Creating an ancillary lookup table for Fabrication ITM parts

Creating an ancillary lookup table for Fabrication ITM parts

Summary

This article discusses the process and concepts of creating a lookup table to resolve Fabrication ITM part ancillary descriptions via the ancillary's Product Code. An ancillary item is an additional item needed to complete the host element, e.g., ancillary items for a hanger might include nuts, bolts, rods, etc.

While the Revit API allows ancillary data from Fabrication parts to be queried, the data is limited and the Revit API does not give access to the Fabrication CADmep database. The Revit API can access the following parameters in Fabrication parts:

• AncillaryDepth
• AncillaryId
• AncillaryWidthOrDiameter
• Length
• Product Code
• Quantity
• Type
• Usage Type

As you can see, the part's description is not available and the only parameter that contains a unique value is the Product Code.

Process Overview

Creating a spreadsheet with the desired Fabrication CADmep data

1. From Fabrication CADmep, in Database/Fittings/Ancillaries, determine the Product Ids and their Descriptions (and any other fields you would like reported) that you would like resolved in EVOLVE.
2. From a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel, create a spreadsheet and in the spreadsheet, create headers like:
   - Product Id
   - Description
   - any other headers you would like to include in the data table
3. Populate the spreadsheet with the desired values determined in step #1.
4. Save the spreadsheet to a known location.

Importing the data into an EVOLVE Data Table

1. From the EVOLVE ribbon, in the Utilities panel, click Data Tables.
2. From the Data Tables window, in the Record Selector, click Add New, or from the Click here to add a new row located at the top of the grid enter a value, like FabricationAncillaryData, in one of the cells, and click Apply.
3. From the grid, select the newly created Data Table and click Edit Table from the tool palette.
4. From the Table Data window, click Import from Excel.
5. From the Please Confirm window, click Yes.
6. From the Table Data window, navigate to the location that the spreadsheet created in the Creating a spreadsheet with the desired Fabrication CADmep data section above was saved ,select the file, and click Open.
7. From the Table Data window click OK.
8. From the Table Data window click OK.
9. From the Data Table window click OK.

Defining the Ancillary Description Lookup

NOTE: these instructions assume the naming of the Data Table and column headers match those in the previous steps. If your Data Table and column header are different, simply replace them with the appropriate table/header names.

1. From the Mechanical Properties Browser, click the settings cog location at the top right of the palette.
2. From the Manage Mechanical Properties window, in the Ancillary Description Lookup panel perform the following:
   1. From the Data Table menu, select FabricationAncillaryData.
   2. From the Product Code Field menu, select Product Id.
   3. From the Description Field menu, select Description.
3. From the Manage Mechanical Properties window, click OK.
4. From the Mechanical Properties Browser, click the Refresh menu, and click Full Project.

Relevant Articles

• Mechanical Properties
• Manage Mechanical Properties
• View Fabrication Ancillary Data
• Data Tables