I'm using Bentley Building Mechanical XM and I'm curious if there is the ability to change the way cells that come from Bentley Building Mechanical look when extracted, similar to the way compound cells work in Triforma.
A couple examples of what I'm talking about are:
1) Manual balancing dampers look great in the model. They look realistic and that is great. Unfortunately, when we extact them, all that we see is the small arm sticking out of the duct. It is difficult to see at smaller scales and I'm concerned the contractor will miss them. I end up placing our standard 2D symbol (basically a big "L" that goes through the duct) over top of them so that they will show up. Can the manual dampers be given a 2D symbol to replace them when extracted?
2)Diffusers/Grilles also look great in the model. However, our architects would like a standard box the size of the outside of the grille with a slash (for return air) and an "x" (for supply air) to attach to their reflected ceiling plan. It does make it much clearer which are return and which are exhaust. Can the grilles be given a different symbol to represent them when extracted?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Rob
Hi Rob,
The cells are assigned using parts.
After that, any component that uses that part will use the cell in the drawing symbol. To pull updated cells into existing components, you'll need to use the rebuild command ("bmech rebuild"). Back up the model, then run the keyin. It will recreate the component graphics using the updated cell.
Hope that helps,
Robert
Rob Cowan
CH2M Hill
Okay, these replies definitely helped. I'm guessing that the cell library is not found. I attached a picture of what the Dataset Explorer looks like. The Pattern Cell is greyed out with no cell listed. I don't see a way to path to the cell library. Is this path defined in the configuration? Thanks again!
Check the variable HVAC_DUCTSYMBOLSLIB, defined in hvac.cfg. By default it uses
HVAC_DUCTSYMBOLSLIB : $(HVAC_SYSTEMSTANDARDS)/cells
to get to the delivered cell libraries.
I just realised... The Activate option is not checked On in that screen capture. Does that change the behavior?
Note: Pattern would be selected in this case.
Rob,
Click Activate, then seelct Pattering. Enter or pick the name of the cell in Pattern Cell. Turn off Activate since you dont need it in this case and click OK. Commit your changes. Your cell should be picked up when you try to place the component.
Let us know if you have any problems.