This article is from the WeChat official account: BIM Intelligence Agency.
REVIT software has often posed challenges for users when it comes to modeling irregular shapes. Many users who frequently work with such forms tend to rely on other software. However, REVIT is fully capable of handling not only regular models but also simple irregular shapes with ease. In this article, we’ll start with a straightforward example and later provide a series of tutorials. Stay tuned!
Today, we introduce a common everyday component—a spring!
Our focus here is not just on modeling this single component but also on exploring the methods and concepts behind the modeling process. It is essential for users to grasp these techniques through practice and understanding so they can apply them to other models effectively.
Key Modeling Commands in REVIT:
There are five fundamental commands you cannot do without in REVIT: layout, rotation, stretching, fusion, and layout fusion. These commands form the basis for modeling most conventional shapes. When combined with hollow shapes, these five tools offer versatile options to create a wide variety of models suitable for everyday work.
For this tutorial, we will use the layout fusion command. This command allows us to create two fusion bodies with different contours and arrange them along a drawn path. It functions similarly to the layout command but includes an additional contour surface, resulting in a unique modeling effect.
Modeling Approach for This Spring:
In this example, we use the sweep fusion command to create the spring. Visually, the spring consists of circular rings, but with a certain “slope.” Achieving this shape with other commands would be difficult, but the sweep fusion makes it straightforward. As mentioned, the sweep fusion command creates two different contours and sweeps them along a path. Can the ring itself serve as the path?
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Before starting, it’s important to outline our modeling approach to quickly identify the most effective method. We can use a circular ring as the path for our layout. However, in REVIT, if the endpoint coincides with the start point, the path disappears. To work around this, we can draw a semicircle first, then rotate and move the model to join the ends after completing the shape.
Once the path is drawn, we create two circles of different heights on the elevation view to serve as the contours for the fusion layout. After finishing these, we rotate and move the model to form a continuous circular ring. Finally, we array the model in a specific direction to complete the spring.
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