MEP BIM Integration Suite

CADworks MEP BIM Integration Suite gives users the tools to quickly implement and support BIM (with solutions for content management, manufacturer specific pipe types, implementation documentation), and quickly transition from CAD to BIM with Revit MEP project templates.

CADworks MEP BIM Integration Suite helps users:

BIMXCHANGE

The CADworks BIMXchange is an intelligent, lightweight and intuitive Web application which provides easy access to over forty thousand Revit Family Types, from more than one hundred fifty building product manufacturers, and is currently utilized by several thousand Revit users. The Cloud based tool offers right-sized, data-rich Revit models of building products primarily important to the MEP designer, but with sufficient crossover to be functionally significant for architectural users as well. BIMXchange is available on a per seat basis, via a yearly subscription.

REVIT PIPING PRODUCTIVITY PACK

The initial goal in creating this tool was simply to be able to build a valid Revit piping/plumbing model suitable for coordination purposes, and then print recognizable construction documents. The package has grown to include an increasing list of pipe types and manufacturers, including more than six hundred fittings. This offering includes standards for ASTM, ANSI, and AWWA pipe materials, sizes, schedules, and connection types. The fittings are all manufacturer specific and restrictive to only the sizes and angles available in the manufacturer’s catalog. There is a package available for three releases of Revit MEP: 2010, 2011, and 2012.

The Pipe and Fittings Package installation includes templates, families, and lookup tables. Fittings can only be placed at angles that correlate to real product. The advantage of the package is to maintain model integrity, as well as convey design intent in the 2-D space. The sizes of pipe available include larger diameter types needed for many designs.

REVIT MEP QUICKSTART

CADworks has created six distinct project templates suited to any firm or user who needs to get a project started quickly in either 2011 and 2012 versions of Revit MEP. They are specific to mechanical, electrical and plumbing disciplines, providing a structured environment for projects while maintaining flexibility for individual firms. The templates are comprehensive; they include project tracking information, schedules, temporary sheets, and a preset of ten floors with associated Scope Boxes and overall plans.

There are three principal template structures: MEP Design Standard, COBie, and GSA Spatial. They are organized identically, with the difference being the information and schedules specific to the COBie and GSA initiatives and standards. The inclusions of these specialty templates are based on evolving processes within the buildingSMARTalliance and GSA. Template users will be provided updates as the information becomes available.

REVIT IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

With potentially thousands of pages of information relating to a specific project, often that data becomes lost or jumbled. The BIM Execution Plan that CADworks has put together aids in untangling the web of information.

This plan is divided into three components: Organizational Decisions, Project Tracking, and General References. The Organizational section sets criteria and methods for defining and establishing roles, responsibilities, and goals in a project. The Tracking section employs interactive tracking tools for project members to stay current on everything, from model/Workset ownership to coordination model nomenclature. The final section, References, is a library of useful information (such as BIM best practices, additional resources, and information sources) and includes a section detailing some common elements that a sub-contractor could request.

There is also a collection of process documents meant to provide "just-in-time" information during the span of a project. For example, there is an aid for guiding a project manager through the cleanup and optimization of an architectural or structural model (as well as preparation for the Revit MEP design and modeling processes) and detailed documents explaining worksharing and shared coordinates. All internet users already have access to this information, yet having it organized, accessible, and standardized can prove beneficial for firms starting out.