Performing Engineering Transformations

The bars' lengths are given by the bar manufacturer and the default bar lengths are defined by the BIM manager for the civil engineering project. You can split a rebar layer into several ones so that the length of each bar fits the length of the manufacturer's bars. Then it is easier to place couplers between bars or manage bar overlapping.

Before you begin:
  • Open a 3D Shape containing a layer.
  • The layer must have several bars.
  1. To split a Rebar layer feature, click Rebar Transformations from the Reinforcement section of the action bar.

    The Rebar transformations dialog box displays the list of the possible transformations. You also can perform other transformations. For more information, see Performing General Transformations.

  2. Expand the Engineering transformations section and click the Rebar Split command.
  3. Select a layer in the tree or in the 3D area.

    You can create a rebar split from the Rebar Split or rebar Accessories command.

    Once the layer is selected, the split options are revealed in the command dialog box. The longest bar is automatically chosen and a curvilinear pattern is created along its curve for replication. The center curve of the longest bar of the selected layer is used to place all the cutting points.

    The curvilinear pattern can be edited through this command in the dialog box. Therefore, axis can be moved, pattern definition can be changed from Spacing mode to Count mode and axis can be deactivated. Pattern axis, cutting points and split lengths are shown in the 3D, but axis cannot be edited within the Rebar Split command.

    The pattern is set in Spacing mode, and

    • If the Bar Length is defined on the selected layer (attribute value filled in the Object Type used by the Layer), this value is used as a spacing value (the manufacturing length of the bar is then directly used).
    • If the Bar Length is not defined:
      • If a spacing value is stored in the split preferences, this value is used as a spacing value.
      • Otherwise, if the length of the longest bar is greater than 8 meters, 8m is set as the spacing value (and set as default spacing value in the split preferences). If the user enters a spacing value manually in the pattern command, this value is stored as the default spacing value in split preferences.
      • Or, if the length of the longest bar is less than 8 meters, the spacing value is set as the length of the first bar divided by 2, to cut the bar in the middle (but not set as default spacing value in the split preferences).

    Moreover the pattern's option Axis Orientation in the Curvilinear Pattern dialog box, is set to Tangency Imposed by default (Z tangent).

    You can also select the Count mode, instead of the Spacing mode, in the Group 1 dialog box to choose the number of the split bars (distance between the axis of the pattern), taking the start of the first bar into account. See About Rebar Patterning.

    You can use both options by selecting the Count and spacing mode, to divide the bars evenly.

  4. To reinitialize the rebar group distribution, do the following:
    • Edit the text in the Distribution box, for example: 300mm+2x400mm+335mm, or 3x300. The pattern will contain one axis system at 300mm, two axis systems every 400mm, and one more axis system at 335mm.

      With the textual distribution, it is no more necessary 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 axis of the group "i". If the number of axis of this group is equal to 1, it can be omitted.

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

    • Create Pattern groups: Points must be created/selected 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 needed, 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 a start and/or 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 launch the pattern for more precise edition. If you quit the Rebar Split command, double-click Bars split in the tree, the Rebar Split command reopens.

    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.

  5. Select one of the bars.

    If the BIM manager has specified the default length in the ObjectType (BarLength=10m) of the bar, this value will be chosen for the positioning of cutting points (for example, every 10 meters). If this length has not been defined in ObjectType, you can define a first split via the Spacing command (5m for example) in the Group 1 dialog box of the Curvilinear Pattern command. For more information, see Creating a Curvilinear Pattern.

    There is a preview of the split bars in the 3D area with:

    • Text information (5m for example) on bars, when the preferences' length is taken into account. However, when the total length of the bar is lower than the chosen split value (5 meters), the bar will only be divided into two bars.
    • Blue dots to visualize the cutting points (the split) on each bar. They cannot be selected in preview, unlike the pattern's axis.
    • Red dots to display the cutting points when they are on bends, because split is always set on straight bars, not on bends, to reinforce rods in concrete.

    Select the split options:
    • Selection: select a layer in the tree or in the 3D area (see Step 2). If no layer is selected, the OK/Apply buttons and the split options are not available. Select the axis to move the red dots away from the bends. Then, they turn blue.
    • Mode, there are two cutting modes:
      • Standard: selected by default when no layer had been selected before. The split lengths obtained from the curvilinear pattern on the (longest) bar are reported on the other bars, beginning from the bar start extremities. To begin from the bar end extremities, the pattern must be edited and an inversion of the curve must be done with this button . This mode is convenient when the bars have the same length/shape. When they do not have the same shape, the cutting points are repositioned with the same distance, and therefore they are shifted on the bars.
      • Projected: the cutting points obtained from the curvilinear pattern on the longest bar are projected on the other bars. The projection direction is the normal to the Y pattern axis tangent direction. The XY plane, from each axis of the pattern, is taken into account and the bars intersects with this XY plane of the axis. The split follows the XY plane to intersect on the bars. This mode is used when the layer's bars do not have the same length/shape.

    Any modification of the initial layer is affecting and is reported in the result layer. The Engineering Transformations command generates:

    • A Geometrical Set named Geometrical transformation Set.X: it is created along with a new Engineering transformation feature, including all the result layers (features) resulting from the split of the input layer you selected. They are also visible in the 3D area.
    • A Engineering transformation feature named Reinforcing bars transformation.X under this new Geometrical Set (where X is a number), including the rebar split feature carrying all the split specifications (cutting positioning) because it aggregates the pattern component. It is only visible in the tree because it stands for the split operation, not for the geometrical result.
    • N Rebar Layer features: The number of new features depends on how the transformation has been defined in the command.

  6. When a curvilinear pattern already exists, click Edit the pattern to edit it.
    The Curvilinear Pattern and Group1 dialog boxes open. The pattern's axis can be selected and moved to modify the cutting points' position.

    With the Edit the pattern command, you can also distribute cutting points on the other bars of the selected layer. The split lengths obtained from the curvilinear pattern on the first bar are reported on the other bars, beginning from the bar start extremities. To begin from the bar end extremities, the pattern must be edited and an inversion of the curve must be done with Edit the pattern.

  7. Click Apply in the Curvilinear Pattern dialog box to launch the actual rebar split.

    A progress bar at the bottom of the dialog box indicates the progression of an action. It is accompanied by a textual information, for instance: 30/50 rebars, to know the time needed for rebar creation. To stop the computation, press the Escape, then computation is stopped and the feature returns to the state before this computation.

    Split layers are visible in the 3D area, characterised by an alternation of a dark blue color and a light blue color.

  8. Click OK.

    • The input layer that has been split is not taken into account in the bar mark process. All the result layers generated by the split have no bar mark, thus the bar mark command must be launched explicitly to associate the related bar marks to those new layers.
    • When you decide to generate a rebar report without the No Show elements, the input layer that has been split is ignored in the report, and only the result split layers are listed.
    • The initial layer that has been split is involved in the change Level of Development (uncheck the line related to this layer in the user interface not to take it into account). All the result split layers are also managed by this command.

    The input layer you had selected at the beginning (Step 2) is in the No Show space, because it is a layer for the split building. Only the result layers will be used for the next steps, but they still rely on the input layer. By default, they are synchronized with the input layer and you cannot edit them individually.

  9. To modify a result layer independently from the input layer (for a local change: diameter for example), click the result feature in the tree, and select the Rebar Split desynchronization contextual command.
    By default, the initial layer and the result layers are synchronized, i.e they are sharing the same Reinforcing bar Object Type, the same inputs (limiting surfaces in Template mode, support bars in Strap/Mesh mode,…), and the same Pattern. If you want to modify a split result layer for a local design change (for example, modification of bar diameter), therefore, you need to desynchronize a result layer.
  10. Once the result layer is desynchronized, double-click it to modify it.
  11. To synchronize it back, select the Rebar Split synchronization contextual command appearing when the result feature is selected in the tree.
    All the modifications done during the desynchronization of the result feature are canceled. You cannot modify the result layer independently from the input layer.