I am trying to use CAD geometry to create a sweep in a roof window.
The roof window is made from metric generic model roof based. This all works and flexes OK. The opening sash I am trying to nest from the same template and again if I do this as a sweep it nests and flexes OK. The sweep profile is simple lines either from a profile.rft or in the roof window family. So there are no family type issues.
Where it all goes wrong is introducing complexity in the nested sweep profile. Firstly trying to use CAD lines (ie using pick-lines to follow the 2D cad geometry) - always comes up with cant create sweep, no good views, profile type contains no loops. Its definitely a closed coplanar polygon. I've tried pasting the geometry into the profile family, simplifying the shape to just reduce to a few lines and always to the same result.
Anyone want to have a go? There are 3 profiles loaded only one of which will work. Also attached separate profiles of roughly same outline but different complexity. Only the rectangular outline will work. I have tried pasting in the profile into edit profile mode but cant orientate it to the plane of the profile - pasting just seems to result in the profile inserting perpendicular to the workplane in edit mode.
Solved! Go to Solution.
Solved by Alfredo_Medina. Go to Solution.
One way to fix profiles that don't work, is this:
Copy the lines from the profile family, and paste them into the sketch of a new extrusion in a model family. Try to finish the extrusion. If the extrusion does not work, Revit will tell you what the problem is (overlapping lines, bad connections, etc...), and that will help you to fix the sketch. If you finish the extrusion, and it works, or if it works after correcting the issues, then edit the extrusion, so that you have acccess to the fixed sketch again. Copy that sketch, and paste it in the profile family, replacing the old one. Then load the fixed profile into the other family where you wanted to use the profile in a sweep. Now the sweep will work.
Thanks - excellant workaround. Works both in generic model and in-place family. Am I right in concluding that inserting as profile families is too hit and miss and much easier to just paste the geometry. Use profles as convenient place to park geometry but forget the "Load profile" method?
I don't agree with that. Actually the Load profile method is better because it allows you control over the profile. If you have more profiles loaded it is easy to edit the sweep to change the profile. If you just cut and paste you end up with just a bunch of lines, while a profile is a family that you can edit in its own file, with its own reference planes, parameters, etc. I recommend the Load Profile method.
Flexing it now and I think you are right. The ref plane params for whats connected inside the sweep are just pulling the pasted profile out of shape. Tried a param setting a ref plane offset from a face and its not working
Yes the profile workaround is working now with profile family replacing the Edit Profile geometry. Any reason why just pasting into an extrusion and then out again works. I havnt done anything else to the geomtry. If I try and paste directly from CAD (ie from Import CAD and then copy paste into the profile family) it doesnt work.
The reason why it works after being used in an extrusion is probably because once we edit the extrusion, the lines in the sketch have been already fully converted into native Revit lines. Once the sketch is fixed, those lines can be used as a profile. To avoid all this, next time do your profiles with the native Revit drawing tools, instead of importing stuff from AutoCAD.