Array Based Families in Revit - What You NEED TO KNOW! (+ Free Guide)

 

Missed the show live?  Be sure to check out the replay below and a link to my Free Desktop Revit Family Cheat sheet...

Yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live was inspired by a subscriber's email (Matt).  Matt had a few questions about using an array in Revit to build families and some of the tips and tricks when doing so...

So, I thought it would be fun to build an array based family live!  And walk through some of those little "need to know" tips and tricks along the way.

Topics Covered:

- Creating a nested family and "carrying over" the parameters.

- Creating a line based family.

- Using and applying arrays

- Formulas to drive the array

- How to handle single objects and arrays in the same family...

There were a bunch of great questions and even some comments from Paul Aubin and Nick of Revit Pure!

Continue reading to view the replay, see the links, and download the free desktop family guide...

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...

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 - 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 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...

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: