Hi everyone, I'm working on a project which includes a timber truss with multiple layers, as in the image below:
This is my truss after hours of work, and if something changes, it will be a mess:
This is my messy top chord connection with timber elements, and I always need to chamfer, chime, cut
This is the truss from my workmates after some hours modeling it:
This is the top connection
Working on this project in Revit was a nightmare, and my workmate on his iPad produced a better output.
Does it make sense to work in Revit on this kind of project? I've used it since 2013 and always try to use it when possible.
I decided to use a five-truss system to apply the five layers on Revit, but there are soo many messes that I think it was a bad idea. For example:
1. Copy and paste elements is impossible! There is always a mess, the element rotating 90 degrees, the element is no anymore in vertical
2. Impossible control the end and start point of the framing element
3. Impossible to choose how to cut the end of the element (yes, I lost hours trying all the tricks like using reference plane in 2D, but then sometimes it worked no, sometimes use modifiers no)
4. Impossibility of creating a group with Revit connectors so you can't copy and repeat the connection
5. Impossibility of connecting generic model with Revit connection but just members
6. Impossibility to use timber as material for member connection; yes, you need it inside the family and change material behavior in steel!
7. still impossible to cut elements in the right way; sometimes you can COPE this element, NO, no reason (at least no clear reason)
8. every time I copy and paste the connection, there is something strange happening
9. impossibility to visualize the truss system! It's crazy that selecting a truss takes me two hours because I can leave that visible with its control point.
10. How do you cut the head of the beam and column in Revit? Modifiers? Reference plane? Everything seems soo slow
At this point is better to use the Generic model as a member element and as connections and plates are still custom families.
This means that Connection, detail, and Revit element are very poor in possibility.
What should be the best practices? NO truss system? Yes, generic model? Costum connection?
I'd be glad if someone would go with me through best practices for timber design detail in Revit for CD and shop drawings.
For example, Id like now to extract all the plate's typology and create a sheet drawing with all the plates and the dimension; I know how to do it manually, but it will be very annoying and time-consuming. It should be greater having a plate schedule automatically with all dimensions.
