Recently Otis US has released a Revit BIM plugin for some of their elevators. This is a good idea since architects and planners need some guidance how to add elevators into their building.

Here is some feedback on my tests:

Installation:
You download a plugin installer from the Otis website. The installer itself will then download the complete program. That took 10 minutes and worked fine. I had some issues to run the software, due to the fact that I had European regional settings. The Otis developers helped me to solve this problem.

Selection Values  and Input Parameters:

The next steps are requesting the typical elevator inputs to determine the correct elevator type and size. The floor level list is automatically taken from the Revit building . This saves time since it omits the work to enter floor to floor heights.

After pressing “Generate” it took a few seconds to generate the Revit family and I was able to add it to my building.

Technical results:

Pros:

• Revit family can easily be configurated
• No need to enter floor to floor heights
• Approx. LOD 200

Cons:

• No option to change the Revit Elevator once it is generated
• Not yet available for Revit 2016
• Local US solution, Not available globally

Summary:
Having their elevators available within Autodesk Revit is in general a big plus for elevator companies. The icon on the toolbar emphasizes Otis to the architect. I am sure some architects will love that app. Other will not because they do not want to install, update and maintain Revit plugins of different elevator companies.

For more Information:

Download the OTIS tool:
http://bimcreate.otis.com/

DigiPara Elevatorarchitect for Autodesk Revit:
https://www.digipara.com/products/digipara-elevatorarchitect/

In this small chapter, I would like to give some feedback on the KONE Elevator toolbox.
To me, this toolbox looks pretty complete.

Inputs:
Beside configuring the main elevator dimensions, door types, etc you can also select cabin designs and a lot of other options. For the floor levels, they have nicely implemented a table, where you can also define the services for front and rear. Also this application supports 2 car groups. This is what I tried.

Outputs:
2D: The system delivers 2D DWG and PDF files. The 2D drawings also reflect the 2 car group. The vertical section shows head, pit and travel. Intermediate floors, rail bracket distances, etc are not shown.

3D: The Revit BIM model is simplified and shows only a subset of the values I entered into the web page. The BIM model is a single elevator. For the car group you must add it twice into your Revit buidling model.

Summary:
The Revit family is good for the initial planning stages. Vertical stops can be customized for your concrete need and building.
There is no IFC or similar download option. If you need more or if you are using another 3D CAD program you need to contact KONE for a (more detailed) BIM model.

The KONE Elevator toolbox can be startet from here:
https://toolbox.kone.com/

DigiPara recently released a video “Using certified Schindler 7000 BIM elevators in DigiPara Elevatorarchitect for Autodesk Revit”. It will generated a very simplified BIM model and help the architect to get the cirrect shaft dimensions for high-rise projects.

Recently ThyssenKrupp CENE (Central and Northern Europe) released a website, where architects can customize their elevator model according to their needs.

http://drawing-tool.thyssenkrupp-elevator-cene.com/

The website worked pretty good. I was able to create a new project according to my needs. Afterwards I generated a full installation drawing. That took me 60 seconds. From the download site, I downloaded the elevator BIM file and loaded it into Autodesk Revit.