Project Spark – quick overview

So what is Project Spark? Essentially Spark, is a cut down version of Revit, a sort of Revit LT or beginner’s version. Some probably thought that Project Vasari was gunning for the LT kingpin position, but really Vasari is geared towards early energy analysis & conceptual form making. Project Spark on the other hand is squarely aimed at those wanting to dip their toes into the Revit / BIM process.

It is obvious that there are some firms out there that want to get on the BIM band wagon, yet are not willing, maybe for financial reasons, to invest in going fully into Revit. Many architectural firms that I know use AutoCAD LT on a day to day basis & that serves them really well. However, these firms also realise that the BIM band wagon is rapidly over taking them (please note that I am not necessarily suggesting that by doing Revit you are doing BIM, instead see Revit as an enabler to do BIM).

Be aware that whilst Project Spark is that a cut down version of full Revit, there are various features which have been removed, but if you are new to the Revit tools, this really isn’t going to make a huge difference to start with. The missing tools are listed in the image below but the big ticket items to be aware of are “NO” API, collaboration, design options, massing, structure, rendering, in-place families …..

Another point to note is that Project Spark uses a different version of the RVT file format, so whilst you can link in a Revit 2012 file ( it will automatically upgrade the file when you link); if you create a Project Spark RVT you will not be able to open it in Revit 2012. This may change in the future. Also, if you try to open a Revit 2012 file in Project Spark it will automatically link rather than convert the file. This is the message you will get if you do try to open a full Revit file.

So how do you know whether a file was created in Spark? In the preview, you will see an icon with the letter “S”, which indicates it, was generated in Project Spark. If the file was created in full Revit, then no additional icon appears in the preview.

The download for Spark includes both a 32bit & 64bit version, full hardware requirements are listed here.

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/spark/system_reqs/

As a beginner’s version, there is also a heavy emphasis around learnability. There are quick start tutorials & movies to get new users started.

Project Spark does allow you to import & export DWG, DXF & DGN (v7) files. You can also export to FBX, so whilst you can’t render directly in Spark, materials applied to elements in Spark will get exported to the FBX file. These FBX files can then be linked or imported in 3dsMax Design & rendered.

One area where I can really see Project Spark having an impact, assuming Autodesk can address the file format issues, is in content creation. Spark includes a full family editor. The only families you cannot create are massing related families. For those that are just building content, I am thinking of maybe the supply chain or manufacturers, then Project Spark could be the solution to all their problems. If you are building content all day long, then full Revit is like a hammer to crack to nut.

For those of us who are already using Revit, Project Spark is not going to make a big difference, however you should be aware of this preview technology as strategically it could well make a big difference in the future. For those that want to get started in BIM, Project Spark is genuinely a great start point as long as you are aware of the caveats covered above. So go get it now from Autodesk Labs….

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/spark/

For online support check out the support pages…..

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Project-Spark/bd-p/354

Project Spark goes live

Be sure to check out Project Spark live on Autodesk Labs! Its essentially a get started in BIM application, a kind of Revit LT. :-)

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/spark/

System requirements.

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/spark/system_reqs/

More thoughts & feedback to follow.

AUGIuk Revit Camp 2012

I spoke to Alan Wooldridge last week; he mentioned that AUGIuk are looking for speakers for the February 2012 AUGI Revit camp. More background & details can be found on Alan's blog…

http://cadalot-revitlearningcurve.blogspot.com/2011/08/augiuk-revit-camp-call-for-speakers.html

Disney & BIM

James Vandezande sent me this great article yesterday. Well worth a read…

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disney-new-fantasyland-imagineering-technology-17327/

RTCUSA 2011 content from Stephen Taskins

I’m not one for ripping other peoples content off, but I really could not get away without sharing this with you. Stephen Taskin has kindly uploaded his parametric content from his RTCUSA 2011 session. Be sure to check it out cos this is stunning work! Stephen, thanks for sharing!!!

Autodesk Revit making a parametric weaving system

Revit Advanced Conceptual Massing-Extrude&Twist&Taper

Revit 2012 – pebbles / ellipses

Much fun! Some interesting pointers from Phil & Zach on my ellipse blog post from last week. Check em out here….

http://www.architecture-tech.com/2011/08/creating-elliptical-walls-in-revit.html

http://buildz.blogspot.com/2011/08/self-rationalizing-ellipse.html

Combing pebbles & ellipses!

Revit 2012 – pebbles

Be sure to checkout Zach Kronz cool post of creating pebbles forms in either Revit or Vasari…..nice.

http://buildz.blogspot.com/2011/08/pebbles-bam-bam.html

Yep, that's right, this is Revit…..

Revit 2012 – dept of unfair – ellipses

Elliptical elements have always been rather awkward to create in Revit. For instance you can’t create an elliptical wall without first creating an elliptical mass & then performing the wall by face function.

 

Whilst you could easily argue that ellipses are the scourge of architectural design, cause they are a pain in the arse to set out. Nether the less they are an important form to any designer or interior designer. Anyway, I was having some fun the other day looking at the best way to divide an ellipse into a number of equal segments. My old school CAD head kicked in, draw the ellipse, draw a series of circles on the perimeter on the ellipse then draw lines from the centroid of the ellipse to intersect with the ellipse of the circle. So I started in a new Revit project, followed the above procedure only to find I could not snap a line to the intersection of the ellipse & the circle??? Hmmm this seemed a bit odd….a bug may be? Anyway, I jumped over to the conceptual massing environment ( CDE in project as well as a family), did the same exercise & everything worked peachy here!

I don’t know what the project environment has against ellipses, but it needs to get learn from its sibling conceptual mass environment & get with the kids! One for the development team me thinks.

Revit 2012 – massing & voids

This may seem rather obvious to the seasoned Revit user; but for the new kids on the block, when using voids to cut massing geometry in Revit, sometimes you need to think a little differently. The process of using voids to cut geometry can be a bit confusing. This is especially so, since the way voids cut in the conceptual massing tools is a little different compared with voids in say the in-place editor or family editor.. For instance, take a look at the image below. This was created by generating a freeform surface using the massing tools….then roof by face to generate the actual geometry for the roof.…it looks reasonably straight forward to achieve, but you need more then two voids to cut the initial massing surface.

Let me explain in more detail…..

So the surface was created using the massing tool, which consisted of a series of spline reference lines, then a surface generated between the reference lines. As indicated below.

Next up, a inner boundary & a outer boundary of reference lines where sketched. These will be used to form the voids which will cut the surface.

Now the natural logic here is to also create a large rectangle to go beyond the surface, like this…..

However, this is not going to work for us, because if you try & build the void, from the rectangle & trimming reference lines you are going to get the dreaded “Unable to create form element error”.

Instead, you need to create two voids from reference lines to cut away the excess surface. With a reference lines configuration like this.

The image below, hopefully explains it a little better.

All we then need is to create a void from the inner reference lines to cut the opening & we are good to go.

You may need to use the Cut Geometry tool to force the cutting.

I hope the above makes sense, I guess I should really do a youtube video to explain it in more detail, but this should at least give you some useful guidance.

Saving in-place families

Be sure to check out Luke Johnson tip on saving in-place families!!! Nice one.

http://whatrevitwants.blogspot.com/2011/07/save-in-place-family-as-rfa-for-use-in.html

Revit System Wall Families - UK Localisation

Thought you might be interested in reading Alan Wooldridges article on Revit System Wall for UK localisation.

http://cadalot-revitlearningcurve.blogspot.com/2011/07/revit-system-wall-families-uk.html

Ralph Pullinger (Autodesk) and Alan are looking at developing a UK Based System Wall Family Template, however they require your help. In order to achieve this they will need a little background information and briefing on the kind of information we need to included. Pop over to Alans blog & provide some input.