Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Revit LT finally released

image

So today Autodesk finally announced the release of Revit LT. More details can be found here….

http://usa.autodesk.com/revitlt/

Autodesk Revit LT is built on the Revit platform for BIM and allows users to create designs efficiently with 3D, real-world building objects to produce reliable, coordinated documentation faster.  Revit-based applications help deliver better coordination and quality, and can contribute to higher profitability for architects, design professionals and the rest of the building team. Some of the benefits of Revit LT include:

  • Work more efficiently with a single, coordinated model that allows users to concurrently design and document building projects. Autodesk Revit LT automatically manages iterative changes to building models throughout the documentation process. As a result, a consistent representation of the building is maintained, helping to improve drawing coordination and reducing errors.
  • Design and visualize in 3D. Revit LT allows users to see their designs virtually, improving their understanding of the building and its spaces, and helping them communicate design ideas to clients more clearly and effectively.
  • Create photorealistic renderings in the cloud. Users who purchase Autodesk Subscription with Revit LT can render in the cloud directly from the Revit LT interface, enabling them to produce compelling, photorealistic visualizations without tying up their desktop
  • Exchange designs in the DWG or RVT file formats. Produce designs in the DWG file format, and experience fluid file exchange with project team members using other Autodesk Revit software applications.

image

What I think is more important, is to actually understand what you are & what you aren’t getting by purchasing the LT product. This is explained in more detail on the feature comparison page. You should review this carefully.

http://usa.autodesk.com/revitlt/features/

image

Certainly if you are a small firm looking into the delve into the the large pit of BIM, it certainly worth reviewing Revit LT. But you must be aware of some of the limitations of the product, particularly the lack of collaborative working functionality.That’s not to say you cannot link in Revit Structure or MEP files, as you certainly can. If you are a small firm developing Revit content or working on small projects where you don’t need to necessarily collaborate between users working on the same dataset, then Revit LT is a good start point.

3 comments :

Rob said...

this will be a GREAT affordable stop-gap solution for small firms, especially residential architects/firms.

Rob said...

just looked at the side by side feature chart between LT and 2013... the lack of design options in my opinion makes it hard to justify buying it. While worksharing is important for larger firms, LT is clearly geared toward smaller ones. Smaller firms are un doubtedly going to have design options to show to clients. (i clearly remember having multiple design ideas when working on high end residential). The removal of this is surprising for LT users.. a shame really..

NB said...

OK - so I am an experienced ACAD user but have so far resisted the jump to Revit. Accordingly, I have no experience using Revit and no understanding how it works. I am a structural engineering consultant in a small office and I work on commercial buildings with several architectural firms. Would revit LT allow me to use the revit model from the architect, model the structure, transfer the model to a design package, move the design info back into the revit model and then send it back to the architect for him to use it? Also, the feature comparison indicates that I would give up truss and reinforcement features when compared to the structural modeling capability of the full version. Is there an alternate way to get the rebar on the drawings if revit wont let me model it? If I dont have the capacity to model a truss, can I still model a bar joist? Thanks!