Creating a Beam Using Point and Length

You can create a beam by defining a point and length.

Before you begin: Open the structure to place a beam.
See Also
About Beams
Beam Dialog Box
Managing Sections
In Other Guides
Content for Structure Apps
  1. From the Function section of the action bar, click Beam .
    The Beam dialog box appears.
  2. In the Category list, select the required category.

    If no dictionary is set in Data Setup, only the default category is available.

  3. In the Material & Orientation tab:
    1. Select the appropriate material and section for the beam.

      1. Select the required material reference.
      2. From the Standard list, select the section standard.
      3. From the Shape list, select the required section shape.

        The Shape box is unavailable for selection when the material-section table does not have the SectionShape column, that is when you are using the resolved sections.

      4. From the Size list, select the required section size.

      If no Resources Catalog or Resources Library resource is set in Data Setup, you can click More... to search and select the material and section references from database. If you select a parametric section reference from the database, the Size list is updated with the available sizes and then you can select the required section size.

    2. In the Anchor Point list, select the required anchor point for proper orientation of the beam.

      If no molded convention resource is set in Data Setup, the default list of anchor points will be available.

    If you are unable to find the selected section reference, check the following:

    • The section reference is available in the database.
    • There are no duplicate section references in the database.
    • The section reference has the section standard attribute specified in its properties.

  4. In the Geometry tab, select Point and Length from the Type list.
  5. In the work area, select a point.

    Tips: You can:
    • Select multiple points. Click to check the list of the selected points.
    • Select an existing beam. The selected point on the beam appears in the Point box. The selected beam is set as the start limit and the default limit type is applied. When selection point is near the start, mid, or end point of a beam, these points become selection point.
    • Select a point in work area or a point on the plane system grid. Ensure that the Selectable Points check box is selected in the Plane System Grid dialog box.
    • Right-click the Point box and select Create Point to create a point.

    The selection appears in the Point box.
  6. In the Length box, enter the length.

    To get the required orientation of a beam, you can use the Length Translation handle.

  7. In the Direction box, select a line, plane or reference plane.

    Important: The Direction box displays xy plane as the default selection.

  8. Optional: In the Limits area, select the start and end limit.

    By default, there are no limits. If the beam is selected as a start point, it is set as start limit and default delimitation type is applied. However, you can select the required start limit and end limit. You can also define the required delimitation type.

  9. Click OK.
    The beam is created.