FAMILIES

What are families?

Whatarefamilies?
Afamily isagroupofelements
withacommonsetof
properties,calledparameters,
andarelatedgraphical
representation.Different
elementsbelongingtoa
familymayhavedifferent
valuesforsomeoralloftheir
pa a ete s, but t e set o
parameters,butthesetof
parameters(theirnamesand
meanings)isthesame.These
variationswithinthefamily
y
arecalledfamilytypesor
types.

Different Kinds of Families

DifferentKindsofFamilies

systemfamilies
loadablefamilies
inplacefamilies

System Families
SystemFamilies
Systemfamiliescreatebasicelementssuchas
ducts,pipes,andotherelementsthatyou
,pp ,
y
wouldassembleonsite.Systemsettings,
p j
whichaffecttheprojectenvironmentand
includetypesforlevels,grids,drawingsheets,
andviewports,arealsosystemfamilies.
SystemfamiliesarepredefinedinRevit MEP.
Youdonotloadthemintoyourprojectsfrom
y
p j
externalfiles,nordoyousavethemin
locationsexternaltotheproject.
p j

Loadable Families
LoadableFamilies
Loadablefamiliesarefamiliesusedto
createbothsystemcomponents
andsomeannotationelements.
Loadablefamiliescreatethe
componentsthatwouldusuallybe
purchased,delivered,andinstalled
h d d li
d di
ll d
inandaroundabuilding,suchas
boilers waterheaters airhandlers
boilers,waterheaters,airhandlers,
andplumbingfixtures.Theyalso
includesomeannotationelements
thatareroutinelycustomized,such
assymbolsandtitleblocks.

In Place Families
InPlaceFamilies
Inplaceelementsareuniqueelementsthatyou
In
placeelementsareuniqueelementsthatyou
createwhenyouneedtocreateaunique
componentthatisspecifictothecurrentproject.
Youcancreateinplacegeometrysothatit
referencesotherprojectgeometry,resizingor
adjustingaccordinglyifthereferencedgeometry
changes.In placeelementsarecreatedsimilarlyto
changes.Inplaceelementsarecreatedsimilarlyto
loadablefamilies,butlikesystemfamilies,arenot
loadedfromorsavedtoexternalfiles.Theyare
createdinthecontextofthecurrentproject,and
arenotintendedtobeusedinotherprojects.

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
Thetemplateservesasa
p

buildingblock,containing
theinformationthatyou
y
needtostartcreatingthe
familyandthatRevit
y
needstoplacethefamily
inprojects.
p j

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
WallbasedTemplates
Usethewallbasedtemplatestocreatecomponentsthat

willbeinsertedintowalls.Somewallcomponents(suchas
doorsandwindows)canincludeopenings,suchthatwhen
youplacethecomponentonawall,itcutsanopeninginthe
l th
t ll it t
i i th
wall.Someexamplesofwallbasedcomponentsinclude
doors windows andlightingfixtures Eachtemplate
doors,windows,andlightingfixtures.Eachtemplate
includesawall;thewallisnecessaryforshowinghowthe
componentfitsinoronawall.

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
CeilingbasedTemplates
Ceiling
basedTemplates
Usetheceilingbasedtemplatestocreate
componentsthatwillbeinsertedintoceilings.Some
t th t illb i
t di t ili
S

ceilingcomponentsincludeopenings,sothatwhen
youplacethecomponentonaceiling,itcutsan
l th
t ili it t
openingintheceiling.Examplesofceilingbased
f ili i l d i kl d
familiesincludesprinklersandrecessedlighting
dli hti
fixtures..

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
.

RoofbasedTemplate
Usetheroofbasedtemplateforcomponentsthatwill
p
p
beinsertedintoroofs.Someroofcomponentsinclude
openings,sothatwhenyouplacethecomponenton
openings sothatwhenyouplacethecomponenton
aroof,itcutsanopeningintheroof.Examplesof
roof basedfamiliesincludesoffitsandfans.
roofbasedfamiliesincludesoffitsandfans

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
.

StandaloneTemplate
Usethestandalonetemplateforcomponentsthat
p
p
arenothostdependent.Astandalonecomponent
canbeplacedanywhereinamodelandcanbe
p
y
dimensionedtootherstandaloneorhostbased
components.
p
Examplesofstandalonefamiliesincludeductandduct
fittings.
fittings

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
.

LinebasedTemplate
Usethelinebasedtemplatestocreatedetailandmodel
p
familiesthatuse2pickplacement.

Different Kinds of Family Templates

DifferentKindsofFamilyTemplates
.

FacebasedTemplate
Usethefacebasedtemplatetocreateworkplane
p
p
basedfamiliesthatcanmodifytheirhosts.Families
createdfromthetemplatecanmakecomplexcutsin
p
p
hosts.Instancesofthesefamiliescanbeplacedon
anysurface,regardlessofitsorientation
y
, g

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework
.
Afteryouplanafamily,thenextstepistocreatethefamily
framework(skeleton).Theframeworkiscomprisedoflines
andparametersinwhichyoulatercreatethefamily
d
h h
l
h f
l
geometry.Italsodefinestheorigin(insertionpoint)of
elementsthatyoucreatewiththefamily.
elementsthatyoucreatewiththefamily
Tocreatetheframework,youbeginbydefiningthefamily
origin Youthenbuildtheframeworkwithelementscalled
origin.Youthenbuildtheframeworkwithelementscalled
referenceplanesandreferencelines.Nextyoudefinefamily
parameters.Theparametersthatyoudefineatthisstage
usuallycontrolthesize(length,width,height)ofthe
element,andletyouaddfamilytypes.
y
f
y yp

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework
Defining theOrigin(insertionpoint)

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework
Defining theOrigin(insertionpoint)

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework

Reference
f
Plane
Referenceplaneareusedtodriveothergeometry.They
areplanesthatexistin3Dspacethatotherelements
canbeattachedto.Thinkofthemassymbolic
i
f
i
representationofinfiniteplanes.Theendsofreference
plane are selectable and you can drag them to make them
planeareselectableandyoucandragthemtomakethem
longer,butyouwillnotbeabletorotatetheendofa
referenceplanefreelyasyoucanwithlines.

Referenceline
Youcanusereferencelinestocreateaparametric
familyframeworktowhichelementsofthefamilycan
attach.

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework

Setting
g theFamilyParameter
y

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework

Setting
g theFamily
y Type
yp

Creating a Family Framework

CreatingaFamilyFramework

Setting
g theFamilyCategory
y
g y

 Extrusion

 Blend

 Revolve

 Sweep

 Sweep

Blend

 Void

Connectors allow Revit MEP content

to participate in specific systems and
facilitate calculations for a variety of
parameters The discipline assigned to a
parameters.
connector determines the connectors
properties.
ti