Beam column notch in project file?

[asaundersZX5X6]

I am working on a project with structural precast beams that will need to be notched at the ends in many places where columns occur. I am able to use a reference plane to create a beam skewed end within the project file and I am looking to find out if there is a way to cut out a notch within the project file or if this will require a new beam family for each instance this occurs, which is what I'm trying to avoid.

Thanks in advance.

[emodderman]

Would it be possible to edit the structural beam family to include the potential notch? By using a void and some dimension/angle parameters you could apply some notch options - on/off, size, position. 

Are you trying to schedule the size of each notch and which beams are notched or not? If so, you'd need to make your parameters shared parameters, if not, then just regular ones will do.

Do you have a sample of the types of notches required on your beams?

[asaundersZX5X6]

Thank you for your response. I like your idea of adding parameters to the beam family and will look into this some to see if this is a viable option. Yes, I need to plan and incorporate all of these various column notches into our model. I am the detailer for a precast company so we need to account for the column notches in our precast beams to prevent a clash with the structural steel. The column notches are not standardized and where they layout in relationship to the end of the beam is circumstantial based on our beam layout that are beams of a typical width; additionally the size of the notch in plan view will vary because this is dependent on the column size that is different in many instances. Do you think your suggestion could be a viable option for what is trying to be accomplished? Please see below for an image of the first notch I am looking to create; the outline of the end of the beam is highlighted in yellow and the notch location is shown in red and with dimensions shown. I am working on laying out the beams from right to left so the next beam that I will need to populate the model with to the left of the beam shown will require a 1" x 11" notch to clear that same column. Thank you for your help! 

[emodderman · Accepted solution]

It could be a bit of family editing, depending on how many beam types you have, but it does sound doable. 

With 2021, Revit supports the ability to turn voids on and off in families. If you aren't using 2021, this might get a bit trickier, but it'll still work (you just have to adjust the void extents so you can create a void that doesn't cut the actual beam geometry). https://atgusa.com/revit-2021-new-feature-void-visibility-control/

Here is a quick image of something i set up. you'll need a series of ref planes in the beam family. depth, height, width1/width2, so you can control the dimensions of the notch from the extents of the beam. As long as they are shared parameters, you can schedule these values. 

[barthbradley]

What's preventing you from notching or joining?  Can you give us more specifics about your workflow?  I'm sure there's a better way to go than modeling/cutting each notch manually.        

[barthbradley]

All 30 cuts shown above were made on placement of the beams. 

[asaundersZX5X6]

Thank you for your response. Several of the beams for this project do not require column notching and there are many that do require column notching. My plan was to begin with a solid beam family and attempt to cut the column notches in the project file but I'm not sure this is possible. As suggested by emodderman the approach might be to set column notching parameters within the family itself. I need to work in Revit 2019 for this project. If the column notching should occur through the family would it be suggested to have separate families such as one for beams with column notching and one for beams without column notching? In the next post you provide an image of notched beams and mention that the 30 cuts were made on placement of the beams; how was that achieved? 

Thanks!

[barthbradley]

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@asaundersZX5X6 wrote:

In the next post you provide an image of notched beams and mention that the 30 cuts were made on placement of the beams; how was that achieved? 

Thanks!

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Literally, I just placed the beams and they were it automatically joined (e.g. notched out portion of the beam that was in contact with the column).   

I need more information about your particular workflow to be able to point you in the right direction.  For instance, are the columns in a Link?  Or, are they resident in your Project?  Are they your families? Are they all steel columns and you are placing all concrete beams?  

Actually, can you just post what you are working with here.  That would be a lot easier and faster.   

[ToanDN]

From the structural standpoint, the beam structural integrity is compromised greatly with notches like that.

[asaundersZX5X6]

Thank you for your response. Yes, the columns are all steel columns in a linked structural file provided by the general contractor. I have created a new file for the all precast concrete beams. 

Thank you for your help.

[barthbradley]

Use the Copy/Monitor tool to Copy all the Columns in the Link to your Project.  Change all the Copied Column to a Concrete Type and Join your Beams to the Columns.  

[emodderman]

Just to ask, what about the scheduling side of this. Are these notches going to be present in the schedule? 

I definitely like this workflow, but how does it "know" about these notches in the schedule? 

@asaundersZX5X6  i think you needed this as part of the output? 

[barthbradley]

Scheduling what? Volume? Joining subtracts volume.