I recently had the opportunity to model a real-world MEP model. The Engineer had a design that was carefully constructed on 2D CAD with almost no errors. The modeling up of the system was easy – but for one small detail: The colour of the sewer system was yellow.
As most of us know, by default AutoCAD model space has a black background, while the paper space is white. It is easy to see yellow on a black background, but almost impossible to make it out on a white background.
One might think that it is an easy process to change the layer colour of the yellow line in the visibility graphics settings of a view.
Unfortunately, if the objects are in blocks and Xrefs which might have been created by non-Autodesk software, this is not always possible. So short of asking the engineer to change the layer colour so it shows up more easily on a white background, I suggest changing the background colour of Revit so the system can be modelled more easily.
This introduces a situation where the sheets are also on a black background, so when the production of documentation is required, it would be necessary to change the background out to white again.
Items such as layer colours and the structure of the CAD file with reference to the Revit override should be taken up in the BIM Execution Plan. Something like: “explode all blocks before delivery to Revit team” might suffice. Otherwise, an AutoCAD Standards file may be created to make layers comply with what is required in Revit.
If you need help adopting BIM or Revit in your organization, please contact Micrographics so we may be of assistance.
