

Hello, yes that's why the solution is for everyone to be working with Collaborate Pro. The purpose of this product is to facilitate the collaboration when collaborators start to add up. So the consultants should also get Collaborate Pro to make the work fluent.

Hi there,

You do NOT have to cloud-sync the consultant models, and the consultants to NOT have to have Collab Pro/ B360.

You can place the consultant models into a folder in your ACC/ B360 project and use Desktop Connector to link to them. It works the exact same way as CAD files, but you may have the steps wrong. The way you achieve this is:

This only works for NON-CLOUD-WORKSHARED models. You will see a difference in link location between models this way and cloud-workshared models.

Cloud shared models have a different link path from non-workshared models, and will include the hub name, not just the project name.

I am getting this model about once a day or so, even though I have not been removed from the project. Closing out of Revit and reopening seems to let me back into the model, however sometimes I lose work due to this issue. This has happened on more than one A360 project. It appears to be an issue with A360.

I am still having the same issue. I don't see a way to fix this other than just not using A360. I ended up detaching the model and just working locally then uploading it every day. Seems to be faster than dealing with these errors.

I would like to join the thread. This morning collaboration stopped for me and a few other colleagues. We dont have access to models that are set in the clouds. Different acounts, different pc's/locations.

Ok, thanks for the answer. But I am not sure what do we have to do now. I know i know, i was reading the post a few times but its still not clear for me. We have the full revit which is supposed to have the collaboration option. Does it mean that except for revit we have to buy something more to work the way as we used to?

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