Link to YouTube Tutorial: https://youtu.be/LbPcbQtf18I
Quite often in structural projects you may be required to turn an in situ element into multiple pre cast elements, a typical example is perhaps a wall. In this short tutorial we will take a look at the use of parts to divide an in situ wall into pre cast sandwich panels that Revit can then schedule and tag.
In the above example I have created a composite wall style by creating some additional layers and assigning a precast inner and outer face to cavity filler.
As you know, when this wall is used within the project you will generally see the wall as if it were one single object in 3D but if you section the wall it is possible to see the layers.
If parts are used then the wall can be ‘split’ into individual layers and then these layers can be manipulated. To create parts first select the wall/walls and then click the Parts icon on the contextual panel.
The wall will then appear similar to the lower left image. The individual layers are clearly visible in the 3D view.
The parts can then be further manipulated by selecting the ‘Show Shape Handles’ option within the instance properties of the selected part. This will then give you control to edit the physical size of the object. Other information is also shown here such as Volume and area of the part as well as its new physical dimensions.
This method of manipulation is suited to individual elements but if you wanted to divide panels and also add options such as joints and gaps then the Divide Parts command will be utilised.
First you will need to create some reference planes to control the division of the wall. A wall can be divided by named reference planes, levels or grids. In the below example I have created some named reference planes and then made these equal.
In the 3D view select the three parts of the wall and then click the Divide Parts command from the ribbon. Then Click the intersecting References tool.
You will now see the Intersecting Named References Dialog box. Select the ‘All’ option from the Filter and you can then select all your named Reference Planes as well as any Grids and Levels that may be relevant.
You will then see a preview of the divisions and also you can select a division profile and gap if required. You can of course create your own profiles which you can then use to split the wall. Note that you can select individual parts and then select the ‘exclude parts’ command from the context ribbon to hide these objects.
It is worth noting that you will only see the parts in a view if you have set the ‘parts visibility’ to ‘Show parts. In most views the ‘parts visibility’ setting is set to show original. Of course if you make any edits to the original wall then the parts will automatically update.
Once the parts are created then you can start to add data to each panel. The first task could be to give each element a unique number. This can be achieved by using the Element Positioning command from the Extensions Ribbon (Note that you need to be a subscription customer and you will then have access to download these tools.)
You can then add your own data as Project Parameters such as Panel Type, Mould Type etc. A schedule can then be generated based on this information which could be very useful for a contractor to understand quantities, repetitive natures and areas.
Bear in mind that a very similar set of tasks can be performed on the following objects as well as in place families.
- Walls (excluding stacked walls and curtain walls)
- Foundation Walls
- Floors (excluding shape-edited floors of more than one layer)
- Roofs
- Ceilings
- Structural slab foundations
- Slab Edges
- Fascias
- Gutters
- Structural Framing
- Columns
- Structural Columns
Take a quick look at my YouTube tutorial for step by step instruction.
Have fun,
LawrenceH
Autodesk Revit Structure 