Author Archives: nmcclure

View Creation Workflow

Posted on November 26, 2012 by nmcclure

While the standard view creation process in Revit works well for the simple production of callouts from overall plan views, most larger projects find they need transitional views – Overall to Partial to Enlarged Area, THEN to details.  These additional … Continue reading →

Posted in BIM/Revit | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Local files are like donuts

Posted on October 18, 2012 by nmcclure

….you don’t want a day old one! Create a NEW local file from the Projects > Open > [select the CENTRAL file], verify that CREATE NEW LOCAL is checked, and OVERWRITE EXISTING FILE when the option pops up. Complications that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | 2 Comments

Linework of embedded elements

Posted on September 27, 2012 by nmcclure

Users often complain about ‘missing lines’ where complex assemblies overlap/embed into each other: The easiest resolution for this is to use the Join Geometry tool, and select the two elements that overlap, however if the elements are (as in this … Continue reading →

Posted in BIM/Revit | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Highlighting Affected Parameters

Posted on September 20, 2012 by nmcclure

I like to give credit where credit is due – and this aspect of working formulas into parametric families deserves a bit of praise – when selecting parameters in the Family Types dialog, the view will highlight the parameters that … Continue reading →

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Smart Group Origins

Posted on September 17, 2012 by nmcclure

When creating Groups of elements, Revit creates a default origin point at the ‘center of mass’ of the selection set.   It’s easy to simply accept it, name your group and proceed with placing it numerous times throughout your project. The … Continue reading →

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Component Lifecycle

Posted on September 14, 2012 by nmcclure

Component content management is an ongoing challenge, and it is important that teams understand the desired lifecycle flow.  Infographics help A LOT: I’ve been using SmartDraw to create these workflow diagrams, and I’m loving the program: easy, flexible, and lots … Continue reading →

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Defining the Workflow

Posted on September 11, 2012 by nmcclure

We designers are visually oriented folk. Defining a workflow that teams will understand (and therefore more likely follow) has been most successful if accompanied by one of these: Each item is expanded on in documentation I’m adding to a client’s … Continue reading →

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Streamlined Elevators

Posted on August 30, 2012 by nmcclure

Each project has to qualify their elevator spec, which typically means a customized family per project.  I’ve created a prototype lightweight (2.5D) family that can be adjusted per specified unit, with dims ‘locked down’ to prevent modifying away from the … Continue reading →

Posted in BIM/Revit | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Reviewing Model Groups

Posted on August 27, 2012 by nmcclure

The majority of current projects I’m consulting to are multi-family housing, or patient care.  Both utilize model groups extensively to efficiently duplicate and update the repetitive room/unit layouts across multiple levels.  While good for repetition and update management, groups can … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, BIM/Revit | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Resolving “Not Placed” Rooms

Posted on August 14, 2012 by nmcclure

Today’s tip is on eliminating the pesky “not placed” rooms that crop up in schedules: How it happens: Rooms get created to label spaces in early design iterations, then are deleted as the design evolves. While the element is now … Continue reading →

Posted in BIM/Revit | Tagged | 4 Comments