Bottom of pipe and top of pipe parameter.

[Anonymous]

I am an MEP BIM coordinator and need to come up with an annotation that labels the bottom or top of pipe.  The actual diameter of the pipe matters so using the invert elevation parameter does not work in this case.  Does Revit offer a parameter to use that gives you the bottom of pipe OD (outside diameter) and allow it to be relative to the level the pipe is on?  If it doesn't i am a bit puzzled why not as this is something the MEP coordination industry needs to get proper drawings out to the field.  Please do not give me solutions with Dynamo as i don't know this product and don't have time to mess with it.  This is something that Autodesk / Revit should give with their base package - no excuse to not have this.  If this was in another topic post forgive me but i have searched and couldn't find anything that answers this.  Also i know the spot elevation tag does this but i want to create a full annotation tag that has pipe size and type on it as well instead of having to tag or annotate the same pipe twice.

[CADmonkey_UK_Building_Services]

I've been doing this job for 20 years - haven't needed Dynamo yet!

 If I had to build to your Drawings I'd be complaining about your over-the-top level of accuracy -  5/16" on a building site? Tolerance is usually +/-1". IMO, you should round everything to the nearest 1/4" or the Pipe-Fitters will laugh at you.

Combining Size, System and BOP in a Tag is straightforward and I use them all the time and it doesn't matter where you anchor your Tag. Spot Elevations are for sloping Pipes and it very much matters where you place your anchor. ID only matters to Engineers, not Installers.

As for 'Double the work" you should be tagging every leg with its Size, but not every leg needs a Height. A good Draughtsman shouldn't be afraid of a little donkey-work, it's part of the Art. Why spend a day working out a solution that will save you 20 minutes?

[RobDraw]

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@Anonymouswrote:

That is what i did.  Just needed the proper bottom of pipe parameter which i was given from the Dynamo script.  i was just venting again about that parameter not being available with the standard selection of parameters.  

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Why didn't you start with the elevation tag and just add the size and system labels to it? No script needed.

[Anonymous]

The 1/16" was just to start.  I asked the foreman for this job what tolerance he wanted and he was good with 1/16" accuracy since we are dealing with a very tight job where every bit of space counts.  This is also just for plumbing not a piping job.  If i were to go to 1/4" tolerance on this one we would have conflicts with other trades it is that tight.  That is why i started this thread so i could get a bottom of pipe parameter not the invert which is the only parameter provided by Revit that gives piping heights besides the spot elevation which is not a parameter.  My issue was i could not find a parameter for this and needed help.  I finally get something to solve my issue from a Dynamo script that i didn't want to do and now everyone wants to chime in with non - dynamo info and criticize.  It seems as if the last couple of posters haven't read through the full forum anyway - my issue is solved

[Anonymous]

I did start with that however the elevation tag goes to the invert elevation not the OD (outside diameter) for bottom of pipe.  This is too tight of a job to miss the pipe thickness on the callouts.  Just don't have room to have a +/- 1/4" to 1/2" for the pipe thicknesses.  

[CADmonkey_UK_Building_Services]

Fair enough. I was thinking that if you're worried about pipe wall thickness then you've got much bigger problems elsewhere.

BTW, I'm pretty sure Revit reports a Pipe's 'Bottom Elevation' based on OD, not ID. 'Invert Level' is (strictly speaking) the lowest point of the ID.

Good luck!

[RobDraw]

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@Anonymouswrote:

I did start with that however the elevation tag goes to the invert elevation not the OD (outside diameter) for bottom of pipe. 

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Are you sure? The tag that I tried used the OD.

[RobDraw]

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@Anonymouswrote:

My issue was i could not find a parameter for this and needed help.  I finally get something to solve my issue from a Dynamo script that i didn't want to do and now everyone wants to chime in with non - dynamo info and criticize.  It seems as if the last couple of posters haven't read through the full forum anyway - my issue is solved

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So, now non-dynamo solutions are not being considered even thought that's what you wanted?

Good luck.

[Hugh_Compton]

I label my pipes with BOP (Bottom of Pipe) instead of Invert Level.  I also use TOP (Top of Pipe) and COP (Centre of Pipe).  

I prefer to use a Dynamo Script since it also gives the ability to tag pipe start and end levels as well as whatever else you would like.  

As a company we do both Consultancy jobs and Installation jobs.  To convert a project between Consultancy and Installation we merely change one Global Parameter boolean (yes/no).  Then we run a Dynamo script.  All tags (pipes and equipment) will then change to suit the type of project.  Without Dynamo this would take a considerable amount of time. 

[CADmonkey_UK_Building_Services]

"I prefer to use a Dynamo Script since it also gives the ability to tag pipe start and end levels as well as whatever else you would like. "

 - As does the Spot Elevation tool, which is what it's designed to do.

[Hugh_Compton]

@CADmonkey_UK_Building_Services

http://au.autodesk.com/au-online/classes-on-demand/class-catalog/classes/year-2017/revit-mep/bld1240...

If you haven't already watched this tutorial then I highly recommend it.  It shows some of the ways that Dynamo and the API can save you money.  The graphs at 1 hour 16 minutes and 20 seconds onward show some theorized savings.  

You do have a valid point that Revit's native Spot Elevation tool can be used for pipe's levels but if you ignore Dynamo / the API then you will be missing out on a lot of time saving routines.  

[CADmonkey_UK_Building_Services]

If this was Autocad we were talking about, then I might agree. It's a monster of a design tool for anything from PCBs to spaceships and it benefits from customisation. Revit, OTOH,  is a dedicated Building-maker, and all the wheels have been invented.

This thread is like others I have noticed where people are spending a lot of time trying to recreate existing functionality because they .don't know its there.

If I spent time learning Dynamo I doubt I would see a return on my investment when I can just go and buy what I need and it won't be my problem if it doesn't work. Also, I'm generally too busy being paid to sort out M&E consultants' designs that are incomplete, unbuildable, and poorly presented. A little less automation and a little more attention to detail (ie Draughtsmanship) would be my suggestion.

[RobDraw]

Customization like Dynamo (or LISP in AutoCAD) is great but I too have seen too many people rely on it without first learning how to do what they want without the code.

It's like the old saying;

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.

Once you learn to do something, that knowledge can be applied to other things in Revit. Using code as a crutch won't teach you anything.

[Anonymous]

It is worked .

Thank you .

Best Regards,

May

[Anonymous]

Hi,

This seems great but i must be missing a trick here. How do I tell if which ref level I want the dimension to be taken from? 

[dclapp]

BINGO!

Thanks for this. 

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@LjubanL wrote:

Hi,

why dont use a formula to create apropriate tag with BOP, or TOP of Pipe

you can do with dynamo, but why? do you need something special?

Regards

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[nabila.sharieffPN6AA]

Can we not just create a label in the tag family called BOP with the formula End Offset-(Outside Diameter/2) ?

Save the family, and you can use it for every project.

What am I missing?

[iainsavage]

It would seem that you maybe didn’t read part 13 of this thread?