Providing Design Inputs

The Design Inputs sub-tab in the Study view is where you set the Grid Resolution and Import the Revit project data which consists of two key components:

• Electrical model

  Identifies the location, size, and other properties of the enabled Electrical Equipment and Electrical Fixtures which ACP will use as sources and/or destinations for the conduit routing, as well as various elements used for constraining routes.

  This model consists of the following:

  • All enabled Electrical Equipment and Electrical Fixtures
  • Guidance Boxes and Guidance Spaces
  • Scoping elements
    • Spaces (Including Area Class and Preferred Space data) 
    • Scope Boxes
  • Existing conduit runs
    

     In future updates, existing conduit runs in the Revit project will be imported as part of the Background geometry. 

• Background geometry

  Provides ACP with critical spatial context, including available space for conduit racks as well as obstructions such as walls, beams, and other trade elements. It also identifies supportable elements in the model, enabling ACP to generate conduit racks which are both clash-free and properly supported.

This guide walks you through the steps to provide the required Design Inputs and explore them in the 3D Model Preview.

Provide Design Inputs

Design inputs for the study are provided and configured in the Design Inputs panel on the right-hand side of the Design Inputs sub-tab.

The sections below provide step-by-step instructions on how you can Import or select the Electrical model, Import or select the Background geometry, and Set the Grid Resolution.

Import or select the Electrical Model

If you’re creating the first study in an ACP Project, you have to import a new Electrical model. This model is then stored in the ACP project and can be reused in any study within that project.

Here’s how you can use either one.

Import or select the Background Geometry

If there’s an existing Background geometry within the ACP project where the study belongs, the latest version will be used for the current study by default, or you may Import Background Geometry from the Revit project.

Follow the steps below to use existing Background Geometry for the study or import new.

Set the Grid Resolution

The Grid Resolution determines the size of the blocks into which ACP breaks down the entire site to analyze if each block of space is available or occupied. The size of the blocks may be set to 12”, 6”, 4”, 3”, and 2”.

For more information about Grid Resolution, refer to the About ACP Grid Resolution article.

To specify the Grid Resolution for the study, adjust the Grid Resolution slider to the preferred size.

Explore Design Inputs in the 3D Model Preview

The 3D Model Preview lets you explore the imported Electrical model and Background geometry prior to solution generation. For the first study in the ACP project, this view is initially blank but becomes populated as each Design Input is imported. At that point, the 3D Model Preview controls for each imported model are also enabled.

Using View Controls

View controls allow you to set the visibility of certain elements in the 3D Model Preview. This lets you closely inspect areas of the model without other elements obstructing the view.

Follow the steps below to control element visibility using the View Controls in the 3D Model Preview.

1. Click the View Controls button. This will open the View Controls panel.

2. To show or hide all elements in a View Controls section, click the corresponding section toggle.

   • If no Electrical model or Background geometry has been imported yet, the corresponding View Control will be disabled.

3. To show or hide specific elements from view, click the corresponding toggle.

   • The model will adjust based on the visibility settings you set.

4. If there are multiple Electrical models in the project, you can select which one to use in the Electrical model dropdown in the View Controls panel and it will get updated on the Design Inputs panel.

   • The selected Electrical model will then be used as basis for generating solutions.

Using Section Planes

Section planes allow you to cut through the model in any plane so you can see its cross-section, giving you a better view inside the model.

Here is how you can use Section Planes in the 3D Model Preview.

1. Position the model so the plane you want to section through is displayed.

   1. You can use the View Cube or other navigation controls.

2. Click the Section Planes button.

3. Click the Add Section Plane button.

4. When the banner at the top appears, click the point in the model where you want to place the section plane.

5. After placing the section plane, you can use the section plane controls to do the following:  

   • Adjust the depth of the plane using the straight arrows. Click drop-down to view animation.

     1. Hover your mouse cursor over the straight arrow corresponding to the plane you want to adjust.

     2. When the arrow is selected, click and drag to the preferred depth.

   • Rotate the plane to change its orientation using the double-headed arcs. Click drop-down to view animation.

     1. Hover your mouse cursor over the double-headed arc corresponding to the plane you want to rotate in.

     2. When the double-headed arc becomes a circle, click and drag to rotate the plane to the preferred orientation.

6. Repeat the previous steps to add more section planes in the model.

Next steps

Once you’ve completed these steps, you may proceed with setting design rules for the study.