Using RayCAD with Bluebeam: fewer tag comments on the PDF set

Bluebeam Revu is PDF software that construction teams use to review and mark up drawing sets. It is not a tagging tool, and RayCAD does not review PDFs. RayCAD is a Revit plugin that tags MEPF drawings to your firm's standard, before the sheets become PDFs.

The trades it covers today are HVAC and piping. That means ducts, flex ducts, fittings, air terminals, mechanical equipment, fabrication ductwork, pipes, pipe fittings, and pipe accessories. Electrical and fire protection are coming.

Where Bluebeam meets tagging

A reviewer opens the PDF set in Bluebeam and clouds what is wrong. On MEPF sheets, a large share of those comments are about tags: a duct with no size, an elevation that doesn't match, a tag sitting on top of another, a format that isn't the firm's. Each comment goes back to the drafter, who fixes it in Revit and prints again. Then the next review finds more.

The workflow

1. Tag in Revit with RayCAD. It tags to your firm's standard, with your tag families, and avoids overlaps. See firm standards.
2. Check Review Tags for anything RayCAD could not place, before you print. See fewer RFIs.
3. Print the set to PDF and review it in Bluebeam as usual.
4. Fix the markups in Revit. For tag comments, select the elements and run Retag.
5. Print again for the next review.

What RayCAD does and doesn't do with Bluebeam

• RayCAD has no Bluebeam link and does not read markups or PDFs.
• RayCAD works only in Revit, on the model and its views.
• Its tags are normal Revit tags, so they print to PDF exactly like tags placed by hand.

For a checklist reviewers can use on tags, see the MEPF sheet QA checklist.

Try it

One install covers Revit 2021 to 2027, and RayCAD runs on your own machine. The 15-day trial is free and needs no card. After it, one $200 monthly plan licenses everyone in the company. Start a free trial.