© 2012 Autodesk Mass Lab: Building Masses So They Don't Blow Up Kelly Cone, Marcello Sgambelluri AB3074L

© 2012 Autodesk Class Summary Want to learn how to make a bullet-proof mass that takes a hexing and keeps on flexing? (Not much rhymes with flexing, okay?) We’ll cover some techniques to help simplify that complex mass you need for your building design. Complex curves? Lofts? Revolves? Want to join them all together and still have them flex? After this class, you’ll know how to make a mass that even your newest Autodesk® Revit® software convert can’t break. Why does a bulletproof mass matter so much? Because once you start making building elements off that mass, if it breaks, you’ll have to start over from scratch. Hasta la vista to all your customizations and hosted components. So, bring your math hat and your sketchbook and let’s make some masses.

© 2012 Autodesk Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to:  Learn techniques for making complex building forms parametric  Learn tricks to make your parametric mass foolproof, (well, at least mostly)  Understand how the conceptual massing editor relates to building elements  Define the workflow required to keep masses viable through the DD and CD phases

© 2012 Autodesk Introduction

© 2012 Autodesk Family Planning

© 2012 Autodesk How to make a family… For something simple, you can probably do this in your head – but for something complex that probably isn’t your best bet.  Understand what you’re modeling  Understand what you’re doing with it  Make a plan for how it will be executed *Concepts like Nesting are equally important in masses, although shared nested masses aren’t as useful since mass floors and other properties of masses are at the instance level and therefore can’t be changed directly.

© 2012 Autodesk How to make a family…

© 2012 Autodesk Formulas

© 2012 Autodesk Math is in everything… Especially complex families. Unfortunately, we don’t have that much time today. Aside from the obvious, below are some common uses for formulas in families. For reference, check out the additional materials (Fuzzy Math, AU 2010)  Limiting results  Control user interaction  Prevent unintentional edits

© 2012 Autodesk Placement Rigs

© 2012 Autodesk Rotation Rigs Rotation rigs are assemblies you can make to help you (surprise!) rotate something  Traditional Rotation rig - unstable  Ride the Rails – stable, negative input, etc… Exercise 1: Building the Ride the Rails rig and using it to place a mass component

© 2012 Autodesk Rotation Rigs - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Geometry Rigs

© 2012 Autodesk Workplane Based Profile Rigs The simplest geometry rigs are typically profiles. In the massing form editor, most of the shapes you can make require at least one profile.  Generic Model Workplane Based families – good for documentation  Mass Workplane Based families – better for certain complex forms Exercise 3: Creating a mass category workplane based Profile Rig

© 2012 Autodesk Workplane Based Profile Rigs - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Building Masses from Rigs

© 2012 Autodesk Using Profile Rigs to create forms Most of the time, all you have to do is pick the profile and hit create form. This works just like selecting model lines or reference lines in the host family to create a form, except the model lines in the nested profile family never vanish on you. In some cases, you’ll have to tab select to get to the profile or even individual lines within the profile to get the create form button to activate. Exercise 4: Creating a mass form from hosted Profiles

© 2012 Autodesk Using Profile Rigs to create forms - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Using Profile Rigs to create forms - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Using Masses in the Project Environment

© 2012 Autodesk Mass Floors and Mass Schedules If you’ve got a solid mass you can do some quick programming level calculations using the masses you’ve created. Worried about floor area ratios? Maximum allowable areas? Using rough area to approximate occupancy? Mass floors and mass schedules are your new best friend. Exercise 6: Applying mass floors to a mass and scheduling them

© 2012 Autodesk Mass Floors and Mass Schedules - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Face Based Building Components Regardless if your mass is a surface or a solid, the classic use case for massing in Revit is as a host for face-based system families. Need a warped wall, sloped elliptical curtain systems, a multi-curved roof, or a skateboard park floor – look no farther, this is what you’ve been looking for. Exercise 7: Applying building components to a mass surface

© 2012 Autodesk Face Based Building Components - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Face Based Building Components - Example

© 2012 Autodesk Autodesk, AutoCAD* [*if/when mentioned in the pertinent material, followed by an alphabetical list of all other trademarks mentioned in the material] are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved. Questions?