OPEN WEB JOIST BEAM SYSTEM

[LYLE136275]

HOW CAN I GET OPEN WEB JOISTS INTO A BEAM SYSTEM?

I CAN GET BEAMS FROM OTHER FAMILIES BUT NOTHING FROM OPEN WEB JOISTS, BUT I CAN MAKE A SINGLE OPEN WEB JOIST.

[Paul Andersen]

Just to clarify you would like to use the Beam System tool to place one of the delivered joist families (for example: LH-Series Bar Joist). Is this correct? In order to place a beam system with a particular framing member it must first be loaded into the project. Does the member you wish to place in the beam system existing in your project? You should be able to see it in the project browser under Families -> Structural Framing.

If you do have the family loaded are you receiving any error or warning dialogs upon attempted placement of the Beam System? The delivered joist families have minimum length requirements in order to place correctly.

Welcome to the AUGI Forums.

[LYLE136275]

the open web joist family is loaded
any members of the family are not even an option
it will allow me to select from the beam type pull down menu but it causes the error below

error - can not be ignored
A serious error has occurred. It is strongly recommended that you use Save As to save your work in a new file before continuing.

also if i try to change a beam in a beam system to a member in that family there is an error

error - can not be ignored
Can't make type "Open Web Joist : 26" TJS".

[Jshaver]

What is the joist length?
Joist families can typically error out if the joist is not long enough due to the parameters and the formulas used to array them. I am not sure of the exact limitations. Can you create a single joist in one of the locations for your beam system without recieving this error?

[dbaldacchino]

I agree, when it cannot make the joist, it's typically because it's too short compared to its depth since the family is trying to array the webs.

I'm curious if you guys also find it quite irritating that you have to manually offset the geometry of each joist in a beam system to appropriately sit the joist seat on top of a beam. It's quite silly to have to go through the motions of selecting all joists and giving them the proverbial 2 1/2" geometry offset (or 5", depending on joist type and span) every time you place such beam system. Or am I missing something?

[jcharpentier]

the open web joist family is loaded
any members of the family are not even an option
it will allow me to select from the beam type pull down menu but it causes the error below

So the open web joist types DO show up in the type selector. You can select them, but they cause an error when selected. I think this is a different problem than them not being available.

error - can not be ignored
A serious error has occurred. It is strongly recommended that you use Save As to save your work in a new file before continuing.

Have you already sketched the beam system boundary when you get this error, or are you usong one-click beam systems?

also if i try to change a beam in a beam system to a member in that family there is an error

error - can not be ignored
Can't make type "Open Web Joist : 26" TJS".

I'm not familiar with this family- is it a standard one shipped with Revit?
The "can't make type" error occurs when there isn't enough space (length) to create all the geometry for a particular element.

[jcharpentier]

You could change the workplane of of the beam system itself, or you could create all your framing at -2 1/2"...

[j.pilot]

If you are able to select the beam type, and are prompted with an error when you try to create the beam system, another reason that you cannot use the open web joist could be the family template in which the joist was created in.

If this open web joist was one that you created yourself, check and see which family template was used to create the joist, i say this because i ran into this same problem with roof trusses. Certain family templates need to be used when applying types to a beam system, in order for the program to properly apply parameters to the system, and if the wrong family template is used, then it can cause fatal errors in the program.

One thing that i noticed was that you have to be careful when you download beam types, etc. from RevitCity, many of the items created on the site are created within Revit Building, and will not load into the project properly as a system, resulting in fatal errors (this happened to me)...you can also cause the program to crash if you apply too many constraints to the beam system also.

just a thought

[Trevor.Jones2]

Has anyone experienced errors importing into RAM when there is a geometry offset. When I offset my joist, I get error messages, but with no offset no errors? I am a new user, so maybe there is a workaround I haven't seen yet. Thanks.

[bschrader.121501]

I feel your pain...

I go to load the family, Open Web Joist is listed, preview available, but at the bottom it says "No type catalog available". Same issue with Plywood Web Joist.