Analytical Elements Alignment

The following parameters are used during Generate. They allow to tweak the optimization of the alignment of the analytical model:

Name	Description	Unit [1]
General
Maximum Eccentricity of Staggered Columns	Maximum eccentricity of staggered columns.	Percentage
Create Analytical Links	Create Analytical Links for disconnected elements.	Boolean
Horizontal Alignment
Element Priority [2]
Columns	Position of column axis from center in either direction.	Percentage
Framing Longitudinal	Position of framing ends in axial direction.	Percentage
Framing Perpendicular	Position of framing plane perpendicular to framing axis.	Percentage
Walls Longitudinal	Position of wall ends in axial direction.	Percentage
Walls Perpendicular	Position of wall plane.	Percentage
Floor Edges	Position of floor edges.	Percentage
Adjustment Limits [3]
Columns	Maximum allowed offset of column axis from center in either direction, relative to minimum column section dimension.	Percentage
Framing Longitudinal	Maximum allowed offset of framing ends in axial direction, relative to framing length.	Percentage
Framing Perpendicular	Maximum allowed offset perpendicular to framing axis, relative to framing width.	Percentage
Walls Longitudinal	Maximum allowed offset of wall ends in axial direction, relative to wall length.	Percentage
Walls Perpendicular	Maximum allowed offset perpendicular to wall plane, relative to wall thickness.	Percentage
Floor Edges	Maximum allowed offset of floor edges.	Length
Align to Defined Adjacent Grids and Reference Planes	Override alignment if an adjacent grid or reference plane is found.	-
- Search Tolerance	Defines the search tolerance for the nearest level.	Length
Vertical Alignment [4]
Floors
Default	Default alignment based on the physical element geometry.	-
Align to Adjacent Level	Override default alignment if an adjacent level is found.	-
- Search Tolerance	Defines the search tolerance for the nearest level.	Length
Framings [5]
Default	Default alignment based on the physical element geometry.	-
Align to Adjacent Level	Override alignment if an adjacent level is found.	-
- Search Tolerance	Defines the search tolerance for the nearest level.	Length
Align to Connected Floor	Override default alignment and level alignment if a connected floor is found.	-
Merging
Merge Member End Points [6]	End points of Analytical Members in close proximity to other Analytical Members or Analytical Panels will be merged as a final clean-up of the model at the end of the Generate step.	Boolean
- Merge Tolerance	Tolerance value that defines the maximum distance for which member end points may be moved.	Length

[1]

Units according to Revit settings, to check or change go to Manage > Settings > Project Units where you can also add a unit symbol for easier readability.

[2]

Values from 0.1% to 100%. To learn more, see Element Priority.

[3]

These settings overrule Element Priority. To learn more, see Adjustment Limits.

[4]

Global settings for Vertical Alignment, see also Local Override to learn more.

[5]

Framings refers to elements of the Revit Model Category framing and the most common subcategories, e.g., Beams, Diagonals, Secondary, Other.

[6]

Analytical Nodes are automatically determined by Autodesk^® Revit^®. For very small variations, a change in the Analytical Members geometry may not be detected and the Analytical Node appears slightly off.

Horizontal Alignment

Element Priority

SOFiSTiK Analytical Model Generator minimizes the deviation of the analytical elements from their “optimal” position. The higher the priority, the lower the deviation.

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Examples:

A higher priority for Columns keeps the location of the analytical member in the center of the physical column.

The figure below compares the location of the analytical members within their physical counterparts for two different configurations:

• High priority for framings, low priority for columns (left)

• Low priority for framings, high priority for columns (right)

Example of Element Priority Combinations for Framing Perpendicular and Columns

Note

Normalization of Values

SOFiSTiK Analytical Model Generator normalizes all values, not individual value pairs.

Parameter	UI value [%]	Normalized value [-]
Columns	100	100/200 = 0.50
Framing Perpendicular	50	50/200 = 0.25
Framing Longitudinal	20	20/200 = 0.10
Wall Perpendicular	10	10/200 = 0.05
Wall Longitudinal	10	0.05
Floor Edges	10	0.05
Sum:	200	1.00

Adjustment Limits

SOFiSTiK Analytical Model Generator respects the adjustment limits when finding the optimal location for the analytical elements. The limits are relative to the dimensions of the physical element (unless stated otherwise), measured from the center of the element.

Thus a limit results in the analytical element being placed within the physical element, while a limit allows it to being placed outside.

Important

Adjustment limits prevail over element priorities.

Grids and Reference Planes

If activated, the most adjacent Grids and Reference Planes within a specified search tolerance are used.

Important

Only such elements with Analytical = True are considered during the search. To learn more, see Levels, Grids and Reference Planes.

SOFiSTiK Analytical Model Generator will move analytical elements to an Analytical Grid or Analytical Reference Plane in the following ways:

• Analytical Panels for Walls and Analytical Members for Framings:

  • The elements are moved on an eligible datum if they are parallel to it and

  • Its ends are moved on a datum that intersects with it.

• Analytical Members for Columns are moved to the closest (intersection) of datum elements.

• Analytical Panels for Floors have their edges moved to an eligible datum if they are parallel to it.

Important

Horizontal alignment wins over Element Priority, and Adjustment Limits are ignored.

Vertical Alignment

SOFiSTiK Analytical Model Generator respect these global settings according to the configuration file, unless a local override is specified.

The following settings are available:

-	By default either Top/Center/Bottom of Element are used.
Option 1	The most adjacent level within a specified search tolerance is used. Note Only horizontal elements are aligned with adjacent floors. Sloped framings and floors do not follow this setting, please specify a Local Override if needed. Important Only such levels with Analytical = True are considered during the search. To learn more, see Levels, Grids and Reference Planes.
Option 2	A connected floor is used. This applies to analytical members for framings only.

Note

The later options supersede the former ones, e.g., a connected floor is more relevant than an adjacent level.