Converting a Stiffener

You can convert the web and the flange of a stiffener into two panels, or a panel and a flat bar, or only the web to a panel.

Before you begin:
  • The selected stiffener must be created with the Along plane option.
  • The Web_Thickness, Web_Height, Web_Material, Flange_Thickness, Flange_Height and Flange_Material parameters must be defined for the section of the selected stiffener when you have to convert stiffener into panels.
  • The Flange_FlatBar_Section, Flange_Anchor_Point, Flange_Anchor_Point_Offset, and Flange_Web_Angle parameters should be defined for the section of the selected stiffener when you have to convert stiffener into panel and flat bar.
See Also
Section Parameters
In Other Guides
Content for Structure Apps
  1. From the Operation section of the action bar, click Convert Stiffener .
    The Convert Stiffener dialog box appears.
  2. In the Stiffener box, select a stiffener or a stiffener on free edge.

    Tips:
    • You can also select multiple stiffeners that have same section.
    • You can select a panel also. All the stiffeners except stiffeners on free edges, attached to the panel and created with the Along plane option get selected.

    The section dimensions appear in the Section box.
  3. In the Mode box, select one of the following modes:
    • Plate / Plate: converts the web and flange of a stiffener into two panels.
    • Plate / FlatBar: converts the web of a stiffener into a panel and the flange into a flat bar (stiffener on free edge).

    Note: For stiffener on free edge, only the Plate / Plate mode is available.

  4. In the Category list, select the required category.

    By default, with the Plate / Plate mode, Panel is the category for web and flange. With the Plate / FlatBar mode, the default category for web is Panel and flange is Stiffener on Free Edge.

    Important:
    • If the rules catalog or the rules library that contains action rule to convert stiffener is set in structure resources, the category boxes become unavailable for any selection. These boxes display categories as Managed By Action Rule. For more information about action rule, see Action Rule for Convert Stiffener.
    • If the category defined in the action rule does not match with panel or stiffener on free edge, the default category is taken into account.

  5. Optional: Clear the Automatic check box and type the required name in the Name box.
  6. In the Material-Grade list, select the material for web.

    If no material table is set in Data Setup, you can click More... to search and select the material from the database.

  7. In the Thickness and Height boxes, enter the required values.

    Important: If the material, thickness or height attributes are locked in the section declaration, then the corresponding boxes are unavailable.

  8. Define Material-Grade, Thickness, and Height of the flange as you did for the web.

    If you have selected Plate / FlatBar mode, select the section for flat bar in the Section list.

  9. Optional: Select the Remove Stiffener after Conversion check box to delete the stiffener object after the conversion.
  10. Optional: Click the Impacted Objects tab to display the list of objects impacted by the respective stiffeners and their status after conversion.
    Notes:
    • The impacted objects can be structural or non-structural elements.
    • Structural elements are rerouted to the new converted element.
    • Non-structural elements are isolated.
      Tip: You can reroute it using other designing techniques. For more information, see Generative Shape Design User's Guide.
  11. Click OK.

The stiffener is converted into two panels, or a panel and a flat bar depending on the selected mode. Two nodes are created in the tree. The sketch and the extrude will be aggregated under web panel, for an easy copy and paste operation.

Notes:
  • After converting a stiffener, the thickness orientation mode is set to Offset for the resultant panels.
  • If the resultant panel is multi-domain, you need to manually specify additional limits to have single-domain result and a proper orientation.
  • A stiffener cannot be converted, if it is interrupted by an opening.
  • Stiffener supported only on a plane or a planar surface can be converted to panel using this command.
  • The flange panel or flat bar cannot be copied individually. It must be copied with the web flange.
  • When converting a stiffener on free edge created on a closed contour, correct result may not be obtained for the flange panel.
  • When converting a stiffener, the vertical anchor points are not taken into account. Therefore, you might need to change the position of the resultant web panel as required.
Tip: To add some automation to the Convert Stiffener command, declare the section parameters used to pre-define the dialog box inputs. These parameters must be declared. Do not define any subset.

In the sample Structure_Sections.3dxml file, the following sections have predefined parameters: WT8x25, WT2.5x9.5, WT18x179.5, WT18x115, FL_20x0.025, FL_10x0.1875, FL_18x0.395 and FL_8x1. For the sample file, see 3DEXPERIENCE Native Apps Content Reference Guide : Samples for Sections.