by Garry Stockton
When inserting geometry into Navisworks, nobody really wants to start manually moving models, especially if the plan is to run clash tests. Who wants to take responsibility for coordinating models that may result in inaccurate clash detection?
Sometimes however the need to move models is unavoidable and there are some useful tools in Navisworks Manage to assist with accurate coordination.
So how can you avoid coordination problems? Let us start with coordinating project models that were originally authored in Revit. The key to this is that all delivery teams involved in a project should be aware of how their individual project models are coordinated within Revit. Hopefully, this very important aspect would have been discussed, agreed and documented at an early stage. For many projects authored in Revit means setting up something called “Shared Coordinates” i.e. a common coordinate system shared by all project models. Once all project models are set up to the agreed shared coordinates, utilising this in Navisworks Manage to ensure accurate coordination is quite straight forward.
Ensuring the accurate coordination of project models is carried through, will depend on the way the models are being brought into Navisworks Manage, and there are two possible ways (assuming shared coordinates have been used):
- Open a Revit model directly into Navisworks.
- Export a native Navisworks file from Revit, to be opened in Navisworks.
Either method will require the option of “Shared Coordinates” to be selected.
The image below shows the Options Editor within Navisworks for the import of a native Revit file. You will need to ensure that Shared is selected in coordinates.
If the Revit project models are set up with shared coordinates, “Shared” needs to be the option selected in either scenario.
With the Coordinates setting established as Shared, project models appended into Navisworks Manage should be aligned and ready for review.
So, how do you avoid coordination problems if the project models do not originate from Revit, or do not share the same coordinate system?
If the project models do not share the same coordinate system, then some intervention may be required to ensure correct coordination. As mentioned previously Navisworks Manage has a range of options that can be used to manipulate the position and orientation of project models to ensure alignment with other project models, and the method used will depend on the project model that needs to be re-positioned:
- Units and Transform
- Override Transform
- Move with the Gizmo
- Transform Selected Items
- Units and Transform
Define a new origin and rotation for the project model so that alignment with existing project models is achieved.
Override Transform
Alter the position of the project model relative to its current position.
Move Gizmo
Use the Move Gizmo, or the extended Transform panel for greater accuracy.
Transform Selected Items
After creating a point or accumulate measurement and selecting the model to be moved, choose Transform Selected Items from the extended Measure panel.
The above methods used will depend on the specific situation in the project, but whether you are using Revit models sharing a common coordinate system or if the inserted models originate from other authoring software (See my blog on Navisworks file formats for compatibility), good communication between delivery teams and use of the correct tools and settings can help you avoid coordination problems in Navisworks Manage.