Rotate Lighting Fixture

[SamuelAB]

I am trying to create a light fixture with a head that can rotate in two axes so that the light can aim up or down and left or right.

I have been unable to create a light fixture that can rotate up and down as shown in the Revit help files.

Here is a resume of my two attempts at creating this and the reasons why they failed:

Embedded family solution: The embedded family will not rotate vertically even as a face based fixture hosted on a line reference. If you rotate the line reference in the horizontal axis, the hosted embedded fixture ignores the rotation and does not follow.

Unique family solution: The light source will not move even if it is locked to a reference line, it evokes an error.

If you have done this succesfuly in the past, please let me know.

[rodney.page]

This has been escalated to Autodesk Product Support and we will get back to you shortly

[rodney.page]

The Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) has a solution to your issue.

Please refer to this link

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=112844

Refer to the post contributed by member jzabrosk

[SamuelAB]

Hi pagerodney,

It is very easy to do this if the embedded fixture is a Mechanical family. Unfortunately, in order to host an IES file, the family must be a Light fixture.

These two families react differently. The mechanical family will move easily, the Light fixture family will not. If I download this family (Systemalux-S-6692_28d Loft Spot.rfa), I can rotate the embedded head. If I modify the embedded head to make it a Light Fixture, all of a sudden when I try to rotated the embedded head, I get error messages that the "Constraints are not satisfied".

To be honest, I would prefer a non-embedded family solution. When I used the Tag All Revit function, it adds a "?" on the embedded fixtures on the drawing that I have to delete manually. Not the cleanest solution.

[Alfredo_Medina]

You need 3 families, to achieve the double rotation. In the first family, a lighting fixture, not shared, you create a parameter for the tilting angle. The second family is just to place the light fixture on a base, rack, or post, and to be able to rotate the light fixture along with the other objects later. In the the third family, lighting fxiture category, you create a parameter for the rotation in plan view. Finally, in the project, you can tag the family, and even if you do "tag all" this family will only be tagged once.

See illustration.

[rodney.page]

I have modified the rfa file in the previous link I sent you (Rotate lighting fixture up and down, and make it a non-embedded family).
Now it is not a nested family, and it can rotate up and down (on left view).
Please check "light1.rfa".

It is difficult to make geometry rotate on two axis (up/down and left/right).
I would suggest making two families, one can rotate up and down (on left view), the other can rotate left and right (on Floor Plan view)
Then load them into a host family and create two angle parameters.

As mentioned on the previous post there will be total of three families.

[SamuelAB]

Hi Alfredo,

This is interesting. Could I have a look at this family?

One thing I do notice is that your light source is your point of rotation. Of course, this is not practical since there would be no lighting when rendeing this family. One of the tricky aspects of this is to make sure the point source of light is not the rotation point of the fixture.

[SamuelAB]

Hi Rodney,

The difficulty is not to simply make an object rotate on two or three axis, the difficulty originates from rotating the light source itself along with the object. For some reason, Revit is inflexible with this.

I've notice that your family does not attempt to rotate the light source. Unfortunately, it does not answer my question.

[Alfredo_Medina]

---

SamuelAB wrote:

..

One thing I do notice is that your light source is your point of rotation. Of course, this is not practical since there would be no lighting when rendeing this family. One of the tricky aspects of this is to make sure the point source of light is not the rotation point of the fixture.

---

That is not true. See the attached illustration. The point of rotation is at the origin of the light source definition, and still, the light from the lamp renders correctly. That is not the critical issue. The important thing is that the solid geometry of the lamp does not cover the origin of the light source.

[SamuelAB]

Sounds good,

Could I have a look at the file itself? I am not able to determine the logic of the modelling through your pictures. This could be the solution I've been waiting for.

Thanks,

Sam

[Alfredo_Medina]

Sorry, but the family is part of a video tutorial that I have made recently on nested families, but I have some restrictions about posting that content, due to my contract with the company that commissions the videos. Are you by any chance attending Autodesk University? These videos will be on demostration at the booth of Axiom International, and I will be there, too.

[SamuelAB]

I won't be attending AU, I may watch some of the presentations online. It's too bad about the family, let me know if you have additional material, forum posts or websites relating to this topic (rotating light fixtures with light source).

[Alfredo_Medina]

See your private messages, in this forum.

[SamuelAB]

Do you know if it's possible to achieve the same results without hosting the family?

As mentionned before, hosting the familiy is not ideal since the hosted family gets tagged as "?" on the drawings and I have to remove each one manually.

[SamuelAB · Accepted solution]

I've posted my solution at the following location for those of you who were (will be) wondering:

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=134937

[Alfredo_Medina]

I see one parameter of rotation. Where is the other one? I thought you wanted to have rotation in two different planes.

Your comment above about why not to nest the family, is not necessarily true. The issue with the "?" tag happens only if the nested family is shared.

[SamuelAB]

I can rotate the family in plan no problem, the main issue with lighting fixture is achieving the vertical rotation (what I've done in this family). Furthermore, the light fixture I based this family on only has one point of rotation. http://www.junolightinggroup.com/literature/LIT-JUNO-LEDWW-1.pdf

You are correct about the embedded family, you simply have to not share it in order for it not to show up in the schedule or be tagged automatically (or at all). I had to refresh my memory on what sharing embedded components meant since I thought it would somehow disable the light source. It never hurts to go digging in the Revit Family Guide.

[Alfredo_Medina]

Then, according to your last post, and the .pdf file that you posted, you needed one rotation, only. So, why did you start the thread with this sentence: "I am trying to create a light fixture with a head that can rotate in two axes so that the light can aim up or down and left or right." ? That is something different.

[SamuelAB]

You're right, I made a mistake. It should've said "I am trying to create a light fixture with a head that can aim up or down and left or right." since it is really easy to aim a light fixture left or right.

Using this technique, I will be able to model track lights that can rotate on any axis in the future.

[Alfredo_Medina]

Hmm.. Isn't this new sentence talking about a double rotation, as in the first sentence?