Harlan Brumm
Exciting news today! The Revit 2018.1 update, the very latest version, is now available for download.
As I explained in this post on What’s Next for Revit, we’ve increased the frequency of Revit product releases essentially catching up our release schedule to better match the agile development methodology we adopted a while ago. Since we released Revit 2018 to the world in April 2017, additional features and updates have become ready for release, and we are making those features available now with Revit 2018.1, accessible in your Autodesk Account for Subscribers to Revit, the AEC Collection, and suites containing Revit.
Many of these updates are inspired by your feedback and suggestions, and we actively solicit customer input. You can share your ideas for improving Revit with us and the user community on the Revit Ideas page.
So what’s new in Revit 2018.1?
Delivering on our long-term goals, this release includes features and functionality that strengthen Revit– building a solid foundation for product reliability and efficiency– and that modernize, creating a modern and effortless experience. There’s also functionality that helps you efficiently create information that captures design intent and connect workflows for team-based project delivery.
Core features
These new features will benefit everyone, regardless of your discipline.
Dynamo Player improvements: The Dynamo Player which is the powerful scripting tool that installs with Revit, is now even more valuable as a way to automate tasks. You can now adapt Dynamo scripts to better-fit your needs by requesting user input before use. Providing user input directly in the Dynamo Player interface lets customers make project-specific adjustments to scripts without having to know how to use Dynamo. In addition to a UI refresh that makes it easier to use, the Dynamo player in the Revit 2018.1 update comes with additional scripts.
You’ll be happy to see the new schedule management in project browser feature — we know you’ve been asking for this schedule browser. This feature lets you apply project browser organization to schedules. Reducing visual clutter makes it easier to find schedules, especially in large projects.
For Architects, Revit 2018.1 continues to deliver features that help you work more efficiently to capture design intent.
- Additional ready-to-use content delivered with Revit 2018.1 is especially helpful for new users and Revit LT subscribers wanting to get started fast. Content includes office cubicles, furniture, residential and commercial windows, and an appliance library. Download the content from the Autodesk Knowledge Network.
- With the new Visual Materials API you can create and edit Appearance Assets — the particular instances of classes representing visual material properties– of materials in Revit. Another top customer request, the opening of the materials API allows the automated creation of materials libraries and better transfer of material information between products. Now you can use any third party tool to make changes to material finishes.
For Structure, the Revit 2018.1 update adds functionality that continues to improve the workflow between steel engineers and detailers and concrete engineers and detailers working together in a BIM environment.
- Free form rebar distribution in curved elements: New capabilities increase the versatility of reinforced concrete detailing to include support for the complexities of civil structures, architecturally demanding building elements, and other concrete structures such as bridge piers. Revit 2018.1 lets you distribute rebar along multiple face segments in 3D views. Free form rebars are part of the Structural Rebar category, and have all the properties associated with it. Free form rebars can be created as single bars or rebar sets, and the rebar quantity for every instance of a free form rebar can be easily adjusted.
You can use customizable numbering settings and provide accurate shop drawings with schedules that display varying lengths in Free Form Rebar sets to better drive fabrication. Get more information about the new free form rebar feature here.
- Additional steel content delivered with Revit 2018.1 to support detailing of steel modeling includes flat, round and square bars content, improving interoperability with Autodesk Advance Steel. Revit 2018.1 also includes new content for bracing and railings. As we continue to add more country-specific content to Revit, Revit 2018.1 has additional content for the United States, Canada, UK, Europe, India, and South Africa.
New steel content
- The Autodesk® Structural Precast Extension for Revit® 2018 is a BIM-centric offering for modeling and detailing precast elements that promotes productivity and precision for engineers, detailers and fabricators working on typical building projects in the precast industry. As an app for Revit software, Structural Precast for Revit provides Revit users access to powerful tools for automatic rule-based segmentation, reinforcement, shop drawings and CAM files generation of precast planar concrete elements. Learn more about the Structural Precast Extension for Revit in this BIM and Beam Blog post.
- Access the app here.
Structural Precast extension for Revit
For MEP, Revit 2018.1 includes several fabrication modeling improvements that continue the story of functionality that was released with Revit 2018.
- Sloped pipe in multipoint routing: With this feature you can more easily route sloped piping by specifying the slope as you are routing the pipe. For example, specify a slope like a ½” = 1’-0” as you are routing the pipe. When you branch off the main run you can continue the same slope or change the slope to 1/8” = 1’-0” so that the branch has a different slope than the main run and all fittings are at the correct slope. Any taps into the pipe will automatically pick up the slope of the connected pipe.
- Dynamic holes: When you place a tap on a duct, the hole in that tap will be sent from the Revit detail model to Fabrication CAMduct for manufacturing. The shape of the hole doesn’t matter. You can tap into a duct with a Square-to-Round and the pattern will be sent to Fabrication CAMduct. You can view the hole location in a flat pattern on sheet metal in development and all the holes will be in the correct location when you fabricate the part.
- API for Center line length on fabrication parts: The API now allows you to interrogate the centerline length of fabrication parts to facilitate automation and point load calculations. By user request we have exposed the centerline length parameter that we have on the fabrication side in the API for Revit. It enables you to access the centerline length on fittings like elbows, tees and crosses. The centerline length parameter is useful information that can be used in several ways to benefit MEP contractors.
- API for creating a MAJ file The API gives you the ability to improve manufacturing workflows by customizing your MAJ export to suit your company standards and how you want the data to come back into Fabrication CAMduct. You can create a MAJ file which is used for advanced spooling tool which lets you modify how you export your jobs whether by section or by certain details you have in a fabrication part. This facilitates the spooling process when going back into Fabrication CAMduct or Fabrication CADmep.
- Fabrication Reports and Worksheets. Revit now lets you use and modify new and existing Fabrication CADmep reports in Revit for fabrication parts. You can setup Item, Ancillary, or Linear Nest reports, as well as Worksheets. You can customize the reports per your company standards, as with other Revit reports. It pulls the parameter data automatically from fabrication parts you have selected and produces a printable report.
So that’s the Revit 2018.1 update — there’s something useful for everyone in this mid-July release. Stay tuned for updates to the Revit Road Map and, as always, if you have ideas or suggestions for how to improve Revit please share them with us on the Revit Ideas Page.
The Revit product management team will be speaking to all that’s delivered with Revit 2018.1 in a webcast on July 20th at 9:00 a.m. US Pacific time. Here’s Info and registration for the free online event.