Airport Passenger Loading Bridge

[rfilbycdt]

I have been tasked with creating an airport passenger loading bridge and I'm a bit out of my element here.  I am attaching a photo of what it should look like when completed (not mine, found on 3dcadbrowers website).  I need this to rotate up and down to accommodate different size planes and rotate site-to-side.  It also needs to have the individual tunnels extend in-and-out. I also need an end portion that stays level and is always attached to the end of the tunnel as it moves in-and-out and moves side-to-side, also a stair that will adjust to the level end portion. My grasp of parameters is very basic so even getting pointed in the right direction would be helpful. I have figured out how to rotate up-and-down with an angle parameter but this might not be the best way? (I was hoping to call out the level end height and have the angle adjust as needed.) I would like to hand this over to the client with the ability to input the overall length, rotation and airplane door elevation.

Thank you in advance for any help.

[ToanDN]

I break down the pros and cons of modeling it in project and as family.

1. Modeling directly in project

- pros: easier for wall, floor, roof, door, window, stair, utilities

- cons: you have to group them, make copies, and modify for different configurations

(note: for the typical configuration, you can save it to another file and link it in)

2. Modeling as a family

- pros: with lots of work, it can be parametric to flex for any configurations

- cons: no access to system families as listed above so you have to model everything

[rfilbycdt]

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@ToanDN wrote:

I break down the pros and cons of modeling it in project and as family.

1. Modeling directly in project

- pros: easier for wall, floor, roof, door, window, stair, utilities

- cons: you have to group them, make copies, and modify for different configurations

(note: for the typical configuration, you can save it to another file and link it in)

2. Modeling as a family

- pros: with lots of work, it can be parametric to flex for any configurations

- cons: no access to system families as listed above so you have to model everything

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ToanDN, Thank you for your reply.  I will need to hand this over to the architect that is overseeing the entire project.  They will then put it into Navisworks or Glue. there are multiple new airport gates that are being added so I thought it would be best to give one family and they could adjust as needed then put in Navisworks. Otherwise, I would need to draw each one separate and give them multiple models ( I figure that the hole in the airport wall where I would need to connect to would be different height for each gate due to exterior grade. The company that hired me was thinking it could be just one model and input desired lengths and heights. They were hoping to reuse this for future airport projects which would need to be customized again. And this doesn't need to be as detailed at the photo, mainly basic shapes. This will be used for clash detections so basically, the connection elevation at the gate has to be exact but the rest can be approx. just needs to mimic what the bridge can really do, so they can show it in their model

I guess my real question is it possible? And how complicated are the parameters that are needed to pull this off? At this point, I don't even know if I should be looking into using formulas or reference planes and reference lines?

[ToanDN]

If the only factors to be flexible are Length and Height then you can create it as a 'parent' family.  Create other identical items as separate families and nest them in the parent family.

[chrisplyler · Accepted solution]

I will suggest the following:

1. Make each basic part or assembly as a generic model family.

2, Load them all into a single Specialty Equipment family.

3. Set up reference planes and lines with dimensions and parameters. Flex this skeleton in every way necessary before you ever start placing the loaded parts.

4. Once you get the bugs worked out of the skeleton, only then start placing the parts in and aligning/locking them appropriately.

For an example of telescoping the main hallway, dimension reference planes representing each segment as a chain dimension with each segment having an equals constraint. Then one overall dimension with a parameter called TELESCOPE LENGTH. That parameter might be a formula like (OVERALL LENGTH - FIXED LENGTHS OF ENDS) / NUMBER OF TELESCOPING SEGMENTS. Get it? Then you have the fixed length of ends and number of telescoping segments set with locked default values as appropriate, and when you change the OVERALL LENGTH figure, the telescoping segments should adjust. Make sense?

Depending on how much detail you are required to have, that's going to be one complex family. Just take your time and get one thing right, then get another thing right, and just keep going.

[Anonymous]

If you are in the US talk to the BIM folks at Denver International Airport. They may be able to help with aviation related families

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @rfilbycdt

If you find posts have solved your problem, please click on 'Accept as solution' to help others with similar questions.

Thank you.

[alexandra.ellerby]

what did you end up with im looking for drawings like this in 3d and 2d on all angle views