[Radiance-general] Revit to Radiance proof of concept

[Andy McNeil]

Wow! Thanks Schorsch! I've uploaded your email and the python script to
radiance-online to make it easier to access in the future:
http://www.radiance-online.org/download-install/third-party-utilities/revitradout


On Thu, Feb 25, 2016 at 8:02 AM, Guglielmetti, Robert <
Robert.Guglielmetti at nrel.gov> wrote:

> Also just great to hear from you again, Schorsch!
>
> On 2/24/16, 5:58 PM, "Greg Ward" <gregoryjward at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Wow, Schorsch -- that's quite the unexpected gift!  We were just talking
> >about a Revit exporter at the last Radiance workshop.  Everyone agreed it
> >was a good idea, but no one really knew where to start.  Thanks for
> >giving us the leg up!
> >
> >Cheers,
> >-Greg
> >
> >> From: Georg Mischler <schorsch at schorsch.com>
> >> Subject: [Radiance-general] Revit to Radiance proof of concept
> >> Date: February 24, 2016 2:53:15 PM PST
> >>
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> I have recently had access to a Revit installation and decided to
> >>experiment
> >> a bit with its API. The resulting Python file is attached for anyone to
> >>try.
> >> I consider this a proof of concept implementation at the moment. There
> >>are many
> >> rough edges, and lots of features missing that would be expected in a
> >>full blown
> >> translator. It has been tested on the sample files supplied with Revit,
> >>but not
> >> on any other files.
> >>
> >> I may or may not have access to Revit in the coming months, so this is
> >>what
> >> you get for now...
> >>
> >>
> >> Technical considerations
> >>
> >> Revit doesn't have the same geometry primitives as Radiance, but
> >> uses B-Rep geometry in winged edge representation.
> >> Surface elements don't close in on themselfes. This eliminates
> >> ambiguous positioning issues for the software. For an exporter,
> >> it means that eg. a cylinder is not one surface, but typically
> >> composed of two half-cylinders. A circle consists of two half
> >> arcs, etc.
> >> Recognizing simple volume types requires analyzing and reassembling
> >> several surface elements. This only seems to make sense for
> >> circles/rings and cylinders (cones?) which are sufficiently easy.
> >>
> >>
> >> Working features:
> >>
> >> * Exports all geometry visible in the active 3D view (minus RPCs)
> >> * Seperate function for exporting topography meshes.
> >> * cylinders and circles/rings as Radiance primitives.
> >> * Planar faces as polygons (including holes)
> >> * All other surfaces tesselated into triangles (rectangles for
> >>  partial cylinders.
> >> * Names based on level and leaf node family name (type name for
> >>  non-family types) and material
> >> * Metric or imperial export (configured in code)
> >>
> >>
> >> To do
> >>
> >> * Turn into an external add-in
> >> * Export RPCs in some way
> >> * Export regions (parts of a surface using different color/material)
> >> * Alternative primitive naming options (substitution lists?)
> >> * Possibly split up the output into several files (eg. by level?)
> >> * Detect cones (are those always coaxial in Revit?)
> >> * Export unmodified (other than positioning/scaling) Family instances
> >>  as seperate objects to be included via replmarks.
> >> * Export (sufficiently large) meshes as Radiance meshes
> >> * Export normals with curved surfaces for smoothing
> >> * Export material properties in addition to the names
> >> * Export light sources
> >> * Export views
> >> * Maybe export elements via selection instead of a complete view
> >> * Dialog box to configure output interactively
> >> * others?
> >>
> >>
> >> Issues to research
> >>
> >> * It's not always easily possible to figure out on which level a certain
> >>  element resides (assuming they are associated with a level at all).
> >> * Small objects with fine detail may result in many zero-area polygons.
> >> * Installing an export function as a macro is clumsy. There may be a
> >>way to create
> >>  an external installable via the Revit Python Shell.
> >>
> >>
> >> Installation
> >>
> >> Due to my lazyness, I created the exporter as an "Application Macro".
> >> Not sure if it can be installed as an external add-on without changes
> >>to the code.
> >> To install as a macro, select the "Manage" tab, click on "Macros".
> >> Select the "Application" tab in the opening dialog, and press "Create
> >>Module".
> >> Give your new application a name, chose "Python" as a language and
> >>press "Ok".
> >> The SharpDevelop IDE should open with a new project containing
> >>boilerplate
> >> code. Replace that with the contents of my file and press F8 to compile.
> >>
> >> Now open the "Macros" dialog again, and your Module will have sprouted
> >>two macros
> >> named "ExportToRadiance" and "ExportTopoToRadiance". Select one of
> >>those and
> >> press "Run" (only works if the current view is a 3D-view).
> >>
> >>
> >> Configuration
> >>
> >> Currently all relevant configuration happens in the code, near the top
> >>of
> >> the file. Configuration options are:
> >>
> >> * Metric or Imperial
> >> * Output file name (default: "revout.rad" on your desktop)
> >> * Output file name for topography (default: "revout_topo.rad" on your
> >>desktop)
> >>
> >>
> >> The attached jpg is from one of the Revit samples. The scene file is
> >>around 50MB.
> >> Ironically, just in this example, the Brown chair at left shows some
> >>missing
> >> faces at the front of the armrest... Not sure if this is my fault or
> >>Revit's.
> >>
> >> Anyone who wants to try improving and extending RRadout, just go ahead
> >>and share your
> >> results. Depending on the feedback, I may create a Github project.
> >>
> >>
> >> Have fun!
> >>
> >> -schorsch
> >
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>
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