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REVIT Audio Visual / Low Voltage Systems

admin said:
create a good thread - describe what can be done in MagiCAD (Audio Visual / Low Voltage Systems)
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What can you actually do with MagiCAD for Audio Visual / Low Voltage?

We've been using MagiCAD (Revit + AutoCAD) more and more for AV, data, security and other ELV systems, and I thought it might be useful to put together a practical overview of what it can handle — and hear how others are using it.

MagiCAD isn't just HVAC and power. The Electrical / Communication side covers a lot of low-voltage work if you set the project up properly.

Typical systems we model in MagiCAD

  • Data / structured cabling (outlets, racks, patch panels, containment)
  • CCTV and access control
  • PA / voice alarm / background music
  • Fire alarm and detection (devices, loops, interfaces)
  • Nurse call, intercom, door entry
  • AV (speakers, displays, control panels, projectors)
  • Lighting control / BMS interfaces (where they sit on ELV)

What MagiCAD actually helps with

  • Device placement — manufacturer libraries and custom families for cameras, speakers, detectors, data outlets, card readers, etc. Hosted on walls/ceilings with correct 3D geometry.
  • Containment — cable trays, baskets, conduits, trunking dedicated to ELV (or shared with power). Filling rates, segregation, and bend radii can be checked.
  • Cable routing — routes from device → containment → rack/panel. Lengths come out automatically for schedules and estimates.
  • Circuits / connections — you can circuit cameras to NVRs, speakers to amps, detectors to panels, data outlets to patch panels. Not as “smart” as a dedicated AV tool, but good enough for BIM coordination and BOMs.
  • Schedules & quantities — device lists, cable lengths by type, containment metres, accessory counts. Exportable for tender / procurement.
  • Schematics — riser and block diagrams can be generated or kept in sync better than pure 2D CAD.
  • Clash detection & coordination — ELV trays vs HVAC, structure, ceiling services. This is where MagiCAD + Navis/Revit coordination really pays off.
  • IFC / BIM deliverables — usable models for the rest of the design team and for the contractor.

What it’s not (so nobody has the wrong expectation)

MagiCAD will not replace a specialist AV design package (no DSP/signal-flow, no speaker coverage prediction, no CCTV FOV analysis). You still do acoustic/coverage and detailed AV engineering elsewhere, then bring the agreed devices and containment into the BIM model.

Same for detailed fire-alarm cause-and-effect or access-control logic — MagiCAD is the spatial / cable / quantity layer, not the cause-and-effect engine.

Workflow that works for us

  • Agree device types and containment strategy early with the AV / security / fire specialist.
  • Build or load a clean ELV product dataset (don’t mix everything into the power electrical dataset).
  • Model trays/conduits first, then drop devices, then connect.
  • Use MagiCAD’s cable and circuit tools for lengths and panel/rack connections.
  • Push schedules out; keep a simple schematic in parallel if the client wants it.

Curious how others split this. Do you model full cable routes for CCTV/data, or only containment + devices? Anyone using MagiCAD Communication / Electrical specifically for voice alarm or nurse call and actually generating loop/cable schedules from the model?

Share your setup, libraries you rely on, and where MagiCAD still falls short for ELV — that’s the useful bit for people starting out on this.
 
admin said:
find related AV / VC databases for MagiCAD and for REVIT , provide direct links for download
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AV / VC content for MagiCAD and Revit

Short version: there is no single “AV/VC MagiCAD pack” you just drop in. MagiCAD datasets come through MagiCAD Cloud / Connect (licensed). Revit AV/VC content is mostly manufacturer .rfa libraries and BIM portals. Below are the official places people actually use — not random zip dumps.

1. MagiCAD — official route (use this first)

MagiCAD product DBs are not meant to be sideloaded from random links. Use:


In Cloud, filter Electrical / Communication and look for cameras, speakers, detectors, outlets, racks, panels. Coverage is strong for fire, security, containment and some PA — weak for DSP, codecs and VC bars. Those you usually build as custom MagiCAD products from Revit families.

Manufacturers that commonly have usable MagiCAD / MagiCAD-ready ELV data:


If a manufacturer is in Cloud, download from Connect inside Revit/AutoCAD. That keeps symbols, 3D, connection points and MagiCAD product data correct. Avoid “full MagiCAD database” files from forums / Telegram / Google Drive.

2. Revit — AV / VC family libraries (direct portals)

These are the libraries we actually pull from for displays, VC bars, cameras, mics, racks and mounts.

Aggregators (best starting point)

Video conferencing / UC

Displays / projection

Audio / DSP / conferencing mics

Control / AV infrastructure

CCTV / access (usually sits in the same ELV model)

Racks, mounts, containment — do not skip these

Most of those pages have a BIM / CAD / Revit link in Support or Tools. Download the official .rfa / .rvt / .zip from there. That is the “direct download”.

3. How we actually use this in a MagiCAD job

  • Containment, cable routes, circuits, lengths, schedules → MagiCAD Electrical + Cloud products
  • VC bars, displays, codecs, ceiling mics, cameras, racks → manufacturer Revit families
  • Map those families into MagiCAD as custom products so they circuit, schedule and clash like native devices
  • Keep a small project dataset: VC, display, camera, speaker, data, access, fire. Do not dump the whole electrical DB into an AV model

What not to do

  • Do not download “complete MagiCAD databases” from file hosts. Those are usually cracked / outdated and will wreck project datasets
  • Generic RevitCity 3D boxes are fine for a massing study, not for a coordinated ELV model
  • Manufacturer “pretty” marketing families often have wrong connectors, no host, or huge file size — audit before you load 200 of them

If you say region (UK / EU / US / ME) and which stack you spec (e.g. Shure + Biamp + Samsung + Logitech, or Bosch VA + Axis), I can narrow this to a short “load these libraries, skip the rest” list.
 
admin said:
provide BIM models website vaults direct links
Click to expand...

There is no legal “one zip, all AV/VC families” vault for MagiCAD or Revit. Official content is per-product (or per-brand) from the portals below. MagiCAD product data only stays clean if it comes from MagiCloud / Connect — not from Drive / Mega / Telegram dumps.

MagiCAD product vaults

  • MagiCloud — this is the real MagiCAD vault. Search Electrical / Communication, pull cameras, speakers, detectors, outlets, racks, trays, then insert with MagiCAD Connect.
  • MagiCAD — Connect plugin + Electrical module (comms / ELV lives here).
  • MEPcontent — Trimble / MagiCAD-adjacent MEP + ELV content, useful for containment and devices.

In MagiCloud, do not hunt for a package called “AV” or “VC”. Filter brand + Electrical/Communication and grab what actually exists (Bosch, Axis, Schneider, Legrand, ABB, Siemens, Honeywell, etc.). VC bars, codecs and most displays are still Revit families you map in as custom MagiCAD products.

Revit BIM vaults (aggregators)

These are the sites people actually download from. Free account, then per-product .rfa / .rvt / .zip.


Brand pages on BIMobject are usually [ic]bimobject.com[/ic] → Brands → manufacturer. That is the closest thing to a “direct vault” that is still legitimate.

AV / VC / ELV manufacturer BIM pages

Download from Support / BIM / CAD / Resources on these, or from their BIMobject brand page.

Video conferencing / UC

Displays / LED / projection

Audio / DSP / mics

Control / signal

CCTV / access / PA-VA / fire (same ELV model)

Racks / mounts / containment

Practical load order

  • Containment + ELV devices that exist in MagiCloud → MagiCAD Connect
  • VC bars, displays, ceiling mics, codecs, specialty cameras → manufacturer Revit family from the sites above
  • Map those families into MagiCAD as custom products so they circuit, schedule and clash
  • Skip generic “AV kit” collections and anything that is a full MagiCAD .ere / dataset zip from a file host

If you name region + brands (e.g. UK, Shure + Q-SYS + Samsung + Logitech + Middle Atlantic), I can cut this to a short “download these brand pages, ignore the rest” list. I will not post leaked MagiCAD database packs or random vault zips — those wreck datasets and they are not legitimate content.
 
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