Advanced Revit Family Tutorial (with Brenton Wiberg)

On last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live, Brenton Wiberg returned to the show to share some of his most useful (and impressive) advanced Revit family techniques, tips, and tricks...

Brenton demonstrated some of the following real-world advanced Revit family creation techniques:

- Nesting multiple windows or doors that are fully parametric but also able to be tagged and scheduled on their own...

- A custom window tag you WON'T want to miss...seriously, it is a really cool tag. 

- and more...

Click here to watch the replay of episode 77 with Brenton now... 

Revit Family Formula Tips (w/Brenton)

Brenton came on the show last week to talk about his favorite Revit family creation tips he developed over years of getting PAID to make Revit families.  If you missed Part 1 of Brenton's episode, check it out here. There were so many comments and chat replies asking for a Part 2, we decided to do it last night...

Brenton continued on with his table and chairs example but we focused on family formula creation!  Brenton had some awesome tips and great ways of explaining tough concepts like "if" and "not" statements...

Oh, and he had a fantastic tip at the end to show you how you can TAG nested elements through a groups family...

Revit Schedule Excel Hacking with Paul Aubin

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On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by the "bim-famous" Paul Aubin to talk about Revit Schedule Excel Hacking.  What does that mean?  Well, it means Paul has been messing around with some of the limitations of Revit Schedules and wants to share some of his findings with you all!

Paul and I ran through a recent hack he discovered while overcoming a Revit schedule (note block) limitation while also more generally talking about some other ways this process (and some simple Excel skills) can open the door for you to hack Revit schedules yourself!

If you have never used a Lookup Table in Revit before... This episode is worth it just for that!

Our "Big 'BAD' BIM Tip of the Week" was submitted by Jim Balding and has to do with created room checklists for productivity management inside Revit.  Thanks for the submission Jim! 

Thanks to Enscape for sponsoring the Tip of the Week Segment.  Use this link to save 10% off of an annual subscription!

Sample Files:

Paul was also nice enough to share some sample files from today's session!  Click here to download the sample files today...

Revit Tutorial - Round Windows and Parametric Circles

Today, I'm throwing back to "old school" Revit Kid with a simple 5 minute video tutorial/discussion.  No fancy intro or anything.  The topic of discussion?  Round Windows.

First, a little background.  I teach a parametric modeling course at the University of Hartford each Spring.  After a couple of classes and rudimentary exercises on parameters, formulas, etc... I assign a homework project: make a fixed round window.

I am always surprised with how many different approaches students take to make a parametric round window.  As with anything in Revit, there are lots of ways to approach a problem.  But, I am curious to hear how you approach parametric circles in Revit. 

First, take a look at the short video I made about how I approach them... Then, let me know how you do... 

Continue reading to view the video...

Residential Revit: Parametric Angled Wood Bracket

Today, I am going to continue the "Residential Revit" series with the same project from last week: The Rocky Mountain Modern House.  Today, we are going to look at a family that I created specifically for this project (but continue to use on other projects to date). The family is a fully parametric wood bracket with a steel plate and some bolts (seen above and below).

Continue reading to learn some of the family creation techniques I used to create the family and download it for yourself to use and explore...

Mini-Course #1 : Download Today!

A few weeks ago I held the first ever BIM After Dark Mini-Course.  This was the first time I have ever held a live, formal, class online for the blog.  The class was a huge success and those who attended gave nothing but positive feedback.

In the 1 hour and 12 minute session I walked through the entire process of creating a fully parametric base cabinet family from scratch (like the one in the picture above).  Starting from a blank family template I show you my step-by-step methods to creating parametric families, including:


- Reference Plane Creation and Planning
- Proper dimensioning.
- Adding dimensional, material, and visibility parameters.
- Testing and flexing your parameters.
- Creating geometry and constraining it to parameters.
- Working with nested families.
- When to use instance parameters.
- Creating and modifying family types.


The feedback was so positive that I decided to package up the course and sell it for those of you who missed the live event.


Starting today, you can download the recording of November's live mini-course along with the sample files and images to help guide you in creating a base cabinet from scratch!

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What's Included in the Mini-Course Package Download?

- Full 1.25 hour long video tutorial with Q&A.
- Sample Family Files.
- Family Parameter Screen Captures to help guide you.

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Additionally, for today only, use offer code "minisavings" during checkout to save an extra 15%. Sorry, the discount code has expired!

Click here to download the Mini-Course #1: Family Creation package today!

BIM After Dark: Mini-Course #1 - Family Creation (Enroll Today!)

I am finally back from my wedding and honeymoon... Thank you all for the kind words of congratulations.  It means the world to me that so many of you took the time to send your love!

Three weeks ago, I held an e-mail only relaunch of BIM After Dark - Volume 3. (If you did not get the e-mails then you are either not on my email list (GET ON IT TODAY!) or you already own BIM After Dark - Volume 3). 

During the relaunch, I offered a bonus to those who purchased within the set time frame.  Well, there was so much interest in the bonus offer that I decided to open it up to the public for one day... and that day is today!

The bonus offer was enrollment in my first ever live, online, and interactive class.  It is no secret how much I enjoy teaching and I have always wanted to take the concept of BIM After Dark live.  Well, this is the first step.  

For today only I am opening enrollment into the first ever mini-course: Family Creation.  Continue reading to learn more about the course and to enroll today...

The Drafting Workaround...

Yesterday, I published a post that explored the dangers of NOT building custom Revit families.  I used the example of out of the box casework families. Today, I want to expand on this idea and present a common work around I see every day.  In fact, you or your company may use this workaround too!  What is the workaround I am talking about?  Let’s call it “drafting”...  For example, when you create an interior elevation and you use drafting lines and filled regions to show details, patterns, and information.  Let’s talk about how dangerous “drafting” in Revit can be...

I Don’t Have Time to Create Custom Families...

When I think about the least customized elements in a typical Revit project casework, or “millwork”, always comes to mind.  It’s true, the out of the box (OOTB) casework families are well-made and fully parametric.  But, when you have something other than flush solid door cabinets, as you would in many residential applications, the out of the box cabinets are lacking...

Revit Tutorial - Adaptive Fabric Roof Canopy Introduction

Adaptive components are a topic in high demand by the readers of this blog.  Due to this demand, I knew I had to dedicate a section of BIM After Dark - Volume 3 to adaptive components.  Similar to the rest of the series, I start by teaching you how to make a practical family that introduces the foundations of adaptive components.  Then, we build on these concepts and add some complexities such as parameters and hosting to a divided surface (giving you the ability to make forms similar to "The Web", which is also demonstrated in the series as a case study).

Continue reading to view a tutorial extracted directly from Volume 3 that demonstrates the principles of an adaptive component while building a fabric canopy...

Revit Tutorial - Constant Slope Rigging Family (Rigid Insulation)

We've all seen the wall section before.  A flat roof with rigid insulation that is sloping towards a roof drain.  I would venture to say everyone reading this post has drawn or modeled the above detail at some point in their lives.  I would also venture to say many of you are drafting the rigid insulation as a filled region EVERY time you draw this section.

The following tutorial (extracting directly from BIM After Dark - Volume 3, set to re-release in a couple of weeks) illustrates how simple it is to make a parametric detail component for this typical condition... Continue reading to view the tutorial...

Revit Tutorial - Parametric Pendant Light (Start to Finish)

To close out the launch of BIM After Dark - Volume 3 a couple weeks ago I held a live webinar (happy hour).  The event was fantastic with well over 150 people attending (live)!  You guys rock!  I wanted to post a recording of the event here on the blog for those of you that missed it.  In the video below you will learn how to create a parametric pendant light fixture (that looks good rendered) in less than one hour!  Continue reading to view the tutorial...

Revit Tutorial - Parametric Table: A Revit Family Introduction

In my previous two posts I discussed the topic of downloading bad Revit families and allowing free content to dictate your design.  These are two major issues in the Revit community and we are all guilty.  

What can we do about it?

BIM After Dark - BIM Can Make Families is live.  Volume 3 focuses on family creation.  From the basics (as demonstrated in the tutorial below) to advanced techniques (like adaptive repeaters and complex formulas) this volume will give you all the skills you need to build your own Revit families.

Keep reading to learn more about the course and view the tutorial...

Don’t Let Free Content Dictate Your Design…

How many times have you been asked about why you used a specific family in your project?  

How many times was your answer “because it’s all I could find”?

Frank Lloyd Wright is turning in his grave.  A man that custom designed everything from a desk chair to a drawer pull.  Imagine the horror on his face if you told him that you threw your design intent in the trash for the simple reason that there was no model available.  The time has come for you to stop settling for what is out there and build your own Revit families...

Are You Tired of Downloading Bad Revit Families?

I'm just as guilty as you are.  I'll admit it here on a public forum for the whole world to see.  I, The Revit Kid, have downloaded free Revit families from the Internet.  

You may be thinking, “So what? How else will I build my models?”

I will respond by asking a question.  Was the last family you downloaded for free a good family?

Was it parametric?  Did it actually look like the production intended it to? Was it even the size of the product you are specifying?  Finally, did it kill the performance of your overall project model?

Revit Tip - How to Drag and Drop Multiple Families More Efficiently

Bernie Wade, of BIM Design Consultants, has been a long time and active follower of this blog.  He has always provided me with great feedback, encouragement, and a question or two.  Well, the other day Bernie discovered a neat little trick he though would be great to share with The Revit Kid and BIM After Dark community.  Instead of simply emailing me the tip he took the time to make a video of it as well!  Continue reading for a video tip on how to speed up the process of loading in (and overwriting) multiple families....

Revit Tip - Nested Window Family Issue

I've had this link sitting in my draft folder for quite some time.  I decided to post it now because I received a couple similar email questions on the topic. The tip is pretty straight forward and has to do with how nested families visibility settings effect their setting in the main family.

Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I will let Jarod explain (he explains it well)...

Revit Tip - Family Categories and Visibility

Here is a little tip to keep in mind when using or building families.  If the entire family always shows in a floor plan view (even if the elements that are visible are above your cut plane) you might want to check out the families category.

A perfect example is the default Autodesk "Ladder" family in the specialty equipment category.  When you place the family you will always see the railings at the top of the ladder even though they are far above your cut plane:

More Revit Family Download Resources

Because you can never have enough places to look for families a new list of links has appeared on the BIM Technologist blog...

Click here to view the list of places where you can download Revit Families....

Here are a couple old posts of mine with some overlapping links (and some different links):

• Where Do I Get More Revit Content?
• More Revit Content Locations

Creating Custom Families in Revit 2012 / 2013 - Metric Edition

I posted about Michael's eBook on Revit families a little while ago... He recently released metric versions of the eBook for Revit 2012 and Revit 2013....   Oh, and be sure to check out the Forward in the Revit 2012 Metric version ... You may recognize the author.

Click here to PDF preview the metric version (with my forward)....

Click here to order the metric version (be sure to say you heard about the book from The Revit Kid.com)....