How does one create a ceiling pattern where one to create a ceiling from scratch, and one needs a ceiling grid pattern, or if one is using a custom ceiling pattern (the usual sizes are 600mm x 600mm or 600mm x 1200mm)?
The answer lies in the material pattern one applies to the relevant layer.
- Select the existing ceiling, then click on Edit Type.
- Duplicate and rename the ceiling to create a new ceiling system family.
- Select the Structure property for the ceiling type.
- This opens a dialogue where one can create and delete layers (like a layer cake), and materials to them. The bottom layer is the layer that will have the ceiling grid pattern applied to it. Click on the cell for its material, and then click on the radio button control that appears. This will allow one to edit the material.
- Now RMC (Right Mouse Click) and duplicate the material (otherwise edits to the material will be applied to all elements that have the material assigned to them).
- In addition to duplicating the material, also duplicate the Appearance and possibly (if they exist and if you are about to change them) the Physical and Thermal material assets. This is because these existing assets may also be applied to other families.
- Apply the relevant pattern in the Graphics Asset (click on the pattern).
- Create the pattern if necessary
- A simple cross hatch at 0 degrees and 700mm apart will suffice for my 700mm x 700mm ceiling.
- The existing appearance asset does not have an image associated with it, so if necessary swap it out with one that has.
- Here is a ceiling pattern that was found. Once again duplicate it as it may be used by other families.
- The image may be changed out by clicking on the image hyperlink below the picture.
- This takes one to the image library that installs with Revit, although other images may also be used.
- It is good practice to save all images to a single folder as these will have to shared with 3rd parties who need to render the project (they will add the render path to Revit options).
- Clicking on the image allows one access to the transformation tools.
- Make sure the repeating patterns give the correct size based on the number of tiles and the overall distance across them.
- If rectangular patterns are needed, unlock the aspect ratio.
- Check the texture alignment (the correlation between the graphics pattern and the appearance image). Below they are unaligned.
- Click on the arrows to align them.
- Now the appearance asset (image) is slaved to the graphics pattern.
- Should the ceiling be rotated or translated (moved or aligned) then the appearance image will also be rotated and translated accordingly.
- If there is no pattern, then the image cannot be manipulated at all.
- If a “double” pattern presents itself, uncheck the bump property. If it were required to use a bump map, then rather create an image that can be applied without using a transform.
- To position the tiles symmetrically in a room, a quick way is to use the equality constraint on an aligned dimension.
- The above workflow can also be applied to tiles on floors or against walls.
If you would like to learn skills like this or if you need help implementing them, contact us at Micrographics so we may be of assistance to you.
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