Autodesk Revit 2014 Families Guide
June 2013
Autodesk Revit Revit 2014 Families Guide
Autodesk Revit Revit 2014 Families Guide
Contents
Contents Contents Conte nts ............. .......................... ........................... ........................... .......................... .......................... ........................... ........................... ..................... ........ 3 Workflow: Creating a Loadable Family .................................................................... 7 Understanding the Family Editor .......................................................................... 7 Planning a Loadable Family ............................................................................... 10 Flexing the Family Framework ........................................................................... 11 Testing the Family .............................................................................................. 12 Choosing a Family Template ................................................................................. 15 Creating a Family from a Template .................................................................... 17 Choosing a Category ............................................................................................. 20 Cuttable Families ............................................................................................... 20 Non-Cuttable Families .......... ..................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ............. 21 Creating Family Subcategories .......................................................................... 21 Creating the Family Framework ............................................................................. 24 Defining the Family Origin .................................................................................. 24 Laying Out Reference Planes ............................................................................ 25 Defining Priorities for Reference Planes .......... ..................... ...................... ...................... ...................... .................. ....... 27 Using Reference Lines ....................................................................................... 29 Controlling Angular Dimensions with Reference Ref erence Lines .......... ..................... ...................... .................. ....... 31 Dimensioning Reference Planes and Lines ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ............. 32 Creating Family Parameters .................................................................................. 33 Family Category and Parameters ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ................ ..... 34 Labeling Dimensions to Create Parameters .......... ..................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ............. 35 Creating Family Types ....................................................................................... 36 Creating Instance Parameters ............................................................................ 37 Adding Shape Handles Handles to a Loadable Family Family ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... .................... ......... 38 Using Formulas in the Family Editor ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ............ .. 38 Adding Metadata to a Family Family ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ..................... ............. .. 39 Creating Family Geometry ..................................................................................... 40 Constraining Family Geometry ........................................................................... 40 Automatic Sketch Dimensions Dimensions ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ..................... ........... 41 Visibility of Automatic Sketch Dimensions in the Family Editor ........... ...................... ................ ..... 44 Duplicating Parameterized Elements ................................................................. 46 Assigning Family Geometry to Subcategories .......... ..................... ...................... ...................... .................... ......... 49 Managing Family Visibility and Detail Level ........... ...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ............. 50
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Autodesk Revit 2014 Family Guide
Setting Family Geometry Visibility ...................................................................... 51 Annotation Labels .................................................................................................. 52 Editing Multi-parameter Labels ........................................................................... 52 Building a Label .................................................................................................. 53 Shared Label Parameters .................................................................................. 53 Label Parameter Options ................................................................................... 53 Edit Label Unit Formats ...................................................................................... 54 Label Type Properties ........................................................................................ 55 Label Instance Properties ................................................................................... 56 Applying the Label to a Tag in a Project ............................................................. 56 Applying the Label to a Title Block in a Project ................................................... 57 Lookup Tables ....................................................................................................... 58 Managing Lookup Tables ................................................................................... 59 CSV File Structure ............................................................................................. 59 Revit MEP Components ........................................................................................ 60 Category ............................................................................................................ 60 Light Source ....................................................................................................... 61 Part Types.......................................................................................................... 62 Working with Connectors ................................................................................... 65 Placing a Connector ........................................................................................... 66 Selecting a Primary Connector ........................................................................... 68 Orienting a Connector ........................................................................................ 68 Linking Connectors ............................................................................................ 68 Unlinking Connectors ......................................................................................... 69 Deleting a Connector.......................................................................................... 69 Advanced Loadable Family Techniques ................................................................ 70 Nesting and Sharing Component Families ......................................................... 70 Nesting Restrictions ........................................................................................ 71 Nesting Families with Interchangeable Components ................. ..................... 71 Creating a Family with Nested Components ...................................................... 71 Creating a Family with Nested and Shared Components ................................... 72 Creating a Nested Family with Interchangeable Components ............................ 76 Associating Family Parameters .......................................................................... 78 Associating Parameters for Model Text .............................................................. 79 Loading Generic Annotations into Model Families.............................................. 80 Adding a Generic Annotation ............................................................................. 80 Creating a Work Plane-based Family ................................................................. 82
Contents
Creating Vertical Families .................................................................................. 83 Creating Specialized Families ............................................................................... 85 Creating a 2D Line-Based Detail Component Family ................ ......................... 85 Creating an Annotation Symbol Family .............................................................. 86 Creating a Callout Head Family.......................................................................... 87 Creating a Curtain Wall Profile ........................................................................... 89 Creating a Detail Component Family .................................................................. 90 Creating a Division Profile Family ....................................................................... 90 Creating an Entourage Family ............................................................................ 91 Creating and Modifying Lighting Fixtures ........................................................... 92 Creating a Lighting Fixture with One Light Source .......................................... 92 Creating Lighting Fixtures with Multiple Light Sources .................................... 93 Creating a Profile Family .................................................................................. 115 Creating an RPC Family ................................................................................... 118 Section Head Family ........................................................................................ 119 Creating a Structural Column Family ................................................................ 120 Creating a Truss Family ................................................................................... 124 Creating a New Truss Layout Family File ..................................................... 125 Adding Truss Family Parameters .................................................................. 125 Sketching a Truss Family Layout .................................................................. 126 Creating a Type Catalog .................................................................................. 126
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Autodesk Revit 2014 Family Guide
Typically, the loadable families that you need to create are standard sizes and configurations of common components and symbols used in a building design.
To create a loadable family, you define the geometry and size of the family using a family template that is provided in Revit. You can then save the family as a separate Revit family file (.rfa file) and load it into any project. Depending on the complexity of the family, the creation process can be time consuming. If you can identify a family that is similar to the one you want to create, you can save time and effort by copying, renaming, and modifying the existing family. The topics in this section apply to the creation of model (3D) families, but some are relevant to 2D families, including titleblocks, annotation symbols, and detail components.
Workflow: Creating a Loadable Family
Workflow: Creating a Loadable Family Depending on the complexity of the family, the creation process can be timeconsuming. If you can identify a family that is similar to the one you want to create, you can save time and effort by copying, renaming, and modifying the family to create the new family. For best results when creating a family, use the following workflow. 1. Before beginning family creation, plan your family. Identify requirements regarding family sizes, how the family displays in different views, whether a host is required, the detail level to be modeled, and the origin of the family. See Planning a Loadable Family. 2. Create a new family file with the appropriate family template. See Choosing a Family Template. 3. Define subcategories for the family to help control the visibility of the family geometry. See Creating Family Subcategories. 4. Create the family skeleton, or framework: Define the origin (the insertion point) of the family. See Defining the Family Origin. Lay out reference planes and reference lines to aid in sketching component geometry. See Laying Out Reference Planes and Using Reference Lines. Add dimensions to specify parametric relationships. See Dimensioning Reference Planes and Lines . Label dimensions to create type or instance parameters or 2D representation. See Labeling Dimensions to Create Parameters . Test, or flex, the skeleton. See Flexing the Family Framework. 5. Define family type variations by specifying different parameters. See Creating Family Types. 6. Add a single level of geometry in solids and voids, and constrain the geometry to reference planes. See Creating Family Geometry. 7. Flex the new model (types and hosts) to verify correct component behavior. See Testing the Family. 8. Repeat previous steps until the family geometry is complete. 9. Specify 2D and 3D geometry display characteristics with subcategory and entity visibility settings. SeeManaging Family Visibility and Detail Level . 10. Save the newly defined family, and then load it into a project for testing. See Testing the Family. 11. For large families that include many types, create a type catalog. See Creating a Type Catalog.
Understanding the Family Editor Revit Architecture Revit MEP
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Autodesk Revit 2014 Family Guide
The Family Editor is a graphical editing mode in Revit that allows you to create families to include in your project. When you start creati ng a family, you open a template to use in the Family Editor. The template can include multiple views, such as plan and elevation views. The Family Editor has the same look and feel as the project environment in Revit, but features different tools located on a single Create tab. You can access the Family Editor by:
Opening or creating a new family (.rfa) file. Selecting an element created by a loadable or an in-place family type, and then right-clicking and clicking Edit Family. (You can also double-click a family element to open it for editing.)
Family Editor Tools
The Family Types tool (Create tab Properties panel Family Types) opens the Family Types dialog. You can create new family types or new instance and type parameters. See Creating Family Types. The Dimension tools (Annotate tab Dimension panel) add permanent dimensions to the family, in addition to ones that Revit automatically creates as you draw the geometry. This is important if you wish to create different sizes of the family. The Model Line tool (Create tab Model panel Model Line) lets you draw two-dimensional geometry for when you do not need to show solid geometry. For example, you could draw door panels and hardware or duct as 2D rather than use solid extrusions.
Model lines are always visible in 3D views. You can control their visibility in plan and elevation views by selecting the lines and clicking Modify | Lines tab Visibility panel Visibility Settings.
The Symbolic Line tool (Annotate tab Detail panel Symbolic Line) lets you draw lines that are meant for symbolic purposes only. For example, you might use symbolic lines in an elevation view to represent a door swing, or to represent the flow direction for a pipe fitting. Symbolic lines are not part of the actual geometry of the family. Symbolic lines are visible parallel to the view in which you draw them.
You can control symbolic line visibility on cut instances. Select the symbolic line, and click Modify | Lines tab Visibility panel Visibility Settings. In the Family element visibility settings dialog, select Show only if instance is cut. In this dialog, you can also control the visibilit y of lines based on the detail level of the view. For example, if you select Coarse, the s ymbolic lines are visible when you load the family into a project and place it in a view at the Coarse detail level. Tip: Use this dialog to control visibility of generic annotations loaded into model families. See Loading Generic Annotations into Model Families .
The Opening tool (Create tab Model panel Opening) is available in host-based family templates only (such as wall-based or ceiling-based families). You create an opening by sketching its shape to the reference planes and then modifying its dimensions. After you create an opening, you
Autodesk Revit Revit 2014 Families Guide
