Create Parts: the state of development

[PinRudolf]

Hello,

We are (again) looking into the functionality of Create Parts and we keep running into small issues with the practical use of parts. We don't seems to get a grip on why these issues are not fixed? Doesn't anybody use them? Is there no need for this functionality? Are we using it wrong? 

I'm also verry keen to know if the forum-community actually uses this functionality?

My understanding of the function is that Parts should help move the design from a design phase to a detailing phase by ging us the options of making small adjustments to single parts of wall, floors etc. We absolutely love this functionality, but we keep running into the same small problems over and over. All of these problems are easy to fix, however the shear amount of tiny issues seem to prevent architecural firms (around us) to use this: Without an exception all firms seem to draw every layer using multiple single layered walls/roofs and floors. 

Even with the simplest model I need to make lots of adjustment to make this work with parts. The image belows show a sample with 4 walls, 2 floors and a roof. I would like to split this into parts, that's it, i'm not going to make any adjustments, i just want to get the output in the same shape as the input.

I might begin with the walls:

Since my floor is placed on the wall; when splitting them some parts give errors. (This seems to be because they get a thickness of 0 at some points. It only happend with multiple walls.) I will need to use a Miter wall joint to prevent this warning, or manually move and split parts to make adjustments. (I don't want to use Miter, but I most definitely don't want to make manual adjustments.)

Using 4 x Miter we continue: In section views it would seem that the inner wall is no longer correctly connected to our floors, they are even different on both sides:

The right side seems to be a visual error. When I set Parts Visibility to Show Original and then back to Show Parts it is now equal to the left side. Now I need to use the inner wall Shape Handles to fix the issues (that's 8 corrections for this simple model)

Now splitting the floors:

We can start all over again. Another 8 corrections. for the top layers of the floors.

The roof can't be split as long as it has multiple slope directions. So I'm going to create two seperate roofs, just for splitting. That is a lot of extra work: Splitting, mirroring if at all possible, attach walls again, facias need to be created again (and cannot connect to to facia on the other side), and so on.

I think the amount of work to get my detailed model to look like the original architectural model is just too much (more than 20 steps for just 7 instances, with the simplest possible example). But it also feels like the function is super close to preventing all of these steps.

So I would really like to request Autodesk to look into this functionality again and see what they can do to optimize our workflow.

[martijn_pater]

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@PinRudolf wrote:

Are we using it wrong? 

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Probably... But it's a recurring question which would suggest similar (intuïtive?) approaches from others. I think a lot of what you're showing is done by correctly setting the layer priorities. In general imo as soon as you're touching on join behavior or any type of compound structure, you should not use parts for it.

[PinRudolf]

I doubt that's the case, I am familiar with those settings, but I won't mind being proven wrong! Note that the original model - before split parts - did have all layers connected to the right place!

I've attached the orginal test model. (2019 format)

[martijn_pater]

I'm not sure what you would like me to look at...

Anyway in terms of development, there's the Precast tools in Revit 2021 which use the parts functionality in order to automatically generate precast elements for walls ie. Continuing on my previous (edited) reply, I think a 'part' is in its definition something that is a fragment, unjoined from adjoining geometry. So as soon as you are talking about using it on a compound wall/floor/roof structure that's sort of contrary to that definition.

[PinRudolf]

Thanks for your reply Martijn!

I am a bit confused by your answer though. The create parts functionality seem to be specifically create for the compound categories; the help files only talk about those categories, so does the instructional video and even de icon is a compound wall split in parts.
This might be a terminology issue on my part: I'm assuming you use the word compound what Autodesk calls a layered structure?

[martijn_pater]

A compound/layered structure, yes... Ok so, I don't have everything from the manual in mind. 🙂 Anyway I read trough it quickly, so what they're starting out with is 'a monolithic element', which is what you should be able to use it for without much issue anyway. But then for layered structures, although it is suggested to use it for that, it fails to mention the flaws which I suppose they'd rather leave out of the manual. It doesn't make it best practise so to speak.

I feel there should be a note in there about join conditions when using parts and also when it comes to "regenerating" parts because more often then you'd like parts get deleted for instance. Or a Best Practises: Parts page.

Then again others might disagree with me on the parts tool or have certain interesting,specific uses for it. It would be nice to make it into a Best Practises: Parts topic tbh if you ask me. 🙂

[PinRudolf]

Lovely idea! Thanks for thinking along Martijn!

Ouch, deleted parts sound dangerous! 😯

I feel like parts are little known and used due to all the small errors and exceptions. Though I also feel like they can be a wonderfull tool!