/ Add Reference Member / Profile Layout ( Modeling )

Tool summary :

  • One of two tools for adding reference material to a member. Add Reference Member adds a flat layout such as a slab. A Reference Profile Layout might be added to represent of a wall.
  • Other tools are available for adding a reference member or reference layout AS a legacy miscellaneous member instead of TO a member. Those tools are also discussed on this page.
  • A Reference Member can be used in place of a Concrete Slab . If you don't care about creating connections to a concrete wall, you might want to do a Reference Profile Layout instead of adding a Concrete Wall .
  • Instead of using a reference member in place of a concrete member, consider turning the concrete member to " Graphical ." It is easy to change the layout of a concrete member, but not so easy to change a reference material's shape.
  • Regardless of whether the reference material is added TO a member or AS a legacy miscellaneous member, the Reference Material window opens. Additional legacy miscellaneous member options are on that window when the reference material is added AS a member.

The Reference Material window :

This window provides settings for Reference Profile Layouts and Reference Members , which you can see through regardless of the solid form in which they are displayed. A Reference Material member is, by default, an " Existing member ." Connections are not designed to reference material. Changes made to a reference material's " Thickness " or " Thickness reference point " will update the 3D model, but operations such as Cut on Plane or Cut Layout need to be used to change a reference material's layout.
  • When a legacy miscellaneous member is first added, Add [Legacy] Miscellaneous Member options are shown on this window.
Once a legacy miscellaneous member is added, these options are shown on the [Legacy] Miscellaneous Member Edit window -- and they will no longer be shown on this window.

Also see :

Adding a Reference Member to represent an oval-shaped concrete slab :

1 . Lay out construction lines and circles so that there are vertexes of con lines that are tangent to the construction circles ( = v in this example) and tangent points on the construction circles ( = t ).
2 . Invoke Add Legacy Miscellaneous Member and select " Reference Member ." Check the box for " Round corners " and enter a " Radius " equal to that of the construction circles. Also see to add .
3 . With corner rounding on, locate points until you have a closed shape. Then locate the dimensioning reference point. The points located in this example are marked 1 through 14.
4 . Enter the " Thickness ," etc., then press " OK ." When given the option to rotate the material, press " OK ."
5 . A solid transparent representation of the Reference Member you specified is now a part of the 3D model. You are looking at the near side of the Reference Member .

 To Add Reference Member TO a member (preselection method):

  • Select the one (1) member that you want to add the material to (so that it is displayed in the " Primary selection color ") > press F3 > filter for " Other " > double-click " Reference Member " > locate material work points > make entries to the Reference Material window > rotate the material into place > locate a material dimension reference point > right-click ( Return ) if done adding material to the member > Change All Options can be applied if the material being added is to a member that is associated with like members under the same piecemark.
  • Instead of using F3, you can activate the Add tool by clicking the icon represented at the top of this page or by using a keyboard shortcut or by using the classic menu system or etc.
  • Adding a Reference Member TO a member is not shown in the example above. Adding a Reference Member AS a legacy miscellaneous member is shown .

To Add Reference Member as a legacy miscellaneous member:

  • In Modeling , press F2 > check the box for " Miscellaneous steel " > double-click " Miscellaneous -- Reference Member ." This is the method shown in step 2 of the example above. Each Reference Material member that is added as a legacy miscellaneous member is automatically marked as an " Existing member ."

Tip 1: The layout of a legacy miscellaneous member Reference Member is similar to Flat Plate Layout .

Tip 2: You can middle-click ( Complete ) after having located at least three points to have the program automatically locate the last point as the location of the first point. Or you can draw a closed shape as described above.

Advanced Selection: In SDS2 software versions prior to v2017, Reference Member was called Concrete Slab Layout , and its purpose was to model concrete slabs. In Advanced Selection , ConcreteSlabLayout is used to select Reference Member material.

# Selects Reference Member material
mt.MaterialType == ConcreteSlabLayout
# Tip: Set " Select " to ' Material '

Adding a Reference Profile Layout to represent a half-circle concrete wall :

To get a curved layout, first lay out a construction circle where you want the Reference Profile Layout to be curved. Then draw construction lines that are tangent to that circle. When locating points at intersections that are tangent to the construction circle, turn on corner rounding and set the " Radius " equal to the radius of the construction circle.

1 . Invoke Add Legacy Miscellaneous Member and select " Reference Profile Layout ." Left-click ( Locate ) a point on the circle tangent to a line that forms the vertex located in step 2. Also see to add .
2 . Check the box for " Round corners " and enter a " Radius " equal to the radius of the circle. Left-click ( Locate ) a point at the vertex of construction lines that are tangent to the circle.
3 . With corner rounding still on, left-click ( Locate ) a point at the vertex of construction lines that are tangent to the construction circle.
4 . With corner rounding still on, left-click ( Locate ) the last point. Note that this point is tangent to a line that forms the vertex located step 3.
5 . Middle-click ( Complete ) to tell the program that you are done with the Reference Profile Layout .
6 . Left-click ( Locate ) a reference point that you want auto detailing to dimension to when you Detail this member.
7 . Enter the " Thickness " and " Height " of the Reference Material ., press " OK ." When given the option to rotate the material, press " OK ."
8 . The Reference Profile Layout you specified is now a part of the 3D model. You can see through its Reference Material regardless of the solid form in which the member is displayed. You are looking at the thickness of that Reference Profile Layout .

  To Add Reference Profile Layout TO a member (preselection method):

  • Select the one (1) member that you want to add the material to (so that it is displayed in the " Primary selection color ") > press F3 > filter for " Other " > double-click ' Reference Profile Layout '' > locate material work points > make entries to the Reference Material window > rotate the material into place > locate a material dimension reference point > right-click ( Return ) if done adding material to the member > Change All Options can be applied if the material being added is to a member that is associated with like members under the same piecemark.
  • Instead of using F3, you can activate the Add tool by clicking the icon represented at the top of this page or by using a keyboard shortcut or by using the classic menu system or etc.
  • Adding a Reference Profile Layout TO a member is not shown in the example above. Adding a Reference Profile Layout AS a legacy miscellaneous member is shown .

To Add Reference Profile Layout as a legacy miscellaneous member:

  • In Modeling , press F2 > check the box for " Miscellaneous steel " > double-click " Miscellaneous -- Reference Profile Layout " > follow the step-by-step instructions shown above.

Note: A Reference Profile Layout that is added as a legacy miscellaneous member is automatically marked as an " Existing member ."

Tip 1: Reference Profile Layout is similar to Bent Plate Layout .

Tip 2: The " Height " of a Reference Material projects from its Reference Profile Layout work points per the selected " Reference point " (' NS ' or ' Center ' or ' FS '). For example, if you are locating points in a plan view, ' FS ' puts the bottom of the layout at the elevation of the plan view.

Advanced Selection: In SDS2 software versions prior to v2017, Reference Profile Layout was called Concrete Wall Layout , and its purpose was to model concrete walls. In Advanced Selection , ConcreteWallLayout is used to select Reference Member material.

# Selects Reference Profile Layout material
mt.MaterialType == ConcreteWallLayout
# Tip: Set " Select " to ' Material '

" Copy " " Paste " " Save " " Load " buttons :

  • You'll find buttons like these at the top of this window. They apply to all user-editable settings (except " Piecemark ") that are on this window. Click here for more information.
  • You can " Copy " ( ) the settings on this window, then " Paste " ( ) those settings to a different Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member .
  • " Save " ( ) saves a"form" file to the form/concrete-layout folder that is used by your current version of SDS2. Give the form a name that will help other users identify its purpose.
    " Load " ( ) copies over all settings on this window (except " Piecemark ") with the settings that are stored in the file that you select.
  • " Paste " and " Load " replace mixed entries to a single field with a single entry. " Copy " and " Save " ignore fields with mixed entries, treating them as if they have no entry or do not exist.

------ General settings ------

Defaults: If you press " OK " to close this window, the entries made to " Material thickness ," " Material height ," and " Color " become the defaults for the next-added Reference Member or Reference Profile Layout .

Piecemark: Blank or any character string (up to 61 characters). This is the submaterial piecemark .

If this field is left ' blank ', then when this material is generated (after you press " OK "), SDS2 piecemarking looks for materials in the current Job that are physically identical to this material and assigns to this material the same mark assigned to those materials. If no matching materials are found, SDS2 piecemarking assigns this material a piecemark using the appropriate piecemark prefix listed in Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Member and Material Piecemarking .

Any ' character string ' that you enter must be unique -- the program does not let you enter a piecemark that has already been assigned to materials. If you are doing an Add [Legacy] Miscellaneous Member , a piecemark entered here only applies if the material you are adding is unique. If the material is exactly the same as previously added materials, the new material gets the piecemark of those previously added materials. On the other hand, if you are doing an Edit Material , all materials that are exactly like this material are re-assigned the unique mark you enter when this material is generated (after you press " OK "). The piecemark you enter remains a system piecemark , which means that it may be changed if you later edit a material just like this one and give that material a different piecemark.

Note: A submaterial mark is not yet assigned when this window opens for an add material or add legacy miscellaneous member operation. A piecemark is shown here if you open this window using Edit Material . For the current quantity of materials assigned this piecemark, see the " Current quantity " listed on this material's General Information window.

Report Writer: MemberMaterial.Material.MinorMark
Advanced Selection: MinorMark
Parametric module: MinorMark

Thickness: The thickness (in the primary dimension " Units " or other units ) of this Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member . Changing the " Thickness " will update that Reference Material in the 3D model when you press " OK ."

t = thickness. For a Reference Profile Layout in a plan view, the thickness is the edge of the Reference Material that you can see in that view. This thickness is centered around the work points of the layout.
t = thickness. For a Reference Member laid out in a plan view, the thickness dimension is vertical and therefore cannot be seen in the plan view. This thickness is oriented with respect to the " Reference point ."

Report Writer: XXXXX . Thickness
Advanced Selection: Thickness
Parametric module: Thickness

Also see: The " Reference point " sets how a Reference Member 's " Thickness " is oriented with respect the work points that were located to add the Reference Member .

Height: The distance (in the primary dimension " Units " or other units ) from the near side edge of the Reference Profile Layout to its far side edge. This does not apply to Reference Member s.

h = height of a Reference Profile Layout .

Report Writer: XXXXX . Width
Advanced Selection: Width
Parametric module: Width

Also see: The " Reference point " sets how the Reference Profile Layout 's " Height " is oriented with respect to the work points that were located to add the layout.

Volume: read-only . The calculated volume of the concrete. The volume is expressed in both cubic feet and cubic yards if you are using ' Imperial ' units. For ' Metric ' units, volume is expressed in cubic meters.

A Reference Member 's " Thickness " is used to calculate the volume.

A Reference Profile Layout's " Height " and " Thickness " is used to calculate the volume.

Reference point: FS or Center or NS . This affects how a Reference Member 's " Thickness " or a Reference Profile Layout 's " Height " is oriented with respect to the plane in which its work points were located. Editing concrete to change its " Thickness reference point " updates that material in the 3D model when you press " OK ." Work points for the following three examples are all laid out at an elevation of 100 feet.

 Reference point = FS
 Reference point = Center
  Reference point = NS

If the work points of the Reference Material were located at a particular plan view elevation, ' FS ' places the bottom of the Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member at that elevation.

If the work points of the Reference Material were located at a particular plan view elevation, ' Center ' places the middle of the Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member at that elevation.

If the work points of the Reference Material were located at a particular plan view elevation, ' NS ' places the top of the Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member at that elevation.

Color: A predefined color or a Custom Color . This is the approximate color of the Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member when it is displayed in a solid form . The material is transparent no matter what solid form it is displayed in.

The predefined colors are set up on the Predefined Colors window. The color swatch next to the list box ( ) displays the color that is selected.

Select ' Custom Color ' (last choice on the list) to launch your operating system's color picker and define any color you like.

Please note: Different colors may be assigned to materials that have the same submaterial piecemark . Changing the concrete's color does not trigger the concrete to be regenerated.

Report Writer: MemberMaterial.Material.MaterialColor3dRed
Report Writer: MemberMaterial.Material.MaterialColor3dGreen
Report Writer: MemberMaterial.Material.MaterialColor3dBlue

 Special Buttons for Detailing this Material
(these do not appear for Add operations)
 
This button opens a window with a list of preset views . Each preset view that you select on this list is drawn on the submaterial detail when you Detail Submaterial . This button opens a list of views you can delete. If the material has only one view, you get a warning instead of a list of views since you cannot delete the current view.  This button does a Detail Submaterial on this material. Newly added views are drawn on the detail. Deleted views are not drawn.

To close this window :

       

" General Information " opens the General Information window, which provides additional information and settings that pertain to this Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member .

Tip: You can use the General Information window to change the material's " X ," " Y ," or " Z " global coordinates (and thus reposition the material within the 3D model).

Also: A " Properties " button at the bottom of the General Information window lets you set Custom Properties for this material.

"OK" (or the Enter key) closes this window and applies the settings on it. Even if you did not make any changes on this window, pressing " OK " causes certain " General settings " to be applied as the defaults for the next Reference Profile Layout or Reference Member that is added in your current session of Modeling .

"Cancel" (or the Esc key or the button) closes this window without making any changes to the material.

Tip: When you open this window to review information only, (and you do not want to set the defaults for to-be-added materials), the best way to close this window is to press " Cancel. "

"Reset" undoes all changes made to this window since you first opened it. The window remains open.

"Clear" automatically zeros out the " Height " and " Thickness " and sets the " Reference point " to ' FS '.

Note: The " Clear " button can be used when adding material or a legacy miscellaneous member. It is disabled during a Edit Material operation.