The Way Things Were: Settling For Mediocrity

The biggest challenge we may be facing is the need to adapt to the technology around us.  I am sure that there were amazing wagons being designed and built when the automobile first hit streets.  Stories can be told over the radio, but it sure is nice seeing them in black and white or maybe even color.  As a child, I remember our first cordless home phone.  You could talk on the phone in your home and not be attached to the wall in the dining room.  My children will never know what a home phone looks like.  Stay mad at MTV for not showing music videos, while you search YouTube for the current hit song stuck in your head.

In every facet of our lives, things are constantly changing.  We can choose to live with existing technology and be happy.  How much extra work are we burdening ourselves though?  When I watch a video of a robotic arm cutting wood to length and then splitting it for firewood, I can’t help but think of the poor guy with an axe.  He works very hard to get the wood prepared, but takes ten times as long and lies down with a sore back when it’s all over.  I’m not just talking about wasted time in physical labor.

I remember getting my first TI-85 Graphing Calculator.  Our school teacher wasn't entirely sure what to make of them.  The problem was that the students quickly realized the power of the devices in saving time and double-checking math.  I began to write my own executable programs to perform problems that provided a result based upon variable inputs.  I would write out the math, step-by-step, to show that I knew the process.  However, using the calculator to rework the problem was cheating?  A short time later, teachers were telling us to format our calculators in hopes that we would not ‘cheat’ on exams.  Obviously, the calculator was a tool and I was still responsible for knowing the material.

Spreadsheets quickly became a great tool for developing ways to perform repetitive calculations.  Engineering can involve many varying possibilities.  Why spend many days hand calculating the information when it can be done in a spreadsheet or specific program in hours or less?  Now imagine that those calculations have a direct effect on the design documentation.  What does that mean?

Drafting is truly an art.  Taking an idea and developing it on paper with pencil is not easy.  Representing the idea in 2D based on three dimensions takes a trained eye.  Now we are modeling in 3D and trying to find ways to document the 3D into 2D to represent the 3D.  But are the 3D models, created manually, taking just as long as the man with the axe?  Wouldn't you want the robotic arm helping out?  

Some people have accepted BIM and 3D modeling because it was required in order to get the project.  The problem is there isn't any benefit to a 3D model that is manually developed just to produce documents.   Why limit yourself to a manual process when there is the potential to automate it? Why not use modeling content that is designed around the entire industry? Why do it the way it was done last year, only because that is the way it was done last year?  Isn't it beneficial to spend some time finding a quicker way that will save more time in the end?  Why accept mediocrity and not continuously push the capacity to perform work in a more accurately and timely manner?

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

Image Credits:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cordless-telephone-pictures.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-85

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO77ms-eeTY

Standards: Buying Into BIM Without Busting Open Your Wallet

Revit is a tool used to help the development of buildings from conception through construction.  There is no magic button or miracle macro that can take a design and make it happen while you sleep.  Not yet at least.

Revit is a great tool that is meant to help shave hours off project designs by standardizing some aspects and automating tasks.  If the user only uses Revit to draft the design in 3D and has nothing set up in templates or other preferences, then this tool will easily burn through the fee of a project and the team will wonder why they even bother.  It isn’t until the team builds the framework for their design that the time savings begins.  Develop Templates and Preferences that can be implemented into a project.  The Leap of Faith is to invest time into this process that will save more time in the end which then saves money.  

Beyond the Project Model Settings, the Model Elements used in a project will also determine how efficient the design progresses.  One idea is to have basic, generic 3D Families that represent selected equipment regardless of any specific manufacturer.  Simple cubes and cylinders that carry basic properties can be used initially.  In the Schematic Design, the basic families and drafted schedules based on note blocks can be developed to rapidly produce simple plans for discussion with the building owners.  As decisions are made, the families can be swapped out with more accurate Custom or Manufacturer content and Live Schedules.

How is this possible? Autodesk has published a Standard Library of Shared Parameters, yet barely anyone knows about it.  The other problem with this Library is that the Shared Parameters carry generic names that could already exist in a company’s own established library.  That led to the creation of the Master Labeling Convention and its use in the Master Library of Shared Parameters.  The best reason to adopt this standard is that many major manufacturers are already using this library in their product representation.  Having the Master Library preloaded into a Project Model helps identify which Parameters are included when Washing the Shared Parameters.

One issue that is preventing a building being developed within one model through the entire process is how the different users need to use that model as the building is developed and constructed.  The conceptual design is not as concerned about every hanger and bolt as it is with how the systems perform and connect.  Designers are more focused on the performance of the building systems and use developed content that focuses on that aspect.  The problem is in the real representation of that content, which is almost entirely useless for the team tasked with building the design.  Keep the design simple and let the contractor do what they do best.  As time passes, and content becomes even further developed, we may see a day when designers are using families and setups that provide design feedback as well as material accuracy.

There is a lot of available content developed for use in Revit.  Look outside your office before busting open your wallet and trying to do it all yourself.  Recognize which content is built around a purpose of community development rather than isolation.

-Craig

 www.ModelingDynamics.net

Simplistically Complex: A Modeling Leap of Faith

Solving problems in Revit tends to be a simple solution to a seemingly complex and confusing problem.  As technology gets more involved in our lives, we may think we have become more complex.  Jumping from pencil to CAD seems like an easier leap now than CAD into BIM is currently requiring.  For generations, we have been trained to visualize the 3D design and develop 2D drawings.  With BIM, we can truly model in 3D what we are visualizing in 3D.  The problem is that we are still holding on to the 2D representation, because that is how it’s been done traditionally.  Don’t look at the monitor and think in 2D.  Don't draft for the purpose of simply developing construction documentation.  The screen is a window out into a virtual world.  Visualize the design and create it in the model.  What you see is 3-dimensional and should be envisioned as such.  Allow the documentation to occur after the model has been developed.

Problems in life can seem too complicated to solve and overwhelming with no end in sight.  In reality, the issue can probably be searched deeper to a simple problem that has plagued all people for millennia.  At our core, we are dealing with psychological desires that will impact our decisions.  When looking at the problem, don’t necessarily think about how to prevent the symptoms, but look deeper to find the root cause and make the change there.

When it comes to troubleshooting 3D models that have developed some form of difficulty, most cases are solved by one or two options somewhere in the settings for the model environment or a model element.  Fixing the symptom is like manually hiding the problem element and hoping that it will stay away.  It is more important to find the root of the visibility problem and to deal with it there. 

There is a lot involved with modeling an entire building, yet be able to isolate certain levels or systems.  Add in the options to exclude or hide elements so that the views are automatically controlled without the need to develop each view independently.  It is a delicate balance between relying on the system settings and being able to negotiate those settings when problems develop.  The immediate decision is to manually draft content for the sake of saving time and working with the level of staff available, but the results will lead to longer production time and staff development stagnation. 

Growth in staff and capabilities rely on the BIM modelers making the commitment to learn the virtual environment and using it to their advantage.  The clues are there, but it takes a bit of courage to make that first step.  Indiana Jones was faced with many challenges in The Last Crusade[1].  One of the most simple and complex problems may have been the Leap of Faith.  Mr. Jones stood at the edge of one cliff with the need to get to the other side, across a deep gorge.  His clue, “Only a leap from the Lion’s head shall he prove his worth.” From the start, the task looks impossible with no way of ever getting across.  After the first step in faith, Indiana realizes that he just needs to walk the path that he didn’t initially see.  Once he is across, he looks back and sees how easy the path was to cross and continues his mission with a smirk on his face.  

So are you standing in front of the first step, not sure about where to start, or across the bridge looking back at how easy it is to know the steps?

-Craig
www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford

Model Phasing: Time Travel without the Danger of Butterfly Wings

 Almost every story involving the idea of time travel includes the concept that events or lives will be altered by the occurrences being changed from how they originally happened.  Travelling back in time brings the risk of exposing an event that could alter the path that originally happened.  Going into the Future could reveal the long-term effects of one seemingly meaningless event, such as a butterfly flapping its wings[1].  Many times, the main character travels to the past to try and change one event that only opens a Pandora’s Box of cascading effects.  In Terminator 2: Judgment Day[2], the characters knew there would be a catastrophic event that was going to happen and their goal was to try and stop it.  The hope of changing the future was shattered by Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines[3], when the events that were to happen on Judgment Day became inevitable and were destined to eventually happen no matter what was done to try and stop it.  Passing through time in Revit can be done without fear of having any drastic effects in the timeline of that model.  In fact, it can be more damaging to try and represent Phasing without using Phases.

A lot of work in AutoCAD is based around manual selection of layers and other characteristics of lines that were needed to visually represent the scope of work in a view.  To go from an Existing view to a New Construction view may have meant copying all the work and changing the lines according to line type assignments.  One advantage in Revit is to assign when every model element is created and demolished as it is modeled.  When model elements are properly assigned to when they exist, the Existing view can be changed to a New Construction view simply by changing the Phase assignment for that view.  That advantage is lost when users cannot relax control of the line weight assignments and continue to manually control the line properties.  The adverse result is manually changing the properties of the model elements in order to alter the depiction of what phase that view is presenting.

With Revit, it is important to develop the model, not the view.  When developing the model, create content according to the properties of the model.  As the properties are altered by view, the model content will update respectively.  Don’t develop views in order to get the sheets to look right.  Manually altering properties with the view aesthetic as the primary focus will be detrimental to the overall development of the model.  If there are concerns with getting the sheets to look right, the first attempt should be to experiment with the view settings in general.  Manual drafting in views may seem like a short-term solution, but it will add time to the scope of a project.

When using multiple phases in a project, there is a tendency to lose where elements have been placed.  When looking for the missing model element, be sure to check what phase(s) the model element exists in and what phase the current view is assigned to.  It is possible that that element is not visible because it hasn’t happened yet, or already has been demolished in the timeline of the model.  If the view is set in the future and the element has already been demolished, then that element will never show, despite any changes to Visibility Graphics, because that element no longer exists.  If the view is set early in the project and the element is to be created later, then that element will never show, despite any changes to Visibility Graphics, because that element does not yet exist.

Travelling through the time of a project can be done quickly and easily without any need for a certain velocity timed exactly to a lightning strike.  You don’t need a phone booth.  You don’t need a space ship or black hole.  You don’t need a watch.  You won’t find random zoo animals running through the streets.  You don’t even need some mysterious gate to pass through that spits you out in another time and place.  You can even keep your clothes on.  It’s as easy as changing the view phase assignment.  No, really.  You see the model as it exists in the point in time you are in and you can go back and forth through time and not have any impact on the events that have taken place or will take place.  That has to bring a small amount of comfort.  If you do decide to change when an element is created or destroyed, then it will automatically be updated in corresponding views based on the properties of that element relative to the phase assignment of the view.  That is only if you have let go and allowed the model to manage the element properties.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect

[2]Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) James Cameron

[3]Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) Jonathon Mostow

Library Models: Storing and Accessing Developed Content

Efficient use of Project Modeling in Revit heavily relies are a strong foundation of standards and content.  There isn't much that can be done out of the box with Revit.  It can take several months to a year of content development in order to get all the components developed and working right.  By that time, there may have been improvements in the equipment selections by the manufacturers, thereby making some of that content outdated.  Some design firms may be moving to very simplistic representations of equipment; whether that Revit Family is a cube or a generic presentation of the model element.  The problem there is in the 3D representation of an element intended to represent the spatial requirements of actual equipment selections.

The manufacturer may provide the family, but then it probably doesn't function with a Company standard other than to give the 3D geometry.  A company can choose to organize all its content internally to where the files work beautifully together, but are worthless when using any externally sourced material.  That can lead to an isolation effect where content updates are difficult to maintain.  You’d think that relying on externally sourced content would mean giving up any hope of achieving model elements that can communicate throughout a model.  To do so would mean there has to be some form of universal standard that is not meant to represent any one firm, manufacturer or method of modeling.  The MASTER SHARED PARAMETER LIBRARY and LABELING CONVENTION are designed to do just that.  Providing a broad standard where internal content can work side-by-side with externally sourced content.

So, what kinds of model content are being referred to here? Revit Families, Live Schedules and Tags by Category that extract information from the Model Elements.  What’s a ‘Live’ Schedule?  That is a term for a Schedule in Revit that is populated by Model Elements in the Project Model that is performance data driven by conditions in the systems of that model.  The Revit Families built around the Master Library are developed to work in conjunction with the Live Schedules to drive the data and information throughout the model.  The Tags by Category Annotations are designed to extract that information based on what is tagged and provide it in plan views for ease of documentation.  Properly formatted Tag Families require very little custom formatting.

Revit Families can be preloaded in a Template or organized in the Library Folder.  It is easy to know where one is saved, if you are the user that saved it.  Finding a family, and not being the person who developed it can be the true test of folder organization.  Another hindrance to using File Folders for families is not having a good thumbnail preview of the family.  If you don’t know the name of the file, it can be hard to find the right one without opening up multiple families.  

Having a visual method of searching for content, organized in groups by category also helps locate the desired content.  A Library Model is a Revit Project File set up for Worksharing, that contains all of the company and department content loaded into it and is visually searchable.  Instances of model elements are placed in Views and Details can be organized in Drafting Views.  Model Elements and Schedules can be tested in the Library Model for function and standard aesthetics.  To get a family from the Library Model into a Project model, either 'Edit Family' and 'Load Into Project' or simply use the Operating System Clipboard (Ctrl C, Ctrl V).  Drafting Views and Schedules can be transferred using 'Insert View From File'.  More efficiently, Sheets can be developed with common content for quicker and clean transfer of content.  Pulling Sheets using 'Insert View From File' will carry across all Drafting Views and Schedules assigned to the sheet.

To keep the Project Template file size down, most content that is exclusive to one discipline or not used every project can be organized in the Library Models and transferred as needed.  Utilizing a Library Model will also provide a means for many personnel to provide content into the model for Standards development and control of those Standards.  Apologies for not having many photos or screenshots.  Please accept this cute baby bunny rabbit instead.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

Schedule Maps: A Journey through a Live Schedule

There once was a time when it was necessary to open up a folded piece of paper that explained what the roads were in a town and even across the entire United States.  This item, commonly referred to as a map, would require some level of user understanding.  Once the correct position and required direction were understood, the next step was determining how to get to the desired destination.  With modern technology, you can be told exactly where you are, which direction you are headed and even the best route to get to your destination pending options such as avoiding tolls or highways.  You don't normally ask anyone for directions to where they are anymore, just the address.

A Live Schedule is a term used to distinguish a Revit Schedule that is referencing live data from model elements in a project model.  When it comes to developing a Live Schedule Standard, it is critical for colleagues to understand what the Fields are for a particular Live Schedule and a basis for how it is formatted.  The term, Schedule Map, is used to describe a line sheet that documents what Shared Parameters are used in populating the Fields as well as some of the Basic Properties such as how it may be Sorted or Filtered.  This allows the user to see the destination and find a way to get there.

It helps to have one, or a few people, involved in developing the standards for the Live Schedules, but it is even more important that those few people are not required every time a schedule needs to be added to a project model.  The Schedule Maps are meant to be documentation to provide guidance for any member of the team to see how the Live Schedule is formatted.  That should save time in a project by allowing the editing of the family, when needed, to be done without constantly checking if it will work in the schedule.

This sample Schedule Map reveals how a Live Exhaust Fan Schedule is developed.  The top is a rough visualization of the field headings and which ones are grouped together.  The Schedule Fields provide the list of Parameters needed for the schedule, including optional or hidden fields.  The Blue Parameters are from the MASTER SHARED PARAMETER LIBRARY and are known Shared Parameters from the Autodesk Shared Parameter Library.  Those parameters in Blue should be found in the most common Manufacturer provided families, allowing for the Schedule to be populated in those fields without any modification.  The Purple Parameters are from the Master Shared Parameter Library that are loaded as Project Parameters for this particular model, but are not necessarily needed to be Project Parameters.  These are commonly used Fields that don't normally exist in Manufacturer families.  Finally, this Live Schedule is filtered by Mechanical Equipment where 100Type contains EF and is sorted by 100Mark in ascending order.  

This Exhaust Fan Schedule Map is not meant to be identical across multiple companies and doesn't need to be.  The most important aspect of the Schedule Map is the list of Blue Parameters, that are known Shared Parameters in use by most of the Major Manufacturers.  As long as the Shared Parameters are there, the aesthetics can be altered by company and not affect the population of data in the Live Schedule.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

https://maps.google.com/

BIM Reloaded: How Purpose Can Define Scope

Technology is changing how we live our lives and how we do our work.  As we are able to work faster, we also begin to naturally do more work.  The key is to remain focused on the work that is vital and not get lost in a sea of data that is meaningless and wastes time.  Through the process of modeling a building based on the design scope, there can easily be a lot of time wasted towards pointless content that serves no purpose to anyone else in the development of the project.  Building Information Modeling is a great tool as long as the Information does not grow out of control.  Plugging back into The Matrix, Agent Smith gives an interesting speech in The Matrix Reloaded[1] that can serve as a defining point in Building Information Modeling.  Agent Smith had been destroyed by Mr. Anderson, yet he still existed.  When he first appears to Mr. Anderson in the courtyard, he starts to speak about Purpose.

Agent Smith: “There is no denying purpose, because we both know without purpose, we would not exist.  It is purpose that created us.  Purpose that connects us.  Purpose that pulls us. That guides us. That drives us.  It is purpose that defines us. Purpose that binds us.”

Keep in mind that Agent Smith is referring to an artificial world where programs and humans populate it, so there really is not a direct relationship to Building Information Modeling that is intended.  As we begin to model buildings through their life cycle, it is important to remember the purpose of the work being performed.  What information does the Designer need?  What information does the Contractor need?  What information does the Facility Engineer need?  It is this Purpose that needs to define what content is included and how it is carried out.  Otherwise, we may find ourselves like Neo, trapped under a pile of Agent Smiths.

If we are not careful, we can overwhelm a building model where too much information clouds out the pertinent information.  How can we begin to provide clarity in a model through the different needs of the users of that model?  How can we avoid duplication of work and data entry?  With a standard Master Library of Shared Parameters in play, content may be shared across companies that will communicate the data without requiring duplicate entries.  Information begins to communicate across model elements that can then provide system performance and aid in the retrieval of that information.

In order to fight back this increasing swarm of information and work, we have to go to the source.  The purpose must define our objectives.  Otherwise, we will find ourselves lost in a continuous loop, doomed to repeat the same laborious tasks over and over to no avail.

-Craig
www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] The Matrix Reloaded, The Wachowski Brothers, Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, 2003

Absolute Units: Understanding Revit Equations Most of the Time

We know that Revit can manipulate units of measurement across Families, Models and Schedules and still maintain the true values.  The problem may be in harnessing this power.  As you begin to write equations for developing valuable results, there may be some head scratching involved with what results are shown.  The most common occurrence of this is with Temperature.  Have you ever noticed what the default value is for a Temperature Parameter the very first time it is added?  It isn't zero, but in a way it is.  The value is zero, but in the absolute zero value of temperature.  

An absolute unit is a unit of measurement which is defined in terms of the fundamental units of a system, and is not based on arbitrary definitions.[1] Noticing this attribute occurring in Temperature Calculations led to experimentation with other units of measurement that are available in Revit.  Previous release versions of Revit had difficulty handling Air Flow calculations separate from Piping Flow.  The Project units would be set to Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) and that setting would create equation results of Piping Flow to show in CFM and not Gallons per Minute (GPM).  The equation would need to include a conversion factor from one unit of measurement to the other.  Notice what the conversion factor is for getting Temperature results to show properly?

Another issue to cover is when dealing with one unit of measurement that may need two different settings throughout a model.  Piping Pressure can represent the charged pressure in a pipe, and the same unit in Revit could be used to measure the Head Pressure in Feet as well as other options.  When Revit is calculating the results of an equation, it is based on the Project Units settings.  The individual fields can be adjusted independently in a schedule, but the calculations are developed in the family and bound by the Project Units.  The user will need to determine the baseline settings of Project Units and provide conversion factors for getting the desired results.  The term Absolute Unit is simply referring to the fundamental unit of the system that must be accounted for when writing formulas.

Don’t forget that Revit can manage different units of measurement from a Family, Project Model or Schedule.  To truly vet a family and equation, the testing will need to include all three with the desired results obtained.  So, why bother with all of this?  It sure seems like a lot of work to get little return.  Why do a spreadsheet of calculations?  Time is valuable and avoiding time spent on hundreds of repetitive calculations will save on the cost of a project.  Now have those calculations automatically populated by data from a model that is recalculated when the information changes.  That sounds like a lot of time can be saved by investing a little bit of time in those equations.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/absolute-unit

Magic Tricks: Washing Shared Parameters

Magic tricks are great when you are expecting the stunt and still fooled by it.  The Prestige^[1] is a great story about magic and the artistry and sacrifice involved with it.  How a simple item that appears to be normal can be turned into something extraordinary right in front of your eyes.  The magician knows how the trick is done and is actually quite simple to perform even though the setup can be very complicated.  The audience, witnessing the event, is not aware and is amazed at what just happened.  In the film, a magic trick is broken down into three parts.

THE PLEDGE is where the magician shows the audience something normal and ordinary, like a ball.  He may roll up his sleeves or open a door to reveal nothing behind it.  In our case, let us use a Revit Family provided by a Manufacturer.  Nothing has been done to the file other than to download it from the Manufacturer.  It is a simple red ball.

THE TURN is the second act in which the normal object, like the ball or person, disappears.  This isn't much of an ordeal, so the audience doesn't clap because they are waiting for something more.  A ball disappears in the hand or he disappears behind a door.  Let us take the Manufacturer created Revit Family and load it into a Project Model that has been developed according to the Master Labeling Convention and Shared Parameter Library.  After loading, we close the file and it has disappeared.  A ball or person disappears, big deal.  Where is the trick?

THE PRESTIGE is the awe inspiring moment when that object is brought back, but in a way that is not normal or ordinary.  The Ball is no longer seen as just any normal ball and the door that was used appears to be magical.  Let us take an instance of that Manufacturer’s Revit Family from the Project Model and click Edit Family to open the family exported from the Project Model.  The Revit Family has been brought back, but it is changed.  It is the same family, yet it is now extraordinary.

Is this a trick? Is this some sort of illusion? Has anything changed?  Nothing has changed, yet everything is different.  The Family was provided without any special arrangement.  That family was loaded into a model, and then exported from that model.  Through this process, all of the shared parameters were renamed according to the Master Labeling Convention defined in the project model.  None of the Parameters in the family were Added, Deleted or Modified in the Family Type Editor.  

This process can be referred to as Washing the Parameters.  This enables a user to see what Parameters in a family are Shared Parameters that follow a common standard in the industry and to know that those Shared Parameters will work in schedules and tags developed by the same common standard.  As even more manufacturers begin using this standard, the schedules will populate without any editing or modification. Below are the Before and After images of the same family after Washing the Parameters.  Cue the flash of light and smoke.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] The Prestige, Christopher Nolan, Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, 2006

For Better Taste: Follow the Units of Measurement

A Common argument for keeping a Revit project model simple is to have everything be text and common numbers.  A 1st Grade Math teacher is crying somewhere because students missed adding units to their answers.  Revit could be used with just text and common numbers, but there are also dozens of units of measurement that are provided in Revit and just begging to be used.

Let’s suppose that Susan is now working on the crust for Grandma Jane’s Perfect Apple Pie and ran out of flour.  She needs 4 cups of All-purpose flour and sent Eddie back to the store.  The only bags that Eddie found are for 1, 2 or 5 pound bags.  How is he supposed to know which one to get?  There is a way to convert the values to determine which bag is most ideal to purchase.  Those conversions could be done on sticky notes, loose paper or even a spreadsheet.  Wouldn't it be cool if those values could be included in a Revit Schedule and the conversion be done automatically as part of the Schedule’s formatting?  Unfortunately, Revit was not developed to model apple pie recipes, so that specific problem will probably need to be figured out on your own.

Let’s imagine a more common scenario where equipment selections for a construction project are being provided in Metric, while the project model is in Imperial.  Using Project Units in Inches and keeping the dimensions in Millimeters in the Revit Family is not an issue.  When that family is loaded into the Project Model, the Project assigned to Imperial settings will automatically convert the millimeters into inches.  More importantly, units such as Flow and Temperature will do the same thing.  Liters per second flow will convert to cubic feet per minute.  Celsius Temperatures will convert to Fahrenheit.  These are all subjective to the Project Model’s Project Units settings.  The cool twist is that even a schedule can display the data in a third standard completely independent from the family or the project model settings.  This would allow for the dimensions and performance data to be shown in Imperial while working in the model, but the same information is documented in Metric on the Equipment Schedule based on how it will be purchased.  Hopefully, there is a 1st Grade Math Teacher smiling now.

So, which bag should Eddie purchase?

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

DISCLAIMER: All names appearing in this post are still fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Free Your Mind! Schedules aren’t just for Schedules

Like mentioned before, do not let the name of something critically impact what properties are assumed with that item.  A Model Element named a Transformer doesn't mean it is actually representing electrical equipment designed to transfer power.  Properties of that Model Element could be developed to represent something entirely different, such as robotics.  The key is to not let the possibilities be bound by assumptions.  We are modeling design in an environment where the designer is creating the environment, so why limit what can be accomplished?

Schedule.  What comes to mind when you hear that term?  Most people probably think of the calendar in their phone.  Some people may even think of the thickness of pipe.  Those same people may even visualize equipment selections at the end of Construction Documents.  When it comes to Revit and Building Information Modeling, do not let these traditional definitions of a Schedule determine what they are to be used for or what they can show.

In The Matrix^[1], Morpheus begins his teaching for Neo in a construct program designed to teach Neo that his fighting abilities are originally bound by the same basic rules as we experience in reality, such as gravity.  He explains that these rules can be bent, or even broken.  As Neo fights Morpheus, he begins to realize that his limitations are bound by the rules he has unknowingly set on himself.  Only after he begins to believe in himself and push beyond his own limitations does he truly see the extent of what is capable in the simulations.  After the Agent Program he asks Morpheus if he could dodge bullets.  Morpheus brilliantly answers that when he is ready, he won’t have to.

There is a lot more to The Matrix, but for today the only point is to Free Your Mind of what is capable with Schedules in Revit for Building Information Modeling.  Schedules can be used to document equipment selections in a project, but don’t let that define what they are.  Schedules, Note Blocks, Sheet Lists & View Lists cannot create content, but all can edit and delete information.  What that model information contains is entirely up to the user.  Try to think of a Schedule as more like a Database Spreadsheet.  Think of all the spreadsheets created to monitor and manipulate data.  Think of those spreadsheets infused in a model to control that same data, but in a live environment.  What calculations could be accomplished while populating a model?  What content can be created to provide warnings when design goes outside the intended ranges of performance?  Build upon the Master Library of Shared Parameters and imagine seeing those calculations and schedules come alive as equipment selections are placed in a model and react to the environment created for them.  Push what you may think is impossible in a Revit Model and you just might stop bullets in mid-air!

-Craig
www.ModelingDynamics.net

[1] The Matrix, The Wachowski Brothers, Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, 1999

One Less Button: Living in a Typeless Model Part 2

There was a time when playing a video game meant punching a button as fast as possible, eventually straining the muscles in the hand.  Then a wonderful device became available that could simulate repetitive button pushing where the user simply holds the button down.  Imagine watching two players side by side. One madly punching buttons while the other holds it down.  Who would you think is being silly?

Now, transition over to two designers modeling an HVAC system in 3D.  One designer is placing each element and connecting everything together.  The elements are static and the size has to be changed manually every time it is needed.  Double checking the work would require checking calculations externally from the model.  Now, let us think of a second designer.  The elements are still placed manually and connected together, but the sizing is accomplished automatically through performance requirements collected in the model.  Changes to the performance are instantly reflected in the size selection of the Families and the performance data can also be used to size the duct or pipe connecting everything.  Double checking the work would require engaging some form of data feedback in the model.  Who would you think is being silly?

Revit Families can have Family Types that allow for preset information to be used for specific equipment sizes.  The user has to manually choose a Family Type in order to achieve the correct size.  What if the Revit Family didn't have any Family Types because the information was shown through instance-based equations that calculated the information used to decide the size.  Air requirements are added to a Zone, that causes a Terminal Unit to increase a size and increase the capacity of the hydronic reheat coil.  Now that coil will adjust the heating water flow requirements of the piping system it is connected to.  One change in the system has a cascading effect on other elements.  Who would you think is being silly?

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NES_Advantage

Living In A Typeless Model: We’re Not Talking About Voice Commands

If Susan told her son, Eddie, to buy 10 Granny Smith Apples that each weigh 12 ounces for Grandma Jane’s Perfect Apple Pie recipe, she is asking for ten 12 ounce Instances of a Type of Granny Smith Apple.  Because Eddie heard her wrong, he bought 10 Red Delicious Apples of various sizes from 8 to 14 ounces.  He got the wrong Type of Apples and the Instance size of each apple was only affecting that specific apple.  That is a general idea of what Type and Instance are referring to in Revit.  A Type Property applies to all elements and changing the value in one will change that value in all occurrences.  An Instance Property applies only to the one element and directly changing the value does not affect other instances.

  

Using Type Properties may sound like an advantage, but what if Susan wanted to change the recipe and provide 5 Granny Smith and 5 Red Delicious.  If you changed the Type information for one Apple, it would alter all the Apples and there is no way to prevent that as long as the Apple selection is a Type property.  If you were to change the Type Property of the Apple to an Instance Property, then half of the apples could be changed independently.  The question then becomes what if we have 100 Apples and need to edit some of them.  Do I need to individually edit each instance?  The complex answer to that is simply No!

Instance properties can be edited in groups through schedules.  Obviously, the parameter being used must be available in a schedule.  In this case, Susan decided to only change the 14 ounce apples back to Granny Smith.  In the schedule for Apples, sort by the Weight and uncheck the requirement to ‘Itemize every Instance’.  This is referred to as collapsing a schedule.  Every instance of the Apple is now represented in a common line by the corresponding weight and changing the parameter value will edit every instance simultaneously that is represented in that line.  When the edit is done, the schedule can be expanded by checking the ‘Itemize every Instance’ box.  Sort by Mark and see what the single edit did for Grandma Jane’s recipe with Susan’s twist.  By facilitating as many parameters as possible with Instance Parameters rather than Type-based parameters, users have more flexibility in manipulating data throughout a model.  

One interesting fact to note, Instance-based equation results can contain type-based parameters.  Type-based equation results cannot contain instance-based parameters.  Varying values of a parameter cannot logically provide the same result in an equation.  Using Instance-based parameters for results will free up the potential for information and make it easier to obtain logical equations that work.  We’ll get deeper into that next time.

-Craig
www.ModelingDynamics.net

DISCLAIMER: All names appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The Contingency Plan: Default Parameters

After about five minutes in Revit trying to develop a schedule, it is easy to see how unforgiving the parameters can be.  Get the wrong parameter, either from the family or the schedule, and nothing in that field works.  It’s no wonder that a lot of firms have moved away from using any Live Schedules and sticking with manually Drafted Schedules.  The stress of creating schedules may be gone, but not the time savings from a well-developed system of families and schedules.  It is an uphill battle, but once the system is running, the benefits of manipulating data through schedules become a major benefit.

There are many default parameters throughout Revit that automatically show up under certain categories of families.  Why not utilize them?  Well, in a way they are being utilized by leaving them alone.  The setup of parameters is not forgiving and there really is no way around that.  Two parameters cannot occupy the same field.  So what happens when the setup is not working and there is a deadline looming before lunchtime?  It is imperative to give yourself a contingency plan for just that occasion.  When you prepare for unexpected circumstances, they don’t become migraines to a project team.

Unknown Parameter in Tag?

The ‘Comments’ default parameter is possibly the most useful parameter in Revit.  So leave it unused for normal operations!  When something does go wrong, it is available to use when there is simply not time to fix what isn't working as planned.  Also, many of the default parameters may be used by Manufacturers to represent their product. Utilizing parameters from the Master Library allows for the values in the default parameters to be preserved.  One other topic, to cover another day, is the importance of having backup parameters when automatic sizing or calculations don’t function properly.  Create content to be populated automatically, but when the system isn't ready for full automatic performance; give yourself a manual override (812ManualOverride).  That’s when Live Schedules really get fun!

So, leave the default parameters for backup support and also develop parameters that can be used when needed to get project data on plan before a system is fully functional.  The end goal is still completion of a project and documentation of the model, not necessarily getting everything in a model running perfectly.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

A Rose Is A Rose: Shared Parameter Names

A rose by any other name is still a rose.  So, no matter what it is called, a rose will carry the same attributes.  It will look the same, smell the same and hopefully bring smiles to certain loved ones just the same.  Call it a Cinnamomeae and it is still the same flower.  Similarly, despite what a Shared Parameter is named, or even what group it is assigned to, it is possible for it to perform seamlessly with Models and Family files.

The most important attributes of a Shared Parameter are the Global Unique Identifier (GUID) value and the Datatype assignment.  The name and group can change without affecting the performance of the parameter.  Change the GUID and the Parameter is now a separate Shared Parameter.  Change the Datatype and risk corruption in a file and loss of that project.  Because of this, great care has been taken to only change the name and provide a starting point for the grouping of parameters.

As the Shared Parameters were sampled from manufacturer families, there began to develop a library of parameters that were found across many different sources.  As Shared Parameters are added to the Master File, the original name of the parameter is archived and a new name is given using the Labeling Convention (Reference Here) based on its properties and purpose.  The Labeling Convention will help identify the parameter as part of the Master Library, but won’t affect the Shared Parameter’s ability to function in a model that has not adopted the Labeling Convention.  

Families that have already been created using parameters from these existing libraries (AD 1-1) will still work, without any modification, in schedules that are being used by Families of the Labeling Convention (ME 1-2) as shown below.  As the existing families are inserted into a model following the Labeling Standard, the Shared Parameters will be labeled according to that standard.  Opening the Family, from within the model it has been loaded into, will also replace all the old names of the parameters with the new names.  Families originating from an existing library will work with new families following the Labeling Convention of the Master Library in the same Schedule, provided they are the same GUID, without doing any work.

Did anything else catch your attention?

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net

Why do we drive on Parkways and park on Driveways?

It never ceases to amaze how the name of an item will influence a person to believe that item may actually carry that property.  High Definition Hair Color Products probably doesn’t mean the same thing as High Definition Television Sets when considering what ‘High Definition’ is representing.  Just because an object carries a certain name does not guarantee that it will have that characteristic.  The Name should provide clarity, not add confusion.

A parameter named Voltage means nothing to describe what information it actually contains.  A user wants to believe that that parameter is an actual value of Voltage, but it could easily be a just number or simply text.  Also, lists are shown in alphanumeric order.  Looking for Air Flow parameters based on a system name would require searching through an entire list, even in the same group, if they are not somehow bundled together.  Using a Prefix of 227 will bundle all the Air Flow parameters together in one area.

All the possible attributes for a shared parameter, the Disciplines, Types and Groups of Parameters, were considered when developing a Prefix Standard in the Labeling Convention.  The categories naturally developed based on the available options.  The order of the numbering also aligns with the current list of options when working with Shared Parameters.

Some standard libraries have developed a brand for each parameter, in order to identify that parameter with the library it belongs to.  This requires every equation or reference to a parameter to show that brand in it.  Most libraries do not use any special naming procedure that easily lends to confusion once multiple parameters are found in the same model, carrying the same name, but different GUIDs.  Selecting the correct parameters becomes very difficult.  The Prefix provides a recognizable brand that is more about function than just recognition.  As parameters are sampled, they are renamed according to the Labeling Convention and obviously there are many instances where duplicate or redundant parameters turn up.  The Master Library does not contain duplicate parameters that carry the same name, giving priority to the dominant parameter.

300Voltage is a Text Parameter and 321Voltage is an Electrical Potential Parameter.  300Voltage is omitted from the Master Library, because it is not necessary while a 321Voltage exists.  Similarly, 224PressDropCoilCooling is a Shared Parameter for the pressure drop across a cooling coil that is a unit of pressure and is found in the Revit Master Shared Parameters v2.1 from Autodesk.  Another example is 320FullLoad, which is a parameter for Full Load Amps that is based on Current also found in that library.

The Prefix helps sort the Library of parameters in an understandable order, provides a branding as well as important information on the parameter.  A quick reference of the Prefix Sheet can be seen HERE.  There is also a PDF of the Prefix Standard available when you download the Master Library packet HERE that is FREE.  When dealing with Units of Measurement, this will hopefully become clearly beneficial.  That is for another time.

-Craig

www.ModelingDynamics.net