Page 663 - Divyank Tyagi

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reviewing the Key ComPonentS oF StairS and railingS 629

family, the shape needs to be a closed loop—no gaps or overlapping lines allowed. Furthermore,
all the railing profiles will be swept parallel to their host objects. In Figure 15.7, the top rail and
all the intermediate rails are simple circular profiles swept along the path of the railing.

Figure 15.7
multiple profiles
per railing

Balusters There are three kinds of baluster family templates you can use to customize a rail-
ing type:
Baluster posts have built-in instance parameters to control the height of the baluster so that
it can adjust automatically when used within a railing type in a project. The posts are
used at the start, end, and transitions of railings.
Balusters are the main, repeated vertical structure of most railing designs. They have
instance parameters as well that control the vertical length and the angle of the top and
bottom of the baluster (Figure 15.8). When you create your own custom baluster families,
you must constrain the geometry to these reference planes so the baluster will adapt to
the settings in the railing type.
Baluster panels have controls much like the baluster, but there are additional reference
planes to control the overall width of a desired panel (Figure 15.9).

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