BIM6x, a US-based ARCHICAD Solutions and Services provider, based in Idaho, has announced a new software “add-on” application for GRAPHISOFT’s ARCHICAD BIM for the AEC industry.
The new software add-on is released globally for version 21 and is free of cost.
RFA & RVT Geometry Exchange Add-On
The RFA & RVT Geometry Exchange add-on software enables ARCHICAD users to import Autodesk Revit® Families (.rfa) into their ARCHICAD project as objects, including doors and windows. The plugin application also enables the geometry exchange between Revit and ARCHICAD.
01 – BIM6x’s new RFA & RVT Geometry Exchange Add-on for ARCHICAD 21. (Image: BIM6x / Architosh. All rights reserved)
“We are excited to see the worldwide interest during the initial launch of the add-on,” said Chris Clark, BIM6x ARCHICAD Solutions Director. “ARCHICAD users can easily utilize it to hotlink an RVT (Revit) file into their project as well as convert their 3D geometry into a Revit (.rvt) file for model comparison with Revit users.”
Not Meant to Diminish IFC Interoperability Standard
“Although not a replacement for IFC workflows, the RFA & RVT Geometry Exchange offers another choice for interoperability for ARCHICAD users, not to mention access to thousands of RFA objects currently available online,” explained Link Ellis, BIM6x ARCHICAD Technical Director. “It further expands the many file format options ARCHICAD users can utilize in their workflows.”
The new Add-on supports the following workflows:
- Importing 3D geometry from .rfa object files and creating GDL objects
- Hotlinking 3D model geometry from .rfv project files
- Exporting the 3D model geometry of ARCHICAD into the .rvt file format
The RFA & RVT Geometry Exchange add-on is now available free-of-charge and is both Mac and Windows compatible. Obtain it from http://www.bim6x.com/solutions
Architosh Analysis and Commentary
In the BIM industry, the open consensus is that the IFC interoperability standard would be ideally utilized for model-to-model data exchange, but a substantial amount of US-manufacturer product data exist in Revit families where Revit is particularly well deployed in the United States. Here are a few observations.
- GRAPHISOFT is a member of the Open Design Alliance where the Teigha BIM SDK and libraries are available to member companies. The Teigha BIM SDK enables the data exchange between both Revit Families (.rfa) and Revit files (.rvt). It is not clear from BIM6x that the company utilized this SDK, but if one had to guess, they clearly did.
- Another interesting note is that back in Kyoto, Japan, this year for the 2017 KCC (Key Client Conference) Viktor Varkonyi, CEO of GRAPHISOFT told a small press corp at a lunch event that the Hungarian company had no interest in supporting the Teigha BIM SDK directly at the present time, unlike its sister company, Vectorworks, Inc.. While this may have surprised the group of journalists in attendance, the rationale the company provided us was simple: GRAPHISOFT is steadfastly interested in supporting Open BIM standards, standards by which the whole of the Nemetschek Group is committed to increasing support by its member companies. GRAPHISOFT already provides a solution for AC to Revit data exchange via the ARCHICAD Connection Add-in for Autodesk Revit, a plugin pack for Revit that improves IFC-based and bi-directional data exchange between the two BIM rivals.
- BIM6x’s interest in providing this solution should be seen as supplementing solutions for ARCHICAD users, as expanding options, particularly in the areas of allowing users to utilize Revit Family objects out on the Internet.
About BIM6x
BIM6x is a leading provider of ARCHICAD Solutions & Services to architects, contractors, engineers, interior designers, and students. BIM6x directors bring an average of 20 years of experience in ARCHICAD sales, services, and support to companies throughout the Western United States and beyond. They actively provide services for clients and encourage them to push ARCHICAD to the limit.
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