Creating truss for the entertainment, exhibition and event industries

[Anonymous]

I have used a couple of different methods to create truss used for rigging and temporary structures in the entertainment, exhibitions and events industry.

One method made a family similar to AutoCAD blocks - you model the truss families and then place each length of truss one component at a time - but it was hard to get good reference points as it is such complex geometry. You would get a good bill of materials as each component had parameters to BOM.

The other method used a family with an array function - you could make one component 3m or 5.2m or any length - but this does not result in an accurate bill of materials list.

I have just looked at some of the functions for Insert Truss in Vectorworks, and the load calculations created by using the Braceworks plug in. Is there any way to create a similar functionality in Revit?!

Is there a "mate" function for reference point similar to that available in Solidworks?

Fingers crossed. 🙂

[Alfredo_Medina]

@Anonymous Simply use a truss family. Set the structural members for web, top chord, and bottom chord. All the members will schedule properly.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Alfredo. I have had a look at the Revit truss family which is designed to use for walls, etc. However the type of truss we need to use is aluminium box truss and tri truss, for example, Eurotruss. https://www.eurotruss.com/products/

Can Revit truss, which is generally only operating in the XZ axis, be programmed to build Eurotruss easily? And are there strong reference points for "mating" components which will be so heavily faceted?

[ToanDN]

You can design a truss using the Revit truss family template and use it for anything you see fit. It can be a 3d space frame truss if you build it as such. The template is simply a tool let you build it more easily.

[Anonymous]

Thanks ToadDN. I had a quick look at editing the Revit truss family, but there only seems to be two axis - x and z. So I could make ladder truss easily, but not sure how I would tackle box and tri truss. Any tips?! 🙂

[ToanDN · Accepted solution]

You are right. For 3d truss you need to assemble 2d trusses in the project. Another idea is using an adaptive family. Either way can give you the final result but trusses can also give you structural analytical models, which you may not need based on what you are doing. An adaptive family won't give you that and it takes some learning curve to be familiar with.

[Anonymous]

@ToadDN Do you think it would be possible to use the Revit truss family to make one side of the truss, and then load that family into another family to make it into a box shape? I saw you can turn the top and bottom stringers on and off. So for example, for a box truss, there would be one ladder truss on the left, one on the right, and then the top and bottom trusses would be horizontal and only have the middle segments showing.

This sounds like a lot of work for something that Vectorworks has already invented!

[Anonymous]

I have been looking at some adaptive component modeling videos, and I can see that it would be quite east to draw the truss families needed, but I feel that their use would be quite similar to the way our current blocks are used in AutoCAD: that is, piece by piece, in order to get an accurate BOM. I think Vectorworks has a much more intelligent staging truss process already built. Ah well.

[get_sued_mue]

Interesting topic. You have any experience with companies which are responsible for event equipments like here under https://www.green-event.de/en/ ?