Question about Hot linked modules HLM in main file

[Anonymous]

I am familiar with the concept, however trying to get the best of it and I can use some help

Brief: multistory residential with typical units of several types.
-a) repetitive units internal walls and elements are saved as HLM
b) external shell and walls operating the units and corridors is saved as HLM .
c) building core is saved as HLM

those HLMs are in one Team work file.

questions so far
1- Dimensions : I tried to put the dimensions in the HLM . but it is not a good idea, because external walls of the a) units are not included so it is not possible to apply it in for most of the rooms the HLM file (unless it is static, wich I don't want to ) . any Ideas on that ?

2- Doors and windows schedules : I usually use the ID manager to arrange everything and the schedule to add notes and info about doors . however now I will end up with the same door ( lets say kitchen door) in 5 different HLMs ( i.e: different residential units but same kitchen door) . in the main file I will have kitchen door as one entry in the schedule which is great. but what if I decided to change anything in description? or even size ? at the current set up I need to do this separately in each of those 5 HLMs. which is not that productive . do you suggest any other approach ?

3- silly one, but I have couple of units which are exactly the same , but just minor difference in the outer walls of the units ( reference line shifted from center to edge ) hence I can't use the same HLM in all of them in order to get clean intersections , again suggestions ?


Thank you .

Opps, using ArchiCAD 15 .

[Anonymous]

I'm assuming you are publishing the modules from a master file rather than hotlinking PLN files (if not you should be).

1. Use an exterior wall layer in the unit plans master so you draw and dimension your complete unit plans in the master. Turn off this layer (and any others you don't need) in the layer combo used to publish your modules.

2. One way around this is to make custom doors and windows for the project. I have set this up for several firms but it can be a bit complex depending on your needs. It's probably only worthwhile if you have multiple buildings using the same door and window schedules.

If the unit plan modules are in a single master file (as they should be) you can use the scheduler to quickly change all instances in all units at once. Exactly how to do this will depend on how you set things up. The easiest is to use the ID for the door/window type and use this as your sort field.

3. This is always an issue with unit plans. I typically model all exterior walls to an interior reference line on all projects (with some rare exceptions) which makes this issue a bit easier. This way the typical condition is the shortest wall so any adjustment required is to extend with a short bit of wall.

If you are locked into using centerlines as typical it will be trickier. The bubble gum and bailing wire solution would be to use solid operations to clean up the end of the wall in 3D and add a patch or fill to tidy up the plan.

In a worst case scenario you could explode/merge the module and make the adjustments. In this case updates will require that you delete the group (merged modules remain grouped) replace with the updated module and repeat the edit. This of course really cuts into the advantage of the automatic updates of the unit modules.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Matthew,

just to get some clarified :

I'm assuming you are publishing the modules from a master file rather than hotlinking PLN files (if not you should be).

not sure If I got what you meant here, will tell you my setup .. a master BIM server shared project containing linked .mod files,those are ( 1-external shell walls.mod "the reason it is saved as mod is that it is repetitive also in the floors) , 2-each repetitive unit.mod,etc.. ) everything else is done on the master BIM server shared project

1. Use an exterior wall layer in the unit plans master so you draw and dimension your complete unit plans in the master. Turn off this layer (and any others you don't need) in the layer combo used to publish your modules.

yes, this is what I am doing, and no I can't hide that layer because it will be the one shows the dimensions of the rooms (e.g: the dimensions of the rooms that have external walls).

2. One way around this is to make custom doors and windows for the project. I have set this up for several firms but it can be a bit complex depending on your needs. It's probably only worthwhile if you have multiple buildings using the same door and window schedules.

If the unit plan modules are in a single master file (as they should be) you can use the scheduler to quickly change all instances in all units at once. Exactly how to do this will depend on how you set things up. The easiest is to use the ID for the door/window type and use this as your sort field.

I think custom doors and windows are out of question for my case, however I am curious on the part where do you say :
If the unit plan modules are in a single master file (as they should be) you can use the scheduler to quickly change all instances in all units at once.

the units are not in one modules file . not sure how to achieve that . they are linked into one master BIM server shared project, but each is separate file, because I use each design (apartment type) in many instances with rotation mirroring, etc in the master BIM file. so not sure how can I get them all in one file where I can edit them and still can use them in the master BIM server file ? I think I am missing something here . or I am not explaining my self properly

[Anonymous]

The key trick is to merge all your unit plans into a single PLN file and use views and publisher to output them as separate modules. This is what makes all the other parts possible.

Publishing as modules allows you to turn off the exterior wall layer when saving the unit models while having them on for the dimensioned unit plans. Having all the units in the same file also allows much easier updates and revisions.

The recommended practice is to stack them up with each unit plan on a separate story aligned to the project zero in some sensible way. This way each story is named for the unit and placement is a bit easier in the assembled building.

The only drawback is with multi-story units which have to be assembled from separate modules in the building model. This is not that much work and is well rewarded given the other benefits.

[Anonymous]

Just tried it today .. seems like a productive setup so far . thanks again Matthew .