Essential 3D model builder in the structural engineering application
January 28, 2020

Essential 3D model builder in the structural engineering application

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Revit

Revit has been widely used in our engineering departments, all of the engineering student labs have got the academic license for student and faculty usage. As a student in Civil Engineering, we commonly pair it with AutoCAD and other 3D design software for preliminary structural design and showing the bird eye view of structures. For some issues related to structural analysis, we also use the exported files from Revit for initial structural modeling.
  • Unlike other modeling software such as SketchUp, it provides means to fast rendering and connecting to structural analysis tools, which are very beneficial for structural engineers as these tools may not have a such user-friendly interface for structural modeling.
  • It is more effective in developing designs for reinforced concrete structures than other 3D modeling software that are suitable for architect design and interior design.
  • Add-in options for modeling reinforced concrete structures are many but also have differences, one needs to know their definitions before starting using them in their models.
  • Easy to start using this program, but more advanced training is also needed for further applications.
  • When presenting projects to clients, Revit always does a good job on showing the design of what we have offered and what the clients would eventually see for their projects.
  • Since a growing number of industry companies are using it, it is helpful for our students to get familiar with it before going out into the workforce.
Revit has more architectural design functions, which work for rendering the structures into a polished style. SketchUp is unlikely to be used for a large structure modeling, more towards the interior design or small model demonstration. SOLIDWORKS is a more generalized software that offers functions not only for structural design but also mechanical, electrical engineering, etc.
Revit has a large library of built-in elements that can be integrated into the post-processing of your structures, and also has a large collection of elements and material properties that are designed for structural design particularly.

Do you think Revit delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Revit's feature set?

Yes

Did Revit live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Revit go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Revit again?

Yes

I would always recommend Revit for structural 3D modeling, particularly for rendering and connecting to the structural design. Since we have a student version of this software on campus, it is free of charge for students to use it. I think Revit is very helpful in the initial stage of structural design, which does not need a detailed and sophisticated reinforced layout, because it does not have a function to check design requirements like other structural design software do.

Revit Feature Ratings

Plan distribution & viewing
9
Plan markups & sharing
10
Document sharing
10
Issue tracking & punchlists
9
RFI tools
9
Collaboration & approvals
9
As-built drawings
10
Mobile app
9
Submittal design and management
9
Takeoff tools
9
Job costing
9
Cost databases
9
Cost calculator
9
Bid creation
9