Create custom Cellular Beam Sizes & Tonnage Schedules

[NFTech86]

Hello,

First time using the cellular beam family from revit. Can anyone help on the correct way to create a custom size? I cant find a tutorial online.  I cant work out what all the parameters mean (d1, bf1, tf1 etc). I also cant get a tonnage from the out of the box size. 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Tom_Kunsman]

d1, bf1, tf1 are all parameters that define the depth, bottom flange. thickness of flange for a beam.

Did you look at all of the options for the cellular beam? There is a Type catalog. I would recommend not making a custom size without verifying from a manufacturer that it can be done. 

Which version of Revit are you using? That will help with the tonnage schedule

[jay_colcombe]

Pretty much going to repeat @Tom_Kunsman here in that if you are looking for a guide which explains what all of these Parameters are in a visual format or descriptive this not available.  The dimensions will relate too the overall size of the element with "t" relating to thickness and "d" depth "w" web, and "f" flange as per the Steel Manuals the Construction Parameters with drive the Holes and Spacings!  But really it will be a trial and error to fully understands this!

As regards Tonnage you can either edit the Units for the weights or create a Parameters to Calculate or covert the Weight into Tonnage, there are lots of threads on this in this forum but with 2025 this is a lot easier with the new updated Weights for Steel Members so less work needed for calculated length/volumes and weights which also @Tom_Kunsman was referring to.

This is a great guide;

Revit Structure Scheduling: The Basics and Beyond | AUGI - The world's largest CAD & BIM User Group

[NFTech86]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for responding. We are using Revit 2024. How do I access the type catalogue for the cellular beams? When I downloaded from the autodesk families only 2 beam types came with it. I managed to add parameters and formulas to get a tonnage output but always wary of creating it myself.

[NFTech86]

Hi Jay! 

Thanks for your response. We did manage through trial and error to figure out what most of the parameters stood for. Thankfully we only had 2 beam types! 

Thanks for the info on the tonnages etc. I did manage to add parameters to get the tonnage out but its nice to see that the formula I did was correct, as per the example. I was a little thrown that the normal steel sections were using the units kgf/m for weight not kg/m. 

Thanks again for your help.

[jay_colcombe · Accepted solution]

Glad to hear,

You can edit the Project Units if Required - Manage Tab > Settings > Project Units

For reference, I recall Westok have some more in-depth Cellular Beam Families with more of an interaction with hole placement etc.  may be worth a look?

Westok Cellbeam Software - ASD

[NFTech86]

Thanks. Would you recommend this over the revit family? Am i right in saying that revit dont give the .txt file for cellular beams which is why im not able to load other sizes? I've downloaded the 2024 .exe file for revit families again and the cellular beams are there but they dont have an associated .txt file.

[tkunsmanWKCCM]

When I loaded the cellular or castellated beam from the "Load Autodesk family" I too only got two sizes. Ater doing a search, my only guess is that since AISC has been working with steel fabricators to bring back these shapes, Autodesk then had nothing to really go by. 

As I mentioned before, I think it would be best before anything to contact a local company that manufactures these, or even AISC before worrying about getting a tonnage schedule.

If you really needed one I did see there was a volume, so with that and I think the length one could use some formulas to get tonnage out (steel has a specific weight per volume and maybe length) 

[jay_colcombe]

For some families there is no text file and may not be driven by a Type .txt file, in this instance there are 2 sizes so probably this was created and provided by Autodesk as a Generic Example family for users to adopt and edit as required unlike the Steel Framing and column Families which have more more specific dimension references in the industry. 

I would ALWAYS recommend looking for manufacturers content first and contact them if not available, however there are times where you may have to use a generic family or another manufacturers content and edit as required using a data sheet to change values and fill in blanks. 

[NFTech86]

Thanks. That info has been really helpful and I've passed onto the project engineer regarding contacting local fabricators. We dont typically work on projects requiring cellular beams so its the first time we have ran into this issue. From all the forums it seems that no matter which family you use, they all have drawbacks/limitations.

Thanks again. Have a lovely day. 

[NFTech86]

Thanks I've passed this on to the project engineer regarding contacting local fabricators. He doesnt seem to think there is an issue with specifying any size we need, but we are in the UK so not sure if its different. At the moment he seems satisfied taking the weight from the red book for the beam section prior to it being cut, as the weight for the beam and working out the tonnage from that using the mass kg/m * length / 1000 formular. 

Thanks for all your help! Have a lovely day.