precast wall panels

[Justin Marchiel]

How does everyone create precast wall panels? Is it easier to have a mass with voids for the control joints, or would a wall work just fine (the only problem is that i dont know how to put a vertical control joint in the wall)?

I guess i am looking for the most effeiceint and computer friendly way to do it.

Thanks

Justin

[ejburrell67787]

Use a model surface pattern on whatever wall type you are using for the joints... no need to actually model them!! You can align the model pattern to wherever you need the joints to set out from.

[Scott D Davis]

One solution may be to use a "curtain wall" that is predefined. Set the vertical spacing to your panel size. Set both the horizontal and vertical mullions to "none". Set the 'panel type" to a wall type that you have already defined. Draw the curtain wall, and your panels will 'magically' appear!

See attached image:

[Justin Marchiel]

I am new to revit. Do you mean that you are "drawing lines" over the elevation model to put it in simple terms ( i dont really know the revit lingo yet)?

Justin

[jrocc858]

You could also make a concrete wall type and use host sweep reveals for the panel/control joints. This alows you to use a chamfered joint or whatever profile you want, but the reveals can only run orthagonal to the wall iirc.

[Justin Marchiel]

You could also make a concrete wall type and use host sweep reveals for the panel/control joints. This alows you to use a chamfered joint or whatever profile you want, but the reveals can only run orthagonal to the wall iirc.

I didn't reasize that you could put them vertical (my mistake and not looking hard enough). the problem i know run into is that i dont know how to change the shape or profile of the sweep or reveal when it is a host sweep. I can attach sweep as part of the wall familiy and use a profile no problem, but the host sweep from the tool eludes me.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Justin

[Justin Marchiel]

Nevermind i found it in the sweep properties dialogue. you change it to what ever profile that you wish.

Thanks

Justin

[rod.74246]

The other option i have done in the past is to create each individual panel as a wall, then disallow the joins at the ends and copy the panel around with the spacing in between. I have found it gives you more control. Sweeps can be pretty touchy when you are messing with wall openings and heights and things and i have found they like to delete themselves when you change the wall parameters.

[tatlin]

You can also use curtain walls and create 'wall panels' that are real revit walls. Draw a curtain wall, select a curtain panel and swap it's type to be a wall type. You now have a peice of wall that can host windows, be cut in plan, etc.

Using wall panels gets you the panel joints 'for free' and allows you to manipulate the overall wall more easily because the panels are all 'driven' by the master curtain wall.

[Alex Page]

You can also use curtain walls and create 'wall panels' that are real revit walls. Draw a curtain wall, select a curtain panel and swap it's type to be a wall type. You now have a peice of wall that can host windows, be cut in plan, etc.

Using wall panels gets you the panel joints 'for free' and allows you to manipulate the overall wall more easily because the panels are all 'driven' by the master curtain wall.

Yeah......this is the only way our firm does it...absolutely no probs

[Alvin_Alejandro]

Yeah......this is the only way our firm does it...absolutely no probs

OK...but how do you put chamfer on the plan in every joint? It is by Edit Cut Profile...?

[ejburrell67787]

Can you make a mullion as a void object with the desired chamfer shape?

[kpaxton]

My vote? Curtain walls!

After seeing this demonstrated at AU this year, I thought to myself... WOW. That's pretty darn powerful! Once you get the hang of making your panels, and then aligning your grids where they need to be. Hit APPLY and Bang.. you're almost done with your project.

OK... well not really. But you get my enthusiastic point. By the way, we don't do any Tilt-up here in the offfice, but I know some friends who do. I bet after I tell them, they'll switch from ADT. :lol:

Also - Yes, there are many ways to do the same task in Revit - walls with sweep voids, walls with model patterns, etc. The hardest thing to do is figure out the right tool - and it sometimes boils down to which is the right tool for you!

Elrond - Yes, in your curtain Panel - add Voids to cut your patterns, whatever that may be, out of your wall. When you place the panel, make sure the spacing is right and your cuts will show up perfectly. This also will work great for those Tie Holes we architects are so fond of! Void away!

Kyle

[Scott D Davis]

You can also use curtain walls and create 'wall panels' that are real revit walls. Draw a curtain wall, select a curtain panel and swap it's type to be a wall type. You now have a peice of wall that can host windows, be cut in plan, etc.

Using wall panels gets you the panel joints 'for free' and allows you to manipulate the overall wall more easily because the panels are all 'driven' by the master curtain wall.
Wait just a second.....isn't that what I said about 6 posts previously??? :-)

[Justin Marchiel]

My vote? Curtain walls!

Elrond - Yes, in your curtain Panel - add Voids to cut your patterns, whatever that may be, out of your wall. When you place the panel, make sure the spacing is right and your cuts will show up perfectly. This also will work great for those Tie Holes we architects are so fond of! Void away!

Kyle

I tried using curtain walls in adt to cut out the holes for the tie pattern, but found that it really slowed adt down. does this work much faster in REVIT? I like the idea of showing the ties, but if it slows performance down, i would just make a pattern.

Justin

[kpaxton]

I tried using curtain walls in adt to cut out the holes for the tie pattern, but found that it really slowed adt down. does this work much faster in REVIT? I like the idea of showing the ties, but if it slows performance down, i would just make a pattern. Justin
Well.... I don't think I'd necessarily compare one function in ADT with a similar function in Revit. Curtain walls in Revit, once you get to know how they function, are quick and relatively simple. I wish I would have had this tool years ago. The fact that you can pretty much do anything in a panel family is pretty amazing. I won't say the voids don't add anything to the 'overhead', but it's negligible from what you gain. If you've got a decent computer to run Revit, then you won't have a problem. Besides, there are too many things to worry about in your drawing than the performance or overhead created by predefined panels (which again is negligible). Now, if you create something wild with alot of sweeps and curvy things... yeah, you might notice a little performance drop. :p If you know this might come.. it's easier to deal with. Love to see a sketch of what you're thinking about needing.

-Kyle

[Justin Marchiel]

We do a lot of cast concrete walls, and i always found tie patterns to be a bear in adt. I end up using hatch, because subtrating, or using and interferance condition to show the ties made a small drawings supper slow.

I use curtain walls a lot in adt so i am glad to hear that they offer lots of versatility. i guess my question was if it i should be finding a work around (like in adt) because a simple 3d orbit would tie up the system. I found that moddeling most things was pointless becasue of the time that you lose in other areas. so far revit has worked fairly quickly and i want to learn from other experience, instead of doing some job and spending time modeling something to find that down the line i need to erase it to improve performance.

Once i get a concrete job into revit i will for sure post it.

Justin

[rhunter.97108]

This works really well for a project I'm just starting. I wish I known about it a week ago! My question is two-fold. Can you add another curtain wall to a curtain wall, i.e. a storefront entry to a tilt wall panel? I've tried a couple of things and found that unless you align the mullions with the face of the curtain wall, you can't see the storefront in elevation.

My other question is how do you add a recessed area to a freestanding wall panel that has an opening in it? I've tried the void tool with no success. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Heitman Architects]

rhunter.97108:
The answer to your first question is yes; you can embed one curtain wall system in another.
The answer to your second question (if I understood it correctly) is creating an in-place family object to create a void. Before completing the edit (which it won't let you do because the void isn't cutting anything), use the cut geometry tool to select the wall you want that void to cut. Once you finish the in-place family, the wall will take the void cut.

We do a lot of tilt-up precast in this office. As such we were looking for extremely well-modeled panels to cut down on drafting and detailing time. In some people's opinions we may be 'overmodeling', but this is something our firm decided on.

As such, we have tinkered with all possible ways to create precast panels. Although the aforementioned (rod.74246) single wall with non-joining ends worked fairly well, we were looking for a more automated way to create the building's shell. The final choice was curtain walls.

We have gotten it all to work fairly well. Some of the glitches we have run into:

1) Door and window curtain wall family templates take their respective view levels with them into the host file. Regardless of where the host file's view levels are set, you will always see the embedded panel at the level it is cut inside its own file.
2) When using the method of embedding a door or window object inside a wall panel, control arrows do not follow to the host file. Flipping a door in the host file is impossible, making it necessary to create panels with both left and right-hinged doors.
3) 'Painting' panels using the paint bucket tool can be difficult once a panel face has been broken up by reveals.

This is an ongoing process for us as we deal with precast panels in almost every project we do. Any input is appreciated from firms dealing with the same systems.

Until Revit comes up with a Precast Panel Tool, we will forge on with our custom parts!

[mccurdyks]

Attached are two projects with the exterior walls done completely in curtain walls. Everybody thinks curtainwalls for precast, but I've also found it extremely valuable for horizontal banding to get wall sections streamlined with less drafting.

Talk to Autodesk. They have a tool for segmenting a straight wall with which you can set the gap to whatever you need. It's handy if you are real fussy and want precise panel/gap layout. In 8 it didn't work well on curved walls, which is why we went to curtain walls in the project shown.

For a glazed area inside a curtainwall, a curtain wall embedded in a curtain wall isn't the way to go. In the main wall, create a panel that the size of your rough opening and assign an empty panel to it. Then create a new wall in the same location. You can tweak it in section/elevation to put it where you want in the opening, and then it behaves (and can be elevated very easily for frame schedules) independently from the main wall.

We had trouble in 8 with some "bands" not being by doors and windows, but this seems fixed in 9.

[robert.manna]

Attached are two projects with the exterior walls done completely in curtain walls. Everybody thinks curtainwalls for precast, but I've also found it extremely valuable for horizontal banding to get wall sections streamlined with less drafting.

Talk to Autodesk. They have a tool for segmenting a straight wall with which you can set the gap to whatever you need. It's handy if you are real fussy and want precise panel/gap layout. In 8 it didn't work well on curved walls, which is why we went to curtain walls in the project shown.

For a glazed area inside a curtainwall, a curtain wall embedded in a curtain wall isn't the way to go. In the main wall, create a panel that the size of your rough opening and assign an empty panel to it. Then create a new wall in the same location. You can tweak it in section/elevation to put it where you want in the opening, and then it behaves (and can be elevated very easily for frame schedules) independently from the main wall.

We had trouble in 8 with some "bands" not being by doors and windows, but this seems fixed in 9.
How about corners...? I've used curtain wall in a similiar fashion, except wood panels in an interior condition, and the biggest problem I had was getting the corners to join up correctly.

Thanks,
-R

[mccurdyks]

Yup. Had that on my first project I tried this way. I learned when there are curtainwall grid lines at the same height on both walls, line for line (even if I don't really need them on one of the walls), they join fine. When I have grid line(s) at different height on the two walls coming together, even if I remove the segments at the adjoining corner, they are fussy. I'm now careful to define levels for each curtainwall grid line and put them into all walls, whether I need them or not. Ever since I've not had problems. I've even gone back to the original project where I've had trouble and put in junk curtainwall grid lines so they will match up and it has corrected the problems I had.

[Heitman Architects]

For corners in our precast panels we simply added voids to special end panels to make the joint we wanted. In most of our projects our precast panels are mitered. We added a void sweep to that panel and control arrows for flipping the orientation of the panel. It works fine.

[robert.manna]

For corners in our precast panels we simply added voids to special end panels to make the joint we wanted. In most of our projects our precast panels are mitered. We added a void sweep to that panel and control arrows for flipping the orientation of the panel. It works fine.
Yeah, I'm not surpised by that, but you're also talking a panelized system. While mccurdyks is talking about using panelization as a way to better model and detail standard construction techniques. Not to mention he is using basic walls as his panel type, as opposed to custom panels where you can create a switch for corner conditions to get the appearance you want/need.

-R

[mccurdyks]

I think that was the distinction I was trying to make. With curtainwalls you can do vertical banding (ie tilt-up panels) which is what most people think of, but if you look at what I posted, I'm also an advocate of using curtainwalls for horizontal banding (ie reveals, corbeling, etc in a continuous masonry wall). For horizontal bands, it's a great tool in any situation you want to hold one face of the wall flush (as well as some of the inside layers, like the solid insulation in a masonry wall), but vary the other side, and get great sections that don't need competely re-drafted.

[Heitman Architects]

Gentlemen,

I understand the distinction and would probably also opt using curtain walls in this way, would we do more projects that would warrant them. I was reluctant to work with curtain walls for a while, but as you get used to them they prove to be quite useful and versatile!

[johk]

This thread was very good and informative. We too do a lot of precast buildings.
Are there any way to tag the panles automatically with a unique number (p1, p2, p3 etc) and also the thickness of panel?

Thanks

Jonas

[mccurdyks]

Whether you use individual walls with joins disallowed or the nested curtainwall method, just add a parameter (or hijack one already defined within the wall that's not being used for anything else) and use that for your PS-1, PS-2, etc. Every time that wall is used from then on in the project, that unique number will appear in the tag.

I attached some images of what we did. I created a tag that we also used for other non-precast walls with additional info...

Let me know if you need more info..

Kevin

[barathd]

I just tried the curtain wall method described in this thread and I thought I would work nicely for some panelized work I was doing. One huge problem - seems that door and window openings can not span multiple panels. The wall panels I am using are sandwiched 36" wide metal clad both sides polysteyrene filled. Has anyone been able to overcome this problem and maintain the flexibility that curtain walls afford?

Regards

Dick Barath

[barathd]

Just tried the alternate method - repeating non curtain wall type wall with joins disabled. Guess what same problem - door and window openings seem to be limited to attaching to only a single wall? This is really too bad.

[abarrette]

Doors and windows wll only host in a single wall. You have to manipulate the curtain grids to create a panel of the shape/size of your door/window. All in all not a horrible thing if oyu don't have too many opening spanning joints. Locked Dimensions and alignments allow you to manipulate the Door/Window and bring it's associated Curtain Grids along for the ride.

Aaron Barrette

[barathd]

Aaron:

Good suggestion - works not too bad. I am using this for a pre-engineered building. The problem is with the overhead doors. Your method is excellent for small repeating doors and windows. However I haven't been able to get it to cope with large overhead doors say 16' x 18'

Thanks for the suggestion.

[abarrette]

Something along these lines?

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z144/GrythusDraconis/Project1.jpg

Or is it something more complex than that?

Aaron Barrette

[barathd]

Aaron:

Thats it - would you mind posting the file. I'm note quite sure how you got it to cut the door. I take it the panels are multiples of the panel width.

Thanks again.

Regards

Dick Barath

[johk]

mccurdyks,
Sorry for not getting back earlier.
What I meant (should have explained myself a bit better) is that we number all our precast panels with a unique number p1,p2 etc. Are there any way to "Autonumber" the panels or any member for that matter?
For example if there are 10 panels then they would be tagged (numbered) from p1 - p10.

Cheers

Jonas

[Revitator]

Jonas

No, there doesn't seem to be a way to autonumber curtain wall panels directly. You could autonumber them with the API (search the API forum for 'number'). You would need to work out a way of programmatically sorting the panels into a sensible order, and then (I'm assuming) you could assign a number to each panel's Mark parameter.

Regarding panel thickness, as long as you make your custom panel's thickness parameter as a shared parameter, you should be able to create a tag that will report it. The system panels' thickness parameters don't seem to be schedulable or taggable.

[abarrette]

BarathD -

Sorry for the late reply. Here is a file with the steps I went through to get the overhead door in place. Basically I build the size of the opening as a separate panel first so that the door only needs to host in a single wall. rather than trying to get it to host across three separate walls. I alluded to this in my earlier post but wasn't very clear about it.

HTH

[barathd]

Aaron:

Thanks for the file. Unfortunately confirms my suspisions. I don't have the opportunity to alter panel sizes as you have done. I am using prototypical 36" wide (no matter what) metal sandwich panels. The workaround (if you can call it that) I have come up with is to use a larger multiple for the panel and then divide it with linework - not really worth it.

Did one very silly project not too long ago with precast concrete where the new openings lapped joints. As structural engineers our job was to strenghten this mess out - if openings had been able to bridge multiple panels this method would have been a God send since we had to see the existing and new panels openings simultaneously.

Thanks

Regards

DB

[sbrown]

Why not just used the curtain grid tool (place a horizontal at the head of the door and remove the vertical segments from it) to define a space the size of the door filled with a wall that is made of the door frame material and thickness, then place the door in it.

[phyllisr]

...use a "curtain wall" that is predefined....
Since Scott offered the curtain wall solution first, I will direct my word of caution to his response.

We thought this was a totally great method and were happily marching down this path even with the effort it took to place doors or windows "off module." Looked great in 3D, easier than sweeps, conveyed the idea really well, scheduled as a wall... What more could we want?

Until we started a phased project where the precast was an existing wall. We expected to infill existing doors, add a new ones, and add windows. For those of you considering this method, do some testing before you try it in a phased project. Try and add a few grid lines for openings in new construction or remove a few mullions and panels you expect to demolish. Not only was it impossible to "see" the new and existing as noted in one of the responses, nothing scheduled correctly, individaul parts and pieces coudl not have a phase separate from the wall and more.

We had such a mess that we ended up redrawing the whole exterior with a model pattern.

[mjbaird]

BarathD -

Sorry for the late reply. Here is a file with the steps I went through to get the overhead door in place. Basically I build the size of the opening as a separate panel first so that the door only needs to host in a single wall. rather than trying to get it to host across three separate walls. I alluded to this in my earlier post but wasn't very clear about it.

HTH


After taking a look at the revit file you posted, I found something interesting. You created a wall in the curtain wall the same size as the door you were inserting. What is interesting is you can make that wall inside the curtainwall be any size you want, and as long as it intersects the vertical joints, when you put in that overhead door, all of the panels will trim correctly around the the overhead door.

For example, I created a wall that was 2" high and spanned across 3 of the curtain panels, then inserted the door in those same panels, and no matter how i arranged it, as long as the panels were already cut by the wall, the panels trimmed properly.

Just an observation.

-Mike

[cphubb]

I just tried the curtain wall method described in this thread and I thought I would work nicely for some panelized work I was doing. One huge problem - seems that door and window openings can not span multiple panels. The wall panels I am using are sandwiched 36" wide metal clad both sides polysteyrene filled. Has anyone been able to overcome this problem and maintain the flexibility that curtain walls afford?

Regards

Dick Barath

You need to use the rehost tool and place the object in the correct place. It should cut multiple panels then.

[barathd]

Yes Mike - it is interesting using a second wall within the curtain wall - however I have not been able to get the door or window to succesfully cut both walls simutanelously.

Chris - I must be missing something with the rehosting - I seem to have the same old problem - opening still does not span more than one panel.

If your succeeding at your approaches could you please post the file.

Thanks guys.

Regards

Dick Barath

[abarrette]

mjbaird

The reason for creating the opening the correct size is for future application of material take-offs, area calculation of the wall panels themselves and things along those lines. if your initial panel that hosts the object is only 2" high the 'cut' panels have the potential to report incorrect information.

I haven't checked this to verify it, mind you, but I prefer to not take chances.

As it relates to having objects spanning multiple panels-

I prefer to return to the old (becoming ancient) mantra - "Model it like you Build it". To me this means that a panelized system would have cut panels to form the opening and the door/window/etc would completely fill that opening. Hence, I model it that way using the curtain grid tools. I'm sure there are other ways to work around the issue but I find this to be the most accurate to reality IMO.

Another benefit of using curtain walls that has been alluded to but not directly mentioned yet is the ability to schedule these wall panels as panels rather than wall assemblies. Allowing us to come up with a panel count. This of course does not deal with opening in each specific panel nor deal with corner panels. There is some progress that can be made but it can also be very useful. This might lead toward a solution for you, Jhniopek. Using a mark value and filtering by either a custom project parameter or something specific to the construction type(like assembly code) you would be able to separate your wall panels from glazed panels in a curtain wall panel schedule. Revit does not add an instance marks to walls as a default so you would sill have to mark them. As I said... not a complete solution but worth exploring. I think it has it's possibilities.

[johk]

OK - this is driving me up the wall! I am not to sure what I am doing wrong here but I hope I can get some pointers.
I use a curtain wall with a basic wall family to define the CW panels. When I draw them in plan view they are not showing up. I have set the Discipline to Coordination. The only way I can get it to work is if I select the individual panels in the curtain wall and change the Schedule As to Wall (instead of Panel). My question is - is that is the procedure you have to go through or am I missing something or can you make the Schedule As default to wall when you create the CW?

Also if you look at section 1 - I want to extend the meeting wall at the a wall intersection through the wall penetration but it seems the wall penetration drawn is affecting the other wall as well. It is a bit hard to explain so please look at the section attached pdf.

Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

Cheers

Jonas

[luigi]

EDITED:Now that I read the whole thread, I am not sure if what I am posting is useless or needed...but here you go....
EDITED:
Sorry, once again (in the past few hours) I thought I was at the last page of the thread, when I wasn't.....

I am not Aaron, but if the curtain wall was used...then grids were added and deleted as needed to make a special panel size for the door...

If the basic wall was used, then when you insert the door, and you add geometry all the walls that house the door together, the door should cut each of the walls...



Aaron:

Thats it - would you mind posting the file. I'm note quite sure how you got it to cut the door. I take it the panels are multiples of the panel width.

Thanks again.

Regards

Dick Barath

[luigi]

EDITED:

Forgot the other question you had...

If your panels are scheduled as walls, then they are walls, if panels, then panels. So if you turn on both curtain panels and walls, they should show up.....you need to decide if it is going to be a panel or a wall...you just need to be consistent...

I just tried this and it worked...

Edit the wall that you want to extend.
Exagerate the extension of the wall (like 2 meters to the other side)
Finish sketch
Edit sketch and align the edge of the wall where you need it
Finish sketch




OK - this is driving me up the wall! I am not to sure what I am doing wrong here but I hope I can get some pointers.
I use a curtain wall with a basic wall family to define the CW panels. When I draw them in plan view they are not showing up. I have set the Discipline to Coordination. The only way I can get it to work is if I select the individual panels in the curtain wall and change the Schedule As to Wall (instead of Panel). My question is - is that is the procedure you have to go through or am I missing something or can you make the Schedule As default to wall when you create the CW?

Also if you look at section 1 - I want to extend the meeting wall at the a wall intersection through the wall penetration but it seems the wall penetration drawn is affecting the other wall as well. It is a bit hard to explain so please look at the section attached pdf.

Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

Cheers

Jonas

[johk]

Luigi,

Thanks that trick with extending past the opening worked like a charm :)

The problem I have is that the CW doesn't show up in plan view unless the Schedule As is set to wall. I can't for my life figure out why it is so.
I had a look at the file Aaron attached and his CW is set to Panels and it is showing up fine in plan view. When I compared the settings btw mine and his CW I just can't see what is the difference.

Thanks

Jonas

[johk]

EDITED:

Forgot the other question you had...

If your panels are scheduled as walls, then they are walls, if panels, then panels. So if you turn on both curtain panels and walls, they should show up.....you need to decide if it is going to be a panel or a wall...you just need to be consistent...



I just had a look at your post again. What do mean by "So if you turn on both curtain panels and walls"? I have had a look in the Visibility settings and it doesn't seem to be in there.

Thank

Jonas

[luigi]

Hi Jonas, I was in your file, and the Curtain Panels are turned off in visibility graphics. So since the panels are considered CP and not walls, they don't show up....


I just had a look at your post again. What do mean by "So if you turn on both curtain panels and walls"? I have had a look in the Visibility settings and it doesn't seem to be in there.

Thank

Jonas

[johk]

Mate, now I am confused... When I look under walls in visibility graphics I can't see any curtain walls option. Is it that I don't have that option in RST2008? If so how can I change it?
I have attached a screenshot of my VG.

Thanks Luigi

Jonas

[Alex Page]

Its not under 'walls', its under 'curtain panels' (its own heading) - you need to set your precast panel with a new subcatergory under that

[johk]

I don't have a heading called "Curtain Panels". I wonder if that could be because I am using RST?? I enter VG on the Keyboard and in the VG panel I don't have the heading 'curtain panels'.
Thanks
Jonas

[Alex Page]

Sorry, I cant check with RS...but just to confirm, with the screenshot you posted above, if you scroll up there is no heading called ''curtain panels' ?

[johk]

Yes, that is correct. There is no heading called 'Curtain Panels'.
I have attached a new screenshot of the VG.

Thanks

Jonas

[Alex Page]

Very sorry...Im not sure how to do it in RS then:Oops:

[johk]

Thanks anyway.
They are showing up in the elevations but not in the plan views. I thought if it would be VG issue that I would just apply the same view template that the elevations has to the plan - but it didn't work. I just don't know what the problem is.

Thanks
Jonas

[dbaldacchino]

Tip of the day: Check that box called "Show categories from all disciplines" and you'll see the category.

As a sidebar, this is why I don't like this particular side of the interface. If an object of a "foreign" category exists in the file, that category should be visible by default in the list.

[Alex Page]

If you hover your mouse over the panel (you may need to use the TAB to get it highlighted) down in the lower left corner of Revit it says what it is - this will give you a hint of where to find it in the Visibility Graphics

[johk]

Thanks David,
It is soooo embarrassing I have been sitting here pulling my hair out (or what was left of it). You made my day.
Thanks everyone that helped out. I really appreciated it.

Jonas

[luigi]

Sorry I didn't read your email earlier.....but am glad David did....


Thanks David,
It is soooo embarrassing I have been sitting here pulling my hair out (or what was left of it). You made my day.
Thanks everyone that helped out. I really appreciated it.

Jonas

[Alex Page]

Tip of the day: Check that box called "Show categories from all disciplines" and you'll see the category.

As a sidebar, this is why I don't like this particular side of the interface. If an object of a "foreign" category exists in the file, that category should be visible by default in the list.

Crikey! I missed the obvious....I need some sleep!:?

[nextvkin]

I was looking for this exact question, & found the solution on the 3rd thread - even though it was largely ignored - thanks Scott Davis!

[j.230356]

this site may have some useful information on tilt panels:
http://guliker.ca/gulikerdesigngroup.com/Gallery/Titl-up/Tilt-up.html

[tonyp416337]

I've read this entire thread without finding a solution (unless I glazed over it). Is it possible to change the structural settings of a curtain panel? Even after unpinning the panel, the settings appeared to be grayed-out. I'm exploring the option of using a curtain wall for tilt-up concrete walls, but the panels don't appear in plan views because my view discipline is set to "structural". Is there something I'm missing? Using Revit 2015, by the way.

Thanks,
Tony

[dbaldacchino]

No, you use a structural wall as your panel, not a curtain panel.

[tonyp416337]

No, you use a structural wall as your panel, not a curtain panel.

I apologize. I actually meant wall, not panel. After changing the panel type to a wall, the structural settings are still grey-out.

[MikeJarosz]

I agree. I have 12' structural panels. Build the model the same way the real thing. Here's what I'm doing right now. (Still working on it - there are a few mistakes here) A photo of the prototype was posted here:

[URL="http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?161614-brick-patterns"]

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[dbaldacchino]

Hi Tony, my apologies as well! I see what you're saying about the instance properties of a wall used as a panel being greyed out. I don't think there's a fix for that.

An alternative I've explored a while back was to use regular walls, then create parts and express the joints by dividing the parts. It's a nice workflow, where the original Architectural wall continues to control location, and the jointing layout is manipulated directly through the division sketch lines. The joint itself can also be defined through a profile, so you gain a lot of flexibility that way as well, instead of having to justify the use of the curtain wall mullion to represent the sealant joint ;) The other nice thing about this workflow is that you can part walls in a linked model (ex: Architectural) and the parts will follow the walls when these update. As an added benefit, architectural finishes applied to the wall (ex: finishes applied to tilt-up), which are never shown on structural drawings, won't be shown if you only display parts in your structural model.

[tonyp416337]

Thanks for the info, Dave! This helps alot.

[rbcameron1]

I think the answer is "it depends". I do like using the curtain wall panel tool and create the panels individually. However if the design is fairly complex and you have several unique patterns on your "typical" panel, then using Dave's suggestion makes a ton of sense. Personally I like separating out each panel so I can build construction timelines either in 3dsMax or Navisworks. So if your BIM process continues where Revit leaves off, at least you have that option. Where-as some people are suggesting it is just a wall with fake joints, good luck. ;)

Yes, I literally model everything, chamfers, joints, openings, etc... in each panel. It is important to me and it is important to the precaster.

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[MikeJarosz]

This is pretty much how I did my previous project, each panel a separate wall. I inherited a different arrangement on my current project which tried to do one big stacked wall with holes punched into it. The holes were then filled with other wall types. A nightmare getting joins, wraps and windows into it correctly. I think I've put more time and effort into the current project than the last, despite the fact that it's half the size of the previous job. And, it's not all correct yet!

[popalexandra88759316]

That's exactly my experience on the matter.
The more I know, the more attention I pay to details.
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Alexandra