Revit Family Import

Loren Cook Fan Company provides Revit Families of all of their fans use with Revit MEP 2009. I have a couple of questions regarding this.

1. How can I open these files Microstation or a Bentley Building Product?

2. If I can't open these files now, will I be able to in the future? Is this in Bentley's Plans?

3. My final question is for discussion. What is the best course of action for the community/Bentley to take? I know I keep harping on this issue, but the availability of Revit families from manufacturer's continues to increase and the availability of PAZ/BXC/CEL/DGN files continues to stay the same (from what I am seeing). I believe manufacturer data is incredibly important in the future of BIM/VDC. Are we as Bentley users responsible to continue to push our manufacturers into generating Bentley files? Is Bentley responsible to make conversions between Bentley and Revit "Just Work"? Is there a combination or middle ground?

There will come a time when using BIM tools as an "easier" way to extract 2D drawings will no longer be acceptable. There will be an expectation from Owners/Architects/Engineers/Facility Managers/General Contractors/Subcontractors to see the Rooftop Unit from the Manufacturer in their building. I hope we aren't headed towards a dead end...

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  • It's problems like these and the software issues I am running into that have caused me to have to learn Revit as well. I don't see myself using Bentley Mechanical much longer unless they start putting more time into this product. Not having a worthwhile BIM library of parts and products is defeating the purpose of the software. I hope Bentley is more concerned about this than I am interpreting.

    I would like to know what Bentley's plan is with Manufacturer libraries, because if something doesn't change this year- my drafting software will be. Although, it's somewhat telling seeing that Bentley hasn't had any input on this thread as of yet.
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  • It's problems like these and the software issues I am running into that have caused me to have to learn Revit as well. I don't see myself using Bentley Mechanical much longer unless they start putting more time into this product. Not having a worthwhile BIM library of parts and products is defeating the purpose of the software. I hope Bentley is more concerned about this than I am interpreting.

    I would like to know what Bentley's plan is with Manufacturer libraries, because if something doesn't change this year- my drafting software will be. Although, it's somewhat telling seeing that Bentley hasn't had any input on this thread as of yet.
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