Aligning two pipes in Revit so that they can be connected

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neeravbm
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Aligning two pipes in Revit so that they can be connected

Post by neeravbm »

Hi,

I have a question about aligning two pipes in Revit that are close to but not exactly at an angle of 90 degrees from each other.

Here's a brief description of the problem. In general, it is difficult to connect two pipes recognized using feature extraction because the two recognized pipes won't lie in the same plane. In Revit, you can not connect two pipes that do not lie in the same plane.

We are working on fixing this issue in our Scan To BIM add-in by providing a button to align two pipes. I have a question regarding this.

Based on the feedback I have received, you try to model an elbow at 90 degrees if the actual angle between the two pipes is very close to it. As an example, if the actual angle between two pipes in the point cloud is 89 degrees, then you'll still put in a 90 degrees elbow. Even Revit doesn't allow to insert an elbow which is very close to 90 degrees. Please let me know if this is an incorrect assumption.

If my assumption above is correct, i.e. you want to put in a 90 degree elbow even if the actual angle between two pipes is 89 degrees, how do you deal with the error especially when the pipe to be aligned is very long as compared to its diameter? Here's an example. See the two pipes that are highlighted in blue in the image below. They are at a degree of 89 degrees.

Image

Assume that the horizontal pipe is connected to some other pipe and it can not be moved. So we need to move the vertical pipe slightly so that the angle between the two pipes becomes 90 degrees. If I move the vertical pipe slightly, here's how it looks:

Image

As you can see, the top end of the pipe doesn't match with the point cloud of the pipe. Here's the zoomed-in version of the same image:

Image

In general, longer the pipe with respect to its diameter, greater the mismatch at the ends for a very small change in angle. How do you deal with this problem manually right now?
Neerav Mehta
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Creators of http://scantobim.xyz and http://rep3d.com
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DTND
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Re: Aligning two pipes in Revit so that they can be connected

Post by DTND »

You need to check the angle constraint in your pipe bend/elbow family. It is probably locked to 90 degrees only.
Remove this constraint or duplicate this family so it accepts non-90 degree angles.

Then add/change your pipe routing preferences to accept the new pipe bend.
'Revit lives in the land of perfect and doesn't understand what construction is..' Wise Draftsman

www.dtndesign.com.au
neeravbm
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Re: Aligning two pipes in Revit so that they can be connected

Post by neeravbm »

Datt, thanks for the response. The surprising thing is that Revit is not able to connect only if the angle is very close to 90 degrees. If the angle is less than 85 degrees or more than 95 degrees, then it connects easily.
Neerav Mehta
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Creators of http://scantobim.xyz and http://rep3d.com
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Re: Aligning two pipes in Revit so that they can be connected

Post by DTND »

We had a very similar issue with a duct elbow family not doing more than 90 degrees.. due to angle parameter constraint.

Send me the pipe elbow family & we can have a quick look for you.
'Revit lives in the land of perfect and doesn't understand what construction is..' Wise Draftsman

www.dtndesign.com.au
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