Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction
Applications
Josh Baysinger – TURIS Building Innovation Systems
Kevin Kroll – TURIS Building Innovation Systems
CR5493-L
This class will cover the basics of Revit family creation and how the families apply to construction applications. We will
cover the basic capabilities of families and then explore some real-world applications of custom families in the
construction process. We will create a multipurpose family that can be used in the BIM coordination process. Learn
how to add clearance zones to your families to represent access zones, clearance zones, and other "no-fly" areas.
Learn how basic equipment models can help analyze project workflow and material needs. We will create custom
parameters that will be used in custom schedules that you will create.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this class, you will be able to:

Get the results through scheduling

Create a custom family

Create shared parameters

Create a transparent “no-fly” zone
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Creating a custom family – Tower Crane
We are going to begin by editing an equipment family for a specific use. A Tower Crane can be a
crucial piece of equipment on a jobsite that needs to be analyzed for placement. A good analysis
could eliminate the need for a second crane on a job saving hundreds of thousands of dollars
over the duration of a project.
Establish end use
Establishing the end use of any family should always be the first step when beginning the
process. This is VERY important and should not be skipped. If this is not properly thought
through many hours of work could be for nothing. This crane family shall be parametric to be
used for site utilization to analyze the correct crane to be used on a building site.
Creating Parametric Tower Crane Family
Open the Base Tower Crane Family
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Go to Front Elevation view – Dimension from the top of the Reference Level (top of Tower Crane
Foundation Pad) to the Tower Crane Pick Height reference plane and add a parameter and name
it Tower Crane Pick Height. This will be a Length, type parameter.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now dimension from your Center (Left/Right) reference plane to the edge of the tower cranes
boom. Add another Length, type parameter and name this one Max Pick Length.
Once parameters have been added, you need to make sure to flex your model as much as
possible, so if there is something wrong, you notice it early on. Change the Tower Crane Pick
Height to 100’ and the Max Pick Length to 140’. Make sure the crane adjusts in the model.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Add two reference planes between the Center (Left/Right) reference plane and the max pick
length reference plane. Dimension to these two reference planes and add a length parameter to
each of these. Name them Pick Length 1 and Pick Length 2.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Adding Crane Pick Radius’ - Once your two new pick length parameters have been added, move
to a plan view (Ref. Level) and begin to create an extrusion.
Begin to draw your crane radius using the circle tool in edit mode. Start your circle in the center
of the tower crane pad.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Once the first circle is drawn, pick the dimension that shows up automatically, so it becomes
solid.
Now select that dimension, and set that to your Max Pick Length Parameter created in step 3.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now that your first circle is created, you need to create your inner circle so that the whole crane
is not massed in. Before you draw, go to family types and add a new length parameter.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Call this parameter Max Pick Ring Thickness and leave it a Type Parameter.
Once the Parameter is added, go into the formula for the Max Pick Ring Thickness and set it to
=Max Pick Length - 0' 2".
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Click OK. Now, like in step 7 and 8, draw your circle and set your dimension to the Max Pick
Ring Thickness parameter you just created.
Prior to finishing the extrusion, while in edit mode, we need to set your material. Click new
material and name it Max Pick Radius. Whatever color you choose, be sure that the
transparency is set to 75%. This way you will be able to see through your ring in 3d mode in your
project.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Click ok in the materials and then click finish edit mode.
Now that your first crane radius is completed, you need to align it to the top of the crane and also
the foundation of the crane. Pick the align tool.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
When using the align tool, be sure to have your first pick where you want your extrusion to go,
and then pick the extrusion. Once it aligns, be sure to lock it to the reference plane. Align your
radius to the Tower Crane Pick reference plane and also the Reference Level.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now you can repeat the last few steps to create your other pick radii for your other pick lengths.
Adding Model Text to Radius- Now that your radii created, we will now create a model text so the
lengths can be seen in 3D view. First, go to your Ref.Level Plan view. In the home tab, pick set
your work plane.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
This should be set to Tower Crane Pick Height.
Now, in the home tab, pick model text
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Type in Max Pick Length. This text can really say anything. You could add in the actual Length
or even your pick capacities.
Click OK, and then pick up by your Max Pick Radius. You may then have to rotate that text 180
degrees. This is done by the modify tab and rotate.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
After your Model text is placed, you will now need to dimension from the center reference plane to
the center of your model text.
Now that you have a dimension, pick that dimension and set its parameter to Max Pick Length.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now your Tower Crane family is complete. You should now go into the family types and make
sure that the family flexes correctly.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Your Completed Parametric Tower Crane
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Families for coordination – creating a “no-fly” zone
We will create two “no-fly” zones one for a light fixture (installation clearance) and one for a
plumbing valve (maintenance access). There are many reasons “no-fly” zones should be
established. They range from installation to building code.
Light Fixture
Light fixtures can often be forgotten as the coordination takes place. Ducts are moved to miss
light fixtures but no room is left for the installation of the light causing issues late in the
construction process when schedule impacts cannot be tolerated to meet the overall schedule.
Accessing the family
The first step after downloading a file is to open it to find out what kind of family it is. Most
standard light fixtures are ceiling based but you will find that much of what you download is face
based. You can find out what kind of family it is by looking at its host.
To determine the host click on the family categories and parameters button under the “Home” tab.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Modeling a “no-fly” zone
For this family we are going to include a 2” clearance zone above the fixture so that it can be
installed in the grid. We will start by opening the “Family Types” dialog box.
This family has (3) three parametric values (Length, Width and Height).
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
We will use these to develop our “no-fly” zone. The next step is to open the views we are going
to use and tile your screen. We are going to open the Front view and Ref. Level views.
Everything we are going to model will take place in one of those two views.
Your screen should look like this.
Notice that because it is face based the light appears to be upside down. This is because it is
being built off of the Reference Level that is the face of the object you will host the light to. The
light will always face out from the face you select. In the case of a ceiling the host face is the
bottom of the ceiling therefor the light will face downward when placed on a ceiling.
We will first add a reference plane for our clearance zone top.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Draw the plane below the top of the light fixture in your Front view. For now do not be concerned
with the distance we will adjust that in the next step.
We will now name the reference plane “clearance”. To name a Reference Plane select the plane
and enter a name in the properties box.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now we will add a parametric dimension so that if the clearance zone needs to be adjusted it can
be inside the project by changing the value. To do this, select the “Annotate” tab and the aligned
dimension.
Dimension between the “clearance” reference plane and the plane attached to the top of the light
fixture.
Next we need to add a label to the dimension so that it will allow us to adjust the plane by
changing the label value. Do this by selecting the dimension you just placed. On the bottom of
the ribbon you will see a “label” dropdown menu. Click on the dropdown menu and select “add
parameter”.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now we will give this parameter a name. Notice the parameter type has been prefilled because
we created it from a dimension. You can group the parameter anywhere you like for now we will
just keep it grouped under “Dimensions”. This parameter will be a “Type” parameter so that when
we change the value to one it will change the value for all of the fixtures in the project. Click ok
when done.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now we will make sure that the parameter will flex the model. Open up the Family Types dialog
box and change the value from 5” to 2”. The reference plane should move and the value on the
model will change to 2”.
Now that this is working we will add the physical “no-fly” zone box. We will create this with an
extrusion. Under the “Home” tab select the extrusion.
Select the rectangle tool
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Draw a rectangle not worrying about the size at this time.
Now we will align and lock the rectangle to the reference planes.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Before we finish the extrusion we need to make sure the extrusion end is large enough so we can
see it in Ref. Level view. Currently the length of the extrusion is set to 1/16”. Change the
“Extrusion End” to 2’-0”.
Now we will finish the extrusion.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Align and lock the extrusion sides to the (4) four reference planes that are around the fixture.
Open the Family Types box and flex all dimensions to make sure the clearance zone flexes with
them. The last step is to add a transparent material so that when it is exported to Navisworks it
appears transparent to differentiate between the object and “no-fly” zone.
Before we add a material to the “no-fly” zone we need to create a material called “no-fly zone”.
To do this go the the manage tab and select Materials. This will open the material dialog box.
Find the material that is “GLASS-Prismatic” we will duplicate this material and re-name it “no-fly
zone”.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Next we will adjust the appearance so that the glass is colored in Navisworks. To do this select
the “Appearance” tab in the Materials box. Then select the color. For this we will choose red but
you can select any color you want.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
To add the material selects the “no-fly” zone. In the properties box click to the right of the
“Material” row.
The material dialog box will open and you can select the “no-fly zone” material we just created.
The final step is to load this into a project to test it. Open the file named “Light testing file”.
Navigate to the “Insert” tab. The select load family. Browse to the location of your saved light file
and load the light.
Select “component” under the home tab. Select the light we just loaded into the project and place
the light in the ceiling plan view. Since this is a faced base family you need to make sure the
horizontal face is selected for placement and not the vertical face.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
When placed it should look like the image below in the 3D view.
Creating shared parameters
We will demonstrate how to create shared parameters within a project. We will also explain when
and why to use shared parameters and how they can add value to your BIM efforts across
multiple projects or models.
Why shared parameters?
Shared parameters should be used when are creating company standards. These parameters
can be loaded into any new project you may work on. This can ensure consistency in scheduling.
It will also allow the transfer of standard schedules that utilize the shared parameters.
Create shared parameters
Shared parameters are created similar to project parameters. They get stored in a .txt file so that
you can load them into any project you want. We will create a shared parameter and shared
parameter .txt file. To start open the “Light Project” Revit file.
Under “Manage” tab select “Shared Parameters”
Prior to adding any parameters we need to add a new group. Click “New”. It will prompt you to
name the group. For this exercise name it “Lighting” and click OK.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now we can add a new parameter. Click “New” under Parameters. For exercise I am only
interested to know if the light has been installed yet. So name the parameter “Installed” then
under “Type of Parameter” select “Yes/No” and click OK.
The next step is to bring that parameter into the current project. To do this click OK at the bottom
of the “Edit Shared Parameters” file. Next open the Project Parameters from the ribbon.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
The Project Parameters box will open. Click “Add”.
The Parameter Properties dialog box will open. Make sure you select “Shared parameter” at the
top of the dialog box then click “Select”.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now the Shared Parameters dialog box will open. You can see that the “Lighting” group we
created is shown and the “Installed” parameter we created is selected. Click OK.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Now we apply the properties to the parameter. For this we will group it under “Construction”. We
want to be able to say that some are installed and others are not we need to make sure it is an
instance parameter. We only want to apply this parameter to the Light Fixtures so on the right
makes sure only Light Fixtures are checked. Since we are in Revit Architecture make sure “Show
categories from all disciplines” is checked so you can see the “MEP” categories. Once all of this
is set, click OK then OK again to exit the Project parameter dialog box.
Now you can select any light fixture and say whether it is installed or not. Now this is not an
extremely applicable function in most cases it does show the process for created custom
schedulable parameters that can be shared between projects to create consistency within your
organization. View filters could be applied to visually represent the different values of a
parameter for another way to analyze what is in place or not. But the majority of the time you will
most likely be using these parameters for scheduling purposes.
Leveraging your family in a project through schedules
Now that we have created some custom families and shared parameters we are going to utilize
them in schedules. Scheduling is where the rubber hits the road with custom families. We will
review how to create a schedule in Revit to utilize your custom parameters.
Creating a schedule
Let’s begin by opening the “Scheduling” Revit file. You will see when it opens that all installed
fixtures are green and uninstalled fixtures are red. This is done with a view filter and if time
allows we can touch on this at the end of the class.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
To create a schedule select Schedules under the View tab then select Schedule/Quantities.
The New Schedule dialog box will open. Here you need to select the categories you wish to
include and name the schedule. Then click OK.
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
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Autodesk® Revit® Family Creation for Construction Applications
Advanced Family Examples
Now that you have seen the basics of family creation here are some advanced examples.
Concrete Pump Truck
These concrete pump trucks were modeled per the equipment specifications. They were then
placed in various positions to analyze the best position for each truck to allow for all areas of the
pour to be covered without the need to move a truck in the middle of the 3000 CY pour. The
reach area for each truck was then analyzed to find out how much concrete would need to go to
each truck to complete the pour. The specific numbers of trucks were then routed to the pump
trucks so each area received the correct amount of concrete to cover their area.
Concrete Pans
Pan decks consist of multiple lengths that are overlapped to make a specific length. They come
in multiple widths that can vary on the deck. This Family was created to maximize the efficiency
of the pieces so as to cut down on the amount of deck material that would be shipped to site. We
have used this on multiple projects to reduce the amount of material and thus saving the project
money by telling the supplier what we need as opposed to them sending what they say we need.
We used this on multiple projects and every time our analysis has shown that we need less
material than what the supplier was going to ship and charge us for.
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