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Plan section between 2 planes


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Hello,

I hope I'm posting in the correct forum.

I'm pretty new to 3d modelling and am stuck.

 

I've drawn up a pipework riser in MEP going up a staircase/riser shaft that moves on plan as you go up the building. I've only been supplied with 2d architectural plans of each floor so I've placed each floor plan as an xref at their correct levels on the z axis and my 3d pipe model goes up between them.

I've then set up view ports in paperspace showing plans of each level by freezing all the other floor xrefs.

The problem is that in each viewport it shows all the pipework from the top of the building to the bottom so it's impossible to tell where the pipe changes position on each floor.

Basically I want to hide the pipes above and below each particular floor.

I know that there's no command for 'hide in viewport' so I need to set up 2 cutting planes (about 3.8m apart vertically) on each viewport so that they only show where the pipe comes up through the floor, where it moves to and where it goes up to the floor above.

I'm sure this must be possible but am struggling to find how to do it.

 

Any help would be massively appreciated.

 

Regards

 

David

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Might you be able to accomplish the task utilizing clipping planes? I am not familiar with MEP so please pardon me if this is not a viable option. Maybe tzframpton will see your thread and offer more suitable advice.

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Thank you,

3DCLIP does appear to be the correct command but on first attempt it didn't appear to clip my pipework model (I'll look further into it on Monday morning).

 

Regards

 

David

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I am not sure, but I think you will need to start a new drawing and x-ref everything into that, before xclip will work on your pipe.

 

MEP can also "display by elevation". Normally it is turned off. In options

 

When you are ready to control your paper space layouts you will have to take a few more steps.

 

On the manage tab click on the display manager. In the configuration folder make as many copies of the display rep that you use (Eg. Mechanical - Pipe by size). Make one copy for each floor level you need to control. Rename each copy with the floor level.

 

While each one of the floor levels are highlighted in the display manager, click on the cut plane tab. Adjust the "Display above range" (floor above), "Cut height" (anywhere between the floor) and "Display below range" (Floor level) to match the levels in your drawing. Some objects have a different display above and below the cut plane but within the above and below range. you may have to play around with the cut plane height. try the "cut height" just below the "display above range". If I say to much it will just get more confusing!

 

Now go to your paperspace layout. Click in one of the viewports. while it is active click on the display representation (on right above command line next to cut plane), and set it to the floor level that you created. Continue setting each levels viewport with the corresponding level display representation. You will have to use old school viewport overrides for all non-AEC objects, but this should accomplish what you are looking for.

 

I can send you a real simple drawing and Xrefs for demonstration and reverse engineer if you get stuck. I could not attach an e-transmit file? But I can send it to you direct

 

Another option would be to use project navigator and create different "View" drawings for each floor. Then use saved model space views for each stairwell and then place them on sheets using the sheetset manager. for that you would still need to use "display by elevation" or separate your pipe to each floor.

 

Good luck.

 

Edit: "Display by elevation" only effects plan views, so you won't see any changes in an ISO view.

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Assuming that MEP works on the save principle as AutoCAD Architecture:

 

 

Look into Display Configurations - You'll want to create and set a cut plane (with above and below constraints) for each floor.

 

 

You could then use either your pipe style or "display by object" overrides to control how the pipe's displayed above and below the cut plane - I can't imagine that MEP wouldn't treat pipes as an AEC object!!

 

 

dJE

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The only difference I think is that MEP objects may only have on display between the "above" and "below" the cut plane, where archetecture objects can have a different look above and below the cut plane.

 

You may be able to change that at the object level in the display manager. In this case I don't think it is necessary. If it is a problem that is where you could look to change that, or just raise the cut plane to just below the "above" height. That should not effect the archetecture objects since he probably only has 2D backgrounds.

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I wonder if you use Views with Constructs if each Level could be legislated by the Display Configurations and/or Display By Elevation, beings that the AEC Objects would be technically an XREF. If this can be done, then you'll have a single Construct (say, the ground level) that would contain all the Pipe from the ground level to the top level and be considered "one model". Then, adding additional Constructs per the Levels would be sort of sacrificial with no content actually in them, only to be used for visibility purposes. This way you don't have to start/stop Pipe at each Level.

 

Been too long since I've used AutoCAD MEP regularly so this is just my brain conceptualizing is all.

 

-TZ

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