Issue with floors being offset in Wizard?

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Hello eQUEST Users,

I'm having an issue right now when drawing in the Wizard.
I am working on a multi-story building and I am trying to line each floor
up correctly when drawing the shells.
I have selected to draw the floor directly above, and I align the CAD file
with the background as it should be.
However, when moving on to the Detailed Mode, the floors are offset and I
cannot get them back to the way they were.
Has anyone had this issue or know of a potential solution?

Thank you,
Mike Campbell

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Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400

I?m sure there are multiple good approaches, but the one that works for me when I have fairly complex shell layouts is to do the following:

1. Before starting geometries in the wizards, make sure all your CAD references for multi-level buildings are origin-aligned. If you were to copy one onto another using the origin as a reference point, the plans should should properly align.
2. After the first shell, be sure to specify the following in the first screen for every subsequent shell:
* Position this shell: via Coordinates
* Tick the box for Exact Site Coordinates
* Leave X and Y at 0.0 (matching the first shell?s default)
* Provide a Z value as needed to ensure the shell is the right height from the ground. Note that below grade floors for a given shell?s Z-coordinate will extend downward from that elevation.

[cid:image003.png at 01D32DFE.40EA33F0]

1. It?s never a bad idea to finish the wizards just to check your work in the 3D view - you can always hop back in to make corrections!

For reference, in the event you?re ever well into detailed edits, and wish you made a different decision, these inputs are basically replicated as FLOOR geometries. You can adjust/tweak them here and observe the results in the 3D view dynamically:
[cid:image004.png at 01D32DFF.16062C10]

I suspect that because you have an ?alignment? step within the wizards, you might not have your CAD files pre-aligned as I?m recommending above. If you already have a bunch of zones traced out I?d recommend just tweaking the floor?s X/Y coordinates post-wizards until it looks about right. You could overlay your CAD files outside of eQuest to inform exactly how much of a shift is needed.

Hope that?s a bit helpful!

~Nick

[cid:image001.png at 01D32DFD.ABAB1C50]
Nick Caton, P.E., BEMP
Senior Energy Engineer
Regional Energy Engineering Manager
Energy and Sustainability Services
Schneider Electric

D 913.564.6361
M 785.410.3317
F 913.564.6380
E nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com

15200 Santa Fe Trail Drive
Suite 204
Lenexa, KS 66219
United States

[cid:image002.png at 01D32DFD.ABAB1C50]

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400

Thanks for the response, Nick.
Unfortunately I still seem to be having some issues.
I've done many models in the past and have never had this issue, so I'm
really having a hard time figuring out what is going on.
Would someone be able to take a look at the attached files and see if you
can provide any insight on how to get these floors to properly align?
I've been trying to move each shell based on aligning common points between
shells, but that isn't working the way I would hope.
Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400

This could serve as a helpful guide/reading for others, so I?ve re-attached the files for illustration (without edits).

This is a pretty complex project and I don?t have your familiarity Mike with what exactly it?s supposed to look like, so I?m going to make a few assumptions to illustrate the approach.

Assuming your CAD efforts were in tip-top shape prior to importing, I?m expect the cause has something to do with a combination of non-uniform origin points during the dwg import dialog (I can?t review/edit these without the files)? or perhaps accidental CAD panning during footprint/zoning vertex definitions. Regardless, I?m moving away from the cause in order to highlight a solution.

I?m going to assume for this demo that the 4th shell, which seems in ?in-alignment? with others, is correct and we just want to shift the two shells below it so they perfectly overlay/underlay. I?ve indicated in green an axis to which I will demonstrate shifting the 3rd and 2nd shell onto:
[cid:image002.png at 01D33079.EAB98840]
Note this procedure to determine the necessary shell position input corrections can be done at any time during or after wizard stage development, but the actual edits are ?detailed? level so will need to be applied post-wizards:

First I?ll navigate to wizards open up the 3rd shell (?1st Floor?) custom footprint screen. We want this to shift a moderate amount to align with the 4th shell (?2nd Floor?). Draw attentions to the drop down dialog for background overlays:
[cid:image003.png at 01D3307B.BB9AA060]
(quick aside: If you don?t fill in a shell?s footprint with zones, you?ll find the wizards generate adiabatic walls in lieu of exterior surfaces for the ?exposed? interior zones. If that isn?t intentional, you can adjust the shell?s footprint vertices to align with your zone?s perimeters to avoid that issue. This might be deliberate for this project, but seems worth pointing out for everyone?s general edification.)

If I select the ?2nd Floor? shell in this dialog, I can observe 2 vertices I?d like to align. Note the ?correct? 2nd floor is illustrated with blue lines and has vertices you can snap to, but aren?t selectable for editing:
[cid:image004.png at 01D3307F.47C885E0]
Note the active (Cyan-colored) vertex.

From this view, with polygon snapping turned on, you can create a new vertex from the highlighted point, and drag it to where you want that point to be on the overlaid shell footprint. The information in the bottom of the Custom Building Footprint window will tell you exactly what that vertex?s shift is in X/Y dimensions:
[cid:image009.png at 01D3307F.EBF4B8A0]
Jot this information down in your physical/electronic notepad for reference. E3 Shift: dX = 2.1 , dY = -5.7

Rinse and repeat with the 2nd Shell (?Basement?), again overlaying the ?correct? 4th shell (?2nd Floor?):
[cid:image001.png at 01D33080.4B7B1120]
This case is a little more extreme. E2 Shift: dX = 23.5 and dY = 1.8

Armed with this info, we can confidently finish our efforts in the wizards and enter the detailed mode. From here, you can edit the FLOOR inputs for X and Y by the noted deltas:
E2 Shift: dX = 23.5 and dY = 1.8
E3 Shift: dX = 2.1 , dY = -5.7
Example:
[cid:image010.png at 01D33083.48CD4EE0]
Entering these edits as expressions as illustrated allows you to retain what the wizards generated and document / avoid human-error with your algebra if that?s of interest, but it isn?t necessary.

Finally, check your work in 3D view ? looks pretty okay!
[cid:image011.png at 01D33085.81E10DF0]

Hope this helps!

~Nick

[cid:image005.png at 01D33078.43CF1550]
Nick Caton, P.E., BEMP
Senior Energy Engineer
Regional Energy Engineering Manager
Energy and Sustainability Services
Schneider Electric

D 913.564.6361
M 785.410.3317
F 913.564.6380
E nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com

15200 Santa Fe Trail Drive
Suite 204
Lenexa, KS 66219
United States

[cid:image006.png at 01D33078.43CF1550]

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400

Nick,

Thank you for this detailed response.
This is incredibly helpful and I really appreciate you taking the time to
help me address this issue.

Thanks,

via Equest-users's picture
Joined: 2016-07-15
Reputation: 400