Lake-Mist: development preview Runtime: 6:00. American female synthetic narration: Ava. Read the paragraphs below for a human voice-over. Product names are spaced where helpful for pronunciation. 00:00 — LAKE-MIST: Precision tools for Blender Welcome to Lake Mist. Here's a quick tour of six products being developed for more precise modelling, technical drawings, pipework, and exchange with Revit. We'll look at what each one does, and the feature that, for me, makes it worth watching. 00:13 — DEVELOPMENT PREVIEW: Under construction Before we begin, these products are still under construction, but should be released soon. Features, interfaces, and package contents may change. This preview combines development images, earlier workflow examples, and labelled illustrations, so it shows the direction of the range rather than a final release interface. 00:31 — 01 / QAD: Technical drawings inside Blender First up is Q A D, the technical drawing manager that replaces Datum. It takes model views and turns them into drawings you can annotate, arrange on sheets, and publish. Plans, sections, and viewport views are all part of the same drawing workflow. 00:46 — 01 / QAD: A model view becomes a drawing sheet Here, the Plymouth Argyle pumpset becomes a set of coordinated drawing views. You can add dimensions, symbols, gridlines, and tags, then place views at their intended printed scale. Plans and sections explain the installation, while view titles and identifiers bring the information together on the drawing sheet. 01:04 — 01 / QAD: Standout: a connected drawing workflow The standout for me is keeping drawing production close to the model. Q A D tracks out-of-date view images, helping you identify what needs regeneration before publishing. Output options include P D F, S V G, and D X F, with D W G available through the O D A converter. 01:21 — 02 / XFORM: Precision for mesh modelling X Form brings dimension-driven mesh modelling and CAD-style positioning into Blender. Here, changing a dimension moves the assigned vertices of a mounting bracket. The geometry responds to the number. That is useful when a part has to fit a known space, while the rest of its mesh stays under your control. 01:38 — 02 / XFORM: Locate the point you actually need The modelling aids support work planes, object snaps, and precise locations. Here, a development capture shows tangent snapping. Alongside connectors and constraints, these tools help you position geometry deliberately, using meaningful references instead of relying entirely on visual judgement in the viewport. 01:56 — 02 / XFORM: Standout: fewer guessed positions My pick is the precision of everyday placement. Finding a midpoint or snapping to a reference sounds small, but those actions happen constantly while modelling. Making them repeatable can remove a lot of manual adjustment. X Form is the mesh-focused member of the range. 02:11 — 03 / ZFORM: Exact solid modelling Z Form takes a different approach: exact solid modelling. You can begin with a primitive or a constrained sketch from Profiles, then create solid geometry through operations such as extruding, revolving, lofting, and sweeping. The underlying geometry engine keeps an exact boundary representation of the body. 02:29 — 03 / ZFORM: Standout: keep the solid geometry Its strongest selling point, in my view, is solid geometry that can move into a CAD workflow through STEP exchange. You can edit features and modify faces while working in Blender. Choose Z Form when exact solids matter; choose X Form when the work centres on meshes. 02:45 — COMPANION TOOLS: Parameters, sketches and assemblies The companion tools carry design intent into each revision. Para controls parameters, Profiles provides constrained sketches, and Assy organises assemblies. This library control cabinet is a more detailed example: change its width and rebuild the body from its parameters. The value is adapting a reusable design instead of starting again. 03:04 — 04 / REFORM: A focused editor for Revit users ReForm gives Revit users a focused environment for editing imported geometry. Revit cannot natively reshape the geometry inside an imported STEP file. ReForm provides that missing editing step: bring in the geometry, select the face or feature that needs changing, and make the adjustment before returning it to the project. 03:23 — 04 / REFORM: Make the edit, return to Revit The ReForm Link workflow starts in Revit. Export the selected element, modify its geometry in ReForm, then import the result back into the same place in the Revit model. The package retains the source identity and coordinate frame, so the edited component can return in its original project context. 03:40 — 04 / REFORM: Standout: a practical geometry round trip For me, the selling point is access to geometry changes that Revit cannot perform natively on imported STEP content. Adjust the imported component to suit the design, then bring it back into the coordinated model. Returned replacements are DirectShapes: the edited geometry comes back, rather than the original native family history. 03:59 — 05 / PIPER: Connected pipework Piper is for building connected pipework in the context of your Blender model. Choose a routing definition and nominal size, then draw runs with fittings such as elbows, tees, and transitions. Catalogue outside diameters and the selected pipe specification help define what the run actually represents. 04:16 — 05 / PIPER: Reusable parts with connections The routing tools help connect equipment while respecting the selected pipe definition. This development sequence explores alternative routes between connection points. Catalogue parts, nominal sizes, and equipment connectors give the route its engineering context, so the workflow extends beyond drawing a line and placing a generic pipe along it. 04:35 — 05 / PIPER: Standout: pipework with useful information My standout is coordinating several services together. The stacked-pipe example shows how routes and their section arrangement work as one system. Sizes, spacing and connections all matter. Piper aims to keep that information useful as the design develops, with catalogue coverage and routing features still being expanded. 04:53 — 06 / XCHANGE: Connect Blender to BIM workflows Finally, X Change handles model handover. This Civic Square Plymouth plantroom came from Revit, and gives a practical example of project context inside Blender. X Change supports IFC exchange and companion Revit packages, with categorised geometry and a linked workflow for bringing the project context across. 05:12 — 06 / XCHANGE: Standout: preserve pipework meaning The feature I find most compelling is the Piper connection. Pipes can become native Revit pipes, and fittings can become families with native pipe connectors. That can make the handover much more useful than a purely visual model. Type mappings, system mappings, and the import report still need review. 05:28 — LAKE-MIST: A tool for each part of the job Together, the range covers several different jobs: X Form for precision mesh work, Z Form for exact solids, Q A D for drawings, Piper for pipework, ReForm for focused Revit geometry edits, and X Change for BIM handover. Each has its own purpose within the wider workflow. 05:45 — COMING SOON: Still being built. Coming soon. These products are still under construction, and should be released soon. Visit lake-mist dot com to explore the range and the available guides, and check back for release information. If one part of this preview matches how you work, that is the product to keep an eye on.