Ceiling Based Family Help.

[mjohnson.88569]

I have tried created a ceiling based receptacle and data family. The problem is i can not get the object styles of the annotations (symbols) to translate in to the family. I have gotten it to work with a floor based family but not the ceiling based family. Can some one help?

[mwiggins121466]

1st are u wanting to use these in a project that has a linked arch model? If yes they will not work. The template you are using is for a "ceiling based" family where the ceiling has to be "live" in the file you are placing them in.
2nd u will need to set the subcategory at your project level. The subcategory will be listed under generic models.

HTH

[RobertB]

IMHO, you should not be creating MEP families as hosted, but rather as face-based. There is a reason Autodesk switched from hosted to face-based.

[mjohnson.88569]

Thanks for the info, but you have not answered my original question. Why on this family can i not get the line weights (object styles) to transfer thru to the family from the annotation symbol?

[jbaumann]

Why on this family can i not get the line weights (object styles) to transfer thru to the family from the annotation symbol?

It seems to be a bug we come across at times. Even though you are not seeing any line weights in the family editor, it does come through when placed in a project. I was able to get the line weight to display in the family editor by purging the nested annotation family and re-loading it into the host family.

[awascher]

IMHO, you should not be creating MEP families as hosted, but rather as face-based. There is a reason Autodesk switched from hosted to face-based.

Can you elaborate on this some more?

Isn't the purpose of having the families being hosted is so they interact with the hosted object?

How else can you cut ceiling grid around lights and diffusers?

How do you cut the roof, floors, walls if you aren't using hosted families with openings?

[RobertB]

Can you elaborate on this some more?

Isn't the purpose of having the families being hosted is so they interact with the hosted object?

How else can you cut ceiling grid around lights and diffusers?

How do you cut the roof, floors, walls if you aren't using hosted families with openings?

Good questions. The issue with hosted elements, for MEP, is that quite often the architect would delete the host element and recreate it rather than spending a lot of time attempting to modify the existing element. However, this hosed us in the MEP world because the elements formerly hosted to the deleted element could not be hosted to the new element. IOW, we had to delete our work and start over. And over. And over.

The cut issue has been discussed here in the RMEP forums.

[JoelLondenberg]

...How do you cut the roof, floors, walls if you aren't using hosted families with openings?...

If you are linking the architectural model, then you can't cut the walls/ceilings. Currently no way around that.

Good questions. The issue with hosted elements, for MEP, is that quite often the architect would delete the host element and recreate it rather than spending a lot of time attempting to modify the existing element. However, this hosed us in the MEP world because the elements formerly hosted to the deleted element could not be hosted to the new element. IOW, we had to delete our work and start over...

If the arch deletes something and your face hosted objects get orphaned, you can instead "Rehost" them, select the object and the rehost button is at the top.

[RobertB]

If the arch deletes something and your face hosted objects get orphaned, you can instead "Rehost" them, select the object and the rehost button is at the top.

Good to know. That must have been an addition I missed over the last few releases?

[jsteinhauer]

To expand on this thread, I'm creating a family that needs to have an overhead data ports in them. I was going to use the symbology for ceiling data ports, but I'm not sure if that is graphically correct. Since this is going into an overhead service carrier, should the symbology be something different?

Thanks,
Jeff S.