March 2014 – Autodesk Revit Structure

Link to YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/aaBdlIoS5eI

In this tutorial I will take you through some of the tools you can use to create a mass within Revit and then apply structural elements to the form. I will also outline some other possible workflows with other Autodesk software. Our target will be to produce a similar model to the one shown below. In future tutorials I will also talk about correcting the analytical model and preparing this for analysis.

The first step is to create the conceptual form, on the Application menu select the Conceptual Mass command.

The Conceptual Mass family does look a little different to the normal structural families that you may create. You will see that the Reference Planes are visible in the 3D view which makes them much easier to work with.

In the Project Browser double click the Level 1 Floor plan and create the Reference Planes as shown below.

Once the Reference Planes are created then switch to the 3D view to view the planes in 3D. You will now set one of the Reference Planes as the active Work Plane. As shown below, click the plane command and then select the front Reference Plane. You can also switch on the visibility of this Plane by selecting the Show button on the Work Plane Panel.

Next you create the first profile, Click the Line command as shown below and draw the three required lines. Next choose the Start End radius arc and create an arc for the curved roof, use any radius you want for this. Note that you may need to use the Tab key to select individual lines and arcs within the profile.

Repeat this for the second profile using the image below.

Next you create the 3D form, Select both the profiles and click the Create Form command as shown in the image below.

Next you add an intermediate cross section to create a double-curved roof. Select the solid by using the tab key to cycle to the solid form. On the contextual Ribbon you will see the add profile tool, select this and add a profile roughly in the middle of the solid as shown below. You may also want to enable the X-Ray command which will enable you to visualise the cross sectional profiles.

Select the middle arc and drag this up the Z-Axis to form the geometry as shown below.

You will now divide the top surface into a number of divisions. This is achieved by selecting the top surface and clicking the Divide tool as shown on the ribbon below. Note that you will need to turn the X-Ray model off to see the divided surface.

In the Properties Palette you now set the pattern to a Rhomboid form and then set the Maximum Spacing to 2000 for the U and V Grids.

You have now successfully created the basic mass. Save this as ROOF MASS.rfa

Start a new Structural Project and ensure that you open the Site Structural Plan, this already has the View Range set to unlimited.

Make sure that you have also switched on the Mass Category within Visibility/Graphics overrides dialog box.

On the Structure Ribbon, click the Component Command and then browse for your ROOF MASS.rfa file. You can then place this on the Work Plane.

Create a new 3D view and ensure that the Mass Category is enabled. You should now see your mass within this view. Next you create the structural framing.

Click the Beam Command and select a CHS section of your choice from the Type selector as shown below. Note that you need to ensure that the sections are placed at the centre of the divided lines as shown on the Properties Palette.

You will now set up the Options for the beam placement. On the Contextual Ribbon and Options Bar, set the following as shown below.

You can now start to select the divided lines and Revit will now add the 3D beams to the divided surface lines. Note that you can use the Tab key to select panels to speed this process up a little!

You will notice that the CHS sections appear to ‘spring back’ from the nodes. This is due to the Start and End Extension calculations. You will now edit the CHS family to rectify this.

Select one of the CHS sections on your roof and click Edit Family on the Contextual Ribbon as shown below.

Switch to the Floor Plan – Ref Level and then use the shape handles to drag the extrusion from the inner Reference Plane to the Outer Reference Planes. This will then remove the ;Spring Back’ that occurs in the project. Ensure that you lock the geometry to the outer planes. Load the family into your project and the frame should update.