Creating Rebar Groups in Template Mode

You can create groups of rebar layers by using predefined profiles (object types) like in the Rebar Creation command.

See Also
Creating a Rebar
  1. Open a 3D Shape.
  2. From the Reinforcement section of the action bar, click Rebar Group .
  3. To select the input rebar support, hover over a surface or an edge in the 3D area.

    A blue plane appears under your cursor. Select a plane as support.

    A contextual toolbar appears allowing you to choose a rebar group creation mode, to edit or isolate the plane and exit the command.

    Command Description
    Sketch: Adds a rebar layer with the creation of 2D profiles in a sketch.
    Template: Adds a rebar layer with a selected object type.
    Modifies the support plane.
    Edits the point of the plane.
    Isolates the plane.
    Exits the command.

    Notes:
    • If you select axis systems as input, a pattern selection is created.
    • If a plane or a surface is selected, a linear pattern is created using the plane as pattern start and the solid extremum as pattern end.
    • If an edge is selected, a plane perpendicular to this edge is created along with a curvilinear pattern, the edge being used as the pattern curve and the point of pick as the pattern start point.
    • If you create a template rebar layer on a normal plane to a curve, a curvilinear pattern is created. The planes are not created on the solid that contains the plane, and default planes are created under another node in the tree.
    • The Rebar Split and Multiple Split commands cannot be used on Rebar Groups.
    • The different layers follow the same pattern that is editable.
  4. To get a predefined layer profile, click Rebar Template in the contextual toolbar and select an object type in the Search Results list that opens.

    The rebar type categories are:

    • A fixed rebar type, when the rebar shape you envision is defined by a fixed dimension value. For example, each rebar layer has the same size, shape, and number of bends.
    • An adaptive rebar type limited by planes when the rebar follows the shape of the geometry such as surfaces until limiting planes.
    • An adaptive rebar type when the shape follows surfaces until its boundaries.

  5. Click OK to validate your choice and go back to the Concrete Structures 3D Design app.

    The Rebar Group dialog box appears, displaying the following commands:

    Elements and Commands Description
    Support Name of the selected support (a surface or an edge).
    Note: If you select a surface as support: these buttons are replaced by Smart Plane allowing you to change the support selection. The Rebar Profile panel and the Tools Palette are displayed. After validating your profile in Rebar Profile, you can choose a configuration value.
    Modifies the support plane.
    Edits the point of the plane
    Isolates the plane.
    Sketch: Adds a rebar layer with the creation of 2D profiles in a sketch. For more information, see Creating Rebars by Group.
    Template: Adds a rebar layer with a selected object type.
    Display Option: Hides or shows all the faces of a layer.
    Display Option: Appears in a contextual toolbar, pointing to the layer. Hides or Shows the shift label on the layer. For more information, see further below.
    Layer Properties Expandable section to display:
    • The preview of the rebar template:

      Tip:

      To display a preview of the selected object type in a side panel, click Template Helper . A template viewer opens and displays the shape of the bar type and planes. There is a link between the Helper, the 3D area, and the Rebar Creation dialog box, that is:

      • When you click a support or an axis system in the helper, it is highlighted on the 3D Shape.
      • If you click an element in the Helper (axis system or support), the geometric inputs are valuated in the 3D area automatically.
      In the Helper, you can move and zoom in the rebar object type. Click again the same element and the object type moves back to its initial position. To close the Helper, click or Close or .

    • Its name and status
    • The commands to export or copy it
    • The editable pattern configuration
    Distribution Expandable section to verify or edit the pattern information and use commands to delete , edit or select another pattern (only possible after the deletion of the existing one). For more information, see the step below.
    Deletes a rebar layer.
    Name The name of the rebar layers created from a sketch or a template. Select a line to highlight the rebar layer in the 3D area. A Shift Options command appears in a contextual toolbar, pointing to the layer, and you can hide or show the shift label by clicking in the Rebar Group dialog box. For more information, see further below.
    Type On the same support, you can create several rebar layers with the Sketch or Template mode. The Type column of the panel with the Sketch or Template icon indicates the creation mode.
    Configuration Displays the diameter for the rebar layer. You can select another one in the list.
    To modify the rebar layer within the Rebar Creation command.

    Each profile is used as a layer for a rebar group.

  6. To reinitialize the rebar group distribution, expand the Distribution section and do the following:

    The Distribution area containing pattern information and, commands to delete , edit or select another pattern (only possible after the deletion of the existing one).

    The linear pattern is chosen by default and it is defined in the Distribution text box. For example, if you enter 10x300mm, the pattern will contain 10 axis systems spaced by 300mm. The distribution text is converted into pattern definition.

    The unit is set in Preferences: From the top bar, select Me > Preferences, and then click the Common Preferences tab and expand the Parameters, Measures, and Units > Units section.

    You can choose the Count or Spacing modes and, the active mode is indicated in the dialog box. For more information, see next step.

    A list of a minimum of three rebars containing the pattern is displayed. Click to expand the list.

    • Edit the text in the Distribution box, for example: 300mm+2x400mm+335mm, or 3x300. The pattern contains one axis system at 300mm, two axis systems every 400mm, and one more axis system at 335mm.

      With the textual distribution, it is no longer required to edit the Pattern feature to modify or create Pattern Groups and their distribution. The general distribution text format is: C1 x S1 + C2 x S2 + C3 x S3.

      "Ci": is the number of axes of the group "i". If the number of axes of this group is equal to 1, it can be omitted.

      "Si": is the spacing length of this same group. It can be associated with a unit, or without any unit. If it does not have any unit, the unit set in Preferences is used. If a unit is used to define a length, use the same unit for all lengths.

    • Create Pattern groups: Create or select points in the 3D area to split existing groups into two parts.
    • When you initialize the rebar layer layout, there is only one group in the pattern. The Count and Spacing modes can be changed with the combo box. If you click:
      • Count : Only count value modification and only one group are allowed.
      • Spacing : Only spacing value modification and only one group are allowed.
      • Count and Spacing : Count and Spacing values modification is allowed and several groups can be created. If a Pattern end point is specified, a Limit Spacing option is available to shift the Pattern distribution.

      If the current mode is Count and spacing, it can contain as many groups as required, separated by the plus sign. All the groups created are in the Count and spacing mode. There cannot be several groups with different modes. If you change the definition of one group, the text editor is grayed out. If a pattern end point is specified, a Limit Spacing option is available to shift the pattern distribution.

      If start and end offset values are defined, distribution is done between these boundaries. The start and end offsets are not managed in the text editor. Edit the pattern by clicking to modify their values.

    • Click to start the pattern for more precise edition.

    Click anywhere in the 3D area to validate the distribution text, and the preview of the Axis systems is refreshed. An error message may appear if the input distribution text is incorrect. The pattern distribution is reinitialized with this text. Then you can continue to edit the rebar layers.

  7. To edit or move a rebar layer, especially when it intersects with another one in the 3D area, click it in the Rebar Group dialog box and do one of the following:
    1. Change the shift of the layer with the option called With length by defining a numerical length value nmal to the template plane. And click Reverse to define the shift side.
    2. Change the shift with the From selection option, by using another layer as contact referential. The From selection is highlighted to reveal the possible selection of a layer to move the first one. Click Reverse to define the shift side.

    Before clicking Apply, you can visualize the first bar of each layer in the 3D area.

  8. Click Apply to compute the rebar layers.

    With the plane colors, you obtain this:

    Each rebar layer is defined by an object type, the pattern, and the plane. In the tree, the Reinforcing bars Group Set contains a Geometry node aggregating the geometries of the rebar groups and the new template.

    Note: If you use a curvilinear pattern, the faces used to create the rebar layer are positioned arbitrarily (see Fig.1.) You need to move the faces manually so that the layers follow the shape of the faces (see Fig.2.)

    Fig.1

    Fig.2