Adding a Cast Beam

You can add a standard shape cast beam into your building project. Or, you can create a cast beam with a cross section of your own design. A cast beam is cast specifically for the building project.

See Also
Creating a Building Structural Grid
  1. Create a building grid if the project does not already have one.

    Use a building grid that you create in either Buildings and Civil Structures Design or Buildings Space Planning with Buidling Grid . The building grid can have straight or curved grid segments. With curved grid segments, you can create curved beams.

  2. From the Concrete section of the action bar, click Cast Beam .
  3. To create a cast beam with a standard shape, perform the following steps:
    1. In the Cast Beam dialog box, from Shape, choose one of the following:

      Option Description


      		Round


      		Square


      		Rectangle

      While editing multiple structure features, you can click for different shapes of different members.

    2. Depending on the beam shape, specify the beam dimensions as follows.

      For beam shape: Click to set the desired dimension:
      Round Diameter
      Square Width
      Rectangle Width and Depth

  4. To create a cast beam using a cross section defined by an object type, perform the following steps:
    1. In the Cast Beam dialog box, to select source, click Object Type .
    2. Click and select an object type from the list of imported object types.

      Notes:
      • Import an object type before creating the member. You can import an existing object type or create a new object type. For more information, see Building and Civil Assemblies User's Guide: Defining Object Type.
      • To undefine the object type, you can click .

    3. Click to display the graphic help of the object type.
    4. In the Size list, select the required size for the beam.

    The out of the box object types are found at Startup\Structure\ObjectTypes.

    To install additional content, select Install Optional Content Now.

    The SDD_DSA_Object_Type.3dxml file (for the DSA collection corresponding to the AISC standard) makes all the shapes available with a single import. The best practice is to import the 3dxml files with the option As Reference.

  5. To position the cast beam on a grid, click Position on Grid .
  6. To position the cast beam on a wire, click Position on Wires , select one or more wires and then specify the direction of the beam.

    Notes:
    • You can click Reverse to reverse the direction of the grid-driven plate.
    • The direction specifies the orientation of the local V axis of the member. Thus you can control the base rotation of the member around its axis. This is useful when attempting to orient a number of members on wires in the same direction.

  7. To create a cast beam in a new geometrical set, select the Create in a new geometrical set check box.
  8. To set the beam location, from Create Mode, click one of the following:
    OptionDescription
    Single Inserts beams only on the selected segments.
    Along gridline

    		 Inserts beams on all similar segments along the gridline of the selected segments.
    All in the story Inserts beams on all similar segments in the story of the selected segments.
    Above and below

    		 Inserts beams on all similar segments above and below the selected segments.
    Diagrid Inserts beams in an ascending diagonal pattern from a pair of selected points.
    Plane to plane Inserts beams between selected planes. You can include points between the selected planes.
    All on side Inserts beams on the selected side of the building.
    All interior Insert beams on the interior of the building.
    All in the building Insert beams on all vertical segments in the structural grid.
    With the pointer, hover over the structural grid to see a preview of your selection.
    Tip: To place multiple cast beams on a single grid segment, Ctrl + select the grid segment.
  9. To change the zero angle orientation for the beam, in the Cast Beam dialog box, click either:
    • Snap Rotation Counterclockwise
    • Snap Rotation Clockwise

    For a beam, the zero angle orientation is the base orientation to which the system applies the rotation. Use this option to reorient the beam. The beam reorients until it bisects the angle between grid segments, or is tangent or perpendicular to adjacent grid segments at the base of the beam.

  10. Align the beam.
    1. To align the beam along the V axis, click one of the following:

      Option Description
      V plus

      		 Positions the beam with the grid segment on the +V side of the beam.
      V center

      		 Positions the beam with the grid segment centered on the V axis of the beam.
      V minus

      		 Positions the beam with the grid on the -V side of the beam.

      While editing multiple structure features, you can click for different alignments of different members.

    2. To align the beam along the U axis, click one of the following:

      Option Description
      U plus

      		 Positions the beam with the grid segment on +U side of the beam.
      U center

      		 Positions the beam with the grid segment centered on the U axis of the beam.
      U minus

      		 Positions the beam with the grid segment on the -U side of the beam.

      While editing multiple structure features, you can click for different alignments of different members.

  11. To set additional options, expand Options and specify the corresponding values:
    1. From End 1 trim, enter or select the trim dimension of end 1.

      A negative value lengthens the beam.

      Once you enter or select a value, the preview in the 3D area displays the number of each end and the effect of your entry.
    2. From End 2 trim, enter or select the trim dimension of end 2.

      A negative value lengthens the beam.

      Check the preview in the 3D area to see the end numbers as well as the effect of your entry.
    3. From Vertical offset, enter the beam offset in the vertical direction.
    4. From Horizontal offset, enter the beam offset in the horizontal direction.

      The system displays in the 3D area the U, V, and W axes.

    5. From Rotation, enter or select the angle in degrees for the beam counterclockwise rotation about its length.

      Valid range entries are from -360 to +360 degrees.

  12. Expand Grid Segment Display and in the Grids to Display box, select the grids to display, and then select the checkboxes according to the requirement:

    Tip: Check the 3D area to see the axis labels.

    1. In a structural grid with a slab, select from these check boxes:

      Option Description
      Show grid points on slabs Displays grid points that lie on the slab surfaces.
      Show grid points off slabs Displays grid points that are off the slab surfaces.
      Show grid segments Displays grid segments between grid points.
      Show slabs Displays slabs.
      Show perimeter segments Displays grid segments and points on the perimeter. The system does not display this option with the Diagrid and All on side selection.
      Show interior segments Displays grid segments and points in the interior of the structural grid. The system does not display this option with the All Interior selection.

    2. In a structural grid without a slab, select from these check boxes:

      Option Description
      Show grid points Displays grid points.
      Show grid segments Displays grid segments between grid points.
      Show curved grid segments Generates curved grid segments from curved grid lines.
      Show perimeter segments Displays grid segments and points on the perimeter of the structural grid.
      Show interior segments Displays grid segments and points in the interior of the structural grid.

    Note: To hide the specified element, clear the check box.

  13. Click .