Autodesk Revit Architecture

[#1]

Hi all,
I am puzzled by how, sometimes, the simplest things are overwhelmingly complicated....

Look at the steel manual. Revit is great, it allows you to load all types of steel framing components. They are one family with TXT file for its types. Genius.

Then Revit offers you the same Steel manual, but as Detail Components. Ok, well, this works great too, for detailing.

Then, one day will come that you want to use profiles to model steel components. This is almost vital in many cases, especially when using Revit Curtain walls, for example. To define mullion as Ts or Ls channel becomes an everyday task, and together with curtain walls definitions, you have some outstanding modeling capability.

However, for some reason, profiles and detail components are two incompatible elements, in Revit.

And, there is no Steel manual in the profile library! only a Wide flange profile is there, with its TXT file.

You think you just use the detail components, which are filled regions, as profiles, but again, it is impossible to convert the filled regions into profiles, while manteining all the parameters, and therefore reusing the TXT file.

So, after hours of R&D, I will have to settle using the metric library, which has all steel members as profiles.
However, they are called "universal", and I am not sure they are equivalent to the US steel manual....

My questions for Autodesk would be:

1. Why the imperial and the metric libraries are so different?
2. Where do I find the US steel manual as profiles?
3. If there is no steel manual for profiles, how do I convert the detail components into profiles, manteining all the types as TXT?

Wouldn't it make sense to unify the revit family architecture into a more flexible system? For example, lets use one 2D profile definition and use it for 3D structural components, details, profiles, and anything else that uses a 2D closed path as source...Yes?

Thank you

regards

gio

[#2]

It's strange that the Metric library has the profiles but the Imperial
doesn't. Should be an easy fix though, since the TXT type catalogs just
need to be named properly. I just tested this on the L-Angles-Profile.rfa
from the metric library, it should apply to the others as well, assuming the
parameters are consistent:

1. Copy the Metric profiles to a new directory. Open each and change
Settings>Project Units as req'd.
2. Copy TXT files from the Imperial steel folders. Rename to match
appropriate Profile families.
3. Load into project and test.

To try to address your closing question, families could be set up to use a
nested profile to define the steel extrusion. However, the family would
need to contain every definition of that profile in order to have them all
available, and you would likely loose the data efficiency of the type
catalog (i.e. only load what you need). Instead, these families are set up
with consistent parameters, and you only need to change the type catalog to
create/load new types.

-MJ


wrote in message news:5916079@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi all,
I am puzzled by how, sometimes, the simplest things are overwhelmingly
complicated....

Look at the steel manual. Revit is great, it allows you to load all types of
steel framing components. They are one family with TXT file for its types.
Genius.

Then Revit offers you the same Steel manual, but as Detail Components. Ok,
well, this works great too, for detailing.

Then, one day will come that you want to use profiles to model steel
components. This is almost vital in many cases, especially when using Revit
Curtain walls, for example. To define mullion as Ts or Ls channel becomes an
everyday task, and together with curtain walls definitions, you have some
outstanding modeling capability.

However, for some reason, profiles and detail components are two
incompatible elements, in Revit.

And, there is no Steel manual in the profile library! only a Wide flange
profile is there, with its TXT file.

You think you just use the detail components, which are filled regions, as
profiles, but again, it is impossible to convert the filled regions into
profiles, while manteining all the parameters, and therefore reusing the TXT
file.

So, after hours of R&D, I will have to settle using the metric library,
which has all steel members as profiles.
However, they are called "universal", and I am not sure they are equivalent
to the US steel manual....

My questions for Autodesk would be:

1. Why the imperial and the metric libraries are so different?
2. Where do I find the US steel manual as profiles?
3. If there is no steel manual for profiles, how do I convert the detail
components into profiles, manteining all the types as TXT?

Wouldn't it make sense to unify the revit family architecture into a more
flexible system? For example, lets use one 2D profile definition and use it
for 3D structural components, details, profiles, and anything else that uses
a 2D closed path as source...Yes?

Thank you

regards

gio

[#3]

MJ,

You mentioned families could be set up to use a nested steel profile to define the steel extrusion. Could you expand on this?  I can nest a Wideflange profile (as many as I want to load) into, say, a generic model or generic model line based family, and use the profile in a sweep for example.  However, I can't seem to drive the profile selection by a perameter.

Further, I'd love to be able to create a generic model adaptive family, say to create a curved beam through the placement of 3 adaptive points.  Any ideas about this.  I know it's a longshot, but had to ask.

Best regaurds,

Curty102