Personally, I find this to be an invaluable tool. This new option will show any open connection of Duct/Pipe/Cable Tray/Conduit/or Electrical circuits. What you should also notice in the image is the new Disconnect warning that has been introduced in Revit MEP 2012.

Here is a sample of the results of the Place Holder Duct layout that I created. Once I fixed my user error, it worked like a charm. I had not set my elevation to meet up properly with my main duct. I took a look there… and my elevation was off. Then it dawned on me! I had not looked at the options bar! So I looked a little further into the issue. No Problem! Tons of room for elbows and duct transitions. I had the diffusers at 8' and the VAV at 9'6'… which I thought. I tried to create a placeholder duct system using (4) ceiling hosted supply diffusers and a fan powered VAV. The first time I tried this new feature, I have to be honest, It didn’t present the results I was expecting. This is a fantastic tool that was developed to reduce the time spent creating/coordinating layouts during the schematic design phase of a project. It functions as a single line duct or pipe system that can later be converted to actual geometry. This tool was designed to simplify the early design process. The first new feature that I would like to introduce is Placeholder Pipes/Ducts.

Ideate has spent time reviewing these new features and in this post, I will be covering a few of the best new features that I have found to be quite useful. My name is Matthew Nelson, MEP Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. He is a co-founder and president of the NYC Revit Users Group and is an adjunct lecturing professor at the NYU School for Continuing and Professional Studies as well as the Polytechnic Institute of NYU.The new iteration of Autodesk Revit MEP 2012 comes packed with new features that will streamline production of Mechancial and Electrical systems. James has lectured at many industry events, including Autodesk University, VisMasters Conference, CMAA BIM Conference, McGraw_Hill Construction, and the AIANYS Convention. In this capacity, he pioneered the implementation of BIM on such projects as One World Trade Center, a.k.a. In 1999, he landed at SOM and transformed his technology skills into a 10-year span as a digital design manager. After graduating from the New York Institute of Technology in 1995, he worked in residential and small commercial architecture firms performing services ranging from estimating to computer modeling to construction administration.

James Vandezande is a registered architect and a principal at HOK in New York City, where he is a member of the firm-wide BIM leadership and is managing their buildingSMART initiatives.

Revit 2011