v1_CR5493-L Autodesk Revit Family Creation for Construction Applications

8/12/2019 v1_CR5493-L Autodesk Revit Family Creation for Construction Applications

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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction

Applications Josh Baysinger – TURIS Building Innovation Systems Kevin Kroll – TURIS Building Innovation Systems

CR5493-L

This class will cover the basics of Revit family creation and how the families apply to construction applications. We willcover the basic capabilities of families and then explore some real-world applications of custom families in theconstruction process. We will create a multipurpose family that can be used in the BIM coordination process. Learnhow to add clearance zones to your families to represent access zones, clearance zones, and other "no-fly" areas.Learn how basic equipment models can help analyze project workflow and material needs. We will create customparameters that will be used in custom schedules that you will create.

Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to:

Get the results through scheduling

Create a custom family

Create shared parameters

Create a transparent “no-fly” zone

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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications

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Creating a custom family – Tower CraneWe are going to begin by editing an equipment family for a specific use. A Tower Crane can be a

crucial piece of equipment on a jobsite that needs to be analyzed for placement. A good analysis

could eliminate the need for a second crane on a job saving hundreds of thousands of dollarsover the duration of a project.

Establish end use

Establishing the end use of any family should always be the first step when beginning the

process. This is VERY important and should not be skipped. If this is not properly thought

through many hours of work could be for nothing. This crane family shall be parametric to be

used for site utilization to analyze the correct crane to be used on a building site.

Creating Parametric Tower Crane Family

Open the Base Tower Crane Family




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Go to Front Elevation view – Dimension from the top of the Reference Level (top of Tower Crane

Foundation Pad) to the Tower Crane Pick Height reference plane and add a parameter and name

it Tower Crane Pick Height. This will be a Length, type parameter.




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Now dimension from your Center (Left/Right) reference plane to the edge of the tower cranes

boom. Add another Length, type parameter and name this one Max Pick Length.

Once parameters have been added, you need to make sure to flex your model as much as

possible, so if there is something wrong, you notice it early on. Change the Tower Crane Pick

Height to 100’ and the Max Pick Length to 140’. Make sure the crane adjusts in the model.




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Add two reference planes between the Center (Left/Right) reference plane and the max pick

length reference plane. Dimension to these two reference planes and add a length parameter to

each of these. Name them Pick Length 1 and Pick Length 2.




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Adding Crane Pick Radius’ - Once your two new pick length parameters have been added, move

to a plan view (Ref. Level) and begin to create an extrusion.

Begin to draw your crane radius using the circle tool in edit mode. Start your circle in the center

of the tower crane pad.




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Once the first circle is drawn, pick the dimension that shows up automatically, so it becomes

solid.

Now select that dimension, and set that to your Max Pick Length Parameter created in step 3.




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Now that your first circle is created, you need to create your inner circle so that the whole crane

is not massed in. Before you draw, go to family types and add a new length parameter.




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Call this parameter Max Pick Ring Thickness and leave it a Type Parameter.

Once the Parameter is added, go into the formula for the Max Pick Ring Thickness and set it to=Max Pick Length - 0' 2".




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Click OK. Now, like in step 7 and 8, draw your circle and set your dimension to the Max PickRing Thickness parameter you just created.

Prior to finishing the extrusion, while in edit mode, we need to set your material. Click newmaterial and name it Max Pick Radius. Whatever color you choose, be sure that thetransparency is set to 75%. This way you will be able to see through your ring in 3d mode in yourproject.




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Click ok in the materials and then click finish edit mode.

Now that your first crane radius is completed, you need to align it to the top of the crane and alsothe foundation of the crane. Pick the align tool.




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When using the align tool, be sure to have your first pick where you want your extrusion to go,and then pick the extrusion. Once it aligns, be sure to lock it to the reference plane. Align yourradius to the Tower Crane Pick reference plane and also the Reference Level.




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Now you can repeat the last few steps to create your other pick radii for your other pick lengths.

Adding Model Text to Radius- Now that your radii created, we will now create a model text so thelengths can be seen in 3D view. First, go to your Ref.Level Plan view. In the home tab, pick setyour work plane.




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This should be set to Tower Crane Pick Height.

Now, in the home tab, pick model text




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Type in Max Pick Length. This text can really say anything. You could add in the actual Lengthor even your pick capacities.

Click OK, and then pick up by your Max Pick Radius. You may then have to rotate that text 180degrees. This is done by the modify tab and rotate.




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After your Model text is placed, you will now need to dimension from the center reference plane tothe center of your model text.

Now that you have a dimension, pick that dimension and set its parameter to Max Pick Length.




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Now your Tower Crane family is complete. You should now go into the family types and make

sure that the family flexes correctly.




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Your Completed Parametric Tower Crane




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Families for coordination – creating a “no-fly” zone We will create two “no-fly” zones one for a light fixture (installation clearance) and one for a

plumbing valve (maintenance access). There are many reasons “no-fly” zones should be

established. They range from installation to building code.

Light Fixture

Light fixtures can often be forgotten as the coordination takes place. Ducts are moved to miss

light fixtures but no room is left for the installation of the light causing issues late in the

construction process when schedule impacts cannot be tolerated to meet the overall schedule.

Accessing the family

The first step after downloading a file is to open it to find out what kind of family it is. Most

standard light fixtures are ceiling based but you will find that much of what you download is face

based. You can find out what kind of family it is by looking at its host.

To determine the host click on the family categories and parameters button under the “Home” tab.




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Modeling a “no- fly” zone

For this family we are going to include a 2” clearance zone above the fixture so that it can be

installed in the grid. We will start by opening the “Family Types” dialog box.

This family has (3) three parametric values (Length, Width and Height).




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We will use these to develop our “no-fly” zone. The next step is to open the views we are going

to use and tile your screen. We are going to open the Front view and Ref. Level views.

Everything we are going to model will take place in one of those two views.

Your screen should look like this.

Notice that because it is face based the light appears to be upside down. This is because it is

being built off of the Reference Level that is the face of the object you will host the light to. The

light will always face out from the face you select. In the case of a ceiling the host face is thebottom of the ceiling therefor the light will face downward when placed on a ceiling.

We will first add a reference plane for our clearance zone top.




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Draw the plane below the top of the light fixture in your Front view. For now do not be concerned

with the distance we will adjust that in the next step.

We will now name the reference plane “clearance”. To name a Reference Plane select the plane

and enter a name in the properties box.




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Now we will add a parametric dimension so that if the clearance zone needs to be adjusted it can

be inside the project by changing the value. To do this, select the “Annotate” tab and the aligned

dimension.

Dimension between the “clearance” reference plane and the plane attached to the top of the light

fixture.

Next we need to add a label to the dimension so that it will allow us to adjust the plane by

changing the label value. Do this by selecting the dimension you just placed. On the bottom of

the ribbon you will see a “label” dropdown menu. Click on the dropdown menu and select “add

parameter”.




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Now we will give this parameter a name. Notice the parameter type has been prefilled because

we created it from a dimension. You can group the parameter anywhere you like for now we will

just keep it grouped under “Dimensions”. This parameter will be a “Type” parameter so that when

we change the value to one it will change the value for all of the fixtures in the project. Click okwhen done.




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Now we will make sure that the parameter will flex the model. Open up the Family Types dialog

box and change the value from 5” to 2”. The reference plane should move and the value on the

model will change to 2”.

Now that this is working we will add the physical “no-fly” zone box. We will create this with an

extrusion. Under the “Home” tab select the extrusion.

Select the rectangle tool




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Draw a rectangle not worrying about the size at this time.

Now we will align and lock the rectangle to the reference planes.




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Before we finish the extrusion we need to make sure the extrusion end is large enough so we can

see it in Ref. Level view. Currently the length of the extrusion is set to 1/16”. Change the

“Extrusion End” to 2’-0”.

Now we will finish the extrusion.




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Align and lock the extrusion sides to the (4) four reference planes that are around the fixture.

Open the Family Types box and flex all dimensions to make sure the clearance zone flexes with

them. The last step is to add a transparent material so that when it is exported to Navisworks it

appears transparent to differentiate between the object and “no-fly” zone.

Before we add a material to the “no-fly” zone we need to create a material called “no-fly zone”.

To do this go the the manage tab and select Materials. This will open the material dialog box.

Find the material that is “GLASS-Prismatic” we will duplicate this material and re-name it “no-fly

zone”.




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Next we will adjust the appearance so that the glass is colored in Navisworks. To do this select

the “Appearance” tab in the Materials box. Then select the color. For this we will choose r ed but

you can select any color you want.




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To add the material selects the “no-fly” zone. In the properties box click to the right of the

“Material” row.

The material dialog box will open and you can select the “no -fly zone” material we just created.

The final step is to load this into a project to test it. Open the file named “Light testing file”.

Navigate to the “Insert” tab. The select load family. Browse to the location of your saved light file

and load the light.

Select “component” under the home tab. Select the light we just loaded into the project and place

the light in the ceiling plan view. Since this is a faced base family you need to make sure the

horizontal face is selected for placement and not the vertical face.




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When placed it should look like the image below in the 3D view.

Creating shared parametersWe will demonstrate how to create shared parameters within a project. We will also explain when

and why to use shared parameters and how they can add value to your BIM efforts across

multiple projects or models.

Why shared parameters?

Shared parameters should be used when are creating company standards. These parameters

can be loaded into any new project you may work on. This can ensure consistency in scheduling.

It will also allow the transfer of standard schedules that utilize the shared parameters.

Create shared parameters

Shared parameters are created similar to project parameters. They get stored in a .txt file so that

you can load them into any project you want. We will create a shared parameter and shared

parameter .txt file. To start open the “Light Project” Revit file.

Under “Manage” tab select “Shared Parameters”

Prior to adding any parameters we need to add a new group. Click “New”. It will prompt you to

name the group. For this exercise name it “Lighting” and click OK.




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Now we can add a new parameter. Click “New” under Parameters. For exercise I am only

interested to know if the light has been installed yet. So name the parameter “Installed” then

under “Type of Parameter” select “Yes/No” and click OK.

The next step is to bring that parameter into the current project. To do this click OK at the bottom

of the “Edit Shared Parameters” file. Next open the Project Parameters from the ribbon.




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The Project Parameters box will open. Click “Add”.

The Parameter Properties dialog box will open. Make sure you select “Shared parameter” at the

top of the dialog box then click “Select”.




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Now the Shared Parameters dialog box will open. You can see that the “Lighting” group we

created is shown and the “Installed” parameter we created is selected. Click OK.






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To create a schedule select Schedules under the View tab then select Schedule/Quantities.

The New Schedule dialog box will open. Here you need to select the categories you wish to

include and name the schedule. Then click OK.




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Advanced Family Examples

Now that you have seen the basics of family creation here are some advanced examples.

Concrete Pump Truck

These concrete pump trucks were modeled per the equipment specifications. They were then

placed in various positions to analyze the best position for each truck to allow for all areas of the

pour to be covered without the need to move a truck in the middle of the 3000 CY pour. The

reach area for each truck was then analyzed to find out how much concrete would need to go to

each truck to complete the pour. The specific numbers of trucks were then routed to the pump

trucks so each area received the correct amount of concrete to cover their area.

Concrete Pans

Pan decks consist of multiple lengths that are overlapped to make a specific length. They come

in multiple widths that can vary on the deck. This Family was created to maximize the efficiencyof the pieces so as to cut down on the amount of deck material that would be shipped to site. We

have used this on multiple projects to reduce the amount of material and thus saving the project

money by telling the supplier what we need as opposed to them sending what they say we need.

We used this on multiple projects and every time our analysis has shown that we need less

material than what the supplier was going to ship and charge us for.

Documents

v1_CR5493-L Autodesk Revit Family Creation for Construction Applications