Part 1 of ebook Mastering autodesk® revit® MEP 2016 presents the following content: general project setup; exploring the user interface; multiplatform interoperability - working with 2D and 3D data; mechanical design; HVAC cooling and heating load analysis; creating logical systems; mechanical systems and ductwork;...
Mastering Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2016 Mastering Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2016 Simon Whitbread Senior Acquisitions Editor: Stephanie McComb Development Editor: Susan Herman Technical Editor: Steve Stafford Production Editor: Dassi Zeidel Copy Editor: Liz Welch Editorial Manager: Mary Beth Wakefield Production Manager: Kathleen Wisor Associate Publisher: Jim Minatel Book Designers: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama; Judy Fung Proofreader: Amy Schneider Indexer: Ted Laux Project Coordinator, Cover: Brent Savage Cover Designer: Wiley Cover Image: © winnieapple/iStockphoto Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-1-119-05937-0 ISBN: 978-1-119-05936-3 (ebk.) ISBN: 978-1-119-05938-7 (ebk.) 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But that doesn’t mean I’m now a team of one, as this is still a collaborative enterprise So thank you also to everyone at Sybex who helped to get this edition moving It seems unfair to single out any one person; suffice it to say that without you, there would be no book A special thanks to Steve Stafford, who has managed to keep me and the book on the straight and narrow And finally, a real big thank-you to Don Bokmiller Again Well, you didn’t come back for more this year, but without your hard work in previous editions, I don’t think I would be here, writing this ☺ I’d also like to thank Autodesk—not just because I am now a part of their great team, but also for inspiring me to push myself There is so much cool and amazing stuff coming out of the company that I am proud to finally be a part of such a great organization that influences so many people around the world The world of technology is moving forward at such a terrific rate I am amazed almost daily by the great work and products the company is producing About the Author Simon Whitbread, Enterprise Priority Revit Specialist at Autodesk, started using Revit at release 5.1 He has over 30 years of experience in the building services and architectural industries Since the early 1990s, he has been involved in developing and managing CAD and IT systems He moved to New Zealand in 2002, where he led the implementation of Revit Architecture at Jasmax, one of New Zealand’s leading architectural practices More recently he has been providing implementation, support, and training services for AutoCAD and the Revit suite of programs to companies in Australia, Dubai, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States Now living in the United Kingdom, Simon enjoys spending time with his family, is a frequent speaker at Autodesk University and Revit Technology Conference (RTC) events, is a member of AUGI, and sometimes finds the odd moment for Twitter and Facebook 316 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING Figure 11.7 Fluids table settings Pipe Routing Options The size of a mechanical piping model can grow quite large because of the quantity of pipes, fittings, and accessories that make up the water and gas delivery systems and their means of extraction, so it is very important that routing is closely coordinated You can improve visual coordination with color-coded systems and use interference checking to monitor conflicts with cable trays, ducts sprinkler piping, or any of the other elements that form the building Two routing options are available when you set out to design your piping model: the Generate Layout option and the manual routing option Both are described in this section In smaller systems, the Generate Layout feature may be beneficial However, in most circumstances, manual routing will be of greater benefit This is because a good design engineer can optimize a system with regard to construction of pipe and coordination with other trades, especially structure Automatic Pipe Routing Ideally, you have everything set up in your pipe types before you begin routing piping To start automatic pipe routing, first assign your equipment to a piping system Select two or more pieces of mechanical equipment, and from the Modify | Mechanical Equipment tab, click Create Systems ➢ Piping (see Figure 11.8a) and then name your piping system (see Figure 11.8b) PIPE ROUTING OPTIONS | Figure 11.8 Creating your piping system (a) (b) Next, select any piece of equipment assigned to the system and click the Generate Layout button You have four options for generating the layout: Network, Perimeter, Intersections, and Custom Each one has several routing solutions from which you can choose, consisting of a main pipe route (blue) and branches (green): Network This solution creates a bounding box around the components selected for the piping system and then bases several solutions on a main segment along the centerline of the bounding box, with branches coming from the main segment Perimeter This solution creates a bounding box around the components selected for the system and proposes several potential routing solutions You can specify the Inset value that determines the offset between the bounding box and the components Inset is available only when the Perimeter option is selected This solution type is shown in Figure 11.9 Intersections This solution bases the potential routing on a pair of imaginary, perpendicular lines extending from each connector for the components in the system There are potential junctions in the proposed solutions along the shortest paths, where the lines from the components intersect Custom This solution becomes available after you begin to modify any of the other solutions by clicking Edit Layout and selecting a main or branch segment of the solution The Generate Layout feature is most useful in small, simple layouts Usually, the greatest benefit comes from using the Generate Layout pipe as a starting point and finishing with the additional manual layout You can set the mounting height by clicking the Settings button from the Options Bar and entering a new offset Be sure to define the offset for both Main and Branch, as shown in Figure 11.9 When you’re working with the Generate Layout command, several 317 318 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING factors can affect the outcome—incorrect configuration of connectors, settings conflicting with the proximity of the equipment, elevation of the main pipe route and the branches, selection of flex duct type to be used, and so forth For optimal results, have a plan view and a 3D view tiled to provide the most feedback about the final layout Figure 11.9 Using the Generate Layout tool Manual Pipe Routing When you are modeling pipes in Revit, develop good habits at configuring all the necessary settings while in the Pipe command This is especially valid for inexperienced Revit users Developing good modeling habits will serve you in the long run Don’t rush yourself Take your time to confirm that all the settings are correctly configured before you even draw the pipe Some of the settings to pay attention to are Diameter and Offset from the Options Bar; System Type from the Properties palette; and Justification, Automatically Connect, Inherit Elevation And Size, Slope Off, Slope Up, Slope Down, Slope Value, and Tag On Placement, all available from the ribbon You see that there are lots of settings to control, and they will certainly affect the outcome So take your time to develop good habits when you are just starting with Revit When routing, manually start the piping run at the elevation that you know will most likely be out of the way of other disciplines Use the following exercise to set up and place mechanical equipment, create a hydronic supply and return, and manually route pipe to all pieces of equipment: From www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevitmep2016 download the following files: ◆ RMEP2016_Ch11_Dataset.rvt ◆ RMEP2016_Sample_Architecture.rvt ◆ WSHP - Horizontal.rfa Open RMEP2016_Ch11_Dataset.rvt The sample architecture file is linked using the methods described in Chapter 4, “Project Collaboration,” which also described what to if the link file does not display PIPE ROUTING OPTIONS | Importance of Templates To improve productivity in piping layouts, be sure to create and maintain project templates that contain your company standards Properly created project templates ensure that everyone in your firm is on the same page when creating mechanical piping systems For more information on how to create project templates from existing projects, refer to Chapter 25, “Creating a Project Template.” Open the floor plan called Mechanical Piping-Second Floor, and from the Systems tab select Mechanical Equipment ➢ Load Family and browse to the folder where you saved WSHP - Horizontal.rfa, as shown in Figure 11.10 Click Open Note that this is a standard Revit family that is included within the U.S Imperial Content library, and as long as U.S Imperial Content has been loaded with Revit, the file can also be found at Insert ➢ Load Family ➢ Imperial Library ➢ Mechanical ➢ MEP ➢ Air-Side Components ➢ Heat Pumps Figure 11.10 Water source heat pumps Before placing the first heat pump, verify from the Properties palette that the offset parameter is set to 9’-0” (2,750 mm) Choose a heat pump type (006 Unit) and place a pump into each of the bedrooms in the second floor plan You can use the spacebar before placing the equipment to rotate it through 90 degrees If you forget to set the offset, all is not lost Right-click the water source heat pump you first placed and choose Select All Instances ➢ Visible In View Then, in the Properties 319 320 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING palette, change the Offset parameter to the required value This will allow you to set the correct elevation of equipment (see Figure 11.11) Figure 11.11 Verifying the off set for the correct elevation Your system will also require a fan coil unit (FCU) (Fan Coil Unit - Ceiling Ducted - CHW 1000CFM), a closed-circuit cooling tower (Cooling Tower - Closed Circuit - Counterflow - 37-211 MBH), and a pair of centrifugal pumps (Centrifugal Pump - Horizontal 90 GPM - 24 Foot Heat) These families have already been placed into your project, as shown in Figure 11.12 (The cooling tower is only visible on the roof plan or if you make Roof FL the underlay for the active view.) Figure 11.12 Placing mechanical equipment Pumps, Second Floor Fan Coil Unit, Second Floor + 9'-0" Cooling Tower, Roof FL You are now in a position to start laying out the pipework using a combination of the automatically generated piping and the manual method The first thing to is create the piping systems In the floor plan Mechanical Piping - Second Floor, select all the heat pumps, the FCU, and the left-hand pump If you not see the Piping button icon active in the Create Systems panel on the Ribbon, use the selection filter so that only Mechanical Equipment is selected, as shown in Figure 11.13, and create a Hydronic Supply system named Hydronic Supply PIPE ROUTING OPTIONS | Figure 11.13 Create Piping System dialog box When prompted to select a connector for the pump, choose Connector 2: Undefined Liquid Out With the system created, click Edit System and then click System Equipment on the Options Bar Choose Cooling Tower - Closed Circuit , as shown in Figure 11.14 You could have actually selected the cooling tower, but then you would need to be able to see it in the view Click Finish Editing System Figure 11.14 Selecting your system equipment Repeat steps and for the Hydronic Return system; this time, select the right-hand pump with Connector 1: Liquid In 10 Before you start creating the automatic pipe routes, you need to understand the function of the pipe offsets that connect into the heat pumps Open the 3D view Cropped HVAC Level and zoom into one of the heat pumps and select it, as shown in Figure 11.15 (you may want to orient to view for clarity) With a temporary pipe stub created from the supply and return connections, you can identify the invert levels required to connect to the water pumps and the service space available You can make the offsets 11’-7” (3530 mm) for Return and 11’-4” (3450 mm) for Flow The two temporary pipes can now be deleted 321 322 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING Figure 11.15 Identifying the pipe zone Service Void Water Pump 11 Open the floor plan Mechanical Piping - Second Floor, place your cursor over any heat pump, use the Tab key (you may have to press it several times) to select the Hydronic Supply system (watch the status bar), and choose the Generate Placeholder tool from the ribbon Notice that the system is highlighted with a dotted line and name available in the Properties palette, as indicated in Figure 11.16 Figure 11.16 Selecting System Hydronic Supply System 12 Change Settings to match Figure 11.17 and then choose your preferred Solution Type by cycling though the options to find one that is the nearest We haven’t finished yet, so don’t click on the green check mark! From the ribbon, select Edit Layout Here we can make quite drastic changes to the layout by clicking and dragging the sketch lines in both plan and 3D views, as shown in Figure 11.18 PIPE ROUTING OPTIONS | Figure 11.17 Pipe Conversion Settings Figure 11.18 Generating your pipe layout 13 Once you have completed this task, click the Finish Editing System green check mark Remember, these are pipe placeholders and no fittings have been inserted as yet This makes editing of this pipe run much easier than if design pipes had been used, and you can still all the same calculations and interference checking 14 Repeat steps 10 through 13 for the Hydronic Return system, which should leave you with the layout shown in Figure 11.19 In the final parts of this exercise, we want to run pipework from the cooling tower to the centrifugal pumps below We will achieve this in two parts: ◆ Create two runs (flow and return) on the roof ◆ Then use the Connect Into tool, which will connect the pumps to the piping above 323 324 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING Figure 11.19 Completed placeholder pipes 15 Open the 3D view Cropped HVAC Level 2, and if you have not already done so, hide the architectural link file Select the cooling tower and zoom into the view so you can see the flow and return connectors, as shown in Figure 11.20 Figure 11.20 Cooling tower connectors PIPE ROUTING OPTIONS | 16 With the connectors visible, click on the Flow connector marked 4” (100 mm) Out This activates the pipe tool Create a pipe in this 3D view by dragging the cursor at 90 degrees to the cooling tower (temporary dimensions display so you can see which direction you are going) With the angle correct, type 3’-6” (1050 mm) for the length of pipe Then in the Options Bar, change the Offset to 0’-2” (50 mm) This drops the pipe to just above roof level Now create a final run at 90 degrees and -0” (2400 mm) 17 Repeat the last step for the Return connector, replacing the first two dimensions with 2’-6” (750 mm) and 0’-6” (150 mm), respectively This should leave you with the pipe layout shown in Figure 11.21 Figure 11.21 Cooling tower pipes 18 The final part of this exercise is simple in execution Select the supply circulation pump and click the Connect Into button on the ribbon Revit then makes the final connection for you All that’s left is to repeat that step for the Return connector and you should have the pipe system shown in Figure 11.22 325 326 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING Figure 11.22 Connect Into Before After 19 With the piping layout complete, you could consider converting the pipe placeholders to full pipes and fittings It is best to leave this as late as possible to give the most flexibility in your design Simply select the placeholder pipes and click Convert Placeholder Do this for each system and you should see the result in Figure 11.23 Figure 11.23 Convert Placeholder Pipe Fittings Without fittings, piping would not be worth a whole lot Fittings help shut off the flow, help regulate temperature, and help save lives In Revit, most fitting families have the following functions: PIPE FITTINGS End Cap | These can be placed only at the end of pipes Tee, Tap, Wye, or Cross These can be placed anywhere along pipe runs Transitions, Couplings, or Unions These can be placed only at the end of pipes They are used to join a smaller, larger, or same-sized pipe Flange These can be placed at the end of pipes or face to face with another flange Using Pipe Fitting Controls Understanding pipe fitting controls can make life easier if you are routing a lot of piping When you are laying out your piping, turn 90 degrees to create an elbow If you select an elbow, you will notice a plus (+) sign If you click that sign, it will change from an elbow to a tee, allowing you to add more piping and continue your pipe routing If you click the minus (–) sign, it will downgrade the fitting When you see the symbol on a fitting, it allows you to rotate the fitting, and the symbol allows you to flip the fitting The display of both fittings and valves can be challenging as you rotate the elements to represent the actual needed position In some cases, they may become invisible For example, when you place a valve in plan view at either coarse or medium detail level, you will see its symbolic representation, but if you go to a section, you won’t see the valve at all However, if you change it to fine detail level, you can see the geometry of the valve This is because the valve is displayed as a symbol when showing single-line pipes, and with all of its 3D modeled geometry when in double-line pipe views Currently the symbol can be displayed in only two opposite views (two sections, or floor plan and ceiling—in all other views it will be invisible) This is a known limitation with Revit, and to avoid it you should consider developing a standard for displaying valves and fittings, and at a certain level of detail Placing Valves When you need to add valves to your piping, select the System tab and then select Pipe Accessory Use the Type Selector to select the type of valve you want to use Most valves are break into types, so you can place them into a pipe run and they will break into the piping, maintaining connections at either end (see Figure 11.24) This behavior works even when you remove the valve: The pipes automatically fill in the gap where the valve used to be Figure 11.24 Valve breaks into a piping system 327 328 | CHAPTER 11 MECHANICAL PIPING For some logical family categories, you can set this break into functionality in the Family Editor; choose Create ➢ Properties ➢ Family Category And Parameters (see Figure 11.25) Figure 11.25 Defi ning Breaks Into behavior Adding Piping Insulation Certain pipes require insulation In some cases, this may be accomplished by simply annotating the insulated pipe, but in other cases you may need to model and display the pipe insulation Pipe insulation in most cases is required when pipes are displayed as double lines Currently, in order to place pipe insulation in Revit, the pipes need to be laid out already You can that by selecting individual pipes or entire runs of pipes and fittings and using the Add Insulation command under Modify | Pipes (see Figure 11.26) Pipe insulation visibility can further be controlled from the Visibility/Graphic Overrides dialog box and Object Styles, like any other Revit category Once insulation has been added, it cannot be selected straight from the model Rather, select the duct pieces and then click the Edit Insulation button Figure 11.26 Adding pipe insulation THE BOTTOM LINE | The Bottom Line Adjust the mechanical pipe settings Making sure the mechanical piping settings are properly set up is crucial to the beginning of any project Master It A designer has just been asked to model a mechanical piping layout, and the engineer wants to make sure the designer will be able to account for the piping material used in the layout What steps must the designer take to complete this request? Select the best pipe routing options for your project When using Revit MEP 2016 for your mechanical layouts, you must understand the functions of automatic pipe routing and manual pipe routing After mastering these functions, you can lay out any type of piping system Master It The engineer has just come back from a meeting with the owner and architect, and it has been decided that there will be a heated-water system and a chilled-water system rather than a two-pipe hydronic system How would you modify your hydronic layout to accommodate the change? Adjust pipe fittings Pipe fittings are needed in systems to make the systems function properly and to produce documentation for construction Being able to add or modify fittings can increase productivity Master It You have printed a check set for review and have noticed that there are no shutoff valves Now you need to load the shutoff family In what directory should you look for pipe fittings? Adjust the visibility of pipes Being able to adjust the visibility of pipes gives the mechanical designer or user the ability to set up multiple views and control the graphics for documentation Master It The engineer has just come back from a meeting with the owner and architect, and it has been decided that there will be a heated-water system and a chilledwater system You have just modified your hydronic layout to accommodate the change Now the owner wants the pipes to be color-coded so it’s easier to visualize the changes Describe how this would be done 329 ... 13 7 13 8 13 8 14 0 14 1 14 2 14 6 14 7 14 7 14 9 15 2 15 4 15 5 15 6 16 2 16 2 16 4 16 5 16 7 16 9 17 0 17 0 17 1 Chapter • Schedules 17 3 Defining Schedules... 11 6 11 6 11 6 11 7 11 9 12 9 12 9 13 0 13 1 13 2 13 2 13 3 13 3 13 4 CONTENTS | Other File Formats 13 4 Point Clouds ... Panel Schedules 17 3 17 6 17 9 18 1 18 2 18 6 18 6 19 0 19 1 19 2 19 4 19 8 200 2 01 204 XV XVI | CONTENTS Using Schedules for Project Management