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Legitimate vs Illegitimate Families

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    #1

    Legitimate vs Illegitimate Families

    I was recently made aware - by members here - of the problem with having objects imported from AutoCAD embedded in my families. My company has a giant library of foodservice equipment in AutoCAD (all solids), and my idea for migrating to Revit was to transfer all of the non-parametric blocks (about a couple thousand) to Revit families. The reasons for this are mainly time pressures (we have several giant projects looming), I myself am very far from proficient in Revit and we're already paying hefty sums to several people who are working on the parametric families.
    I tried exploding the AutoCAD elements, and would very much like to know if this makes any difference as far Revit standards are concerned. Attached are 2 files - one regular (AutoCAD imported in, no changes) and the second with the imported geometry exploded.
    Attached Files
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    #2
    To be honest, it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be with the exploded dwg, never really exploded a 3D dwg in Revit, but at least it becomes a 3D object you can sort of manipulate. There are a few object styles I would get rid off though (well, all of the ones in the image).

    Click image for larger version Name: Object styles.JPG Views: 1 Size: 103.1 KB ID: 399693

    And I see you have a Yes/No parameter in there for the legs and as you have probably figured out, that is not going to work as they are part of the cabinet and you can not show/hide part of that exploded dwg.
    Company Website: www.deurloobm.nl
    Revit Ideas: Is this family Mirrored? | Approve warnings | Family Type parameter just those in the family

    Comment

      #3
      Originally posted by Robin Deurloo View Post
      To be honest, it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be with the exploded dwg, never really exploded a 3D dwg in Revit, but at least it becomes a 3D object you can sort of manipulate. There are a few object styles I would get rid off though (well, all of the ones in the image).

      [ATTACH=CONFIG]37625[/ATTACH]

      And I see you have a Yes/No parameter in there for the legs and as you have probably figured out, that is not going to work as they are part of the cabinet and you can not show/hide part of that exploded dwg.
      Thanks. The object styles and the parameter are not for use - I did that one family (DAB10) on the fly, to post here, and forgot to purge it the way I do my families.
      Please note that those families are not meant to be manipulated in any way once placed in a project - for this I have the parametric sub-set of our library, which will all be built in Revit from the ground up. My only worry is that my AutoCAD-based families will be rejected by a project's BIM manager for standards violation.

      Comment

        #4
        A waste of potential good dwg modelling to convert them to Revit.
        Last edited by HansLammerts; October 13, 2019, 02:50 PM.

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by HansLammerts View Post
          A waste of potential good dwg modelling to convert them to Revit.
          Not "good on you for recycling"? Like I said here and on my introduction post, I have a lot of constraints on this migration project.

          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by Robin Deurloo View Post
            To be honest, it is not as bad as I thought it was going to be with the exploded dwg, never really exploded a 3D dwg in Revit, but at least it becomes a 3D object you can sort of manipulate. There are a few object styles I would get rid off though (well, all of the ones in the image).

            [ATTACH=CONFIG]37625[/ATTACH]

            And I see you have a Yes/No parameter in there for the legs and as you have probably figured out, that is not going to work as they are part of the cabinet and you can not show/hide part of that exploded dwg.
            In recent years, they have gotten "better-ish" at remaining solids (this initiative was taken on at Adsk (i believe) so Formit could work better), but its still a short term solution: As you say, you wont be able to control the legs, OR parameterize anything, other than the materials of the main shapes. The trouble is, doing those things "later" doesnt become a "small" exercise, it becomes: Start this piece over.

            As i mentioned in the other thread: Opinions will vary wildly and widely, so not everyone will take the hard line stance i would take. But when i see content like that, i advise my clients not to use it. Thankfully (for you) not everyone is like me.
            Aaron "selfish AND petulant" Maller |P A R A L L A X T E A M | Practice Technology Implementation
            @Web | @Twitter | @LinkedIn | @Email

            Comment

              #7
              At least you are aware enough of the limitations of the autocad approach to be planning for a new library. Instead of being concerned about if "... my AutoCAD-based families will be rejected by a project's BIM manager for standards violation", go ahead and have the conversation now. At least you know what to expect sooner so that you have time to react before you cause a schedule issue for your company and your client.

              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by danbush View Post
                At least you are aware enough of the limitations of the autocad approach to be planning for a new library. Instead of being concerned about if "... my AutoCAD-based families will be rejected by a project's BIM manager for standards violation", go ahead and have the conversation now. At least you know what to expect sooner so that you have time to react before you cause a schedule issue for your company and your client.
                Well, I did have that conversation with two BIM managers on projects we'll be working on (plus with Revit people over here), and no one had a problem with our approach; my main concern is the near future, when BIM standards over here (Israel) become more strict, in accordance with what they are in the US (which they almost certainly will)... My problem is simple: immense pressure to make the move from AutoCAD (we're losing projects daily) + huge cost of move (new hardware + software + training of all staff + cost of paying pros to create the parametric families) + not enough hours in the day (it's 6AM and I've already been in the office for 20 minutes...)

                Comment

                  #9
                  Yes to all the above. Keep pressing on, focus on converting the families in some priority order, and remember that you might end up rebuilding some or all of them at some point as you grow in your skills. I'm sure Aaron could share some truth on that with his libraries (doors are up to v7 now)?

                  Nested families of common components (legs, tops, etc) will go a long way to help cut down the overall effort. Take the time to do it as best you can from the start.

                  Have you thought of hiring outside for help getting them done?
                  Last edited by danbush; October 31, 2019, 12:38 AM.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Originally posted by danbush View Post
                    Yes to all the above. Keep pressing on, focus on converting the families in some priority order, and remember that you might end up rebuilding some or all of them at some point as you grow in your skills. I'm sure Aaron could share some truth on that with his libraries (doors are up to v7 now)?

                    Nested families of common components (legs, tops, etc) will go a long way to help cut down the overall effort. Take the time to do it as best you can from the start.

                    Have you thought of hiring outside for help getting them done?
                    Thanks - I just hope retirement comes first (not a big hope, as people at my firm continue working well into their 70's, and sometimes even longer...).
                    There are a lot of parametric families that must be in Revit, and I'm paying a tooth and a leg to outside people who are building them. My problem is the thousands of items with no - or limited - parametric requirments (lots and lots and lots of equipment in a commercial kitchen!), which building outside the firm would have just bankrupted us (got some really insane offers). European foodservice equipment manufacturers have just - over the last year - started to prepare Revit models, so I might be able to switch a large portion of the library in the future.

                    Comment

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