The old way of connecting families in Revit
Revit provides a few useful tools that enable you to automatically connect elements by means of fittings when designing piping systems. Here are just a few:
- With the “Add Vertical” tool you are able to connect pipes using the current slope value.
- If you want to disregard the slope value, you can use the “Change Slope” tool.
- The “Automatically connect” placement tool lets you automatically connect to the snaps on a component when starting or ending a duct segment. This option is useful for connecting segments at different elevations.
What if your elements were previously designed or imported?
However, you sometimes have to connect elements that are already drawn. In order to do this, you have to create separate section views, carefully align and drag the connectors of your elements to the positions where they need to connect, and only after performing all of these preparing activities can you hit “Connect”. Sometimes, Revit even adds unwanted elements to your system that you have to later remove.
What can you do about this?
You can use a smart Revit plugin that lets you connect elements by simply selecting their corresponding connectors. Like this, you will avoid switching between section views to correctly align the pipes. The plugin will do this for you. Watch this video to see the difference between the design flows in Revit vs the Revit plugin.
Read further: Rotate Revit Families the Easy Way