Add Truck Crane ( Modeling )

Tool summary :

  • Adds a truck crane to the 3D model. You define the tower crane's settings on the Truck Crane window.
  • Crane options require a license. Without that license, crane options are not available in the SDS2 Detailing program.
  • When you add a truck crane, you also add a crane placement for that crane. When it later comes time for you to assign lifts (e.g., Assign Member Lifts ), you do so to a crane's placement, not to the crane itself.
  • If you want to add more than one crane placement to a crane, you can Add Crane Placement .
  • See the step-by-step instructions .

Also see :

page 1 | contents | model > crane > | cranes | cranes (index) | truck crane window


  Add Truck Crane (step-by-step instructions) :

Before adding a truck crane, you should be in a plan view in Modeling at the elevation you want to add the crane to. Use Edit Truck Crane Specification to confirm that the crane that you want to add is available. If it is not, you should first create a new specification that matches the actual manufacturer's specifications.

1 . Invoke Add Truck Crane using any one (1) of the following methods:

Method 1 : Click the Add Truck Crane icon, which is pictured above. The icon can be taken from the group named ' Model -- Cranes ' and placed on a toolbar (classic) or the ribbon (lightning).

Method 2 : If " Modeling layout style " is ' Classic ', you can use the menu system to choose Model > Cranes > Add Truck Crane .

Method 3, 4 or 5 : Add Truck Crane can also be configured to be invoked using a keyboard shortcut , the context menu , or a mode . Using the default context menu, for example, you can right-click ( Menu ) and choose Add ... .

2 . The Select truck crane specification window opens. On it is a list of truck crane specification files.

Alternative 1 : Select a truck crane specification that exactly matches the actual crane that will be used at the construction site, then press the " Open " button. Go to step 3.

Alternative 2 : If you can't find a crane specification that exactly matches, press the " Cancel " button to end this operation. Use Add/Edit Truck Crane Specification to create a specification that matches the actual crane that will be used.

3 . The Truck Crane window opens.

3a : Give the crane you are adding a " Name ," select its " Configuration ," and make other entries as needed. Press the " OK " button to continue.

4 . The Crane Placement window opens.

4a : Enter an " Placement name " and choose the method you want to employ to designate the " Placement location ." Press the " OK " button to continue.

Regarding the " Lift Config " button: If you pressed the " Lift Config " button on the Truck Crane window, then the settings that you applied to the version of the Lift Configuration window which appeared at that time are the default settings (the " AUTO " settings) for the version of the Lift Configuration window that appears when you press " Lift Config " on the Crane Placement window.

5 (if applicable) : If, for " Placement location " in the previous step, you selected " Select location " or " Select location with located elevation ," you will be prompted (by the status line ), to " Locate crane placement ." Skip this step if you selected ' Enter location ' in the previous step.

mouse bindings

5a : Optionally select a Locate option (e.g., INCL ), then move your mouse pointer ( ) so that the point location target ( ) snaps to the point where you want the crane and its crane placement to be centered, then left-click ( Locate ).

Tip: The X, Y, Z display tells you the coordinates of a point.

Note: After the crane has been added, you can Edit the crane placement and change the " Placement location " if you so choose.

6 . The status line prompts, " Choose footing orientation ."

mouse bindings

The footing orientation may, in some cases, affect the Lift Information of lifts that you later add to the placement.
A diagram like this one shows, in different colors, quadrants that use different load charts. Lift Information for a lift in the green quadrant is calculated using a different load chart than the load chart that would be used for the same lift in the blue quadrant.

6a : Move your mouse pointer ( ) so that the point location target ( ) snaps to any point along an axis that you want the crane placement to be oriented with respect to, then left-click ( Locate ).

7 . The status line prompts, " Locate furthest laydown point ." The furthest laydown point is used as the pick point when Show Liftable Members evaluates liftability at the pick point. It is the default pick point " Location " for any member lift or load lift (user-defined lift) or multi-lift that you later assign to the crane placement that you are adding along with this crane.

mouse bindings

When a crane placement is selected, the furthest laydown point for that placement is identified with a symbol. The furthest laydown point is marked FLP in this example.

7a : Move your mouse pointer ( ) so that the point location target ( ) snaps to the point you want, then left-click ( Locate ).

Note: After the crane has been added, you can Edit the crane placement and " Change furthest laydown point " if you so choose.

8 . The status line prompts, " Choose boom orientation ." This sets how the boom orientation will be pictured in the model. It does not affect Lift Information .

mouse bindings

The boom orientation that you set in the model does not affect the Lift Information of any lifts that you later add to the placement -- it affects appearances only.

Note: After the crane has been added, you can Edit the crane and " Change boom orientation " if you so choose.

9 . The truck crane and crane placement are now added in the model, centered at the point you located in step 5 or entered in step 4 (if you chose ' Enter location ' for " Placement location ").

Note: A crane can have multiple crane placements . You can move a truck crane to a different placement if you Edit the crane and choose to " Change placement ." Moving a crane to a different placement will not affect Lift Information . It only affects where the crane is shown in the model. Lift Information is calculated based on the position of the crane placement, not on the position of the crane.

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