Coarse setting turns my furniture into blocks

[fortywebs]

Hi, I have downloaded some furniture and sanitaryware which go with the look I want. Unfortunately when I am in coarse mode, which I want to use at the moment, a lot of the detail disappears and rectangular blocks are displayed instead. This is simply not acceptable! How can I edit each family to ensure that in plan, section and 3D there is a level of detail which at least describes the shapes of the furniture I have selected? I have been in and checked the "coarse" box but they are still not playing. Thanks 

[Redrunner92]

It sounds like there are detail items in the families which are set to display in Plan views. Go into the Family Editor and delete these detail items (such as filled regions and masking regions) and symbolic lines, then ensure the 3D modeled elements are visible in Plan, Section and other view types in each modeled element's Visibility settings.

[barthbradley]

Open the Family and inspect/modify the elements' Visibility Settings.  All the elements have Visibility Settings.  If your intention is to make the geometry visible in all Views at all Detail Levels, then  you may also need to delete (or hide) Masking Regions which are typically shown in lieu of geometry in Plan Views.  

[fortywebs]

Thanks - if you want to waste some time with this toilet, please have a go yourself. I've tried everything! I keep deleting things, changing visibilities etc.. saving etc.  It does not seem to save or do what I tell it to.  It's this file: BTW WC pan 61,5x36 -Emma Square- Gala - 27160  I got it from Bimobject.  Sheer hell.

[constantin.stroescu]

it looks like crazy ! isn't it? ... but it's not quite so...It is in fact a BIM policy.

Have a look at this excerpt from :AEC(UK) BIM Standard for Autodesk Revit ( that has as base BS1192:2007 ), 

Chapter 7 -Modeling Methodology (see the red bordered text)

[fortywebs]

Oh great! Yet another British Standard which is absolutely no help to those wanting to see things clearly! Rather like the British Standard for autocad layers, which doesn't give you any layers you want. Thanks for showing me that. I am finding that certain items I download are easier to raise the detail level to something useful. Others are already ok. But some have been designed so that it is almost impossible to make them work, so they go in the bin! Happy days!

[bill_gilliss]

Before you go crazy editing lots of families, understand the reasons for having levels of detail in the first place.

• Make interference checking faster. This can be a very tedious process with many complex objects, and simplifying them to cubic representations lets the checking complete much faster. If interferences are discovered in the coarse mode, they can be further investigated one-by-one in a more detailed mode.
• Speed up graphic performance in general. It's faster for any video hardware to display a couple of cubes than the curved legs, seat, back, and arms of a complex office chair. And in a big project where all the furniture and equipment needs to actually be present in the model for scheduling purposes, it makes the difference between being productive and waiting for every screen redraw.

[fortywebs]

Thanks very much Bill,

I think there needs to be a global toggle switch that allows us to switch all the detail on for all the families. That doesn't mean switching the entire project to medium or fine, as for me the architecture can stay coarse. Just so we can see what things look like and make a screenshot or 3D. I understand it simplifies it and speeds things up, but I have a fast computer which can handle chairs and toilets. Or alternatively, it would be helpful if we could just choose the level of detail of the chair in the properties window. These Standards put a stranglehold on creativity and speed of use. Who wants to spend whole days finding BIM objects which do not conform to an imposed Standard and instead, visually describe the form of the object in coarse mode? There's all your creativity and inspiration drained. Come on Autodesk, give us some useful improvements.

[fortywebs]

I've spent the whole day downloading furniture and sanitaryware and trying to get them to show their shape in coarse mode. They are just not built to do that. I accept defeat. Revit has won. I wanted coarse for the grey walls of the building, showing no hatches or internal detail, but with the correct thicknesses and buildup already set up. Surely that was the whole point of Coarse. Perfect for planning. My clients can't imagine attractive furniture and sanitaryware that looks like a coarse block, in fact who can? So it looks like I will have to do the following:  I will switch to medium and change my walls to wall types which have no detail, just a grey hatch, which opens up a margin of error, as the buildups will be blank. This is not helpful, as I want to be able to toggle from Planning to Building Regs, from Coarse to Medium. That was why I wanted coarse in the first place. If I am doing grey planning walls in medium mode, then I will have to change the wall type when I do building regs, which makes the whole purpose of coarse mode redundant.

If anyone reading this know of any BIM objects that are modern and attractive, which do not change to an extruded block in coarse mode, please let me know. I have found one company - Roshults - which I downloaded from Bimobject. Their stuff looks great in all modes. It's furniture for gardens. The whole library is great. But if you know of a similar company who do high end internal furniture & sanitaryware etc, which looks good in Coarse, let me know please! Thanks

[constantin.stroescu · Accepted solution]

There are two major types of Revit Families ( not only in Revit but for every other BIM software):

1. Generic Families
2. Manufacturer Families

1. The first category is more flexible and use more geometric parameters. You can get them from the web or make them by yourself.
2. The second category it's not flexible but has a lot of non geometric parameters that describe the item as it is made by fabricator (beside  a list of standard dimensions , contains information about model, color, components , insulation parameters, in brief all the information that you need about that product when you buy it) Beside these information there are also lists of parameters used for collaboration purposes ( in the design, construction and in facility management) like IFC or COBie.  Theoretically BIM process takes in consideration the entire process that goes from Brief and Design Concept through all stages till the Exploitation of the constructed Building.

So if you choose a family from the second category and you do not need it for BIM purposes , more then sure that you'll have to simplify it..

I made a screencast to show how you can do it by controlling the geometry visibility and erasing some overrides.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/community/screencast/9e67d314-8eec-4297-b203-a76968827c6d

[constantin.stroescu · Accepted solution]

you have to browse by yourself the .rfa files...you can search on these sites:

• https://bimobject.com/en
• http://library.smartbim.com
• https://www.nationalbimlibrary.com
• https://www.revitcity.com
• http://www.hermanmiller.com/products
• https://www.modlar.com
• https://www.caddetails.com
• http://familit.com
• https://www.bimstore.co.uk

I suggest to make your own library with selected families...From this libraries you can use Copy/Paste to get families into your file.

Examples of my Lybraries:

For rendering purposes of high quality ,a good solution could be if you export the Revit file in 3d MAX (especially if you have organic forms ) But, of course, all depends of your abilities in using this software....

[fortywebs]

Thanks Constantin,

Your video was really useful. I tried what you suggested, changing the visibilities of elements of the toilets, but I realised that if I want to make libraries which work that way, it would take too long. So I started to make some libraries similar to the ones you showed me. What I like about yours is you start yours with "generic" families, which are sometimes absolutely fine to use and are light on file size. It's good to see these and not forget their value. The ones I like though, to create the look I want, are the manufacturer ones, which are always so much more stylish! Even in plan at 1:100, they give a different feel to the room. So I have started my library with some attractive baths...

Thank you