Parametric Escalator – Revit Tutorial

Can an escalator really break? If it stops working, it will just turn into stairs. Albeit, stairs that are not to code, but they are stairs. I also wonder where each step goes when it gets to the top or bottom? It just sort of gets really flat and then disappears.

What does that have to do with Revit? Nothing. So follow along and learn how to make a parametric escalator that will take you from here all the way up to the 13th floor and beyond!

The key to making this all work is the create the pieces of the escalator (railings, steps, & the base) as separate families, and nest them all together. This will minimize amount of time and guesswork, and also reduce the file size of the family. I also make the geometry of the family extremely simple, so we can keep the bloat down, and speed up our modeling time. But it has just enough information to give you a good sense of the space requirements for the escalator.

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Parametric Escalator – Revit Tutorial

Reference Planes not showing up? Here’s why

So you’re doing your thing, throwing in some reference planes, and they show up in all sorts of views. And then one day, all of a sudden, some reference planes are not showing up in your elevations. What gives?

Why don’t you reference this video below, and see if we can’t get those reference planes back for you! Be sure to like and subscribe!

Reference Planes not showing up? Here’s why

Revit Tutorial: Sloped Floor Slab

Are you yearning for sloped floors? Do you dream of the days when you can just pop in slopes like there’s no tomorrow? Well, you’re in luck! Follow along with this tutorial to learn how to add in nifty floor slopes at will without having to modify all of those nasty sub-elements.

And since we are being frank, I don’t always remember my dreams, but when I do, they are about Revit floors.

Watch along with the video below to get your slope on. As always, please be sure to like or subscribe to my channel if you found it helpful.

Revit Tutorial: Sloped Floor Slab

Revit Tip: These References are making me angry

Are you tired of having your dimensions snap to all sorts of invisible lines in your family? Are you sick of clicking on things you shouldn’t have ever clicked on? Well, I’m not either. And between you and me, you can never have enough invisible lines to click on when placing dimensions. I digress. Regardless of how you feel about clicking on stuff that has no place in your life, follow along with this video to learn how to get rid of those annoying reference lines.

Revit Tip: These References are making me angry

Revit Tutorial: Parametric Operable Window

Are you in the mood for making the most parametric window ever? Well that’s pretty sad. But fortunately enough for you, I just created a tutorial on how to make the most parametric operable window ever! Follow along with the video below, and soon you’ll be creating parametric windows like they’re going out of style. Well, actually, on second thought, you won’t be… this window is parametric silly head! You’ll just have to make one! Just change-up the values as you need.

Disclaimer: there may actually be a more parametric window around town. I have not gone through every video ever.

Revit Tutorial: Parametric Operable Window

Line Based Filled Region

We can all agree that Revit really shines when it comes to using parameters. So why don’t we utilize any parameters when we are creating 2D details? Sure, lines and filled regions work great, but where is the BIMness in that? I have created a short video showing you how to create a filled region that uses the line-based family. This will allow you to create filled regions, of any length or thickness, without having to edit a sketch every time.

 

Line Based Filled Region

Column Hold Symbol

We all need to lock down our columns. Unfortunately, there is no built in column hold symbol. Today, we will learn how to create a simple parametric column hold symbol and lock it down. The procedure, is quite simple really, create a triangular detail item, and load it into the column family. Copy it 4 times and rotate it so that the two sides that are perpendicular are aligned to the edges of the column. Then create a different visibility instance parameter for each triangle; this will allow you to select which symbol you want to be visible for each column, without having to create a new family for each situation. Follow along with the video below for the complete tutorial.

Column Hold Symbol

Parametric Window Family

Creating window families in Revit can be a daunting task. We often just use the standard window families that come with Revit to save time or we are just not sure how to create them. We draw our own windows in CAD, so why would we not do it in Revit? I want to break down the barrier of creating custom content for your projects and save you time in the long run. This is your company and livelihood, don’t just boil it down to, “yeah that fixed window family looks good enough.” Sure this will be time consuming at first, but once your library of parametric windows is complete, your speed and efficiency will be greatly increased. The custom parameters allow us to repeatedly use the same geometry, but change the sizes to suit our current needs.

Over the next few weeks, I will be creating a series of parametric window family tutorials, each tutorial in the series being more complicated than the last. This way, I hope that everyone can build upon the skills that they learned in the previous video. The first video will teach you how to create a simple rectangular window that you can change the width and height independently.

Parametric Window Family

Temporary Dimensions not Working? Here’s Why.

It has been said that Revit’s temporary dimensions are the 8th wonder of the world. How true that is, we may never know, but what we do know is that there are times when the temporary dimensions just will not show up. It has happened to all of us. We’ll place a door expecting those sweet blue lines of magic to show up, but they never appear. Worse yet, there are times where we will have a component selected, the temporary dimensions appear before our eyes, but the values just will not change! Follow along if you want to get your temporary dimension groove back and restore the 8th wonder of the world to its rightful owner. 

Temporary Dimensions not Working? Here’s Why.