Curtain Panel By Pattern Families

[hand471037]

Hey, I'm having a lot of trouble making my Parameters with with these new 2010 Curtain Panel By Pattern families.

Lots of unexpected behavior and math errors. Other than the video tutorial and the help files, does anyone know a good guide for modeling these Families?

[Joef]

Have you seen any of these: http://designreform.net/category/tut...vit-tutorials/

I'm not sure if they cover what you're trying to do but they're in the neighborhood.

[jeffh]

Other than the video tutorial and the help files, does anyone know a good guide for modeling these Families?

By video tutorials are you talking about the recently released Skill Bilders? What exactly are you trying to do? The curtain panel by pattern families can be very tricky.

[hand471037]

By video tutorials are you talking about the recently released Skill Bilders? What exactly are you trying to do? The curtain panel by pattern families can be very tricky.

No, the tutorial video that was released during the Beta. Sorry, forgot it wasn't public.

What I'm running into is one of two things.

Let's say I'm trying to make a panel family that's a simple rectangular panel with a round hole in the middle. I'd like to control the radius of that hole. If I do this the way I'm used to with 'normal' Families, I tend to get the "Can't Make This Type" of errors or if equations are in there I'll get weird errors that I've never seen before.

Or, if I do succeed in making a parametric Family, for example a simple rectagular panel that I'd just like to control the height along it's Normal, it's parametric direction will not be along it's normal, but at an angle, or worse, the whole top of the panel will twist as it grows upwards...

Guess I'll just keep beating my head against it until I figure out what I'm doing wrong.

[jeffh]

Let's say I'm trying to make a panel family that's a simple rectangular panel with a round hole in the middle. I'd like to control the radius of that hole. If I do this the way I'm used to with 'normal' Families, I tend to get the "Can't Make This Type" of errors or if equations are in there I'll get weird errors that I've never seen before.

Attached is a sample panel that is rectangular with a hole you can change the radius on. I think this is what you are looking for. Perhaps you can reverse engineer this one. I basically used the rectangular reference lines in the template to make the main form. I then added the 2 reference lines across the middle of the panel to allow me to lock the cicrle shape to the lines so I can control it's position within the panel. Then created a void extrusion from the circle reference line. Placing a label on the radius of the circle let me control that. The cylindar void I created I made tall enough to cut the panel when flexed in the "Z" direction. I took a guess at the maximim extents this thing would ever need to flex and made the cylindar just a bit bigger than that.

As for the second question about normals fliping etc... I am not sure I understand the problem clearly enough to be able to offer a solution.

Take a look at the Skill Builders, they do cover some issues related to panels having an inside and outside face and how you control that once loaded into and placed into a pattern. This may help you resolve some of the issues you are having. (Plus I am looking for some feedback on the Skill Builders. Let me know what you think of them, and what subjects you would like to see covered in future Skill Builders.)

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...linkID=9243097

[hand471037]

As for the second question about normals fliping etc... I am not sure I understand the problem clearly enough to be able to offer a solution.

Thanks for all the help!

I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I was forgetting that you can use Reference Lines to generate and control forms.

See, I'd draw Lines (not Reference Lines) instead, and try snapping / locking them to the boundary reference planes/lines, then generate the form from those lines, much like a sketch within a normal Family.

What would happen however is that the reference lines would rotate and shear as they were applied to a complex surface (like they are supposed to) and the 'model' lines if you will (and therefore the form) wouldn't change correctly. This would twist the form improperly. And then I'd try to lock and/or add parameters to those non-reference lines and it would cause bigger problems of overconstraining and such.

Now, I just have been picking the outside reference lines to make the surface, and have those control the form, and everything's working great.

[jeffh]

See, I'd draw Lines (not Reference Lines) instead, and try snapping / locking them to the boundary reference planes/lines, then generate the form from those lines, much like a sketch within a normal Family.

This use of reference lines and model lines to generate forms is a significant departure from what you are used to in "traditional" Revit form creation. Understanding the difference and when to use one over the other is an important concept to wrap your head around.

Glad things are working better for you now.

[hand471037]

Understanding the difference and when to use one over the other is an important concept to wrap your head around.

Yeah, esp. when you didn't realize that you had to use both to get what you're after. Everything makes a lot more sense now, it was obvious I was missing something big.