Customize tunnel structural family and transform into analytical model

[Anonymous]

Hello, everyone. I am Nan

I have created one new generic family model(see attachment figure 1) in Revit 2019 and I want to calculate it in SOFISTIK. Thus, in Revit I need the analytical model (3D View in Revit) with clear nodes and lines. So that I can add loads and boundary conditions on the model. 

However, I cannot see the nodes and lines in the analytical model(see figure 1, to make a comparison, I created one wall structural family beside and you can see the nodes and lines clearly). That means I cannot add boundary conditions and loads on the customized generic model. I would like to know, how can I make the new created generic family available to calculation. 

Is there a way to add the analytical nodes and lines in the new created family?

Actually the new generic family is a part of the tunnel model(see figure 2). To model the tunnel structure, I cannot use the wall or beam family in Revit 2019 to simulate the whole tunnel. Thus, create a user defined family, not only from the Revit structure family template(wall, beam, brace, etc.), is very important. 

Is there any way to write the code by myself and add a plug-in of structural family(like walls, beams, etc.) into Revit. So next time I can simulate the model with the pug-in family by myself, for further calculation.

Thanks in advance for your help in advance and I do hope there is a way to deal with the problem.

Nan

[jeremytammik · Accepted solution]

In general, the best approach to address a Revit API programming task is to first research the optimal solution and workflow using the standard product features, manually, in the user interface. Once you have that solution in place and know exactly what you want to achieve and how to do so, it is time to start looking at the programming aspects. Do you have the first part in place? The best people to help with that might be the experts in the Revit Structure forum:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-structure-forum/bd-p/153

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Anonymous]

Dear Jeremy

Hello!

Thank you very much for your reply. I have already tried to use the
standard product features in Revit Structure. It can not help me that much
for big projects. For every single element or simple structure, you can
build it directly. For large structures with not only beam or other
standard elements, but also with complex tunnel structure elements, the
architecture or the engineer does not need to simulate the model again in
Revit. That's my goal.

That is a way to simulate the whole model by using standard products, but
it takes a lot of time for big projects. I really want to solve the problem
at the root.

Best wishes

Nan

[jeremytammik]

Dear Nan,

Of course you wish to automate it for a large project and a large number of elements.

However, my question and my suggestion is: do you have the exact workflow with each and every step figured out and tested for the manual approach?

Once that is absolutely clear, it should be pretty straightforward to automate.

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Anonymous]

Dear Jeremy

Thanks for the reply!

I have already tried how to simulate the tunnel ring element by using wall
elements in Revit(Revit-Structure-Wall). And it works. I can calculate the
"fake" tunnel element Revit model in Sofistik. For this workflow there is
no problem.

Best wishes

Nan

[jeremytammik]

Dear Nan,

OK, then all is clear.

• List the exact detailed steps to achieve what you need manually.
• Determine how to reproduce each step programmatically.
• Put it all together:
• http://thebuildingcoder.typepad.com/blog/2017/01/virtues-of-reproduction-research-mep-settings-ontol...

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Dear Jeremy

Ok, thanks for all