3D Warehouse Opens for Revit

Have you been looking for a rhino for your Revit model of a zoo?

3D Warehouse is a library for open-sourced models. Unlike most libraries which feature manufacturer products, it can showcase just about anything - even rhinos.

It can be a rather difficult BIM model to find, but that’s one of the fun things about Trimble’s SketchUp 3D Warehouse. It’s a model repository with all manner of unexpected things.

But how do you get that 3D Warehouse rhino into your Revit zoo? They aren’t exactly compatible. Or are they?

When Autodesk Met Trimble

3D Warehouse for Revit is a new plug-in for Revit and promises a collaboration between Autodesk’s flagship BIM software and Trimble’s extensive repository.

So how does it work?

^{Brief demonstration of 3D Warehouse for Revit. (Video courtesy of AMC Bridge.)}

The plug-in creates a two-way communication system between live Revit sessions and 3D Warehouse. With it, users can pull models from the Warehouse into a Revit session and even export them back to the Warehouse after editing for later use.

“Of course, SketchUp models cannot be edited in Revit,” said Michael Anonuevo, a practicing architect. “This tool is a quick way to browse SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse for use in a Revit project and upload Revit families to the same site.”

The Advantages of Collaboration

Why make another model when you can just use one that already exists?

So far, the combination of Autodesk and 3D Warehouse has been a popular one. 3D Warehouse for Revit is the second example of a collaboration between Trimble and Autodesk. Back in March 2015, 3D Warehouse Import was released for AutoCAD.

What’s so different about 3D Warehouse?

3D Warehouse for Revit lets users create models for use in 2D and 3D Revit projects. (Image courtesy of AMC Bridge.)

The website claims that it is one of the biggest model libraries out there—and there is a logical explanation for this. Where most BIM libraries ask manufacturers to pay to submit models, this one is entirely free to use.

Anyone can create a 2D or 3D model and upload it for everyone else to use—for free. Many of these contributors are large manufacturers, but just as many are independent designers.

This approach makes it easy to find those models that a manufacturer generally doesn’t make, like a rhino for a zoo.

Curious? Check out the 3D Warehouse for Revit page on the AMC Bridge website.