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Linking Family Types in Nested Families

lee.imbimbo86EM4
Advocate

Linking Family Types in Nested Families

lee.imbimbo86EM4
Advocate
Advocate

I'm trying to develop a family for a mechanical air diffuser for my projects.  This diffuser can be a wall, floor, or ceiling diffuser.  But the company that makes them has fixed sizes.  The tricky part is that there is no consistency between the different sizes of the various diffusers.

 

For example, each diffuser has a Face Plate (width and height), a Nominal (width and height), and a Neck (width and height).  there is no consistency in their selection, where the size of the face plate is always a 1/4" larger than the nominal, and the neck is an 1" less.  They all just vary.

 

Add in the fact that I need this family on walls and on ceilings for the projects I want to specify it on.  That got me to thinking maybe it's time to play with a parameter type that I'm novice on.   Which is the Nested Family Type Parameter.

 

My thought is make the diffuser as a Generic Mechanical Family first.  Then create the different sizes I'd be using in that parameter type.  Then insert the Generic Mechanical Family into both a wall hosted and then a separate ceiling hosted family.  That way it can cut the necessary voids and perform where needed.   But I only have to do the main modelling and sizing once.

 

That being said, I'm having trouble finding any videos or instructions on how to setup this kind of nested family so that I can say I need a 10x4 and it just updates the family to the right family type.   Any advice?

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ToanDN
Consultant
Consultant
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lee.imbimbo86EM4
Advocate
Advocate

I'm giving it a try.  I've yet to try making my own Lookup Table, but it looks promising.  As a followup question, is there a general list for the different parameter types?

 

For Example, I'm getting kick backs on

Cost##currency##, column 'K'

 

and I'm not sure if I've got CFM_Max and EffectiveVelocity setup correctly, columns 'I' and 'J' respectively

 

What I don't get about the currency once is that it out and out says that is the correct configuration on this link:

https://help.autodesk.com/view/RVT/2016/ENU/?guid=GUID-FFA71D72-D4C5-416D-BF65-1757657C3CE9

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lee.imbimbo86EM4
Advocate
Advocate

Ok so ignore my previous comment, I found out how to get the currency and other commands working correctly.

 

Alright, so the last question I have is this.  What is the difference between a lookup table and a type catalog.  Because at this point I feel like I've actually setup a Type Catalog, and I've just used a spreadsheet to brute force my way through all the different configurations and parameter assignments.

 

Any thoughts?

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lee.imbimbo86EM4
Advocate
Advocate
Accepted solution

So I corrected my work order and got a working solution.  The solution is as follows:

 

(1) Prepare the family to be nested, and then insert that into either your wall or ceiling hosted family.

 

(2) In the family that is either wall or ceiling hosted, prepare parallel parameters to control the family that is now nested

 

(3) Interlink the nested family parameters with the new hosted family parameters through the Family drop down in the Project Browser

 

(4) Fill out a sample set of values as this set of values to initially test the family.  But this is critical for the next step.

 

(5) Export a Family Types txt file.  In this step remember what I said in step (4).  It seems to only export parameters for which you've assigned temporary values to.  The important thing about this step is that it properly setups the base comma delimited format from which to work with, as a txt file.  You can then import this format into Excel to more easily set it up.

 

(6) using Microsoft Excel, import the comma delimited txt file and then clean up the parameters you do an don't want.  You can reorder the arrangement too, as it doesn't seem to export the parameters in any discernable order from my perspective.  Quite literally even though Width and Depth and Height are all right next to each other in the Dimension Group under the Family Types Browser, they were exported in a completely random order in the txt file.  The critical thing here is that you don't change how it references each parameter in the top row, and that you proceed with following other standards for Type Catalogs in the finalization of this comma delimited format.

 

(7) once you're done plugging in your values for the Type Catalog, use Excel to export (or saveas) the file as a comma delimited format.  Two things here, the first file name for the Type Catalog needs to match the file name for the family; the second is that excel exports comma delimited as a *.csv file.  you can just rename the file type to *.txt once it is completed.

 

Now when you load the family into your Project, it should load the Type Catalog and prompt you to load the types you actually want.

 

When I tried just manually setting up the Type Catalog, effectively only doing steps 6&7 it never reference linked the files when loading it into the Project.  So there is something that is setup when you export the initial File Type Catalog from Revit that tells the family to reference the Type Catalog.

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CathyChoi_BIM
Explorer
Explorer

its 2 years post.. but nested family no point have types tho?

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RDAOU
Mentor
Mentor

 

@CathyChoi_BIM 

 

Your question is not so clear to what you are trying to model…I tried to first understand the original question of this discussion but then I totally got lost in between the lines of his reply which was marked as solution.  


Considering that the OP managed to solve the issue he was having, maybe it would be a good idea to start a new discussion and describe exactly what you are trying to model or any issues you are facing in the process

 

 

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If you find this reply helpful kindly hit the LIKE BUTTON and if applicable please ACCEPT AS SOLUTION


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