Using CoreBrace Revit Families

5789 West Wells Park Road ● West Jordan, UT 84081 ● Phone 801.280.0701● Fax 801.280.3231

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Using CoreBrace Revit Families

1. Loading Brace Families

CoreBrace Revit families can be used as either customized (project specific) or standard versions.

Customized families will have unique members for each location showing the BRB brace nearly identical

to how it would be fabricated for that project and location in the structure. The standard versions have

members that are representative of size ranges of typical BRBs but the dimensions and sizes of bolt holes,

stiffeners, casings, etc. will not be representative of what would likely be used on the BRBs provided for

the project. The standard families are useful when higher levels of modeling are not needed and these

families need nothing more than the Revit family provided by CoreBrace.

The project-specific families require the Revit family and an additional data file (provided as a .txt file) to

customize the braces. For project-specific families, put the family and the .txt file in the same folder and

having the same name as each other (other than the extension). When the family is loaded it will see the

.txt file and create customized BRBs to load. The following figures illustrate the process of loading the

CoreBrace Revit families into your model.

Figure 1: Revit Family (.rfa) and data file (.txt) must be located in same folder and have the same name

Figure 2: Load CoreBrace Revit Family by clicking “Load Family” on the Insert Ribbon


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Figure 3: Select the CoreBrace BRB Connection Family from the Load Family dialog box.

Figure 4: Select types to be loaded from the Specify Types dialog box. Highlighted rows represent those loaded into the model.


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2. Drawing Braces

When you load the families, you will see a unique identifier given to each brace in the selection box in

REVIT (if you are customizing the family by using the txt file). This will help you know where each

particular brace is to be inserted into the model. When drawing the braces, you must click on the bottom

work point first and then the top work point in order to get the bottom and top offsets correct. If this is done

the opposite order the offsets will be backwards.

Figure 5: Add braces by clicking “Brace” on the Structure Ribbon.

Figure 6: Select the unique identifier for the brace to be drawn.


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Figure 7: Begin drawing brace by selecting the bottom work point.

Figure 8: Complete brace by clicking on top work point.

The brace will display as either a linear object or a representation of the actual brace at each location. You

can edit this display by selecting Coarse, Medium or Fine views. Note that the brace will display the same

in both the medium and fine views.


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Figure 9: CoreBrace Family representation in Coarse View

Figure 10: CoreBrace Family representation in Medium and Fine Views.


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3. Changing Default Tags

The unique identifier used for locating the brace will show up in the standard tags that are present in Revit,

and is likely not what you want tagged in your family. The “tag” or "box tag" families provided by

CoreBrace will pull the correct information for tagging into your drawings. The CoreBrace "tag" family

has a single line of text and the "box tag" family allows for two lines of text. The first line typically indicates

brace area, and the second line indicates the stiffness modification factor. The second line (and the first for

that matter) can be set to anything you want (casing geometry, notes, etc). These items (area, stiffness

factor, casing geometry, etc) will then automatically update on the drawings each time an updated .txt file

is provided (which can be a big savings on redlines). Contact CoreBrace to update the fields used for the

text lines of these tags.

Figure 11: Edit Default Revit Tag by selecting CoreBrace BRB Tag Box from the dropdown properties menu. (Figure shows

default Revit tag with "unique identifier" text. This will be replaced with CoreBrace tag family).

Figure 12: Add CoreBrace Tags by clicking “Tag by Category” on the Annotate Ribbon.


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Figure 13: Select “Tags” to see loaded Tags and Symbols.

Figure 14: Select “Load family” and load the CoreBrace Tag family.

Figure 15: Load Family Dialog Box, Load CoreBrace BRB Tag Family.


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Figure 16: “Loaded Tags” are the CoreBrace Tag family.

Figure 17: Completed CoreBrace Tag box showing default properties, to change which properties are displayed in the text fields

(casing size, type, notes…) contact CoreBrace.


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4. Coordination and Updated .txt Files

When updates occur, CoreBrace can provide an updated .txt file. Place this in the directory with the Revit

family (overwriting the original file) and reload the family. If the new .txt file is the only change, the Revit

families will automatically update once reloaded. If you have also received an updated Revit Family file

(.rfa), a prompt will appear asking how the existing version should be overwritten. Choose the option to

"Overwrite the existing version and its parameter values" as shown in the figure below.

Figure 18: Move Updated .txt file to project specific Revit Families Folder.

Figure 19: Replace previous .txt file

Figure 20: “Overwrite the existing version and its parameter values” from the resulting pop up.


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5. Clash Detection

Using the Revit families for confirming coordination values and for error checking is one of the great

benefits of the customizable Revit families. We can, in fact make updates at any time and send you a new

.txt file which will update the family without having to re-insert the braces. It is very easy and a good way

to keep coordinated. Contact us so we can determine the cause of the potential error and get you updated

design and Revit information.

Figure 21: Utilizing CoreBrace Revit families allows for easy clash detection.


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6. Using and Editing default (non-customized) shapes.

If you do not use the .txt file then standard sizes will be loaded. These standard sizes are grouped in square

inches with the size indicative of the larger braces in the group.

Figure 22: Default, standard size braces.

Since these families are customizable, you will be able to use "grips" to adjust the length of the brace.

Figure 23: Adjusting brace length using grip.

If you need to adjust these offsets, you can also go into the properties and adjust the "Lwph1B" and

"Lwph2T" values to adjust the top and bottom offsets respectively.

Figure 24: Adjusting brace length using Cutback dimensions.


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Editing casing size and shape can be done on either a global scale or a brace by brace scale. For example,

the change in the Type Properties box as shown in Figure 25 will apply for all braces of type “CB-10.00”.

If it is only desired to edit a particular brace, duplicate the type and add a suffix as shown in Figure 26, and

Figure 27. The change will now only be applied to the selected brace (the brace now has its own “type”

associated with it). On the customized family braces however, if you see an offset that is too large or too

small, this could indicate a possible coordination error, which may mean that other design values that have

been coordinated (stiffness, overstrength, etc.) may also be in error. It is best to not update the offsets

manually in this case. See section on "Clash Detection" earlier in this guide.

Figure 25: Applying a global change through the Type Properties dialog box.


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Figure 26: Duplicating a brace to create specific brace.

Figure 27: Applying a brace specific change through the Type Properties dialog box.


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7. Loading Gusset Families

Loading the gusset families are very similar to the steps described at loading brace families. Put the family

and the .txt file in the same folder and having the same name as each other (other than the extension). The

following figures illustrate the process of loading the CoreBrace Gusset Revit families into your model.

Figure 28: Revit Family (.rfa) and data file (.txt) must be located in same folder and have the same name

Figure 29: Load CoreBrace Revit Family by clicking “Load Family” on the Insert Ribbon

Figure 30: Select the CoreBrace BRB Connection Family from the Load Family dialog box.

Figure 31: Select types to be loaded from the Specify Types dialog box. Highlighted rows represent those loaded into the model.


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8. Drawing Gussets

When you load the gusset families, you will see a unique identifier given to each brace in the selection box

in REVIT. This unique identifier is the same as the identifier for the brace. When drawing the gussets, you

must click on the bottom work point first and then the top work point in order to get the bottom and top

gusset at the correct end of the brace.

Figure 32: Drawing the gusset plates from bottom to top.

If the gusset plates are not drawn correctly, click on the “Flip work plane” to correct the gusset layout. See

Figure 33 and Figure 34 the correction of the gusset plate.

Figure 33:Drawing the gusset plates from bottom to top. (Gusset plates needs to be flipped)


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Figure 34: Corrected gusset plates when "Flip Work Plane" is clicked.

9. Coordination and Updated .txt Files for gusset plates.

When updates occur, CoreBrace can provide an updated .txt file. Place this in the directory with the Revit

family (overwriting the original file) and reload the family. If the new .txt file is the only change, the Revit

families will automatically update once reloaded.

Figure 35: Move Updated .txt file to project specific Revit Families Folder.

Figure 36: Replace previous .txt file

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Using CoreBrace Revit Families