Look into using Intersects in liue of UV grids when applying a divided surface to the Conceptual Mass.

Are they all coming in parallel to each other, or are they splaying to stay normal to the exterior edge of the surface? It will do the latter if the Face of the mass is a complex curve (not a flat plane in at least one direction). If thats the case, the angles get really tricky to use.

Intersects + Divided Surface = Not the same thing as a Curtain System, at all. Great tool, yes. But if youre looking to make an Architectural curtain wall, get ready to divide each mullion in half, model it (the half) around all four edges of the Pattern Component, and have goofy lines and divisions all around it.

Its a great design iteration toy, but its not a Curtain System yet. Its.... something else.

OK...so until just now I had no idea what a UV or and Intersect was...so here's to learning.

So, in the conceptual mass I select the surface I turned off U and V and I made vertical reference planes that intersect the surface where ultimately I want mullions (there are only vertical mullion in the design). I then click 'Intersects' and select all my reference plans I just set up and click 'Finish'. I get blue lines on the surface correspond to the reference lines...I think I am done.

But when I reload it into the model I cannot select it to assign a curtain system. Well, I can select the divided surface but when I click 'Create System' nada happens. I did a test with a simpler model and again, an 'Intersects Divided' surface will not a curtain system make.

What am I missing here? And thank you for the quick help

Drew

What I was missing is Aarons post. So dividing the surface is not what I want, UV, intesects or otherwise. That is entirely too bad in my opinion...seems like an obvious link.

How then can I control this properly?

Thanks,
Drew

Folks,

So the right answer is: Futz with the angle of the mullions once the curtain system is placed.

I do this by going to a straight-on elevation view of the system and making an angular dimension from the mullion to a level line or other line I want the items to be perpendicular to. I subtract that angle from 90 degrees and use that number of degrees in the 'Angle' for grid pattern 1. Depending on the situation I sometimes have to make that angle negative rather than positive and sometimes a secondary tweak to the angle is required.

If you are lucky enough in your mass edits further on down the road and Revit still recognizes the face of the mass as being associated with the system, you can update the face and you won’t have to deal with the angle again. But if your face has changed too much or you make major revisions you will have to recreate the curtain system and do the angle work again.

This is what I have found, if there is something better please let me know. It’s a shame that the U, V or Interest surface tools (available in the Massing Tools) do not translate into the Revit Model, it could be quite sweet.

Thanks again,
Drew

Is there a way to have it NOT do the "splaying" and have it keep a true horizontal grid?
I was sure there used to be a way to do so, and for some reason not finding it now...

Thanks ahead of time

Is that what you're looking for? mullion.JPG