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Switching to Revit -> convince me not to :)


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#1 Denis Reis

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Posted 07 January 2022 - 11:32 AM

Alright, my company is thinking of switching to Revit.... :unsure:

 

Would like to hear opinions of someone who has worked with both softwares. Apparently the learning curve is quite steep - is that true for someone who has used Softplan for 10 years?

 

A few reason why we would switch:

- can do everything Softplan does, just way better....

- I'm the only draftsman, but once we're ready to hire another draftsman - all they know or learned in school is AutoCad....

 

I get that there is no comparison between AutoCad and Softplan.....but what about Revit and Softplan

 

 

 

Just want to hear some of your great opinions and experiences



#2 Thomas Davis

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Posted 07 January 2022 - 12:08 PM

Denis,
A few thoughts for the day....
 

Careful when you say "way better". What exactly do you mean?

If you mean more precise, in some instances it can be, but what you gain in precision you loose in time (especially for residential construction).
....way better...I totally disagree. Again....provide exact comparisons of Revit vs Softplan to judge "way better". (Revit is definitely not "way faster"!)

 

I agree that schools teach AutoCAD, but AutoCAD is NOT Revit. Many schools teach Revit, so many users say they know Revit, but they know how to use Revit, not how to configure Revit. <-- a big difference there

So far, the reasons why you would switch are not that convincing....lol

 

1.It is software, so learning what button to push is easily picked up, but the setup will be a nightmare, unless you have a seasoned Revit veteran that can get your setup, templates, and families properly put together. Revit is precise to various depths of configurations, and if one item is off, you will have a hard time figuring out why it is responding the way it is.

2. Drawing roofs / soffits will be much more challenging.

3. Every item you put in a plan has to be a separate family and families are not always easily duplicated for a new use. (can be, but depends on how the family was initially built)

4. Options management, if you use it, will likely be more challenging.

5. Stairs and railings will likely be more challenging.

6. Modeling all items in a house will take you much longer. (framing, ceilings, etc)

The company I work for only uses Revit. I wish I could convince them to give Softplan a try, but that Autodesk marketing and the "industry standard tool" idea has them locked for eternity.

The Softplan roof tool alone is worth keeping Softplan as the preferred tool of choice. (I have, on many occasions, used Softplan to quickly model (15 minutes or less from scratch) a complex roof to show a co-workers how it should look.

Not because Revit can't make the roof accurate, but because to get it accurate took separate roof planes, etc. that prove difficult on initial design, unless you are a roof framing expert and know exactly how roof plans should be placed etc.

I would love to hear some valid reasons why your company wants to switch, because the two you provided should not be considered as reasons to switch.

FYI - the company in my signature is my personal company, not the company I work for.


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#3 Keith Almond

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Posted 07 January 2022 - 12:22 PM

Denis, Have YOU used AutoCAD? or Revit?


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#4 Don Gibbons

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 12:19 PM

I have converted many AutoCAD/Revit users over the years. Any student I hire picks it up fast and thinks it's better than Revit.


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#5 Mark Petri

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 01:07 PM

I've worked in collaboration with folks who use Revit. It is messy, and it seems they do not know how to clean up the mess that exports make (maybe they are newer users). It was painful working with their files and trying to sort out the missing information or which lines represented the structure. Lots of wasted time dissecting the mess. I think there are certain things that seem to work nicely, make drawings look good, and the benefit of so many resources geared toward Revit sometimes taunt me. But, there are many other things I think would cause me to throw my computer away. While we all have things we'd like to be better about what we use, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. I really appreciate all the input and help folks here on the forum are. That makes solving problems and learning new ways so much better.


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#6 Keith Almond

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Posted 08 January 2022 - 01:18 PM

I have never used Revit, but did use AutoCAD professionally for 10 years. Softplan versus AutoCAD, I'd take Softplan every time. I personally found Softplan's learning curve FAR FAR shorter than AutoCAD. I haven't used AutoCAD for quite a while (12 years), and think it would take me at least a couple of days to even configure it to work as I want, never mind remember how to actually use it.

 

To answer your question ... Assuming that Revit has a similar workflow to AutoCAD, I think that working with Softplan for 10 years will actually lengthen your learning curve not shorten it.

 

In my opinion, it would be much quicker to teach an AutoCAD user to use Softplan (we're doing it at the moment - quite successfully - and as Don said our student thinks it's better to work with than AutoCAD), than it would be for you to learn AutoCAD.

 

BEFORE you switch, maybe you should take a Revit course and decide for yourself. You're going to have to learn it if you switch anyway.


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Keith

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#7 David Zawadzki

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Posted 09 January 2022 - 03:17 PM

Alright, my company is thinking of switching to Revit.... :unsure:

 

Would like to hear opinions of someone who has worked with both softwares. Apparently the learning curve is quite steep - is that true for someone who has used Softplan for 10 years?

 

A few reason why we would switch:

- can do everything Softplan does, just way better....

- I'm the only draftsman, but once we're ready to hire another draftsman - all they know or learned in school is AutoCad....

 

I get that there is no comparison between AutoCad and Softplan.....but what about Revit and Softplan

 

 

 

Just want to hear some of your great opinions and experiences

You said you are the only CAD user at this company, but someone else wants you to switch because it might be easier to hire another draftsman who might have taken a class or two in AutoCad???  AND they think Revit is better than SoftPlan yet they do don't use SoftPlan?

 

Tell them to hire two draftsmen then, because you will quit before switching to Revit.

 

Have you watched any of the Revit tutorial videos yet?


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#8 Denis Reis

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Posted 10 January 2022 - 10:46 AM

Thanks for your input guys.

 

My question was intentionally written a bit provocative :D

 

It's just a thought we're entertaining....

 

I personally haven't used AutoCad nor Revit and looking at a few tutorials and stuff, it does seem to be complicated for what I would use it for

 

I'm definitely still sold on Softplan and super happy with how it performs!!



#9 Chris Proost

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Posted 10 January 2022 - 11:19 AM

My 14 year old daughter is learning Revit in high school this year. I sat her down for thirty minutes on SoftPlan and she drew an entire ranch house during that time. She told me SoftPlan was way better than Revit! 


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