Revit – Setting out and scheduling coordinates from grids with Dynamo

I have had a few questions around detailing coordinates of grid intersections with Revit. You may already know that it is tricky to add spot coordinates to each grid intersection as Revit will not ‘snap’ to the grid intersection. You can add reference planes across the grid intersections, but this is quite time consuming and prone to error.

I have created a Dynamo script to place down a setting out family at each grid intersection and record the grid intersection, Easting and Northing at each location. This has the added value of being exposed in Navisworks or an IFC model for a contractor. We can also schedule the coordinates of each grid intersection and present this onto drawings or export to Microsoft Excel for input into site instruments.

See the video below for more!

 

https://youtu.be/6_8vWdy4yzk

 

LawrenceH

Revit Tip – Back to basics, changing the sketch colour

Sometimes it’s a good thing to rewind back to basics and look at some of the things that really matter when using Revit on a day to day basis. Obviously, the interface and colours that are used and presented can make a huge difference. Below you can see the Revit 2020 Options dialog. Here you will probably notice the recent additions of ‘calculating’ and ‘Rebar Editing’.

The ‘calculating’ colour is used when working with structural connections, especially when propagate connection is used. Revit will background process the connections and display the elements with, by default, Cyan.

The Rebar Editing colour is used when editing rebar constraints, see my previous post for details on this new feature!

Anyway, back to the basics. When sketching elements such as floors or perhaps editing wall profiles we are used to seeing magenta lines as shown in the image below.

You can change this default by editing the line styles. To do this select the Manage ribbon, click Additional Settings and then Line Styles as shown in the image below.

You are then presented with the Line Styles dialog. Here you can change the Sketch colour to anything you like.

In the example below I have changed the Sketch line style to green.

This can obviously be quite useful if you have colour blindness with certain colours or are working with different background colours.

Hope this helps,

Lawrence

Revit 2020.1 Update – Rebar Constraints

Released on the 21^st August this update proves to be very useful for those using Revit for reinforcement modeling as well as some general tools to enhance usability and deliver more productivity. As always, I will not include non-structural features and just focus on the relevant tools for this sector. In this post we will focus in on the rebar constraint tools.

Rebar to Rebar Constraints

This is possibly one of the best new features for the Revit reinforcement tools for several years. The new rebar to rebar constraints allow you to set constraints between rebar objects, in previous releases it was only possible to set constraints to element faces or covers. This new command allows for much better parametric control when bar diameters are changed or when controlling lap lengths. In the image below you can see the B1 and B2 layers for a foundation. The B1 and B2 layers are constrained to the tangent faces of the rebar, if I change the rebar diameter on the B1 layer then the B2 layer and the column starter bars will automatically move! A major improvement.

In the image below you can see the beam bottom L-bars that are positioned relative to the beam top L-bars which are constrained to the Bottom and top layers in the beam. All these members are fully constrained and ‘intelligent’ and will update when members or bar diameters change.

Intuitive rebar constraints visualisation and editing

The method that you use to set rebar constraints have been improved and made more intuitive with simple icons and tooltips. Each of these can also have keyboard shortcuts assigned. The space bar will cycle through the various rebar constraints. A blue arrow now shows the positive side of the rebar which takes the guesswork away when setting offsets.

Revit Tutorial – Displaying Span to Depth Ratio of Steel Beams

In this tutorial we shall look at a method of calculating and displaying the Span to Depth ratio for steel primary and secondary beams. In early scheme design of a steel structure many engineers like to use the span to depth ratio to size members assuming a uniform loading across the beam.

Revit can be used to calculate and display the Span to Depth Ratio by creating a shared parameter and making a simple formula. Typically, a span to depth ratio of 13-15 is used for primary beams and 18-20 for secondary beams. In the following tutorial I will edit a UB family, add a shared parameter and then use the value of this and the structural usage to activate certain colours with filters. The image below shows the filters colouring, green is OK, red is over the limit and yellow is under the limit. To follow this tutorial, you will need Revit 2016 or later.

The first step is to create a shared parameter, this needs to be shared as this may need to appear in a schedule or be taggable. On the Manage Ribbon click the Shared Parameters command as shown below.

If you already have a Shared Parameter file, then click the New Parameter command as shown below. If everything is inactive, then you will need to create a new parameter file by clicking the Create button.

You will then be presented with the Parameter Properties Dialog. I am naming the new parameter SDR (Span to Depth Ratio) but you can use something else if you prefer. You will need to ensure that the new parameter is created as a Number. Click OK to both dialog boxes. Your new Shared Parameter is now ready for use.

Next you edit a Universal Beam family (or other section type for non-UK members). In the Project Browser, open the families folder and browse to Structural Framing. Below I am adding the parameter to UB-Universal Beams, but you can add this to any Section you require.

Right Click over the family and select edit. You are now in the Family Editor. On the Home Ribbon click the Family Types command as shown below

In the Family Types Dialog box click the New Parameter command as shown below.

In the Parameter Properties Dialog click the Shared Parameter radio button and then select the Select button as shown below.

Select your new SDR parameter and click OK. You now need to set the new parameter to Instance and group the parameter under Structural Analysis. Click OK. You should now see your new parameter in the Structural Analysis group.

Create the following formula. round(Length/Height)

This will take the length of the beam and divide this by the section height. Note that the section height appears under the Structural Section Geometry group. We then round this number to get a ratio value.  Save your new family and repeat for other families where you want to calculate the span to depth ratio.

Next you create a project parameter for your Span to Depth Ratio. This will enable you to create a filter. On the Manage ribbon click the Project Parameter button as shown below.

In the Project Parameter dialog, click the Add command. You will then see the Parameter Properties dialog as shown below. Configure the dialog by selecting Shared Parameter, select your SDR parameter and then click OK. Make sure that Instance is checked, group the parameter under Structural Analysis and check the category, Structural Framing. Click OK.

You now complete the last step to create a series of filters to colour the beams by their span to depth ratio. In this example you create a filter for secondary framing. You need to ensure that you have secondary framing in your project for testing. In a Project with the edited families that you have created in the steps above, open the Visibility/Graphics Override dialog and select the Filters Tab as shown below.

In the Filters tab click the Edit/New Button at the bottom of the dialog box. In the Filters Dialog box select the New command in the bottom left as shown in the image below.

In the Filter Name dialog box type Secondary Framing – Span/Depth OK.

You can now set the Category, Structural Framing and then set the AND rules to the following. ADR is greater that or equal to 18 AND SDR is less than or equal to 20 AND Structural Usage equal Purlin. Note that the Structural Usage may have differing terminology depending on the regional settings and template applied. Click OK.

You now select the Add command to add your new filter into the Visibility/Graphic Overrides Dialog.

You can then add green to override the linework and for extra impact add a solid green shade to the members. Anything that displays green is now in the correct span to depth range.

Once the filter has been set your secondary framing will appear green when the correct span to depth ratio is achieved. Note that you can create additional filters to show members that exceed and are too deep. You can also colour the SDR values in a structural framing schedule.

Hope you find this useful? I will try and create a tutorial video when I have some time.

LawrenceH

Revit – Orient to View Problem in Large Projects

A very quick tip and trick when you need to create a 3D view that is oriented to another 2D view. In large projects you are presented with a list which does not come with a scroll bar or search tool. This means that you can spend a considerable amount of time clicking around to get your required view.

Simply create a new keyboard shortcut for the Orient to view command, take a look at the video for a quick and easy solution.

Hope this is useful

Revit Tutorial – Type vs Instance Parameters

Been a little while since I posted a tutorial but this month I am going ‘back to basics’ to talk about Instance and Type Parameters and where to use them. I still find that many people are using OOTB families that are not suitable for certain modelling workflows. I will focus in on two specific families, Structural Openings and Structural Framing. The structural Openings will be created with a Generic model family that’s face based, this will be ideal for rectangular openings in walls, foundations, floors, beams etc. Let’s start by looking at the instance properties of Structural Framing. In the image below I have selected the UB section, notice that the Structural Material is instance based.

It may be more relevant if we made this a type parameter as the structural material needs only to be set once per family type. To do this you can simply edit the family and change the instance parameter to a type parameter. With the Structural Framing Element selected, click the Edit Family button on the Modify | Structural Framing context ribbon.

The Structural Framing element will now be open in the family editor. Select the Family Type button as shown in the image below.

You will now see the Family Types Dialog box displayed. Note that the Structural Material is shown. An instance parameter will always have the bracketed word (default) displayed. This is the easiest method to spot the instance parameters.

Select the Structural Material parameter and then select the Edit Parameter command by selecting the pencil icon in the lower left of the dialog box as shown below.

You will now see the Parameter Properties Dialog box as shown below. Select the Type Parameter radio button as shown below and then click OK.

Click OK to the Family Types Dialog box, note that the Structural Material Parameter has the (default) removed as this is now a type parameter.

You can then save the family and set the type parameter. This will then update all members of the same family type.

A full video tutorial is available here, the video also covers the creation and use of structural opening family.

Revit 2020 – New Structural Features Review

This year Autodesk strengthen the steel detailing tools with some very useful tools to enable quick and efficient steel connection modelling. Revit is constantly criticised for a lack of model detail with fabrication elements. This release strengthens the 3D detailing capabilities for those that require higher Levels of Detail or fabrication models.

When using the Copy/Paste and editing tools the processing is 20x faster than the previous release and connections can now be automatically propagated. This is due to some smart background processing that calculates the elements that are being processed and allows you to continue with other tasks, the elements being processed are highlighted different colour. The background processing is for steel connections but also works when performing most editing tools. The Background Processing colour can be set in the Options dialog in the Graphics Tab as shown below.

Steel Connections now use types just like other Revit families. This means that you can create various types of base plates and then either select all instances and swap or edit the type parameters. This new feature makes controlling steel connections much easier.

The Propagate tool automatically recognises similarly connected steelwork and adds the relevant connections which greatly speeds up the processes of adding connections. Simply select a steel connection, right click and select Propagate Connection.

Many new parameters have also been added to facilitate the efficient creation of fabrication details such as the new hole parameters dialog box. You can now also set the grip length for bolts to allow for accurate sizing and calculation.

The only missing feature is the creation of automatic fabrication documents and CNC code which I am sure we will see in due course. I would anticipate that this will be a cloud-based tool to take advantage of efficient processing times and could use the BIM 360 products to track versions and store the drawings and NC codes.

Concrete Detailing Tools

This release brings more stability to Revit whilst adding reinforcement bar with slightly different cover settings. Certain elements can cause reinforcement bar to constrain to the wrong faces when copying, mirroring or moving bars. The algorithm has been updated to ensure that rebars remember faces and covers from the original element.

Improvements has also been made to the multi rebar annotations to allow dimensioning to the formwork. Multi rebar annotations can now also be added to freeform reinforcement provided that the reinforcement bars remain parallel.

LawrenceH