The Revit Clinic

Structure Generator for Autodesk Revit

Just in Time for AU and a little Thanksgiving treat.  A new Technology preview is available for Revit Architecture and Revit Structure.

Structure Generator Overview:

Project Structure Generator for Autodesk^® Revit^® Structure and Autodesk^® Revit^® Architecture software is a technology preview that provides a connection between massing models and objects created during conceptual design and structural elements such as beams, column, walls, plates. With Project Structure Generator, structural engineers and architects, from the earliest stages, can very quickly create and visualize a physical and analytical model of a structure based on the massing model.

• Automatically create and visualize a physical model of the structure with mass objects
• Generate variants of the physical and analytical model with structural systems based on the massing model.
• Predict volume and weight of materials used.
• Extend model to Revit Structure or Revit Architecture.
• Extend massing model to structural analysis with Project Storm a cloud based technology preview on Autodesk Labs that allows static analysis to be performed or to Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Professional software.

Watch the video can go get your's at on Autodesk Labs: http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/revit_structure_generator/

Revit 2012 Export to IFC does not Include Columns

I wanted to provide a potential scenario and approach around missing columns when exporting to IFC format from Revit 2012.

The symptom is an IFC file, exported from Revit 2012, with missing columns \ structural columns:

This could potentially occur for columns if the project file does not contain any associated floor plan views.

For example, columns associated base \ top level is Level 01 & Level 02; however those associated views were deleted from the project prior to IFC export.

If there are no associated floor plan views for the columns, they could potentially be excluded from the export.

If you run into this, you can simply do the following prior to IFC export:

1.  View > Plan Views > Floor Plan.

2.  Verify Do not duplicate existing views is checked, and select all of the views which appear on the list.  You can use the SHIFT or CTRL key to select all of the views at once.  Click OK.

3.  This will create a view for each level which does not currently have one.  Then export to IFC format.

After exporting to IFC you can delete the views [or undo] if you no longer need them.

Revit Structure 2012 Missing UK Terminology Hotfix

A Hotfix has just been released to address a localization issue where UK specific terminology is not displayed in the Revit Structure 2012 UI after a default installation:

Hotfix - Autodesk Revit Structure 2012 - UK Terminology

Please make sure to review the Readme for information about the installation and use of the update.

Structural Column Display and Architectural Walls

There are basically four ways you may see your Structural Column display when intersected with an Architectural Wall:

 

I wanted to them break down and explain why you might see one display over another. Scenarios 1 and 2 illustrate behavior if the elements are unjoined. Scenarios 3 and 4 illustrate behavior if they are joined.

Scenario 1:

 

In this scenario, the wall and column are not joined. To achieve the display in 1, you'll need to have the 'show family pre-cut in plan views' parameter checked in the column's family. You can find this parameter by editing the column's family and entering the Family Category and Parameters dialog. More information on what this parameter controls can be found here. When that option is checked, the default display of the column will be as shown in scenario 1. I briefly covered this in a little more detail in a previous post: Transparent Columns in Detail Callouts. 

Scenario 2:

 

There are three main factors that can result in a column displaying as in Scenario 2:

1. The 'show family pre-cut in plan views' parameter is cleared.
2. The second is a little less intuitive. If you had a column that initially displayed as in Scenario 1, and you made edits to its geometry with actions such as joining or unjoining, trimming, or adding an opening, it will change its display to Scenario 2. The following video illustrates some of the actions that will trigger this behavior (the fullscreen video is here):
   
   
   
   
3. You had an existing column that displayed this way and you created a new column by Copying the existing one.

With scenarios 2 and 3, to resolve the issue you will need to re-place the column via the column tool on the Ribbon or by Copying an existing column that already displays as desired. If cuts or other modifications need to be present, you would need to either use linework/fill regions to achieve the resulted display, or consider joining them together as in Scenarios 3 and 4.

Scenario 3:

 

Scenario 3 displays the default behavior when a structural column and architectural wall are joined and the plan is set to Medium or Fine detail.

Scenario 4:

 

Scenario 4 displays the default behavior when a structural column and architectural wall are joined and the plan is set to Coarse. If you desire the outline of the column to display, you could go into Visibility/Graphics and set the Detail Level of your Structural Columns to Medium or Fine, or use a combination of filters/linework or fill regions/linework to change the display.

I hope this helps to explain why you might see a column displaying differently than you are expecting. If you have any feedback about this functionality or would like to see the behavior changed, please provide a business case as to how this affects the productivity of your firm at http://www.autodesk.com/feedback.

 

The 2012 Analytical Model and Upgraded Files: Analytical Surfaces for Walls, Floors, and Foundation Slabs

Revit Structure 2012 introduces Analytical Surfaces for Walls, Floors, and Foundation Slabs:

 
In a file that has been upgraded from a previous version of Revit, your surfaces will look like this:

 
To adjust these, you can do the following:

1. Open up the default 2012 template file, located at: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RST 2012\Templates\US Imperial\Structural Analysis-default.rte.
2. Set your upgraded file as the active model, and go to Manage > Transfer Project Standards.
3. Select the template project in the Copy from pulldown.
   
   From here you have a couple of options. You can select Materials and Object Styles from the template project to transfer to your upgraded file. With Materials, if you do not want to overwrite existing materials in the project, you can select New Only. With Object Styles you will have to choose Overwrite. If that is okay, then check both boxes, transfer them to your upgraded file, and disregard Steps 4-10.
   
   If you don't want to Overwrite Object Styles, then choose only Materials, and continue on to Steps 4-10.
   
   
4. With your upgraded project current, go to Manage > Object Styles, and switch to the Analytical Model Objects tab.
5. In the Analytical Floors row, click the '...' box in the Materials column.
6. Select the Analytical Floor Surface material. Adjust the Line Color to RGB 128-064-000.
7. In the Analytical Foundation Slabs row, click the '...' box in the Materials column.
8. Select the Analytical Slab Surface material. Adjust the Line Color to RGB 155-187-089.
9. In the Analytical Walls row, click the '...' box in the Materials column.
10. Select the Analytical Wall Surface material. Adjust the Line Color to RGB 000-200-200.
    
     
    
    
     

The 2012 Analytical Model and Upgraded Files: Start and End Display

In Revit Structure 2012, if you go to Manage > Structural Settings > Analytical Model Settings and turn on the option to Differentiate ends of linear analytical elements, you'll find that you can now see which end of the member is the Start and which is the End:

 

If you are working with a model that you have upgraded from a previous version of Revit, when you turn on this option in Structural Settings, it might look like the new functionality is not working:

 

The reason for this is that by default in upgraded files, the display of the Start and End Segments is set to the same color as the rest of the Analytical Model. To adjust this, you can do the following:

1. Open Manage > Object Styles and switch to the Analytical Model Objects tab.
2. Expand the Analytical Beam, Brace, and Column categories. You'll see that the End Segment and Start Segment categories are the same color as the rest of the Analytical Model.
   
    
3. Adjust the colors as desired. The following screenshot shows the default 2012 template settings:
   
    

Another option is to use Manage > Transfer Project Standards and transfer the Object Styles category from the default 2012 template to your upgraded project.

Overriding the Line Style of a Sloped Web Joist

If you've ever tried to override the line style of a web joist in plan, you may have ended up with some unexpected results if the member is sloped:

 
So why is the sloped line style inconsistent and what can you do to fix it?

A Plan representation of elements is applicable when the element is parallel to the horizontal work plane of the view. Since the beam is sloped, it's using a 3D representation rather than Plan. To get a better understanding of what this means, open up the web joist family.

If you cross select everything in 3D, use the Filter tool to select only Lines (Web Joist), and then go to Temporary Hide/Isolate > Isolate Element, you'll be left with the following model lines:

 

If you select a line, go into its Properties < Visibility/Graphics Overrides and choose Edit, you'll see that line 1 is set to display in Plan/RCP views, while lines 2, 3, and 4 aren't. So when you have a flat beam all you see is that top line in coarse. In this dialog, you can also note that while the Plan/RCP category can be modified, all of the elements will display in 3D.

 

So when your joist is sloped, Revit is using the 3D representation, and you're seeing all of those lines in Plan. There are a couple of ways you could move forward from here - I'm going to go over using Subcategories as an option:

1. From within the family, go to Manage > Object Styles.
2. In the Modify Subcategories section, select New.
3. Create a name for your new Subcategory - I'll use 'Web Joist - Coarse 3D' as an example - and keep it as a Subcategory of Structural Framing.
4. Select OK to exit the dialog.
5. Select lines 2, 3, and 4.
6. In their Properties, scroll down to the Subcategory parameter and change it to the new one you just created.
    
7. Load the family back into the project.
8. In your plan view, open Visibilty/Graphics.
9. Expand Structural Framing and clear the checkbox for your new subcategory.
10. Click OK to exit the dialog:

 

Transparent Columns in Detail Callouts

I have had this question come up a few times and thought the explanation was worth a blog post. Let's say you have the following scenario of a wall and column:

 

You add a Floor Plan Callout, which results in what you expected:

 

And then a Detail Callout, where the results are not what you were expecting:

 

So why does the column appear to be transparent in the Detail callout?

The reason for this is that, when unjoined, the wall and column occupy the same physical space. You do not see this display in your Floor Plan and Floor Plan Callout because of the "show family pre-cut in plan views" parameter of the column family.

This parameter determines whether the column displays based on the cut plane specified in the project's view or within the family. Keeping this parameter checked results in columns that always display the same regardless of the project view's settings. More information on this can be found in the Specifying How a Structural Column Displays in Plan View document in the Help menu.

So when this parameter is checked, you are not seeing the 'real' relationship between the elements in your Floor Plan and Plan callout - you are seeing a representation of the column based on the cut plane in the family.

To further clarify, if you edit the column family, go to Family Category and Parameters and clear this checkbox, you'll see the that column displays with the same sort of transparent appearance in all views, not just the detail.

 

The way Detail Callouts are generated internally is different from true 'plan' views and they do not use this parameter, so they show consistently based on the cut plane of the project regardless of whether it is checked or not.

The ways to approach this would be to join the wall and column where applicable (so their geometry no longer overlaps) or to use a Floor Plan callout when needed instead.

I hope this helps!

Behavior to Be Aware of when Copy/Monitoring

The following items are outside the scope of Copy/Monitor functionality that you might want to familiarize yourself with:

1. Shape Edited Slabs

Shape edited slabs will copy as flat. Try to use the Slope Arrow tool to slope slabs where possible or use a separate slab for each file.

  
2. Wall Cleanups

Walls will not clean up when Copy/Monitored if profile sketches have been applied to them. To work around the issue, eliminate the profile sketches where possible, use masking regions to hide the plan linework at the cleanups, or try using the Edit Wall Joins tool (this may not work for every scenario).

 

3. Wall Location Lines

Walls will always be Copy/Monitored by their center lines. You may want to only copy/monitor the structural portion of the architect’s walls, so in the Copy/Monitor Options dialog, you may set the new wall type to only represent the core structure. Unfortunately those copied walls will not line up with the core of the architect’s walls, as they will be Copy/Monitored by their center lines.

 

4. Other Elements

Remember, Copy/Monitor is only designed to be used with Levels, Grids, Vertical Columns, Walls, and Floors. If you need similar functionality with other elements such as roofs, trusses, in-place elements, or slanted columns you can use TAB to cycle through the selection set until you select the individual element in within the linked file, and then use Modify > Copy to Clipboard and Modify > Paste > Aligned to Same Place to make a copy of the element within your host file.

Is there any other Copy/Monitor behavior you'd like to add or any other methods you use? If so, please comment and I'll make any needed updates to the post. If you'd like to see the Copy/Monitor functionality expanded to include other elements, please feel free to provide feedback here.

Controlling the Display of Web Joists by Structural Usage

You may have noticed that by default, web joist display will be controlled by the Structural Framing > Web Joists subcategory, regardless of what the Structural Usage is set to. But what if you want to override the display by Structural Usage, like other framing members are displayed?

Let's look at the following example comparing display behavior between a Wide Flange and K-Series web joist:

 

I set the following display overrides to help illustrate the behavior:

 

After setting the overrides, you'll see that the K-Series members always display according to the Web Joist subcategory, regardless of their Structural Usage.

 

If you want the K-Series to display according to Structural Usage, as the Wide Flange does, you can do the following:

Edit the K-Series family. In 3D, select the line used to represent the top chord. In its Properties, change the Subcategory to <Defined by instance>.

 

Reload the family back into the project. You'll see that the element display is now controlled by the Structural Usage setting.