Lighting Array

[Anonymous]

I am attempting to place a lighting component along an ellipse in Revit 2016. However I am unable to draw said elipse in the RCP so that I can get the ball rolling. I have made attempts at doing it on a floor plan and moving the components up in another view but I still can not pick the line to get the light to follow the path.

PLEASE HELP

[ToanDN]

To draw the line on the ceiling you need to create a ref plane @ the bottom of the ceiling and draw on that plane. To snap lighting fixtures to it is a different matter. I don't have Revit so I can't do a test at the moment.

[Alfredo_Medina]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I am attempting to place a lighting component along an ellipse in Revit 2016. ...

---

Arrays are rectangular or linear, only. An eliptical array would be a repetition. But, since the lighting fixtures need to be hosted by the ceiling and able to connect to circuits, I suggest that you use the elipse as a guide to place the fixtures, only, not as a true repetition. Following that idea, I would do this:

1) Family 1 : made with the generic adaptive template, set to "always vertical". It contains just a couple of model lines, like a cross.

2) Family 2 : made with the generic adaptive template. It contains a reference ellipse, and a divided path. Family 1 is loaded into Family 2, and Family 1 is placed on one of the nodes of the divided ellipse, and then Family 1 is repeated along the ellipse.  

3) Load Family 2 into the project, and place it on the ceiling, in the RCP view. 

4) Use the marks to align your lighting fixtures. Then hide or erase Family 2.

[chrisplyler]

Couldn't you nest (shared) the chosen light fixture family right into the reference ellipse family and place them on the divided points? Then load the whole thing into the project and place it on the ceiling?

[loboarch]

---

@Alfredo_Medina wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I am attempting to place a lighting component along an ellipse in Revit 2016. ...

---

Arrays are rectangular or linear, only.

---

Arrays can be radial as well. depending on the use case it might be possible here to construct an approximate ellipse using arc segments (the first 2 minutes of this video shows 1 method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EHgpk_DZWk ) and then use a radial array to layout the fixtures.

[Alfredo_Medina]

---

@loboarch wrote:

---

Arrays can be radial as well. depending on the use case it might be possible here to construct an approximate ellipse using arc segments (the first 2 minutes of this video shows 1 method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EHgpk_DZWk ) and then use a radial array to layout the fixtures.

---

You're right. It was a typo. I meant to write that there were 2 kinds of array only, but I messed up with the words. So, I was suggesting a Repetition instead, along a true ellipse. I do not understand the need to approximate an ellipse if Revit already provides the means to create a true parametric ellipse, as shown in my previous post.

In regards to the suggestion from @chrisplyler about nesting a shared lighting fixture, do the repetition, and then do the array: the reason why I don't recommend that is to preserve the abiltiy of the lighting fixtures to connect to circuits. For connectors to work properly, they need to be in the host family, not nested. And what @chrisplyler would need a double nesting: the generic lighting fixture with connectors would need to be nested to a generic adaptive family to create the repeater, then the repeater needs to be nested into the generic adaptive family that contains the elliptical repetition. When you finally load all this into a project, and click on one of the lighting fixtures, you won't the see the option to create a circuit.

[loboarch]

---

@Alfredo_Medina wrote:

---

@loboarch wrote:

---

Arrays can be radial as well. depending on the use case it might be possible here to construct an approximate ellipse using arc segments (the first 2 minutes of this video shows 1 method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EHgpk_DZWk ) and then use a radial array to layout the fixtures.

---

I do not understand the need to approximate an ellipse if Revit already provides the means to create a true parametric ellipse, as shown in my previous post.

---

I was suggesting the approximate ellipse method just as an alternate to creating a separate family. So a simple radial array could be used. I would agree the other method it probably better in most cases, but for a "quick and easy" method the approximate ellipse method might work.