There are a number of different workflows available:
- native Revit tools (in my case, using Revit 2013)
- Scan to BIM add-in by Imaginit / Rand (around $3000 for Standalone license)
- Leica Cloudworx for Revit (around $4000)
- Visualizing in Navisworks and modelling in Revit
- Revit 2012 and the Point Cloud Feature Extraction labs add-in (if you can find it anywhere)
- using Point Clouds in the Revit Family environment
Note 1: I initially had problems using a combination of Revit 2013, Scan to BIM and Leica Cloudworx. For example, Wall Region Grow would report "No points found in this area?" However, if you zoom in and click exactly on a visible point from the Cloudworx point cloud, Scan to BIM should be able to pick it up. A representative of Imaginit / Rand reports that Clients often do use both tools together.
Note 2: Note 1 is apparently a known issue. Workaround with 2014 and Recap is to bring the raw format scan into Recap, export it out as a .pcg file. Create a new project inside of recap and bring in that pcg file and save that off as a rcp... that error msg should no longer appear. (Thanks Cheyne Bird, IMAGINiT Australia)
Initial thoughts:Scan to BIM seems to be the better tool for feature extraction and geometry creation, while Leica Cloudworx puts you in direct contact with the original point cloud data - not decimated by Revit.
General Tips:- Revit will consume big amounts of memory when working with large point clouds
- Rule of thumb - indexing a 27 gb PTX
will result in a 7gb PCG and
will take about 7 hours for a mid-range PC. - Indexing 2 x 27 gb PTX using Recap version 1.0 and basically default settings
about 6 hours
8gb for new PCG - Working with 2 of these 7gb PCG files in Revit 2013 on XP64 with Scan to BIM will consume about 11gb of RAM easily. You may have to periodically close and re-open Revit, depending on your system specs.
- Working on the same point files using Cloudworx will consume about 2gb of RAM, depending on your view settings.
- If you are using Revit 2013 and you want to restrict Revit from highlighting (pre selecting) a point cloud, which can be annoying, just place it in a Design Option. It seems that Scan to BIM can still interact with a Point Cloud in a primary option of an option set.
- Did you know that Point Clouds when imported to Revit have a Phase Created and a Phase Demolished parameter? Revit respects this when it comes to Phase Filters and Graphic Overrides - keep this in mind if you can't 'find' a point cloud in your project.
- You will be working in 3D a lot, and making lots of 3D views cropped to section boxes. I recommend that you set keyboard shortcuts for:
Orient to a Plane, and
Set Current View as HomeUsing these shortcuts, you can quickly reorient yourself and use the Viewcube properly. - The above workplane shortcuts work well after using the "Set Workplane" tools in the various add-ins. After triggering Orient to a Plan, just click OK. When Revit says -not associated-, it means 'use the current workplane'. You should also set and use a keyboard shortcut for the Show Workplane button on the Home tab.
- When making a new 3D view, the quickest way is to select an existing Section Box and copy it using Revit copy (not Ctrl C) and drop it close to new desired location. It will appear in Project Browser with same name as previous 3D view, but with any digit on the end of the view advanced by 1. This is actually better than using Duplicate View, which adds this silly "Copy of" to the front of the new view name.
Note: This new Section Box will also remain selected, so you can adjust the crop before switching to the newly created view - You may wish to turn off "Snap to Remote Objects" in your Revit snaps, these can get in the way when working with Scan to BIM, and Point Clouds generally
- To facilitate setting of a Workplane based on already modelled geometry, I made a simple 3 point adaptive component with a surface formed by these 3 points. You can use Set Workplane to pick this triangulated plane and work from there.
Scan to BIM:I recommend you watch this video to start:
You can also access an archive of webcasts by filling out
this form.
Workflow (walls):- Crop 3D view with Section Box as much as possible
- Use Wall Region Grow tool (3 point click on face)
- Adjust wall edge extents
- Rinse and repeat
Carving - A quick way to reduce the extent of the wall is to use the Split Tool - rather than trying to find the edge, just Split the wall horizontally or vertically or both, and delete the bit you don't need.
Sloping / Slanted Walls - You can either use the Wall by Face option on the Wall Region Grow tool, or create an inplace wall out of extrusions by using the Set Workplane tool. The latter is preferred if you want to modify the resulting wall in any way.
Optionally - use the "Work on Wall" button, Select Wall, and use the resulting section to edit wall profile, add windows etc.
Workflow (topography):The topo creation tools in Scan to BIM work great. You essentially get to pick points, choose decimation, and then you get a topo. Easy, right? Well, then you have to clean it up.
Workflow (columns):I suggest you get rid of all column types in the project, and just keep one Round and one Rectangular OOTB column family loaded. If you use Structural Columns, you can schedule them...
- Crop 3D view with Section Box as much as possible
- Pick appropriate column tool (Round or Rect)
- Make a crossing window over column points
- Pick correct column type family or load a new one
- Click Create Column
Note - you may have a bit more joy if you switch the 3D view to "Top" before selection the column crossing window
For angled columns, you can use the
Slanted - End Point Driven option in the Properties Palette. In fact, if you want to tweak column height while in a 3D view, switch to Slanted - End Point Driven, adjust using the end points, and then switch back to vertical...
Workflow (floors):- Crop 3D view with Section Box as much as possible
- Determine an approximate height for the floor
- Sketch the floor outline, using the height from 2
- Select the Slab, and then start the Scan to BIM Adjust Slab tool
- Select points
Tip - in a 3D view when using the Adjust Slab tool, you may have a better experience if you switch to Wireframe first. This stops model elements from occluding the Analysis Result that shows you the slab deviation.
Personally, I find the use of Floors to be a bit more frustrating than that of Topos. It would be nice to have a Floor tool that works essentially the same as the Topo one - select a bunch of points, decimate them heavily, and use them as the top surface of a Floor element.
Workflow (Curtain Walls and Glazing):This is a simple two point click. Use "Work on Wall" to make a perpendicular wall section of the hosting wall. Then click one corner and then the other of the glazed area. Adjust mullions according to point cloud.
How to get it:To get
Scan to BIM, use these links:
Scan To BIM (Standalone)Scan To BIM (Network)Cloudworx / Cyclone:Installation notes:- To use Cloudworx add-in for Revit, you must have Cyclone installed
- I had a GUID conflict for the Revit add-in when installing Cloudworx, I posted the resolution here
- I also had a license error. I had to open Cyclone itself and switch it to VIEWER mode. I ended up receiving a trial license.dat, and put this in the appropriate folder.
We received a folder containing the Cyclone databases. The key file is an
IMP file. In Cyclone:
- Configure - Databases
- Add...
- Select the IMP file
- The surveyors database will now be accessible to you
To use this data in Revit:Add-ins, Import ModelSpace View. Then drill down in the Cyclone database until you find the appropriate view. I found one based on a known coordinate system and it was a 'unified' view.
You can import multiple point cloud sources.
Cloudworx plugin
strips out existing point clouds from the project and replaces it with a database link, that looks like this:
