Parametric Revit Family creation – An inevitable part of BIM
BIM Family creation is an extremely important fragment of the overall BIM Services. Revit families are group of individual components that act as the building blocks of any structure. These independent entities or group of entities helps architects, engineers and designers add Architectural, Structural and MEP components to complete the virtual model. For example if we want a door with a specific lock or handle, we build the door with the handle or specific lock in the virtual model by giving dimensions, material specification, manufacturer details etc. These families can be saved within the model or independently as a .RFA file. There are three types of Revit families In place families, System Families and Parametric Revit families.
In-place and System families are more useful when we know the families are required only for a particular building project. These families cannot be used for multiple projects while Revit parametric family creation services offer us flexibility to use the families for other projects too by changing the parameters based on different projects. Parametric families can be used further even during facility management stage or as built stage. We can add the material, asset tag, manufacturer detail, model type etc. to the model and can keep a record of the equipment’s and other assets. This can be used for building maintenance too. The in-built library of Revit software contains several pre-defined families that you can effectively use in your building models however Parametric BIM families have an edge over the pre-defined families. These are a part of the loadable family category.
Parametric Revit Families
Parameters create a rules in a family that can be modified and edited depending on the model environment and type. In a Revit parametric family creation services, it is important to add parameters correctly to give finishes, shape and other properties. This requires experience along with excellent knowledge of Revit and understanding of the BIM standards applicable for a particular country. Basic parametric features include framework, adding 3D geometry and assigning categories. The main function of such family is to control the basic properties such as height, breadth and length of any component. We can apply similar principles to the other families. We can create Architectural, Structural and MEP BIM Families which are parametric in nature and use it for multiple projects across the board.
When to plan to work on BIM family creation, it is important to understand the template settings clearly. The generic model is okay to work with and the category can be created later however with parametric families it is not recommended to work in an unplanned way. It is very important to understand the behavior of each component. Parametric families should be able to adapt itself in the model environment when loaded within it.
Hence it is vital to choose the correct template while working on parametric families and assign categories or sub categories.
Parametric Revit family creation is a better option compared in place families and system families as these families can even be used stand alone. Manufacturers, Product designers, construction companies etc. can retain an entire library of Architectural, Structural and MEP BIM components which can be utilized for other projects too.
