Radial/Linear Arrays using GeomCombination object and dimensions

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to implement a Revit family which contains a radial array. The idea is to create programmatically a component similar to a fan. Check the screenshot: testArray_with_solids.png. It should be possible to customizes the size of the screws, and also the position of them. 

To create the Radialarray, I used as ElementId parameter, a GeomCombination element.Please check the screw_1.rfa. I tried to do it manually, but I had no success. First, Revit could not create a group with the GeomCombination element

"Can't create an array because the selection cannot be grouped"

And second when a took the elements that form the GeomCombination, the void elements are also cutting the new geometries.

Is it possible to create a Radialarray Element base on that kind of constrained Element(GeoCombination)? is it possible to do all this process in the same family? Do you know another way to do it?

Thanks in advance,

[Anonymous]

hi, 

any suggestion?

Thanks in advance,

[aignatovich]

Hi!

May be it is a dumb way, but I'm not a guru of family creation.

You can try to replace the screw with freeform element with the screw source geometry and then copy it with appropriate transform, getting from the rotation of the point in the center

[Anonymous]

Hi Alexander,

thanks for the quick reply. I think, currently I´m doing what you said. I create a Freeform element from the resulting geometry of the GeomCombination object. Later, I copied the freeform element and applied a transformation for each copy.

What I'm trying to do is that the user should be able to customize the size of the freeform in the resulting RFA file by opening that file in REVIT. For example, the user could change the length, width and height of the blade (freeform element or GeomCombination) using REVIT parameters, and it will be applied to all related instances. So, my question is how can  a GeomCombination element be used in a Radial or Linear array? and the GeomCombination contains elements which are constrained(width, height, position...).

Thanks

[aignatovich]

Hi!

Look at attached file, it is the best I can, I learned much about family creation, interesting things)

I've moved the blade to inner family and replace geom combination to extrusion, may be it should be better to use your original family, just for one blade.

In outer family I've created radial array.

[Anonymous]

thanks a lot Alexander,

I need  to use my base RFA file (as user requirement). I will try as you did (using a nested family, and load my RFA file in another family).

Another question, in some cases the base family contains a void extrusion, and it will be used later with the a radial/linear array to cut a solid element. Do you know how to do all this process without using families? It seems, it is not possible to cut a solid with a void, if they are not in the same family. Unless you nest the void element in a face based family. But I cannot use face based because the data that I get only knows the positiion of the elements and not the element face that it should be cut.

Thanks,

[aignatovich]

Sorry, no idea.

May be it'll be better to ask this question in Revit Architecture forum board.