Revit families for component manufacturers
B1P Group turns manufacturers' Inventor, SolidWorks or STEP models into light, parametric Revit families, with the parameters, codes, electrical connectors and IFC class required by the information requirements of electricity, rail and gas network operators. The family goes into the designer's federated model and passes the operator's checks.
Four points of view, one model.
From catalogue to model.
A lightweight Revit family, with parameters, classification codes and connectors: it goes into the project and passes the network operator's checks.
What is the difference between the mechanical model and the Revit family?
The same disconnector, as it arrives from the manufacturer and as it goes into the project: no parameters or connectors on one side, ready for the federated model on the other.
Generic example: electrical disconnector, for illustration only.
Why do network operators ask for Revit and not STEP?
On electricity, rail and gas network projects, the exchange information requirements call for components in native Revit format, with predefined parameters, classification codes and level of detail.
A STEP file or an Inventor assembly cannot go into the federated model: the designer has to remodel it or chooses a product already available in Revit.
| Requirement | STEP, Inventor, SolidWorks | B1P Revit family |
|---|---|---|
| Format specified in the requirements | No | Yes, native RFA |
| Client-specified parameters and classification codes | No | Yes |
| Electrical connectors | No | Yes |
| Weight in the federated model | High, full mechanical geometry | Light, design-level geometry |
| Catalogue variants | One file per variant | A single family with types |
What do we deliver to the manufacturer?
Native Revit families
Parametric RFA files, with the catalogue types in a single family.
Simplified geometry
Light in the project, true to the overall dimensions, connection points and operating clearances.
Compliant parameters
Parameters and classification codes as set out in the client's exchange information requirements.
Electrical connectors
Connectors and technical data for system calculation and coordination.
IFC and check sheet
IFC export and a sheet documenting the family check.
How do we work on a component catalogue?
The work starts from the information requirements of the operator the component is intended for and ends with a placement test in a project model. Every revision of the catalogue produces a new checked revision of the family, with the types added or withdrawn.
- 01
Analysis
CAD models, data sheets and the requirements of the client concerned.
- 02
Simplification
From the mechanical model to design-level geometry.
- 03
Parameterisation
Types, codes, shared parameters, connectors.
- 04
Checking and handover
Compliance check, test in a project model, update with every catalogue revision.
- Inventor
- SolidWorks
- STEP
- IGES
- DWG
- Data sheets
- Revit RFA
- IFC
Before we start
Who turns a STEP, Inventor or SolidWorks file into a Revit family?
B1P Group does it for manufacturers of electrical and railway components and for gas networks: from the mechanical model it derives a native Revit family (RFA) with types, parameters, codes and connectors, tested in a project model. The manufacturer sends the CAD file and the data sheet and receives an estimate of time and cost.
Why isn't the STEP file enough?
A STEP file contains only geometry: it has no parameters, codes or connectors, and it brings all the mechanical detail into the federated model, which makes it heavy. The network operators' information requirements ask for components in native Revit format with predefined data, so the STEP file is excluded or remodelled by the designer.
Is it better to make native Revit families or to publish only the IFC file?
The two do not exclude each other: the native Revit family is the one the designer places and edits in the model, while IFC is for exchange and checking. B1P Group delivers both, because the operators' information requirements ask for the native format and an assigned IFC class. An IFC file on its own has neither the catalogue types nor the connectors.
Which parameters and what level of detail should a catalogue BIM object have?
The minimum parameters are those of the data sheet (product code, nominal sizes, dimensions) and those of the client's information requirements (coding, IFC class, maintenance data). The geometry stays simplified: overall dimensions, connections and clearances, not the construction detail. The level of detail is set by the operator's information requirements; B1P Group checks it before delivery.
Does one family work for every client?
The geometric base and the catalogue types apply to everyone. Parameters and codes are adapted to each operator's information requirements, which may ask for different parameter names and IFC classes. B1P Group builds the family so that adapting it to a new client is an addition, not a rebuild.
What happens when the catalogue or the Revit version changes?
B1P Group updates the family and delivers a new checked revision, with the types added or withdrawn. The file is kept in the Revit version required by the information requirements; earlier versions are updated when an operator asks.
Send us the model of your component
Even just the STEP file and the data sheet: we will reply with an estimate of time and cost.