& Construction

Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing

Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Use a formula to control spacing and layout.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
8 min.
Transcript
00:04
The pole
00:04
CAPP family will have a nested pile family and the parameters linked,
00:09
the pile
00:09
cap size will be driven from a formula which is a component of the pile diameter,
00:14
the spacing and the edge clearance.
00:17
The polecat family uses shared parameters so it can be scheduled and tagged.
00:24
This family file already contains a number of
00:26
reference planes that have been created for us.
00:29
And we also have some aligned dimensions placed down on the reference planes.
00:34
Also in this family,
00:36
we have a number of shared parameters that
00:37
have been added to the family types dialogue.
00:40
Let's now review those on the creates ribbon. Go ahead and select family types
00:46
and in the family times dialog box under dimensions,
00:49
you'll now notice that we have a number of shared parameters that have been added in.
00:54
We also see that we have some additional
00:56
shared parameters controlled in the pile cap material
00:59
and also the pile material.
01:01
And we have some additional information added under identity data.
01:06
Let's begin by setting up some formula to control our pile cap size.
01:11
We'll begin with the pile edge
01:13
calk.
01:14
So you'll see here that we have the formula column
01:17
and the pile edge calculation is going to be the pile diameter divided by two
01:23
plus the pile edge clearance.
01:26
So I'm going to begin by calculating out the pile diameter divided by two.
01:30
We'll put this into brackets
01:34
and the reason we're putting this into brackets is rev
01:37
it will actually work out the value of this first
01:40
and then
01:41
we'll add on the pile edge clearance.
01:46
Now, of course, you have to take special care as you type in these formula
01:50
in here.
01:51
And also the parameter names that the case
01:53
and the spread in are matching and identical.
01:57
So you can now see this has successfully now calculated that out based on our formula
02:02
and we have 1 ft and six inches.
02:04
We also want to now control our pile spacing.
02:07
So again, I'll select the formula column
02:10
and our pile spacing is the pile diameter multiplied by the pile spacing ratio.
02:16
So again, we can start to type that in
02:21
and it'll be multiplied by pile spacing ratio.
02:28
And again, here you can see that's now calculated
02:32
here. You'll notice that I'm also reporting on the pile quantity.
02:35
Now, in this particular family, because this is going to be a four pile pile cap,
02:39
there is always four piles.
02:42
Now having a value here would allow the user
02:44
to change that if they edited the family's type.
02:47
So what I can do here to safeguard this is put that into a formula.
02:51
So if I type in four here,
02:53
you'll then notice that the pile quantity is
02:55
grayed out and that's almost hard coded.
02:58
So that's quite a useful way of hard coding values that you
03:02
don't want the users to change when they go to edit type.
03:07
So our family types dialog box is now complete. So we'll go ahead and click. OK.
03:12
We can now start to assign some labels to our aligned dimensions.
03:17
I'm going to begin by holding down a control key and
03:20
selecting these dimensions here which is controlled in the edge calculation.
03:25
We'll go up to our context ribbon
03:27
and on the pull down here, we'll select pile edge
03:30
calk
03:31
and you can now see the label has been added to those aligned dimensions.
03:37
We'd also select this dimension over here and this dimension here
03:41
and these are basically the pile centers.
03:44
So once again, we can then apply that pile centers.
03:49
I'm just gonna spend a bit of time tidying up
03:50
the position of these aligned dimensions and labels as well.
03:56
This isn't actually essential,
03:57
but it does help you be able to uh read and understand the family layout a bit better.
04:04
OK. So now they're tidied up, we'll now apply the final two dimensions.
04:09
So we have here reporting dimensions.
04:11
Now remember that the actual pile cap length and width
04:15
is defined by the pile spacing the pile diameter.
04:19
And also this edge calculation
04:22
before we actually apply these, let's go to the modify ribbon.
04:25
And once again, select family types
04:29
in the family types dialogue box.
04:30
You'll note here that we have two shared parameters,
04:33
pile cap length and pile cap width.
04:36
But you'll notice here that after the parameter name, we have report in brackets.
04:42
If I come to the bottom of the dialer box and select edit parameter,
04:46
you'll note here that this is an instance
04:48
parameter and it's also a reporting parameter.
04:51
So this is going to report on the dimensional value
04:54
to allow me to schedule this and also tag it.
04:58
OK. So let's click OK to the parameter properties, dialogue
05:01
and OK again to the family types dialog box.
05:05
So we can now assign those labels. So I'll select this dimension here.
05:09
And on the context ribbon, we're going to go ahead and select pile cap length
05:14
and this one here will be pile cap width.
05:20
So there are our labels applied to the plan view.
05:23
We also need to control the depth of the pile cap to do this.
05:26
We'll go into our project browser and open up the front elevation.
05:31
So here you can see that we have a reference plane already created.
05:34
But of course, we'll need to add a dimension and then apply a label.
05:38
So we'll go up to our quick access toolbar and select aligned dimension.
05:43
I'll place my aligned dimension in here.
05:47
I'll then go to the ribbon and select modifier.
05:50
We'll select our aligned dimension.
05:52
And again on the context ribbon under the label pull down here.
05:56
We'll go ahead and choose pile cap thickness.
06:01
We're now ready to model our pile cap.
06:03
So I'm going to switch back to the reference level plan
06:07
and will now create an extrusion to represent the pile cap
06:11
to do this. We'll select the create ribbon
06:13
on the create ribbon. We'll select extrusion
06:17
on the context ribbon in the drawer panel. I'm going to select rectangle
06:22
and we'll then trace the reference planes here
06:26
and of course, ensure that these are constrained to those reference planes.
06:31
Once we've done that again, on the context ribbon,
06:34
we can finalize this by selecting finish edit mode.
06:38
We'll then go back into our front elevation
06:41
and I can use the shape handles of my extrusion here to
06:44
make sure that it's locked and constrained to the bottom reference plane.
06:48
And also to this reference level here
06:53
in the project browser. If I double click on the 3D view and we open up view one,
06:58
we can now see our pile cap.
07:01
The final step here in this video will be to select the pile cap
07:05
and in the property's paddock,
07:06
I'm going to associate the material to one of my shared parameters.
07:10
So we'll select associate family parameter.
07:13
And here we're going to associate this to pile cap material.
07:19
Finally, let's also take note of this setting here.
07:22
So in the property's pads, you'll see that we have cap and currently this is checked.
07:27
So this is going to report on the level of the underside
07:30
of the pile cap rather than the bottom of the pile itself.
07:34
So I've made sure that I've selected this.
07:36
So when we report on the level, we can get the level of the pile cap,
07:39
but then also the level of the pile itself if required.
07:43
So we're now ready to save this. So we'll go up to our file ribbon
07:48
and we'll select saves,
07:51
we'll select family.
07:53
And here we're going to call this one M 04 underscore 03
07:58
underscore pile
07:59
CAPP.
08:00
We can then go ahead and click save.
Video transcript
00:04
The pole
00:04
CAPP family will have a nested pile family and the parameters linked,
00:09
the pile
00:09
cap size will be driven from a formula which is a component of the pile diameter,
00:14
the spacing and the edge clearance.
00:17
The polecat family uses shared parameters so it can be scheduled and tagged.
00:24
This family file already contains a number of
00:26
reference planes that have been created for us.
00:29
And we also have some aligned dimensions placed down on the reference planes.
00:34
Also in this family,
00:36
we have a number of shared parameters that
00:37
have been added to the family types dialogue.
00:40
Let's now review those on the creates ribbon. Go ahead and select family types
00:46
and in the family times dialog box under dimensions,
00:49
you'll now notice that we have a number of shared parameters that have been added in.
00:54
We also see that we have some additional
00:56
shared parameters controlled in the pile cap material
00:59
and also the pile material.
01:01
And we have some additional information added under identity data.
01:06
Let's begin by setting up some formula to control our pile cap size.
01:11
We'll begin with the pile edge
01:13
calk.
01:14
So you'll see here that we have the formula column
01:17
and the pile edge calculation is going to be the pile diameter divided by two
01:23
plus the pile edge clearance.
01:26
So I'm going to begin by calculating out the pile diameter divided by two.
01:30
We'll put this into brackets
01:34
and the reason we're putting this into brackets is rev
01:37
it will actually work out the value of this first
01:40
and then
01:41
we'll add on the pile edge clearance.
01:46
Now, of course, you have to take special care as you type in these formula
01:50
in here.
01:51
And also the parameter names that the case
01:53
and the spread in are matching and identical.
01:57
So you can now see this has successfully now calculated that out based on our formula
02:02
and we have 1 ft and six inches.
02:04
We also want to now control our pile spacing.
02:07
So again, I'll select the formula column
02:10
and our pile spacing is the pile diameter multiplied by the pile spacing ratio.
02:16
So again, we can start to type that in
02:21
and it'll be multiplied by pile spacing ratio.
02:28
And again, here you can see that's now calculated
02:32
here. You'll notice that I'm also reporting on the pile quantity.
02:35
Now, in this particular family, because this is going to be a four pile pile cap,
02:39
there is always four piles.
02:42
Now having a value here would allow the user
02:44
to change that if they edited the family's type.
02:47
So what I can do here to safeguard this is put that into a formula.
02:51
So if I type in four here,
02:53
you'll then notice that the pile quantity is
02:55
grayed out and that's almost hard coded.
02:58
So that's quite a useful way of hard coding values that you
03:02
don't want the users to change when they go to edit type.
03:07
So our family types dialog box is now complete. So we'll go ahead and click. OK.
03:12
We can now start to assign some labels to our aligned dimensions.
03:17
I'm going to begin by holding down a control key and
03:20
selecting these dimensions here which is controlled in the edge calculation.
03:25
We'll go up to our context ribbon
03:27
and on the pull down here, we'll select pile edge
03:30
calk
03:31
and you can now see the label has been added to those aligned dimensions.
03:37
We'd also select this dimension over here and this dimension here
03:41
and these are basically the pile centers.
03:44
So once again, we can then apply that pile centers.
03:49
I'm just gonna spend a bit of time tidying up
03:50
the position of these aligned dimensions and labels as well.
03:56
This isn't actually essential,
03:57
but it does help you be able to uh read and understand the family layout a bit better.
04:04
OK. So now they're tidied up, we'll now apply the final two dimensions.
04:09
So we have here reporting dimensions.
04:11
Now remember that the actual pile cap length and width
04:15
is defined by the pile spacing the pile diameter.
04:19
And also this edge calculation
04:22
before we actually apply these, let's go to the modify ribbon.
04:25
And once again, select family types
04:29
in the family types dialogue box.
04:30
You'll note here that we have two shared parameters,
04:33
pile cap length and pile cap width.
04:36
But you'll notice here that after the parameter name, we have report in brackets.
04:42
If I come to the bottom of the dialer box and select edit parameter,
04:46
you'll note here that this is an instance
04:48
parameter and it's also a reporting parameter.
04:51
So this is going to report on the dimensional value
04:54
to allow me to schedule this and also tag it.
04:58
OK. So let's click OK to the parameter properties, dialogue
05:01
and OK again to the family types dialog box.
05:05
So we can now assign those labels. So I'll select this dimension here.
05:09
And on the context ribbon, we're going to go ahead and select pile cap length
05:14
and this one here will be pile cap width.
05:20
So there are our labels applied to the plan view.
05:23
We also need to control the depth of the pile cap to do this.
05:26
We'll go into our project browser and open up the front elevation.
05:31
So here you can see that we have a reference plane already created.
05:34
But of course, we'll need to add a dimension and then apply a label.
05:38
So we'll go up to our quick access toolbar and select aligned dimension.
05:43
I'll place my aligned dimension in here.
05:47
I'll then go to the ribbon and select modifier.
05:50
We'll select our aligned dimension.
05:52
And again on the context ribbon under the label pull down here.
05:56
We'll go ahead and choose pile cap thickness.
06:01
We're now ready to model our pile cap.
06:03
So I'm going to switch back to the reference level plan
06:07
and will now create an extrusion to represent the pile cap
06:11
to do this. We'll select the create ribbon
06:13
on the create ribbon. We'll select extrusion
06:17
on the context ribbon in the drawer panel. I'm going to select rectangle
06:22
and we'll then trace the reference planes here
06:26
and of course, ensure that these are constrained to those reference planes.
06:31
Once we've done that again, on the context ribbon,
06:34
we can finalize this by selecting finish edit mode.
06:38
We'll then go back into our front elevation
06:41
and I can use the shape handles of my extrusion here to
06:44
make sure that it's locked and constrained to the bottom reference plane.
06:48
And also to this reference level here
06:53
in the project browser. If I double click on the 3D view and we open up view one,
06:58
we can now see our pile cap.
07:01
The final step here in this video will be to select the pile cap
07:05
and in the property's paddock,
07:06
I'm going to associate the material to one of my shared parameters.
07:10
So we'll select associate family parameter.
07:13
And here we're going to associate this to pile cap material.
07:19
Finally, let's also take note of this setting here.
07:22
So in the property's pads, you'll see that we have cap and currently this is checked.
07:27
So this is going to report on the level of the underside
07:30
of the pile cap rather than the bottom of the pile itself.
07:34
So I've made sure that I've selected this.
07:36
So when we report on the level, we can get the level of the pile cap,
07:39
but then also the level of the pile itself if required.
07:43
So we're now ready to save this. So we'll go up to our file ribbon
07:48
and we'll select saves,
07:51
we'll select family.
07:53
And here we're going to call this one M 04 underscore 03
07:58
underscore pile
07:59
CAPP.
08:00
We can then go ahead and click save.
How to buy
Privacy | Do not sell or share my personal information | Cookie preferences | Report noncompliance | Terms of use | Legal | © 2025 Autodesk Inc. All rights reserved
Sign in for the best experience
Save your progress
Get access to courses
Receive personalized recommendations
May we collect and use your data?
Learn more about the Third Party Services we use and our Privacy Statement.May we collect and use your data to tailor your experience?
Explore the benefits of a customized experience by managing your privacy settings for this site or visit our Privacy Statement to learn more about your options.