GIB39 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Hi I am an absolute beginner when it comes to MEP therefore any help would be much appreciated. I am required to show pipe route showing expansion bellows and pipe supports/anchor points incorporated. I think the expansion bellows are part of the MEP standard library however for the pipe supports I'm very uncertain on how to accomplish this. I will require a single pipe support from a ceiling mounted channel/rail complete with drop rod down to the pipe support something similar to that manufactured by Flamco. Does anyone know how or if this is possible to implement within MEP? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLW210 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I moved your thread to the MEP Forums, please post MEP related questions in the MEP Forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hertz hound Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Yes It is possible with the tools from AutoCAD Architecture that are part of AMEP. First thing you want yo do is draw the profile shapes of the structural members you want to create. you have to draw them as a closed poly line. So draw a circle with the diameter of the threaded rod you want and draw the shape of the angle iron you want. open the style manager by going to the manage tab Click on the left icon under "shape geometry" and choose your angle poly line, and then the insertion point. Highlight low detail and repeat the last step . Highlight high detail and repeat. AMEP I believe only uses medium detail. You can use high or low in your own custom display Reps. you can have different shape definitions for high and low. Just a line to display the angle for low, and a closed poly line with chamferd edges for high. AutoCAD architecture uses it more. Now click on the right icon under "Shape geometry". Clicking this icon is the same as right clicking Structural member styles under architectural objects and choosing new. Name your new style "4 Inch Angle" for example. Now you have a new member style that will use your new shape definition. you can go to the Structural member styles under architectural objects and edit the style if you like. Because you are using AMEP and this is a architectural item it is going to use the Plan screened and model screened display Rep. Because of this it will appear gray. This is where you can change that by applying a style override on those two display representations. Or you could just leave it. Okay now to insert your new style into the drawing. Type BEAMADD. On the properties pallet click on the style drop down and choose your new style. Click in two different spots in your drawing to place the new style. Repeat all the above for your drop down rod and use the circle as your shape definition. Once the styles are in the drawing you can erase the line work that was used for the shape definitions. Now the harder part. create a 3-D solid of the roller hanger or whatever hanger you want. make a block out of it. for the insertion point choose where the center of the pipe will be. Be sure to make the part slightly bigger than the pipe so you won't have a gazillion hits during clash detection. Alright that was actually easy. Now the hard part, attaching the hanger to the rod. you could type OBJECTANCHORATTACH and attach it. the Better way would be to use the way Keith Brown Showed me, and follow his video. I don't mean to plagiarize and I give full credit to Keith Brown for the video and his brilliance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIB39 Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 Hey thanks for the comprehensive response. Once one hanger is created I take it I then have to do the same for another size hanger. Is it not possible to use something like dynamic blocks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hertz hound Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I am not sure about dynamic blocks. I guess I had it my head that parts like this need to be parametric or individual. I will have to try. I can make simple parametric parts but something like a hanger I would just build one at a time and save them to a tool catalog. I am much faster at doing it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIB39 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) Hi I have followed your post but how would I insert holes within the angle iron? Many Thanks Edited August 1, 2014 by GIB39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hertz hound Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Do you wan't a single hole for the hanger, or holes that repeat down the length? If it just a single hole for a rod and hanger, I would not make a hole. I would just run the rod up past the angle to whatever depth you need for nuts, washers and whatever extra you want. The last job we did all our rods and strut were pre-cut in the shop and sent to the job, so accuracy here in the drawing is important. All cut lengths came from an AEC Schedule of the structural members. If you really need the hole look into "interference". After you run the rod through the angle, click on the angle. on the ribbon you will see a button for interference. Also do a search in help for Structural member interference. There maybe other ways, but I am not sure. If you need a hole that repeats, that is a little tricky. Do you need a hole that repeats like Unistrut or Kindorf? That can be done with a similar technique, the way you added the block to the rod. Let me know and I will run you through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIB39 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Thanks for the response. I am looking to basically replicate a length of unistrut so the holes will need to be repeated. However your feedback on the hole for the rod is also helpful information for future use. As I said earlier I have used 2D cad for a number of years and just recently done a very basic Revit course. However I am now teaching myself 3D autocad/MEP so any help is much appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hertz hound Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Tanner Frampton posted a unistrut structural member style here for 1-5/8 strut. Keith Brown modified it. And later someone here, who's name I can't remember showed me how to build the other common sizes. I think I later posted the sizes that I had made. If you need them now you can probably do a search, otherwise I will post them again when I get to my computer. That probably won't be until the morning. For some reason I have been having problems with them when I made the switch from 2012 to 2014. I re-made them with the 2014 software. It did not seem to help. The problem I am having is that the computer is very sluggish when the strut is stretched, and sometimes it crashes. I don't know if it is just my under powered computer or a change in the software. I have heard complaints about the same behavior when running conduit, but I don't have that problem. What I did was disable the custom block that makes the hole when I am putting in the strut. When I am done I enable the custom block. This would be a good place to use a different display set for low detail and medium detail. Then I could change back and forth easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIB39 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 I will have a look but if you don't here from me can you please see if you can find them when you get a moment. One other issue Im having is that the unistrut I have created looks fins in 3D view but in plan view is only showing as a single line. Any ideas as to why this could be? 2D to 3D is being quite a step for me as I am now even realising that I don't use 2D to its full potential. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Is this the one? http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?70367-Unistrut-Member-Style-for-download Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIB39 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 That looks promising. Thanks for the response. I'm on my phone so when I get time ill print the thread off to follow the history and see what I can make of it. Only thing which I will have to check as well is dimensions because they appear in inches and we use mm in UK. I'm sure the unistrut size won't change. You guys are a fantastic help. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hertz hound Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 That is definitely the one Tanner! I remember when I first downloaded it, I was blown away. I thought how is this possible without programming knowledge. I pretty much thought I would never figure it out, and that would be OK, I would still get by. Well thanks to this site I have figured it out. Since then I also moved the square washers to the bottom of the strut. That took a while to figure out what was anchoring them in that position. It is good to see you in the AMEP forum Tanner, I thought we completely lost you to the other side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Yeah, I still linger around the AMEP forum, only because there's not too many people to assist at all times. And I have definitely put my AMEP days behind me, so I am in fact lost to the other side, but such a sweet side it is in the land of Revit. When I made that member I was already on my way out with AMEP. I made it on a whim, really. I never got to use it on a job or anything but it seems many people have found good use of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hertz hound Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 (edited) Here is the same unistrut for 2014, with the square washers moved to the bottom. the rod is solid instead of hollow. The 3-1/4" strut size is also added. Unistrut.dwg Edited August 4, 2014 by hertz hound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithBrown Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 I don't mean to plagiarize and I give full credit to Keith Brown for the video and his brilliance. When I read this i spit up my morning coffee all over my monitors. I am definately taking a screenshot and sending this to my wife! haha p.s. Thank you for the compliment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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