Angular Constraints in Revit Families

[@czh998]

This is the best tutorial for constraining Revit families at an angle using reference lines👍👍👍. The key is that it needs two reference lines to constrain an angle. Haven't seen anyone else mentioned this.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Thanks! I often use this technique nowadays instead but it only suits nested components: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHmVfayAh6alhqs

[@ScottValentine]

I've been using Revit 16 years and these things always trick me up. I learnt a few new things here so thanks!!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yeah it's a tricky program to master - I learn things everyday too! Glad to help you pick up a new technique :)

[@ScottValentine]

I just found the centre point property for curves in sketch mode today 😂

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Also, respect for being such an early adopter! 16 years is an impressive time to have been using Revit

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@ScottValentine it's definitely a 'buried' feature - i found it by accident first time around!

[@ScottValentine]

Btw do you have a video of using arrays in families? I can never get them working. I haven't tried in a while though but i think I was quite put off.

[@jeffw.4324]

OMG I've been struggling with this for hours. Simply using reference lines instead of planes fixes everything!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yep I remember when I first found this, game changer!

[@mattmamich3814]

another work around for constraining nested families is to turn on work plane based and turn off always vertical in the nested family. edit the work plane of the nested family and tie it to a reference line just as this man has showed you. great tutorial overall

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yep I use this method these days for things such as door leafs, its greatQ

Hi BIM Guru, Thanks for this tutorial, I have been struggling with angles constraints so many times ! I have a trick for when I need to deal with this issue of having a line of length 0 (i.e when you set the angle to 0 in this case). I would draw the line and arc with a different angle, say AngleNonZero, and set a formula to this parameter: AngleNonZero = if(Angle=0, 90, Angle). This way the lines will still be drawn correctly even when Angle is 0. Then add a visibility parameter to these lines, with the formula Angle>0, so that they are only visible when the door is not closed.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Ah yes that's a handy workaround, I use similar ones for array protection if they go below 2 etc.

[@tomaszwisniewski319]

Hello Aussie, Thank you for this video, that was very clear explanation of my request. I hope this is not the last topic about creating Revit families on your channel;

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Glad you enjoyed it! Many more to come in future

[@sepidehzakeri7929]

Thank you thank you for the critical point! I was struggling with this reference plans since morning!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome!

[@tedm9820]

Thanks for a very good presentation

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Youre welcome!

[@badminton_ph]

Thank you for this video. Ive been figuring on how to do this for a couple of days now.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Glad to help! There's another option I use these days which I have a video for here which is a bit easier and more stable: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHmVfayAh6alhqs

[@warrenmaugo4489]

Thanks for this tutorial was struggling with the angular constraints

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome, they're always quite tricky! Just remember to use reference lines and their endpoints and you're good to go :)

[@arkplato2186]

that was helpful, thanks How bout some video on sloping roofs and the rooftile or maybe that is a dynamo topic to ask for.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

To be honest it's not something I'd usually use Revit for - too much detail. Typically with a roof I would just create a material with bump map and surface pattern which can report it's surface area. Assuming you know the coverage of a tile you can take this off using a calculated schedule field.

[@AlbrechtJ]

Thanks for a good tutorial.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome!

[@nicholastsagkos290]

Interesting tutorial, mostly architectural, i work in structural engineering, so i don't think i'll need it, but maybe i'll need to constraint an angle in a family at some point, useful knowledge anyway.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yeah structural might only use this in some bespoke truss familied maybe. This is another method I use also for reference (excuse the pun!): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHmVfayAh6alhqs

[@nicholastsagkos290]

@@AussieBIMGuru LOL, pun accepted. Thanks for the reference.

[@philipeddington6282]

Awesome work right there

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@stevecooper3010]

Hey, Gavin. Any chance you can do a shop front window that follows the underside of a skillion roof at, say, a 10 deg pitch to the head so it attaches to the underside of the roof? I can't find any videos on the net to explain this; it might be a handy Video to make Cheers Cobba.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Short of using a curtain wall, a window would need to custom built with an angled head in elevation, and manually set in its properties to the needed head height and angle to achieve this. Revit doesnt offer a tool to keep them in line unfortunately. Here's a quick sample I smashed out in R22 to show how it can be done: github.com/aussieBIMguru/Revit-Files/blob/master/Families/ABG_231016_RakedWindow.zip

[@abedaarabi3014]

I hope you can spot the light on rebar with dynamo, I know it's a hard subject but there's not much on youtube explaining how to reinforcement, with little Python. Also how to change parameter values from excel sheet! thank you so much for the efforts :)

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Thanks Abed! Parameters by excel is a great idea. I will release a video for this in a few weeks time using the Orchid package :) Rebar is a little outside my field of architectural expertise, but I'll have a look into it! In the meantime, here are some helpful example videos by others who have structural knowledge - maybe this is a good starting point... Rebar by curve/beam; kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYSWYnevo5d4sJo DiRoots rebar demo; kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJXdgX2Ln56eb68 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJXdgX2Ln56eb68 The great part is they share their packages as well here; diroots.com/dynamo-package-by-diroots/ I would expect that it is best to deal with different elements of rebar in different ways (column, beam etc.) then use a secondary script to deal with connections and turns. Not 100% sure on the workflow that works best but at a distance it might be worth approaching it like this in stages. Also check out 'Dynamo for Rebar'. I believe it finished in 2016, but may help give some more ideas! core.thorntontomasetti.com/dynamo-for-rebar/

[@slaughterbybear]

Thanks for the video:) Is there a way to do this with an an extrusion/ sweep that isn't orthogonal? I'm trying to set an angle parameter for louver blades with an ellipse-shaped profile. I'd also like to limit the range of movement of the angle. Thanks!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

For this I'd nest a blade by profile in a family, centric around its origin in the X direction. From there nest that into another blade family, rotate it about the Y axis a bit and set an angle between its centre plane to the live one. Then you can array that and associate the angle down in a family one level higher again. I've done this before successfully for my doors/windows collection I provide via my business.

[@renugopal7617]

Hi Guru, is it possible to control tilting reference line with certain angle and also reference line should rotate?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Not easily unfortunately. If you disable the 'always vertical' option, you can nest components on their centre at the family origin and nest them to a reference plane tilted about the origin I believe.

[@BloodyCatch]

Hi, Im trying to use your tutorial, but if i set my door to 90 degree, then revit wont let me change it to any other angle after that, where is the problem?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Generally it wont like being forced to those angles in the family editor in my experience. Maybe try my door tutorial where I show an alternative (5b - reference hosting).

[@lyna7434]

thanks for that

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Youre welcome!

[@galago-pq7oz]

thanks for sharing your wisdom

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome!

[@SeekYT6963]

Hi. Is there any way you can rotate an object without remodeling it? I have a ridge from BIM Objects and I need to rotate it parametrically

[@AussieBIMGuru]

The best way i know is to set it to not be always vertical, make it workplane based. Then nest it into a family with a rotateable reference line, and use the plane in plan as the nested families work plane. The family should rotate in line with the line in this case. I use this trick here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHmVfayAh6alhqs

[@SeekYT6963]

@@AussieBIMGuru thank you for the answer, but I didn't understand anything. Can you please make a video with it? There is no such video on KZbin

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@SeekYT6963 watch the video I linked to you. It shows how to nest a family onto a reference line. In this case I use a nested door leaf, but any standard hosted family would also work.

[@SeekYT6963]

@@AussieBIMGuru Thank you. I managed to make it work on a door, but when I try to modify a downloaded BIM object I can't edit the form to get to the extrusion lines

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@SeekYT6963 then it may potentially be imported as a CAD object or maybe it's a nested family.

[@PlatSoul]

works only on reference plane families. a complete mess trying to automate an object rotation on a title block...

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yes typically for north points I nest a centric family and dimension it with an angle about its centre.

[@PlatSoul]

@@AussieBIMGuru finally got it after some ridiculous hours of struggle and search. 2 angled reference lines behave absolutely weird but a single reference line constrained to the north indicator family I've made, gives me the proper working of the parameter on the SHEET. editing the parameter while on the titleblock family editor still makes some misbehave

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@PlatSoul yes I suggest nesting the rotating components in a generic annotation to make them simpler to constrain at the titleblock level.

[@supercheekykiwi]

bahh this awful 0 degree thing again. It is so frustrating. I want a 3d to be able to close so that it is shown correctly in internal elevations. Just seems almost impossible.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I use this technique these days which works brilliantly for 0 degree swings: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHmVfayAh6alhqs