chris price cadway design revit technology conference 2007 documentation in revit
TRANSCRIPT
Chris Price
Cadway Design
Revit Technology Conference 2007
“Documentation in Revit”
Chris Price - http://revitrants.blogspot.com/
Cadway Design
• Who am I?• What do I do?• IT/CAD Manager/Senior Designer• Documentation Services for other Architectural companies on
Government Projects, Mixed Use, High density Residential, Commerical & Fuel industry projects.
• What I hope you learn• Leverage and efficiencies• Tips and tricks, traps, best practice, workarounds
• What I may expect• Learning and sharing your newly found knowledge with your
colleagues and others.
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Methods to keep your Model’s Happy
• The Power of the Massing Tool
• Forgotten tricks of the Roof Tool
• Shape Editing of Floors/Roofs
• Using tools & thinking outside the box
• Site Tools
• Structural Tools
• Links & Groups
• Limitations of Revit
• Family Creation
Overview
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• What degree should I model to?
• Ask yourself the following questions:
– Is this seen in more than one view?
– Is modelling this going to improve my documentation’s
buildability?
– If I don’t model this is it going to cause co-ordination issues
between views that would benefit from being modelled in 3D?
– How large is the model I’m working on?
– Could I make use of this in future projects?
• Answering these questions should help you make the
correct judgement.
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• One hand should always be positioned over the “TAB”
key.
• Take time to correctly set layer functions of Walls,
Ceilings & Roofs.
– Ignore the titles & concentrate on the numbers
– Generally the most exterior finish layers I create as layer 5.
– This can save a lot of frustration!
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Make Use of Stacked & Compound Walls where
appropriate:
– Compound walls are basic walls that have had their layers
unlocked.
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Make Use of Stacked & Compound Walls where
appropriate:
– Stacked walls are for more complex situations as shown
below:
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Make use of your Model for showing smart representations
of Roof Overhangs, Foundations or even future phases in
Plan.
• There are two methods to do this:
• The Linework Tool.
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
• Limitations:
– New Roofs or new lines in
roof sketches need to be
manually added again using
the linework tool.
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Overlaying Views
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
• Limitations:
– For roofs they need to be
set to wireframe so there
well be excess linework.
– This can be removed using
the linework tool & Invisible
lines.
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• In Revit you should place approximately and then
refine positions using the temporary dimensions.
• Use generic elements to begin with and then use
“Select all Instances” to easily swap out elements
at a later stage.
• You can also use the Reload family in the project
browser and actually select the family you wish to
replace it with to swap the family out in one step…
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Use Generic Massing families in pre-design/conceptual
studies.
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Use grids and levels to establish and maintain
relationships.
• Remember most of the modelling tools in Revit are
dynamic. Always check your options bar…
• Minimise locked relationships in a project. Only do so
when there is a specific reason.
• Pin reference information to avoid accidental bumps…
• Attach walls, columns to roofs, floors and beams. Let
Revit maintain these relationships for you.
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Create a line based family to model egress paths as
suggest by Steve Stafford.
http://revitoped.blogspot.com/2007/01/egress-path.html
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Try using floors and walls for joinery, doors for cupboards
etc…
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Leverage Data from previous projects…
– If you’ve done a detailed amenities layout with
fixtures, why not save that data out for later use.
– We utilise numerous cut & paste projects for pre-setup
stairs, railings, walls and typically layouts.
How to keep your model happy
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Utilise massing for complex forms by using the “by face”
options for walls, roofs and floors.
• Check this out http://aec.cadalyst.com/aec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=402757
The power of the Mass
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• How about using the Mass tool to define a complex
building envelope and set back requirements.
– Use the co-ordination monitor to check for conflicts!
The power of the Mass
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• People often forget that you have an option for
segmentation on curved segments in Roof Sketches.
• You can use multiple slope arrows combined with slope
defining lines!
Forgotten tricks of the Roof Tool
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• In Revit 2008 we saw the release of this fantastic new
function of roofs and floors. What we’ve used it for so far:
– Tiling with a topping slab with falls to wastes.
Shape Editing, Not quite like Mystique from X-Men
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• In Revit 2008 we saw the release of this fantastic new
function of roofs and floors. What we’ve used it for so far:
– Sloping Structural Falls that need to match street levels.
Shape Editing, Not quite like Mystique from X-Men
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• In Revit 2008 we saw the release of this fantastic new
function of roofs and floors. What we’ve used it for so far:
– Site Works
– Just to name a few possible uses for this tool…
– Get to know it!
Shape Editing, Not quite like Mystique from X-Men
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Try creating wall mounted railings for sunscreens. (Great
when curved walls are involved).
• Using embedded curtain walls for strip glazing and finding
at corners the wall isn’t cut correctly?
– Use a wall hosted generic model void to cutout the unwanted
part.
Curtain Walls/Glazing & Railings and their hidden skills (thinking outside
the box)
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• For quick, highly customisable screens, battens use
curtain walls…
Curtain Walls/Glazing & Railings and their hidden skills (thinking outside
the box)
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• For Smaller Projects which can afford to be more detailed:
– Use the sloped glazing system to model the ceiling grid
system with modelled T sections or a standing seam metal
roof.
– Or use curtain walls for pre-cast concrete construction
showing joints etc.
Curtain Walls/Glazing & Railings and their hidden skills (thinking outside
the box)
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Understanding their limitations:
– You cannot have sloping pads.
– You cannot have vertical faces on your topography for retaining
walls.
– Paths/Driveways with complex falls can now be created using
point edits. However, you must use the linework tool to remove
the vertices from each view.
• Refer to this post on AUGI for a
great workflow given by Jerry (jetisart)
–http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=63962&page=2&pp=10
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Site Tools – What Site tools?
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Remember the trim tool works on beams!
• Always host roof framing (ie: rafters) to the roof and give it
an offset to allow for purlins and cleans.
• Columns can attach to beams.
• Modelling purlins, girts or joists? Use the structural
framing system tool.
So what’s holding up your building? Time to add some
structure…
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Accept that for the moment Revit Architecture leaves a gap
between beams. Fix this with detailing.
So what’s holding up your building? Time to add some
structure…
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• In Revit 2008 groups and links are now interchangeable.
• This makes this decision less critical
• Use the following outlines of benefits and limitations to
decide on per project basis what’s most appropriate to you:
• Groups
– Can be tagged and quickly manipulated in the host file.
– Can interact (to an extent) with surrounding geometry not part
of the group.
– Can exclude elements from specific instances of a group.
To link or group, that is the question
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Links
– Better for file size as all information is stored in the other file.
– Tags have to be applied in the other file and the views linked
across (not possible for sections & elevations)
– Somewhat more reliable as they do not interact with elements
in the host file.
• It is best practice to use non-hosted families when
grouping elements.
To link or group, that is the question
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Unfortunately, no software is perfect and it does have its
limitations. Getting to understand what these are makes
your working relationship with Revit much more relaxed.
• Maintain efficiency. Give yourself a time limit on each
modelling task.
• Stair & Ramp tools have a number of limitations:
– Curved Monolithic Stairs with smooth underside anomolies.
– They do not join to floors.
– The sketches have issues when overlapping themselves.
– Stairs going down from the current level don’t display
correctly.
What? Revit has limitations!
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Railing Tool
– Baluster/support locations sometimes are just too varied to
position with this tool.
What? Revit has limitations!
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Family creation should be about leveraging as much data
as possible. Quality not quantity.
• If it repeats it should be a family (Not In-place)
• Nested sub-components setup with swappable parameters
allow for the maximum flexibility.
Let’s go raise a library of happy families
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Nest detail components for highly detailed view specific
elements.
• Add control arrows to all directional families.
• Constrain all geometry in families via reference planes
• Flex Flex Flex
• Give reference planes strengths & labels
• Use Transfer Project Standards to copy materials between
families.
• Arraying elements? Use nested families and constrain
them by their origin point in all 3 vertices for both the two
defining elements of the array. Check out my blog for a
detailed explanation on this.
Let’s go raise a library of happy families
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• It’s more efficient to create families as non-hosted first.
• Avoid in-place families.
• Set your origin (placement point) to a logical locations.
• Use line based families for complex linear objects.
Let’s go raise a library of happy families
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• Modelled something in-place and now discovering you
need it to repeat around your model?
– Edit the in-place family, select all the geometry, copy to the
clipboard and paste into a new family of the same or
appropriate category.
Let’s go raise a library of happy families
General
Massing
Roof Tool
Shape Editing
Outside the Box
Site Tools
Structural Tools
Links & Groups
Limitations
Families
Chris Price
Cadway Design
• The most important thing I think I can leave you with is:
• MODEL TO A DEGREE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CO-
ORDINATE EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY.
• Sometimes its great to have a play and test Revit’s limits
by modelling to minute detail. However, you’ll soon find
that your computer will slow to a halt and the model will
become very frustrating.
• ENJOY IT!!! I DO
• Any Questions?
Conclusion & Questions?