Informed Design: Understanding Insertion Point, UCS and Placement Plane commands.

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How to orient your manufacturing model for Revit insert, using the Family Definition options in the BIM definition in Informed Design for Inventor.

Manufacturing CAD software can default to modeling with the Y-axis vertical, while architectural BIM software often defaults to modeling with the Z-axis vertical.

In this article, we’ll learn how to use the Family Definition tools in Informed Design for Inventor to reorient our manufacturing model for placement into Revit as a loadable family (RFA).

Click here for the BIM definition help page.

Orientation options in the BIM definition add-in for Informed Design

Since the release of the BIM Definition add-in in the middle of 2024, frequent questions about the UCS, Insertion point and Placement Plane commands indicate that there is some confusion about how these command work independently of one another, as well as how they work together to achieve various desired outcomes.

Keep reading and I’ll try to dispel any confusion you may have as well as address some common questions regarding these commands.

When you install Informed Design for Inventor, you’ll notice that another add-in, ‘BIM Definition,’ is also installed automatically and set to load upon startup of Inventor.

The BIM Definition add-in provides the tools necessary to define and store BIM-related data directly in your Inventor product model.  This BIM data gets included in models that are extracted/exported with Informed Design for use in Revit in the form of loadable Revit Families.

Find these tools here:

BIM Definition (TAB) > Family Definition (Panel) > UCS, Insertion Point, Placement plane (Buttons)

BIM definition > Family definition > Orientation tools

Use the Export RFA command as a quick way to test these options.

The UCS Command in Informed Design for Inventor

For starters, let’s address the UCS command.  The UCS command is used to define the desired default orientation during insertion of the Family in Revit.  Keep the following key points in mind:

The BIM definition > Oreientation tools can reorient the manufacturing model for insert into Revit

• The basic idea is to orient the Z direction of the UCS such that it points to the desired “Up” or Z direction in Revit. 
• Defining a UCS is optional, so if you choose not to define one, the Inventor Origin Z direction will be used by default to indicate the Z direction in Revit. 
• The position of the UCS is not relevant, so it can be placed anywhere with no effect on orientation.
• If the UCS orientation is variable based on the active configuration, you can drive the rotation value for each axis as necessary using Inventor parameters whose values are tied into the configuration logic.
  
  If the UCS orientation is the same across all configurations, you can place it by clicking anywhere in the canvas and then set the desired orientation for each axis only once, which produces a static result that never changes.

• The UCS (if you define one) is only relevant if you set the ‘Behavior’ option to ‘Generic’ in the BIM Definition>BIM Properties panel.  Otherwise, the UCS is completely ignored and plays no part in the orientation of the resulting Family on the Revit side.
• The UCS has no relationship whatsoever with any Insertion Point or Placement plane defined, and is thus completely independent from them.

 

The Insertion Point Command in Informed Design for Inventor

Next, let’s consider the ‘Insertion Point’ command.  Use ‘Insertion Point’ to define the anchor point by which the Family is to be placed in Revit.  Keep the following key points in mind regarding the use of the ‘Insertion Point’:

Defining an Insrt point with Informed Design

• Defining an Insertion Point is optional.  If you choose not to define an insertion point, the Inventor Origin 0,0,0 will be used as the Insertion point by default.
• The insertion point is completely separate and independent of the UCS and has no relation to it or dependency upon it. 
• When a ‘Placement Plane’ is at play (i.e. because you defined one as required for face, wall, floor or ceiling based Behavior setting) insertion point you define will be automatically projected onto the placement plane in the direction normal to that plane in the Revit family result.
• It is not uncommon for the Insertion Point location to be dependent in some way upon the current configuration of the model, so you should think about how to locate and constrain the insertion point such that it will update as required for each configuration of the product model is generated.

 

The Placement Plane Command in Informed Design for Inventor

Finally, we can zoom in on ‘Placement Plane’ and provide some clarity on what it’s all about.

First of all, defining a Placement Place is required for Face, Wall, Floor, and Ceiling based Behavior options.  In fact, if you attempt to set the Behavior to any of those options before defining a Placement Plane, you will be transported to the create Placement Plane workflow automatically and prompted to define one.

The basic idea of the Placement Plane is to define the orientation of the model with respect to the host element (i.e. face, ceiling, wall, etc) the Family will be placed on in Revit.

These ‘hosted type’ Revit families cannot be placed in Revit unless their respective host already exists in the Revit model.

For example, you must place a ceiling in Revit before you place a ceiling hosted family on it. Revit will not let you insert a ceiling hosted element (like the smoke detector in the image) if there are no ceilings to place it on.

Setting a placement plane with Informed Design

Keep the following key points in mind as you consider the use of the Placement Plane:

• The Placement Plane defines the orientation of the Family with respect to the positive normal direction (i.e. perpendicular) as well as the relative X and Y orientation of the plane you select as the Placement Plane.
• The Placement Plane has no relation to or dependency upon the UCS, thus it is a completely independent element that provides an alternative way of expressing model orientation.
• Any Placement Plane you define is only utilized if the Behavior type is set to one of the hosted options (i.e. face, wall, floor, ceiling based).  If a placement plane definition exists and you set the Behavior type to ‘Generic’ the placement plane will be ignored.
• The Insertion Point (the one you defined or the default one at 0,0,0) will be projected in the normal (perpendicular) direction onto the Placement Plane in the Revit Family result.
• When creating a new Revit family, it's crucial to consider the flexibility of the object placement. Ensure you select the 'Face Based' option if the object needs to be hosted on multiple surfaces (e.g., wall, floor, or ceiling). This option allows you to place the family on any face within your model, including walls, floors, ceilings, or even sloped surfaces, rather than being restricted to a specific element type. This feature is particularly useful for elements like light fixtures, electrical outlets, or custom details that need to be placed on various surfaces throughout a project.

BIM definition tools in Informed Design for Inventor FAQ

In closing, I want to address a few more general questions that are commonly asked about the Informed Design BIM Definition add-in such as:

1. Why are there two different add-ins (i.e. BIM Content and BIM Definition) that seem to do the same, or a lot of the same things?
   
   Answer: The Informed Design solution requires a new approach to adding BIM data to an Inventor model that is compatible with the Inventor Application on the desktop as well as the Inventor Server application that runs on APS (Autodesk Platform Services) in the cloud. 
   
   
2. What is the difference between the BIM Content Environment in Inventor and the BIM Definition add-in? 
   
   Answer:  Some of the many differences are:
   
   
   1. Most importantly, Informed Design only utilizes the BIM Definition data and completely ignores BIM data defined using the BIM Content add-in environment.
   2. With BIM Definition commands you can drive BIM Properties (MEP connector properties included) with formulas that equate their values directly to Inventor Parameter values that potentially update with each different configuration.
   3. BIM Definition supports setting the desired Revit Category directly rather than deriving it from the Omniclass setting.
   4. Options for defining a hosted type Revit Family are provided by the Behaviors setting in the BIM Definition Properties panel where you can choose from Generic, Face based, Wall based, Floor based and Ceiling based.
   5. In the BIM Definition Properties panel you can choose to add Custom BIM properties to the selected Category assignment by including Inventor Parameters and/or iProperties.
   6. BIM Definition provides a way to drive the Family Type name based on the unique values of the current configuration using a combination of formulas and iLogic rules
   7. BIM Definition generates Revit families that are constructed with the individual solids in the Inventor model coming across to Revit as individual solids rather than a single direct shape result.
   8. The RFA Export command in BIM Definition generates Revit families using Revit Design Automation service in the clous on APS rather than local compute.Etc.
      
      
3. Why not just combine the two different BIM add-ins to deliver the best from both worlds?
   
   Answer:  Exactly!  This is where is are headed, but it may take a few more releases of Inventor for us to get there.  Stay tuned.

BIM definition add-in for Informed Design for Inventor Roadmap

The BIM Definition add-in is currently in active development as a high priority initiative with an ambitious roadmap to meet the demands of Informed Design solution requirements.

It is Informed Design’s goal to produce the best possible Revit Family model from Inventor, such that users of these families will require little to no post-processing on the Revit side.

As we write this in February 2024, we still have our work cut out ahead of us as we pursue support for Void Bodies, Clearance Zones, Sub-Category Elements, Better Material Appearance translation, Shared Parameters inclusion, and more.

Stay tuned for frequent updates and improvements to the BIM Definition add-in by staying current with the latest Informed Design for Inventor installer.

Click here to download the latest Informed Design for Inventor installer.