Guidance on Coursework

Revit
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Hi all,

I am pretty new to Revit and subsequently Dynamo and as part of a year 3 civil engineering module we have coursework related to the following:

Develop a Revit family, using dynamo and generative design that is programmable through one (or more) inputs.

There is emphasis on more complexity = better. I want to incorporate Python scripts and import packages from the Dynamo Package Manager. I am currently thinking about trying to create a parametric truss system that would interface with a curved or ‘swooped’ stadium roof, but would be interested to know if there are potentially better options that would be better suited (e.g bridge, tunnel?). I read on the Dynamo Primer that this forum is a good place for queries so thought it was worth a shot.

Many thanks in advance!

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Hey @CapleT9XWXD welcome to the forum!

A parametric truss on a curved stadium roof is a pretty good first idea on direction, as geometry-driven processes work well in Dynamo and can be visualized easily in Revit..

As to offer information on an alternative idea, a cable-stayed bridge is another strong civil engineering option, with pylon height, cable count, clearances and deck hogging as natural generative design inputs. Lots of cool Revit families to build as well. :bridge_at_night:

Before the community can give you meaningful advice though, we’d really need to see something you’ve actually tried. Make sure you open Dynamo and have a go at building some basic geometry. Even a simple flat truss from points and lines is a good starting point.

Then you can share your graph, a screenshot, or even just describe the approach you’re planning to take node by node.

The more effort you show upfront, the better the feedback you’ll get back, so post your efforts and you will find people here are very generous with their time. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Inportant to add that complex is quite often the opposite of what we aim for when coding. What your guide likely means is pick a problem with enough complexity that it makes sense to automate, but make sure not to overcomplicate the solution for the sake of it.

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Here is a possible avenue for you to consider, you may have a highways gantry that requires a trussed frame.

Though you want to make it as light as possible, so could use dynamo(while linked to say a analysis package) to go through all possible design options to get to the best solutions that may change the width or height of the truss to find the best solution that keeps the structure light, optimised and reduced embodied carbon.

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Literally had a draft that said “Tell your professor that he’s missed the purpose of Dynamo entirely…” but didn’t want to open that can of worms until I had a night to sleep on it.

I’m hoping there is a language barrier, assignment misunderstanding, simplification of the request, or general confusion at play; but just in case here are Dynamo’s three primary goals from ~7 years ago as I was told by @LilliSmith and @Zach_Kron; as far as I know (@achintya_bhat and @solamour can correct me if not) these remain the same to this day:

  • Provide a simple, coherent, and capable programming environment.
  • Foster a collaborative computation ecosystem.
  • Enable users at every level of ability.

I’ll step off my soap box now. :laughing:

I don’t love the idea of a truss as they usually require structural calculations which (1) don’t have an out of the box set of nodes or a package which works with Generative Design, (2) simple Python based solutions I have seen tend to break when stress tested in GD as they’re built to use multiple cores which breaks the GD calculation in all currently supported builds, (3) are complex enough that you’d need a thesis to fully build out a library to do the trick within the constraints of GD, and (4) aren’t the purpose of the course - you’re spending a week or two building an analysis tool you won’t likely use again. That said, if you’re interested in it and want to put in the effort it’s a prefectly good exploration.

Another you may want to consider is the layout of sheathing boards for wall paneling. Keep it simple with a ‘flat’ wall for now. The family would be an extruded cuboid, with parameters to control for the length, width, and thickness. Generative Design would be used to take a standard wall face and minimize [the number of seams, the number of full needed, the amount of waste not used, the number of panels installed]. Hard part will be window and door cuts. Benefit here is you’re going to learn the tool (Dynamo, Geometry, Generative Design, etc.) and have a generic tool which fits many use cases (I’ve seen the same study requested for buildings, bridges, interiors, warehouses, and more).

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