Revit Vs Tekla Structures: Overview, Features, and Integration

Autodesk Revit and Trimble Tekla Structures are widely accepted and used digital construction tools. Both the tools are highly associated with reliability and ease that they bring to structural designers, engineers, fabricators, and other project professionals in building detailed 3D BIM models in the modern construction scenario.

Revit and Tekla Structures are known for the edge they provide to users with their progressive project management and collaboration features. Bringing together high-performance features with a user-friendly interface and process-oriented modeling framework, these platforms offer immersive structural engineering and design capability to their users.

Though both the software solutions have a powerful presence and popularity among structural engineering professionals, they have their own place in the structural design process and a distinct set of production features and practices associated with them.

However, it always remains a subject of debate in terms of adoption and application. Structural BIM professionals always have doubts about which tool will offer them more moving efficiency and collaborative leverage in their project workflows.

Also, it may be about the resource compliances, integration capabilities, and automation options, that drive this decision of going with a particular solution. To understand this in detail let's dig deep and explore what lies in between the lines and compare both platforms based on varied performance and value parameters that trigger action, impact, and success at length.

Revit Overview

Revit is a widely known and well-received BIM software in the AECO industry. It is a go-to tool for different professionals from varied functional segments to ideate, design, collaborate, and manage building structure models. The tool allows multi-disciplinary modeling and supports integrated approaches in design and documentation. Highly acknowledged for its powerful and resourceful system environment, Revit is considered highly reliable for executing high-integrity and detailed structural designs.

Key Features of Revit

1. Multi-disciplinary Design Integration

Revit is known for facilitating seamless collaboration among different project members across trades and disciplines and fostering design integration within a single project model. The tool offers a shared design framework and common data environment for different professionals and stakeholders to work on the project simultaneously, allowing high consistency and accuracy in the process workflows.

2. Parametric Components

Revit uses parametric components to help design building elements that can be easily reused later for redesigning structures. With Revit, families can be easily edited and repurposed to be used as per the project requirement. This makes the platform highly flexible and productive for users to build designs with great control and ease.

3. Detailed Design and Documentation

The tool offers a detailed design and documentation framework which allows users to generate and process precise designs and documents for sections, columns, elevations, floor plans and other structural details of the project. Any updates made anywhere automatically reflect across documents, which saves a lot of time and rework while also evading chances of manual errors.

4. Interoperability and Integration

It is highly easy to integrate Revit with other Autodesk software like Navisworks, BIM 360, and AutoCAD, which are practically the most commonly used tools in the domain. This is where it gets highly interoperable and easy to integrate as a structural engineering and design tool. Also, this gets even more efficient and resourceful with the platform supporting open standards for data exchange and collaboration.

Tekla Structures Overview

Trimble Tekla Structures is known for its powerful and high-capacity 3D modeling features. It allows users to create extensively detailed and information-rich models for large-scale projects. Tekla Structures is known for processing complex geometries and quantity takeoffs with high precision and consistency. The tool is widely used for managing projects that require dealing with different structural components like concrete, steel, and timber. Tekla Structures is highly popular with engineers, fabricators, and detailers who are looking to build, consolidate, implement, and manage highly detailed and complex structural engineering projects.

Key Features of Tekla Structures

1. Multi-Material Modeling

Tekla Structures offers a great range of support in building multi-material models. Using the tool, structural modeling professionals are able to easily create designs with various materials like steel, concrete, timber, and composites, placed together. This facilitates site operations and material handling and expands the adaptability range of building designs, making way for creating truly constructible Tekla models even for projects that involve complex and detail-oriented designs.

2. Collaboration and Project Management

Tekla Structures allows users to closely collaborate across functions and execute different tasks simultaneously. With its user-friendly production management systems interface and advanced resource collaboration features, Tekla software allows managing projects without making hefty process arrangements or keeping tedious work records. This makes it highly easy for distributed teams to track progress, maintain data, and manage revisions at scale.

3. Analysis and Design Integration

It's quick and easy to integrate your Tekla model with structural analysis software and make design updates based on moving insights and inferences. With the software supporting high-level integration needs closely drawing compliance with key industry standards and codes, it promotes high-accuracy designs with the least scope of deviation.

4. Fabrication and Construction Support

Tekla Structures is known for providing extensive fabrication and construction support. It has well-deployed systems that support precise structural calculations and provide detailed fabrication information with CNC data. This streamlines construction workflows through seamless clash detection and layout planning allowing teams to cohesively align with precast fabricators and efficiently integrate and execute the project vertically.

Other similar key features include interoperability & integrations and detailed design & documentation, which make it a strong case in point for processing and managing complex large-scale projects with all other main features and traits combined.

Revit and Tekla Integration: Bridging the Gap

In a general scenario, Revit and Tekla Structures are often seen as competitors and have a market divide existing between them. However, going by the recent industry trends, project owners and professionals are increasingly using these together to leverage their potential to deliver projects with increased performance value and greater success rate.

This has made streamlining the process of importing and exporting files across these platforms highly important. The ability to do this flawlessly without functional lags and procedural flaws has become a predominantly important skill. To facilitate this interoperability the Revit Tekla integrator and Tekla Revit plug-in are used, enabling teams to utilize both of these platforms without any productivity or compliance issues.

Steps to integrate Tekla Structures with Revit

Integrating Tekla Structures with Revit requires a precise integration plan and needs to follow a systematic approach placed in the form of well-appointed steps for seamless data exchange and collaboration.

1. Install the Tekla Revit Plug-In or Revit Tekla Integrator

The first thing to do while integrating Tekla Structures with Revit is to install Tekla Revit Plug-In or Revit Tekla Integrator on the system. Here, it is always advisable to download the plugin from the official website to avoid security issues. Also, while doing this ensure compatibility with your version of software. As you do the installation, close the files, run the installer, and restart your systems to ensure the integration is done right.

2. Prepare your Tekla Structures Model for Export

The second step involves reviewing the model for accuracy and checking if all the structural elements are properly defined. Here, it is also important to verify and validate if material properties, profiles, and grades are correctly assigned and custom components and connections are included. It's also important to clear all unnecessary elements and views that are not required in Revit.

3. Export the Tekla Model to a Compatible Format

To export your Tekla model, navigate to “File” > “Export” > “IFC.” Select the appropriate IFC schema version and choose which model elements to export. Configure settings to include necessary property sets and classifications. Finally, specify the destination folder to save the exported IFC file for Revit use.

4. Open Revit and Use the Plug-In To Import the Tekla Model

Launch Revit and either open an existing project or start a new one. Access the Tekla import tool from the “Add-ins” tab. Select the previously exported IFC file and configure import settings such as units, coordinates, and level mapping to ensure accurate model integration within the Revit environment.

5. Map Tekla Elements to Corresponding Revit Families and Types

The plug-in will attempt automatic mapping of Tekla elements to Revit families. Carefully review the suggestions and adjust where needed. For unique or complex elements, consider creating custom Revit families. Ensure all parameters and properties transfer accurately, and save a mapping template for future projects involving similar models.

6. Review and Adjust the Imported Model Structures

After importing, inspect the model's geometry and element placement. Confirm that materials, parameters, and structural connections are properly transferred. Fix any inaccuracies or missing details. Address Revit warnings or errors, and align the structural model with architectural and MEP systems for a coordinated and clash-free design environment.

In Conclusion

Both Revit and Tekla Structures have unique strengths that empower structural professionals across different stages of a project lifecycle. While they cater to varied needs, integrating the two offers unmatched synergy - combining detailed modeling, coordination, and documentation into a unified workflow. Mastering this integration ensures greater accuracy, efficiency, and collaborative success in today’s evolving construction landscape.

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