Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Families

winterriver

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Joined: Tue, Jul 31, 2012
23 Posts

Is this the correct way to build a family? I am confused by ther term flex. does it mean to test. I thought flexing meant paramteric values.

• Decide if the Family should require a host or not - hosting behavior cannot be changed after creating the Family, so this must be chosen first and decided on carefully.
• Choose an appropriate Category/Family Template - this is the first thing Revit asks when you create a new Family. Templates are provided for both hosted and non-hosted items. So it comes next.
• Lay down Reference Planes - Reference Planes give a Family its basic structure and form.
• Add any Dimensions, Parameters and Constraints - Reference Planes can be driven by labeled dimensions and limited by contraints. Add such behaviors to your Reference Planes before adding geometry.
• Flex the model - Make sure everything works as expected before adding geometry.
• Add Geometry.
• Flex again and load into Project - the final test is to try it out in a project.

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AbsoluteBIM

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Joined: Fri, Jun 17, 2011
220 Posts

I'd agree with this process.

Parametric values are what give you the ability to flex. Yes, they mean test it.

Let's say your building a 3' x 3' table. Once you have laid out your reference planes and dimensions/parameters, see you what happens if you change the values to 2'x4' or 1'x50', if everything works without errors, then goes back to 3'x3' and continue.

Sometimes you will load a family into a project and get an error saying "can't make type" even though your geometry looks right. At this point, its hard to track down which parameter or contraint isn't working. Make it routine to test or "flex" as often as possible.

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winterriver

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Joined: Tue, Jul 31, 2012
23 Posts

Thank you for the reply. If you create a family without paramters does "flexing" come into play?

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AbsoluteBIM

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Joined: Fri, Jun 17, 2011
220 Posts

no, I understand that some families don't need parameters since maybe the manufacturer only provides one size. In these cases there is nothing to "flex". I atleast like to keep my materials parametric though.

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