Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Face-Based Family loads "Inside-Out"

Bartholomew

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Forgive me up front; I’m going to try and succinctly articulate what the issue is, but that’s a little challenging in and of itself. Anyways, here goes…

I’ve created a Faced-Based Family. A Ref. Plane named “Front” is locked to the Ref. Level and it is defined as the “Origin”. Inset from that “Front” origin plane – towards the center of the Host Face (negative Z) – is another named Ref. Plane named “Back”. I have geometry drawn on both these planes. Planes and geometry are parameterized and locked. So far so good – except when I load the family and place it on a Host Face; or a Work Plane that rests on the Host Face, my Face-Based Family loads “inside-out”. That is, it’s “Front” Origin Plane attaches to the correct Host or Work Plane, but the family’s “Back” Ref. Plane geometry is oriented in the positive Z direction; not the negative Z direction like it is in the family.

Get it? If so, your feedback would be greatly appreciated? I’m really feeling like a bone head here. I’ve created hundreds of faced-based families and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this before. What am I missing?

If it matters…BDSP2016

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WWHub

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So you actually want your family's solids to be inside the host where they are hidden?

I guess I would have to look at the family.   Adding the front reference plane and locking it may be part of your problem.  There is no need to do that, just reference off the host face.  Is the Back plane parametrically located in relation to the host face?  You actually located that using a dimension in an elevation - correct? 

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Bartholomew

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Thanks WWHub. Here’s what I discovered: My problem-child Face-Based Family has several parametrically-driven Arrays of Sweep Extrusions that are pathed along Model Lines. Although these Model Lines are properly anchored and associated to a Work Plane, that association is lost upon Arraying. I know this is typical behavior when you copy model lines. I suspect this is the root cause of the problem I’m experiencing. Still, it’s odd to me that the family loads “inside-out” as I have described. It may be that I chose the wrong family for the job. Bummer. As the saying goes: “The best laid plans…” yada, yada, yada.

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Bartholomew

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SOLVED! (U.N.O.)

The issue I was having had nothing to do with the family template I was using. It had everything to do with a “loose nut behind the keyboard”.  HA!

What I was trying to achieve was this: a family that I could parametrically-control an Array of several geometries together (in this case: Sweeps) in the X,Y AND Z directions.  In other words, “stacked” or “sandwiched” geometries that resides at the same X and Y coordinates (from the P.O.V.), but on different Z Work Planes – with the distance between those Z Work Planes being a parameterized value as well.

What I found out was this: Arrays don’t do “Z”. Try it. You’ll see that the Array spazzes out when the Work Plane on which it was created is moved. The Array works fine and dandy In the X and Y direction – but when you change the Array’s Work Plane elevation, the Array breaks in weird ways (such as inside-out) . Why? Because, the Work Plane is outside the group – not part of it. There’s no Work Plane “association” after grouping.  Duh.

For my purposes, here’s the workaround I found: Put all the sweeps on the same Work Plane then control their relationship to that “Origin” point by parameterizing the “Vertical Profile Offset” (the Z direction) of the individual sweeps. Still, this approach required some seemingly odd “jerry-rigging”, so I can’t be certain it won’t break later – but so far, so good. Flexes great. I’m Jazzed.

Have a good array.

Edited on: Sun, May 1, 2016 at 7:53:34 PM

Edited on: Sun, May 1, 2016 at 7:54:19 PM

Edited on: Sun, May 1, 2016 at 7:55:17 PM

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WWHub

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Glad you found your problem.  You might contact Autodesk with this.

Did you consider nested families?  If the array were nested and inserted on a workplane that moves, the break may not have happened.

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Bartholomew

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Bartholomew

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WWHub: You're suggestion of nesting proved to be a much better approach. Albeit: a little more work up front, but much better results overall. Line-based GMs for the sweeps, nested into the Face-Based GM parent, was the way to go! Thanks.

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