Customers often wonder; what is the best plan of action when bringing an AutoCAD file (.dwg) into Revit? Here is the breakdown;
If you are working with an AutoCAD file that you know is going to be getting updated from the source designers then you will want to Link the .dwg into Revit. You will not be able to explode the .dwg content if it is linked into Revit.
If you want to bring in an AutoCAD file that you know is NOT going to be updated by anyone and you want to be able to bring the .dwg file into Revit and modify it without having to go back into AutoCAD to make changes you will want to use the Import CAD tool in Revit. In order to manipulate what you have imported from CAD you will need to select on the object you imported and from the ribbon you will click on the Explode drop down, then you will select on Partial Explode or Full Explode. You can read more from the Revit Help files on the difference between a Partial or Full Explode.
There has been a lot of controversy regarding Importing a .dwg file and then exploding it. Yes, once you explode an imported dwg file you do run the risk of added items bogging down your Revit file, but if you don’t want or do not have AutoCAD to go back and make changes to the .dwg file then exploding is your option. You can always run a purge from the Manage tab on the ribbon and purge unused items to reduce the size of your drawing file.
If you feel you are still not comfortable bringing in all of the AutoCAD information you can do the following;
Open a new Revit project file and then bring in the .dwg file by importing it. You can explode it and do what is needed to it and then save just the view and bring that into your project. This way you are not overloading your main project.
Extra resources:
Autodesk WikiHelp on Import or Linking CAD
Comments