When to Use an Assembly Vs Family Revit

March 09, 2022 Post a Comment

Assemblies

File: OPE_Assemblies

Objectives

To understand the possibilities of working with assemblies in Revit Models. They are a useful tool to document the project in detail design and construction phases of it.

Prerequisites

User will be using Revit, any version.
User has advanced skills in modelling, and empathize the apply of groups.
User can create schedules.
User tin can comment views and create sheets.

Clarification

Assemblies in Revit is a category of elements that looks similar to groups but is actually quite different in behaviour and associated tools and deportment.

An assembly is a combination, a unique combination of any number of model elements, that are grouped together and can be edited, tagged, scheduled and filtered, and then that assemblies tin can be identified and quantified.

As groups, each unique assembly is listed equally a blazon in the Projection Browser. Equally groups, assemblies tin can be placed and copied across the model, but different groups, when an assembly is edited, changes are not spread across all the items of that associates, just a new one is created.

Additionally, and this is very special from assemblies, you can create specific views as well as parts lists, fabric takeoffs, and sheets for every unique associates blazon.

Process

Create assembly

Tool for creating assemblies is adjacent to the grouping icon in the Modify Tab > Create Panel.

The associates cosmos option works similar to the group creation.

You can select the objects that are going to exist part of the assembly, and then create the assembly by using the assembly tool.

Or you can straight use the associates tool and afterward add elements to the assembly:

After an assembly has been created, it can be selected and further edited, to add new elements, or to modify the ones already in the assembly instance. To edit the assembly instance it has to be selected in the model.

When creating an assembly, it happens that:

User has to assign a category to the assembly. Categories available to exist assigned to the associates are those of the objects that are role of the associates.

User has to assign a name to the unique assembly.

Unique assemblies will appear in the project browser in the Assemblies Section. User can drag them from the browser to place assemblies into the model, same every bit tin exercise with families and groups.

Elements included in assemblies

Not every element tin can be included in an assembly. Hither is a list of categories:

Tin BE INCLUDED	CANNOT BE INCLUDED
Bones walls	Stacked walls
Floors	Drape Walls
Roofs	Beam Systems
Loadable model families	Curtain Systems
Parts	Trusses
Stairs by sketch	Stairs past component
	Other assemblies
	Groups
	Links
	Annotations
	Particular Items
	Masses
	Railings
	Rooms / Spaces / Zones
	Model Lines
	Structural Loads
	MEP Specific elements (ducts, pipes, conduits, trays, fittings)

When objects that cannot be included in assemblies are selected, assembly will be created but automatically excluding those objects.

It has to be clarified that complex objects such every bit trusses, curtain walls, beam systems, curtain walls, so on, cannot exist included in assemblies, but their component elements can be included instead:

Panels and mullions of curtain walls and systems can exist included.
Beams in beam systems and trusses tin be included.

Matching assemblies

As said, each time you create a unique associates, a new assembly type is added to the Projection Browser.

As previously said, assemblies exercise non conduct as groups. When an existing instance of an associates is edited, a new associates type will too be added to the project browser, as information technology becomes unique. This means that changes are non propagated across instances of the same assembly, but changes in assemblies cause the creation of a new type of associates.

Sometimes, if a new or edited assembly exactly matches an existing assembly type, information technology is added to the model as an instance of that type. In those cases, when creating the assembly and choosing the naming category, the name of the assembly will be automatically populated with the name of the existing matching assembly:

For Revit to recognize assemblies as matching, they must meet the post-obit criteria:

They must have the same value for the Naming Category property.
They must include the aforementioned number of elements of the aforementioned categories and types with the same values for properties that affect geometry.
Corresponding elements must occupy the aforementioned positions within each assembly.

For a new assembly to match exactly an existing i, information technology also depends on how elements were created in model. If the elements of a selection seem to exist the same as elements in an assembly just

were placed by mirroring them, they won't friction match the existing assembly, and a new type of assembly will be created.
If they were copied, they will match the existing assembly.

As groups and families, an assembly can exist replaced by other type by using the Lucifer Attributes tool, or simply by changing type in the selector blazon:

Edit assemblies

Every bit previously said, once an assembly is created and placed, we can edit it.

We can add together or remove associates elements.

We can edit the assembly origin. The origin determines the orientation of the assembly in relation to the projection orientation. The planes of the origin determine how the assembly is oriented in the respective elevations when you create the assembly. When we change the blazon of an assembly instance, the origin of the new blazon is applied to that case.

The associates origin can be selected when editing the assembly and exist dragged or rotated to a new position.

We can also change the type of an associates or several assemblies, by using the type selector.

We can edit an chemical element in the assembly, by opening the assembly and editing the chemical element, or likewise past selecting the element from exterior the assembly, pressing tab until the element we want to edit is highlighted, and and so editing information technology.

In any of the two previous options, if you edit an element in one instance of the assembly, if at that place are other instances placed in the model, it will cause a new type of assembly to exist created.

If in that location is merely one instance of an assembly and an chemical element in it is edited, no new assembly type will be created.

Disassemble

Assemblies tin be disassembled. User can remove the relationship betwixt individual elements of an associates at any time, in a like style to ungrouping elements, and have the following effects:

The disassembled elements remain in the model. Other instances of the aforementioned assembly blazon are unaffected.

If the assembly that you disassemble is the final or merely i of its blazon, and so that type and any of its associated assembly views are removed from the projection.

If the assembly that you lot disassemble is the instance that has views associated, those views will be deleted. You lot will get a warning:

If you want to detach the assembly example with the view associated, you can assign commencement the views to other assembly example prior to disassembling:

Delete

Assembly instances tin can be deleted.

When you delete an assembly instance, all elements within the associates are deleted.

If y'all delete an associates instance, other assembly instances of the same type are not affected.

If y'all delete the last instance of an assembly type, the type volition too be deleted.

When you delete an example for which assembly views take been created, the views will be deleted from the project unless yous first transfer them to another instance of the same associates type (same equally when disassembling).

When you delete an associates blazon from the project browser, all instances of that assembly are deleted every bit well as any associated assembly views or sheets.

Assembly views and sheets

I of the interesting features of assemblies is that you can automatically create views that are associated to that combination of elements in the model.

User can document assemblies independently from the rest of the model, and that is why they tin can be very useful for detail design and construction documentation workflows.

Assembly views volition be listed in the Assembly section of the project browser under the corresponding assembly type, and not in the general section for general views.

You tin can create assembly views and assembly sheets for each associates type. These drawings are always associated with a particular instance of the type, and only 1 instance of a blazon can accept assembly views.

If you create the views by first selecting i instance of the assembly blazon, views volition be associated to that instance.

If you create views for an assembly type from the project browser, views will be associated by default with the first example of the assembly.

If the example of the assembly with the views associated is deleted from the project (or disassembled), all associated assembly views are deleted also. If necessary, you can change the instance the views are associated with, as previously said.

Views can merely be created from one example of an associates type. In one case they are associated with one of the instances, they cannot be created from another instance from the aforementioned assembly type, they tin simply be re-associated or acquired:

Assembly views always remain associated with the associates instance for which they were created. If an edit to an assembly instance causes the instance to modify from ane associates type to another, whatever assembly views belonging to the edited instance will exist listed under the project browser node for the new associates type. If the type you changed to already has assembly views, an error message informs you that one set of views will be deleted.

Assembly views include just objects that belong to assembly types. Whatsoever other chemical element of the model is excluded and cannot be displayed.

Blazon of views and settings

Yous can create dissimilar types of views for each associates type, same scale for all of them, or unlike scales if y'all create them non all at once. Views bachelor are:

In the Create Assembly Views dialog, you select the types of views you desire.
Select the desired scale.
Specify title cake information if you select the sheet option.

If you create additional section views within an assembly view, they inherit the assembly view'due south relationship to the assembly instance.

As in other views, all types of annotations and detail components tin can be added to these views to complete project and assembly documentation.

Sheets

Specific sheets are created past this method for assembly types, and they volition exist saved besides under the assembly type proper name department of the project browser.

Sheets are created with no views on them.

To place an associates view on an assembly sheet the process is equal as with regular views and sheets: drag the associates view onto the assembly canvas.

Notwithstanding, note that associates views can likewise exist placed on normal (not-assembly) sheets.

Schedule Assemblies

Quantities/TakeOff Schedule

Assemblies, equally whatever other categories can be scheduled.

The Assemblies schedule lists all assembly instances in the model instead of the elements in the assembly.

Assembly view "Schedule:Material Takeoff" lists the materials of the elements included in one associates case.

Assembly schedules

Additionally to regular category schedules, at that place are some assembly blazon specific schedules, that can be created equally whatever other views associated to assembly types.

Part List lists the elements included in one assembly instance.

Associates "Material Takeoff" lists the cloth of the elements of all assembly instances in the project.

User can create as well specific category schedules for the assembly.

One important affair to find when working with Assembly type schedules (quantities or take-off schedules), is that in full general they work every bit whatever other schedule simply in regards to field totals, you could sum upwards:

Elements of merely 1 instance of the assembly blazon.

Elements of ALL instances of the assembly blazon.

Tips&Tricks

Go on rails of the associates that has the views associated. If there is no fashion to know which one it is, create new views always from projection browser correct-click bill of fare.

Recollect that editions in assemblies are not propagated beyond all instances of the same assembly blazon. That is how groups piece of work, non assemblies.
Assemblies can exist very useful for project documentation, especially for structural complex elements similar trusses and frames.
A great number of assemblies in projects can affect model performance, in the same way as groups. Utilize assemblies carefully and delete those assembly types and views that are unused.

Bottom-line

Assembly tools in Revit assistance to work with complex elements in projects that are a combination of other simple elements only actually form a whole. With associates tools they tin can be properly documented and user can proceed rail of them.

Associated Files

30035_OPE_Assemblies.rvt
30035_OPE_Sheet Layout GUIDELINE
30035_GEN_Schedules GUIDELINE
30035_GEN_Views GUIDELINE

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Source: https://www.modelical.com/en/gdocs/assemblies-and-parts/

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