Project Spark

[#1]

Hello Spark Programmers: does spark have casework filler strips?  These are pieces of wood or other material that are used in corners and at ends of modular sections of cabinetry to fill in the remaining non-modular gap.  Such a parametric piece would typically want to start as a defaul strip of wood about 1/8" thick x 2" wide, x 34-1/2" high.  The idea would be for them to allow their dimensions to be adjusted to suit the gaps encountered.  Without such filler strips, we have to use much more expensive custom cabinet sizes.  Once again, if the program doesn't come with such filler strips, can you suggest and EASY way to create such a thing, perhaps using another component intended for something else, then modified to be the filler pieces.  I would appreciate your guidance; thank you. 

[#2]

As they used to say on Saturday Night Live: "Never mind.."  I found this in the Families folders not yet loaded onto a project.  And it has a nifty shape change handle that allows a person to change the width.

[#3]

Glad you found the filler strip family.

[#4]

I have used this casework filler strip and it worked fine.  I might point out that because of the geometry of using two fillers strips at a 90* corner, you end up with a little recessed hole at the corner toekick.  This hole is visible in the elevations and in the 3D view.  It looks like something was left out and is incomplete, because it is.  Any suggestions as to how to easily fill that gap?  Picky, picky, picky, huh?

[#5]

You are correct there will be a gap as you suggest.  There are a couple of ways to deal with this.  You could develop a custom family for use in this condition that is a 90 deg corner or just a filler for the toe kick area.  You could create an in-place model to fill in the gap, or you could extend the fillers past one another.  This will be ok in a 3d view, but not look so hot in the plan.  There is no magic bullet for this one. 

[#6]

Could you give me some guidance as to how I would go about creating an in-place corner filler model?  Perhaps after creating this model, I could somehow save it into a casework family and label it as a "Bottom 90 Corner Filler."  Or, I could always just copy and paste the corner filler model and stick in it somewhere else I might need it in the future. Since I go to the work to create such a thing, it seems appropriate that I somehow be able to save and file it for easy reuse in the future, though.  I would appreciate your counsel on this.  It is probably simple and I am just so new to 3D/Revit (1-1/2 weeks) that I don't know how to do it.

[#7]

The in place model option is really used for a one time only solution, in the context of the model.  I actually just rememberd Project Spark does not have in-place modeling so that option is out.  Making a family file is a better solution in this case anyway.

A new family can be created using the generic template.  In this case the casework template has some "stuff" in it we don't want so I started with a generic model template.  The geometry I need here is a "sweep" I need the filler shape just dragged in a "L" shape rather than a straight line.  Before I create the sweep, I created a left reference plane and a front reference plane.  I am making these to be able to create a parameter and a "control grip" so the family can be resized.  I then created a dimension to each reference plane and labeled them Length 1 and Length 2.  these are instance parameters, meaning each instance of this family can have this adjusted individually, there are not "standard" sizes.  Now I create the sweep.  I make sure the path is constrained to the reference planes by aligning and locking them.  Now I define the profile for the sweep and finish.  the final thing I did was add flip controls to be able to adjust the direction of the family.  Now it can be loaded and used in the project.

There is a lot here to wrap your head around so I have attached my sample family to this post.  it should work for your situations.  This particular family does not have an adjustable toe kick space but that could be added if needed.

[#8]

Thank you for your in-depth analysis of this.  Amazing how such a small thing could require such effort to resolve, but I understand that new ground is being plowed here.  Am I really discovering this stuff?  Haven't other architects raised these issues before?  Just curious.  I need some time to study your solution. I was hoping I coudl just follow a tutorial I am looking at and learn.  I really hadn't intended to plow new ground, but I keep finding things that appear to be obstacles to how custom home architects would like to illustrate and model their work.  Since you want that sort of input, I am giving you my honest thoughts in each instance. Often, you and I both find that I just need to be guided to solutions that already exist.

Okay, so  step 1.: what's a generic template and where do I find that?

Sorry for my lack of familiarity with these things.

[#9]

Step 1:

A family is created by starting from a template.  if you go to the application menu (Spark logo in the upper left corner) and select New>Family, the dialog that opens will prompt you to select a family template (RFT file).  The templates are organized generally by Spark "category".  The category something blongs to is how you control visibility of elements, schedule things, etc...  The category tells Spark what this thing is and generally how it should behave.  This coner filler is just generic so the template is very simple.  it just has 2 reference planes representing the center point of the geometry/orign point.  If you needed to schedule this filler piece as casework the category could be changed while editing the family.  I used generic just so the starting point was very simple.

The issue you are rasing have been around for some time and learning to create custom families to accomodate these conditions is all part of the learning process.  Creating custom families is a skiil you eventually need to make everythign you want.  It is also possibly the most complex skill to learn.  especially if you want to be able to control geometry parametrically.  I actually just taught family cration to my students at the Boston Architectural College last night so the subject is on my mind.

[#10]

Thank you for your guidance in explaining things that I am sure are basic for you and new for me.  I should have been in your class!  Unfotunately, I am several states to the south.