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Customize Radius Elbow for Ductwork

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Message 1 of 4
SantiagoRivadeneira
2086 Views, 3 Replies

Customize Radius Elbow for Ductwork

Hi!

 

Could anybody shed some light regarding duct elbows? I've managed to customize most of the fittings that MEP provides to my liking except for elbows. There are tutorials to create parametric fittings from scratch but before dwelling into that realm, I'd like to see if there's a quicker workaround by tweaking the catalog 😉

I'd like to select specific sizes for radius elbows. For instance, there are location where a 1W would not make it. My sheet metal contractor likes to work with 6"R for most turns on non-supply ductwork or just make 12"R for most 90 degree turns.

 

Any help or guidance will be really really appreciated.

 

Thank you!

 

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3 REPLIES 3
Message 2 of 4

Most of the elbows in AutoCAD MEP's catalogs have a specific Radius value.  You can however change this behavior.  The best way that I see to do it is to change the radius value from a calculation to a table value.  You can then set the table value to some radius value that is used most often such as 18.  Make sure that you set the elbow to be customizable then you can set the radius when you insert the fitting.

 

pic 1.jpg

 

 

pic 2.jpg

Message 3 of 4

Thank you Keith. I did try your solution with little luck. Your suggestion involves going into the Content Builder right? I wasn't able to find the "Model Parameters" window but managed to alter the formula by editing the Radius Elbow on the Catalog. The Custom Sizing Flag was checked but once I placed the elbow, it gave the radius I entered while in the catalog but was not able to alter it or pick a different value from the properties menu.

 

Am I missing something? 

Message 4 of 4

Did you set the visibility of the parameter to true?

 

After doing that you should be able to select the fitting and then double click on the picture on the property palette and modify any visible parameter on the fitting.

 

Here is some information that I found out through alot of trial and error that not alot of people are aware of.  If the parameter is configured as a Geometry_ModelDistanceParameter or a GeometryModelAngleParameter and its visibility is set to true then it will show up on the property palette design tab under "Other Dimensions".  If it is configured as a Geometry_ModelParameter then it will not show up on the property palette design tab.

 

Right about now you are probably asking ok, how do i configure it to be a Geometry_ModelDistanceParameter instead of a Geometry_ModelParameter.  You can set the configuration when you create the parameter on the model tab by choosing either Inch, Degree, or Unitless.  The first two will create a Geometry_ModelDistanceParameter and the Unitless will create a Geometry_ModelParameter.

 

The Model Parameters can be found by right clicking on the Model Parameters folder and choosing edit as shown in the picture below.

 

Model Parameters.jpg

 

 

 

Make sure after removing the formula from the parameter that you go into the parameter configuration and change it to a table based parameter.  It will probably reset itself to a constant after removing the calculation.  Again i would put a popular radius value as your starting point.  You will be able to make modifications to the value on the property palette if you wish.

 

New Parameter.jpg

 

 

 

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