One of the highlights of being BIMTROUBLEMAKER is that i occasionally get emails from readers asking me for help in figuring out how to generate forms. A few weeks back, I got an email asking about how to make this in Revit:
Not a lot to work with, but enough. I get it, a column that hugs the face of a drum and rises at an angle. Simple. I did it as a conceptual mass to make my life quick and easy. If this was for a real project, I would have done it as a "Structural Column" family, which is more or less the same steps, except starting with a different template.
So first, lets make the section outline of the column by constraining 2 arcs to the left and right of a reference plane. This will allow for better control of the angle as this column sweeps around:
I save that profile and nest it into a new family. This new family has several reference points stacked up and evenly spaced. The distances are controlled by the overall height of the column. Each reference point acts as a host for the profile I've created. Additionally, each reference point's rotation parameter is linked to the angle of the desired column lean.
The parameters involved:
Select all the linework and hit CREATE FORM:
After making a dummy version of the building form, I insert the column and copy/rotate it around:
Annnnnd.... I'm done in less time than it took the dude to right me the original email.
The finished file can be downloaded here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B101ixgLlSGXN29ITHBLV29MQ0E/edit?usp=sharing
Sometimes it feels like I am saving the world, one family at a time.
If you got a problem and need some help, contact our global ministry at bimtroublemaker@gmail.com
Not a lot to work with, but enough. I get it, a column that hugs the face of a drum and rises at an angle. Simple. I did it as a conceptual mass to make my life quick and easy. If this was for a real project, I would have done it as a "Structural Column" family, which is more or less the same steps, except starting with a different template.
So first, lets make the section outline of the column by constraining 2 arcs to the left and right of a reference plane. This will allow for better control of the angle as this column sweeps around:
I save that profile and nest it into a new family. This new family has several reference points stacked up and evenly spaced. The distances are controlled by the overall height of the column. Each reference point acts as a host for the profile I've created. Additionally, each reference point's rotation parameter is linked to the angle of the desired column lean.
The parameters involved:
Select all the linework and hit CREATE FORM:
After making a dummy version of the building form, I insert the column and copy/rotate it around:
Annnnnd.... I'm done in less time than it took the dude to right me the original email.
The finished file can be downloaded here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B101ixgLlSGXN29ITHBLV29MQ0E/edit?usp=sharing
Sometimes it feels like I am saving the world, one family at a time.
If you got a problem and need some help, contact our global ministry at bimtroublemaker@gmail.com
