Importing Massing Studies From Other Applications; Considerations For Imported Geometry In Mass Or Generic Model Families - Autodesk 24000-000000-9860 - Revit Architecture - PC User Manual

Importing Massing Studies from Other Applications

You can use 3D design software (such as Autodesk 3ds Max
Inc.) to create large-scale massing studies, and then use Revit Architecture to associate host elements (walls,
roofs, and so on) to the mass faces.
In order for Revit Architecture to understand the exported geometry as a mass object, use the design software
to create a design, export the design to a supported file format (such as DWG or SAT), and import the file
into a mass family in Revit Architecture. Revit Architecture then treats the geometry as a mass, allowing the
faces of the mass component to be selected and associated to Revit host elements (such as walls, floors, and
roofs).
NOTE Exported objects are faceted, rather than smooth. When exported, curved elements may be triangulated.
Related topics
Importing or Linking CAD Formats
Importing Files from SketchUp
Considerations for Imported Geometry in Mass or Generic Model
Families
You can import geometry from external CAD formats into a mass instance or mass family in the same way
that you import such geometry into other family definitions. However, in some cases, imported geometry
is not well suited to mass instances.
When imported geometry is not well suited to mass instances, it may be possible to use the generic model
category instead. There is overlap between the mass instance and generic model categories. Walls, roofs, and
curtain systems can be made from faces in a generic model family. Floors can be created from sketches that
reference the geometry in a generic model or a mass model. Mass models also support level-based mass
floors, which in turn support one-click parametric floor creation.
When using imported geometry in mass families and generic model families, consider the following:
Avoid complex geometry in mass instances. Unlike other family categories, mass instances always maintain
a separate copy of each internal geometry, plus extra geometry to represent the combined volume of the
mass. For complex geometry, the additional data can slow down processing considerably. When a generic
model is joined by the Join Geometry command, the software also creates an extra copy of the geometry,
which can slow performance. For complex geometry in a generic model, you may join the geometry
inside a family definition to avoid extra copies of the geometry.
If the imported geometry in a mass instance (or between generic models) is not well suited to join
geometry, then errors, warnings, and unexpected behavior can result. If geometry is combined within a
mass definition, it should be solid geometry with either a strong connection or no connection. Examples
of geometric characteristics that are ill-suited to joining include odd tangencies, edge-only overlaps, open
meshes, and ambiguous connectivity.
Some CAD formats do not have geometry in a form that a mass instance can use to compute volumetric
information and mass floors. When such formats are used, errors and warnings result. For more
information about imported CAD formats, see
Geometry
Host by Face tools (available for roofs, floors, walls, and curtain systems), associate a single host element
with one face or several faces. For example, detailed geometry (that contains cornices, reveals, windows,
casework, tessellated approximations of surfaces, and so on) is likely to have many small faces that will
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