In Place Family Sweeps Using loaded steel Profiles

[cosmickingpin]

Hi, First Time Poster;
This might be old hat to some but I was kinda proud. A few weeks ago I decided to created a Profile file that corresponded to the Wide Flange section file in the structural library and to use the same *.txt file and see if revit would allow me to load paticular steel section like a w8x24 etc...

Well it worked so I can now model steel other structural framing components sloped, curved pointed, or what ever one wishes. I simply created a profile file that matches all the family attributes of the existing library file. . all you need to do is copy over that existing, with the profile properties, text file with a new name which happens to
match the new profile file you create.
Now when you create your sweep with the loaded profile, you simply rotate and offset it to the correct position. you can, I guess rotate your
profile in your profile file and save it off with a new name like "wide flange horizontal" or what have you, to get the initial orientation you require (just remember to save off a new text file with the same name. now as long as that text file has the same name and is in the same directory, your profile file (i hate how that sounds, but no choice) will pick it up and allow you to load any particular steel section you want.
If you are sloping any beams then the inplace family with loaded steel
profiles is the only way to do it. I am not sure if I mentioned it, but I
always use a gridline as my work plane for each sweep. this makes sense
for a lot of reasons, mostly because steel is usually on a grid line, but also
it locks the sweep to that grid line. Unlike the standard revit steel framing setup, this allows you to do not only pitched steel but also bends and curves. I also use this same profile/inplace family relationship with lumber profiles with the same benefits. I think revits structural framing setup up is kinda worthless and I think they should develope their inplace families to make this modeling method a little easier and better known. I came up with it a few weeks a ago and a friend who works in another firm uses it, between us there is about 7 years of revit use and we don't see a down side.

Cosmic Kingpin

[studioCJF]

Hi, First Time Poster;
This might be old hat to some but I was kinda proud. A few weeks ago I decided to created a Profile file that corresponded to the Wide Flange section file in the structural library and to use the same *.txt file and see if revit would allow me to load paticular steel section like a w8x24 etc...

Well it worked so I can now model steel other structural framing components sloped, curved pointed, or what ever one wishes. I simply created a profile file that matches all the family attributes of the existing library file. . all you need to do is copy over that existing, with the profile properties, text file with a new name which happens to
match the new profile file you create.
Now when you create your sweep with the loaded profile, you simply rotate and offset it to the correct position. you can, I guess rotate your
profile in your profile file and save it off with a new name like "wide flange horizontal" or what have you, to get the initial orientation you require (just remember to save off a new text file with the same name. now as long as that text file has the same name and is in the same directory, your profile file (i hate how that sounds, but no choice) will pick it up and allow you to load any particular steel section you want.
If you are sloping any beams then the inplace family with loaded steel
profiles is the only way to do it. I am not sure if I mentioned it, but I
always use a gridline as my work plane for each sweep. this makes sense
for a lot of reasons, mostly because steel is usually on a grid line, but also
it locks the sweep to that grid line. Unlike the standard revit steel framing setup, this allows you to do not only pitched steel but also bends and curves. I also use this same profile/inplace family relationship with lumber profiles with the same benefits. I think revits structural framing setup up is kinda worthless and I think they should develope their inplace families to make this modeling method a little easier and better known. I came up with it a few weeks a ago and a friend who works in another firm uses it, between us there is about 7 years of revit use and we don't see a down side.

Cosmic Kingpin

Cosmic Kingpin

Can you elaborate on this process?
I have downloaded and used your "W FLANGE SECTION" files that you included in your previous post (thank you very much BTW!!!) but know I would like to do the same with some other shapes.

What I did was to open the structural profile and save it as a new name in the profiles folder and them do the same with the *.txt file giving them both the same name. However when I go to create the in-place family I get and error that says "the family is not of the correct category."

Is this because I just did a "File/Save As" of the original "Structural Family" instead of creating a family from scratch? The only reason I did a "File/Save As" is that it seemed silly to have to redraw what was already an existing family.

Thanks in advance and RSVP soon as I am on a short deadline! (Like Deadline Tomorrow!)

Clark

[Wes Macaulay]

That ain't old hat - it's a good tip. Got any project images so we can see what you're doing with this? Sounds pretty cool to me...

[studioCJF]

Well I answered my own question and just as I suspected... I had to create a profile based on the shape and them rename the *.txt file to match.