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Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Importing .sat files to Revit - the ever infamous problem
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Joined: Mon, Dec 14, 2009
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Hello everyone,
I am using Revit 2012 and I am having the common difficulty of changing materiality on my imported sat geometry. I created the geometry using Inventor 2012, which is a little different from most of the posts in this forum. I have tried (by suggestion) exporting each material in inventor as a separate file to be recombined in the revit family editor. My issue is that, while I can now select them individually, they are both still listed under the default layer 0 of the imported geometry tab. This is despite applying different materials in the inventor file. I tried to paint the material as an alternative, but it doesn't allow me to select any surfaces. Sorry for asking such a common question, but I couldn't get any of the methods in the other posts to work. Any ideas?
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Joined: Tue, May 16, 2006
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All dwg file import materialls are controlled by layer. So make sure each element in the CAD file is on a unique layer and assign the material to that layer in Revit under the manage / object styles / imported objects tab.
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Inventor operates in a similar fashion to Revit in that you can't assign individual layers. Is there another option?
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Did you look at the object styles tab????? If you had - you would see that not only is it by layer but it is by layer per DWG. So if I had looked, I would deduce that since you have split it up into seperate files, each layer 0 could be different.
Or is my logic wrong?
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Yes. I've checked the object styles in both the family (where I imported the two different files) and the revit project where I placed the component. Even though it is two separate files, they both somehow are listed under layer 0. Is there a way to change what layer they are inserted on when you insert the .sat file? (screenshot of object styles attached)
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Imports into the project are per dwg, in families, they are per family but families can be nested.
Did you import this into a family so it can be cuttable, scheduled as a family, or for multiple instnces?
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Sorry, it took a few minutes to respond. I was trying some of your suggestions. First, I tried to import it into a family so I could place it in multiple instances. I made two generic model families and saved each as an .rfa file. I then tried to load one of the .rfa files into the other family (to nest it), but under object styles it still shows up as only one layer 0 (even though there are two .rfa files in the family). I then tried to place each rfa file into the project file giving each its own material prior to loading it into the family. It still renders in the project as the default gray assigned to layer 0 and there is only 1 layer 0 in the project file as well. I wish I could upload a video to show the processit must be something small that's throwing off the whole process? I imported .sat files on my last project with some problems, but I was able to paint the surfaces in the end and work around it?
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In Revit, the PROJECT RULES! That means once a family is loaded and the materials are defined, they are now in the project and controlled by the project. You can never change them in the family and over-ride the model. Instead you have to now change them in the project. Or you have to delete the family and the materials from the projetc. Then you can load the modified family.
You may have to set the nested family to shared to get a unique layer 0.
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Excellent! I ended up loading the .sat file directly into the project and I now am getting individual layer 0 files for each import! This is great news. I'm still not sure why the nested family wasn't working, but perhaps I can work on that workflow another time. When you say set the nested family to shared, what exactly do you mean? A shared parameter? Could you elaborate. Thanks again!
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A shared family is shared to the project. It can be used seperatly, scheduled and in some cases - controlled. An example would be a track light, The light fixtured could be shared so that you might be able to individually control the light output.
Sharing is set in the family editor.
Edited on: Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 1:52:57 PM
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I have made a very simple box like mobile crane in Inventor. I then exported it to a SAT file so that I can place it into Revit. The issue is that even though the Top face, Front face,..etc. in Inventor is correct, when I import it to Revit it gets flipped around. This wouldn't be a problem if I was able to rotate it in Revit but it will only let me rotate it from one side, otherwise it will say "Can't draw because Work Plane is at a very sharp angle in this view. Go to another view or redefine the Work Plane." and I don't understand why it says this when, like I said, it is a very simple box like model. Can someone please help me? I have a feeling there is a simple way to fix this but I can't think of it.
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dont export to SAT with inventor. use ADSK instead
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Thank You, that really help. But now i'm having difficulty importing to Revit. I tried the import button but there was no adsk format. So I tried "load family" but I cant seem to find the way from there, and I tried "file--open--building components" which got the model on the screen but theres a box covering it. Any ideas?
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Nevermind I found a way...I exploded it and the box dissapered. Thanks for the help alabaster2513.
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