IMAGINiT Building Solutions Blog

NEW Home for the IMAGINiT Building Solutions Blog

We truly enjoy writing blog posts and sharing them. But that’s not all we do. Our new blog site lives on the IMAGINiT Resource Center. 

The IMAGINiT Resource Center offers a searchable index of our older posts, on-demand webcasts, tips and tricks, case studies, whitepapers, and more.

Content from our amazing technical team will continue! We hope you’ll join us: https://resources.imaginit.com/building-solutions-blog 

Scan to BIM 2018 is Here

We're pleased to announce the latest release of IMAGINiT's Scan to BIM solution, Scan to BIM 2018. 

Compatible with Autodesk Revit 2018, the new release has two great new tools and several enhancements.

New for 2018

Share Points
Send a subset of your point cloud to another user (or, you know, IMAGINiT Support, if you need them)

Stored Section Boxes
Quickly jump from one stored section box definition for your current 3D view to another.

See all that's new in Scan to BIM 2018. 

 

[Infographic] Using Point Clouds to Model in Revit: Which Path Will You Take?

Scan to BIM: A Faster Path from Point Cloud to Intelligent Revit Model

Laser scanned data is a valuable input to Revit models. For example, laser scans can capture important aspects of building conditions, such as walls that aren’t plumb or door openings that may be slightly smaller at the bottom than at the top. Point clouds also capture three dimensional building elements, such as pipes, ducts, and other infrastructure.

As noted in a prior blog post, getting point clouds into an intelligent Revit model isn’t easy. Firms appreciate IMAGINiT Technologies’ Scan to BIM product because it provides advanced tools for extracting geometry from point clouds, such as architecture, MEP, and more.

These tools are especially helpful when trying to understand where (and how much) models deviate from the reality represented by the point cloud. For example, you may have modeled elements in Revit that are nominally perfect. The walls are straight, pipes don’t sag, and the floors are perfectly level. Yet, you need the ability to document how closely the model matches reality. This is where Scan to BIM can help.

Scan to BIM offers three tools for documenting deviations between Revit elements and faces, and the point cloud:

1. Heatmap Deviation. This tool shows a color-coded view of the points, based on how much they deviate from the Revit elements.
   
   
   

2. Grid Deviation. This tool is used mostly with walls and floors, where you may want to use a traditional survey approach, determining the deviation at intervals across the face of an element. Grid Deviation can produce either Excel or Revit drafting view documentation of the deviation.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Histogram Deviation. This tool is designed for statistically oriented users. It shows the distribution of deviation across an element to determine the standard deviation and distribution of issues.
   
   
   
   

The benefits of Scan to BIM are numerous. Firms see significant cost savings when creating intelligent Revit models from laser scanned data. Scan to BIM gives users the tools they need to produce professional documentation quickly. This means they can deliver models to clients faster. As a result, customers have more time to review designs and make informed decisions before site work begins. More accurate building information models also enable building owners to make smart downstream decisions regarding ongoing maintenance.

With Scan to BIM, design teams enjoy the advantages of laser scanned point clouds, as well as the power of Revit models. The solution combines the best of both technologies, while automating the manual steps that teams used to have to take.

Laser Scanning is a Great Solution for Design Teams, But Alone It’s Not Enough

Laser scanning is a great way for architects, facility owners, and contractors to obtain precise information about the size, shape, and design conditions of buildings. Laser scanned data alone, however, has limited value from a design perspective.

While many project teams want to convert laser scanned information into a 3D Revit model, they find that this process is time consuming. A typical workflow is to review the scan in a tool such as Autodesk Recap, then link the point cloud into a Revit model. Revit provides very basic tools to trace walls in two dimensions, but that’s all. Since modelers’ time is often costly, a better solution is needed to address the wide variety of modeling needs.

IMAGINiT Technologies’ Scan to BIM product provides more advanced mechanisms to extract geometry from point clouds, such as architectural elements, MEP elements, construction geometry, and more. With Scan to BIM, users create these elements directly in Revit. In our next post, we will discuss why firms are adopting Scan to BIM and the benefits they are seeing.

Scan To BIM: Insert and Index Point Clouds in Revit

Getting your point clouds / laser scans into Revit has changed slightly, here are the steps you need to prepare them. 

Steps To Consider Before Importing Into Revit:

• Review whether you need to break the scans/point cloud up or partition them off in a meaningful way.
• Ex. By Floor, By Wing, By Key Sections

• Resolutions - Consider a hi-res and a low-res version of the same scan (higher vs. lower decimation)
• Makes for working in Revit faster when higher resolution data is not really needed.

• What kind of modeling accuracy are you attempting to get
• Geometry - Profile Walls (will these all be 90 degrees and test that deviation is "not too far off"
• Geometry - Create walls with slope to match the point cloud

There are many more items to consider based on your specific needs but these are a few of the more general items to consider and think about. 

To get these models into Revit, you will typically generate or receive one of the raw point cloud formats, these include: 

• .3dd
• .asc
• .d3
• .dr
• .e57
• .fls
• .fws
• .ixf
• .las
• .las84
• .mpc
• .obj
• .ptx

Start by selecting Insert Point Cloud from within Revit:

Browse to your Point Cloud file (assuming you only have the raw format type as shown above) and choose RAW formats from the file type dropdown:

After picking your RAW format, you will be promted with a pop-up called Point Cloud File Indexing. Adjust any settings needed (ex. Import Units, File Location, etc...) when ready pick the "Start Indexing" button. 

This dialog will continue to run as it converts the Raw Format to a binary indexed file (usually a smaller file size that is quicker for Revit to use) of a .rcp (project, all scans together) and/or .rcs (individual scans where applicable).

Note: This will take some time to convert, from minutes to hours depending on the file size. In the meantime you can continue to work within Revit until this is ready to insert.

When complete we can insert this into Revit, using the Insert Point Cloud button:

When inserting the first point cloud, you have three options for positioning placement:

• Auto - Center to Center
• Auto - Origin to Origin
• Auto - By Shared Coordinates

Typically you will use Center to Center. Review based on your specific needs for correct insertion/adjustiment as needed.

After you place the first point cloud, if you have another to insert you will be given a fourth option "Auto - Origin to Last Placed".

Using this, as the name implies, will insert the Point Cloud based on the insertion placement of the last point cloud. This is useful as long as your point clouds are all using a common origin point, if they are not you may need to manually adjust the placement.

Below is an example of this in video format: 

Scan To BIM: Adjust Revit Pipes for Joining After Model Conversion

The tools and processes for laser scan / point cloud conversions to usable model geometry continues to get easier as the tools mature. One particulary tricky item is Pipes in Revit MEP. In the IMAGINiT Scan To BIM product (get your free trial here) there are many ways to create pipes (automatic, think easy button or manually one by one as well as tools to go through and do QA (Quality Assurance)/QC (Quality Control) but there is another often overlooked tool called "Adjust Pipes" that can be really beneficial between the two stages above.

In Revit, the Pipe geometry must have the center lines overlapping for them to clean-up. While this makes sense when desiging from scratch, it wreaks havoc on Scan To Model conversion projects as they are quite often slightly off from crossing center lines. Below is an example of two pipes that were created, their center lines are just slightly off and need an elbow between them.

Using the IMAGINiT Scan To BIM tool Adjust Pipe, you can select both pipes and be prompted with options for the best fit. In our example we could move the pipe slightly or adjust the pipe rotation from the far endpoint for a smaller overall adjustment as shown below.

 Once we have the centerlines adjusted we can now trim/extend the pipes to create an elbow.

(Note: The point cloud is using an alternative coloring scheme in Scan To BIM based on elevation height, makes this easier to visualize when working with a complex point cloud based on the z axis elevations). 

For a better example of using this tool, check out the video below and give this a try on your next project.

Looking for Revit Point Cloud Modelers With Pipe and Plant Data

Our Scan To BIM dev team is looking for a few one-on-ones with customers this week who have Revit experience and point clouds with pipe and/or plant data to sit with us via Webex to review a new feature with you for feedback.

EDIT: Thanks all, BETA period for this release is now closed. Stay tuned for future opportunities.

If you fit the bill we have amazon gift certificates for those we meet with as our way of saying thank you (and of course making Scan To BIM an even better product). Interested, E-mail Me.

Requirements: Revit 2015, Existing Point Cloud with Pipes and/or Plant Data (already recapped into Revit). This should take 35 minutes to complete.

Model On!