Issue

Sometimes when placing an instance of the Planar Face calculation points family, the family will abruptly disappear after ending the placement command.  This can happen when attempting to host the planar face points to a face in a linked model.   Another reason it can happen is if you attempt to add Planar Face calculation points to a non-planar surface (e.g. a curved wall) .

 

Solution for linked model case.

  1. Open the linked model of interest.
  2. Create one or more 3d views in the linked model.
  3. Save and close the linked model.
  4. Reload the link back into the host project.

 

Work around for non-planar face case.

 

Option 1 (recommended)

Use the Add Projected Points command to project calculation points onto the desired non-planar surfaces.

 

Option 2

 

Host line-based points to a line (model or detail) that approximates the curvature of the non-planar face.  Then add vertical offset lines in the Edit calc points dialog to approximate the calculation grid.