Need help with REVIT Ceiling openings

[crarchitect]

Hello AUGI,

New user here, trying to determine the bast practices for placing ceiling HVAC fixtures. I found one, modified it, and placed it. Looks great, until you realize that it is not cutting the ceiling plane, nor will it move when realigning the grid spacing it was snapped to. Should I / can I lock the component to the graphic ceiling grid?

Should I be using a ceiling hosted template? Can I find one with the cut already in place? Or, can I add the required cut to a non-hosted family? When I add the void it VOIDS all the geometry of the component!

I appreciate the help. Anyone working on HVAC or fire protection feel free to chime in. Please excuse my naivety, I am looking forward to learning from the pro's.

[aggockel50321]

Looks great, until you realize that it is not cutting the ceiling plane, nor will it move when realigning the grid spacing it was snapped to. Should I / can I lock the component to the graphic ceiling grid?

Use a ceiling hosted family template (i.e. ceiling hosted mechanical template) when creating your family. Within the family, you can go to a ceiling view, & use the opening tool to cut a hole in the ceiling.

If you use a ceiling hosted template, you won't have to align lock the placed componets to the grid. Once placed, these componets will shift with the ceiling surface if grids are repositioned.

[crarchitect]

Thank you Andrew,

Yes, putting the items in a ceiling hosted family allowed me to use the OPENING function. I did that yesterday and the components are working nicely in the grid. I am not yet smart enough to understand all of the ramifications of hosting the HVAC components in a separate system.

Now if I could just figure out how to create parametric duct runs that would follow a layout line and stretch when you adjusted the length...

I appreciate the help.

[aggockel50321]

When setting up the duct family, if you want the layout line to be the centerline of the duct, make the duct family's origin the centerline of the duct.

If you set up the length parameter as an instance parameter, you'll be able to place the duct, and then stretch the the duct graphically by align / locking each lengh end.

[Scott D Davis]

If you set up the length parameter as an instance parameter, you'll be able to place the duct, and then stretch the the duct graphically by align / locking each lengh end.
...and then create families for the elbows, joints, etc. You could assemble a duct system pretty easily.

[sbrown]

Wait for the mep package to come out for revit, hopefully we will see it by the end of the year. Or look at Rugi when its back up, Chris Y created a number of duct peices and parts.

[Steve_Stafford]

...mep package to come out for revit, hopefully we will see it by the end of the year... That...is very optimistic...