I am delinquent in getting this post... posted, but it has been an insanely busy time! A discussion was started on AUGI about custom content, and after a somewhat heated debate was had over the successes and/or failures of Revit Content sites like Seek, RevitCity, etc... A few of us were of the opinion that the failure isnt really on that of the content sites, but that of the content standardizers: They arent end users, and theyre not using the software to get the work out the door. How CAN they know what needs to be in the standards?
Autodesk has taken some initiative posting the Revit Model Content Style Guide, but many of us disagree on if it is helpful or not. It often recommends things that arent a value to the PROJECT, in the spirit of helping REVIT.
I would cut and paste my thoughts on the subject, but its quite lengthy. You can read them in this post, specifically addressing the Content Style Guide.
So what IS a successful standard? Well, in my VERY humble opinion: It needs to account for the most complex situations. Otherwise, when those situations DO come up, its a free for all. The beautiful thing about a complex standard that covers all bases, is it STILL works for a more conservative project. So... Whats critical in that standard? Well, here is my hope:
Im going to go category by category, and post what we are using at Beck, as "our standard." Then im hoping others will do the same. By Vegas time or a bit after, im hoping to have something we can share with the 'Desk. If- at any point in this discussion- it becomes useful, ill post our content as samples, along with the Shared Parameters files.
For the first Category, im going to start with Doors... As theyre often the most complex.
Admittedly, at Beck we like our Revit models a bit more Complex than- perhaps- they need to be. This is a diagram of one of our doors, and the Parameters they have.
This includes a series of Offset parameters and if/then statements, allowing the Door to stay "hosted" to the wall, but push itself off of the wall. This is primarily because we model our walls as multiple walls, so the "Revit Wall" cannot drive the size of the door frame in ALL cases.
Discounting that as something that is not necessary in a standard (as its just our desire), lets look at the rest:
Width: Some doors have one panel, some have two. Theyre not always equal. This NEEDS to be planned on. We have two independant Panel Widths. We have other functionality, to automatically make them EQ, but thats all fluff. i think we cal all agree we need to Panel Widths, STANDARD.
Panel TYPES: This starts the debate about Nesting. Though it may be arrogant to assume everyone works like us, ill go on the limb and say this NEEDS to be standard. Anyone whos done a job with the OOTB doors, knows how exponential the number of doors to edit becomes, with Panels arent nested.
FRAME Types: Always a gray area, since some people make the "Frame" families the Door family itself. But, having worked with them as seperate Nested Families, i have to say i think its great. Ill put up a vote for them being Nested. What are your thoughts? This also starts to delve in to Frame Dimensions, and WHERE should they be controlled?
But, if i WERE to desire Manufacturer Built Content, my personal thoughts are it should be like this:
Door parameters(parent family):
Panel 1 Width (Length)
Panel 1 Type (Family Type: Door)
Panel 1 Finish (Material)
Panel 2 Width (Length)
Panel 2 Type (Family Type: Door)
Panel 2 Finish (Material)
Overall Opening Width (Length- formula driven)
Panel Height (Length)
Panel Thickness (Length)
Panel Floor Clearance (Length)
Frame Type (Family Type: Door)
Frame Profile Jamb Width (Length) [for cutting the opening out wider]
Frame Profile Head Height (Length) [for cutting the opening out taller]
Door Panels (shared):
Panel Width (Length) [tied to the Panel widths in the door]
Panel Height (Length) [tied to the Panel height in the door]
Panel Finish (Length) [tied to the Panel Finishes]
Door Frames
Opening Width (Length) [tied to the Overall Opening Width]
Opening Height (Length) [Tied to Panel Height]
Okay, so ours have a bit more than that. These are also just thye basics. Of course the Frames will have more, as will the panels, for variations IN the panel. But these are (i8mvho) what need to SCHEDULE, and be made from a STANDARD shared Parameters File. But im out of time at the current moment. What are your thoughts on the above?
