The Multi-sided Flat Plate Material window ( Modeling )

Changes made to a multi-sided flat plate's " Material thickness " and " Thickness reference point " update the 3D model. In older SDS2 versions, they did not.
  • 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 :

" 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 multi-sided flat plate.
  • " Save " ( ) saves a file to the form/flat-plate-layout folder that is used by your current version of SDS2 Detailing. Give the file 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. Special cases: Form buttons do not operate on " Piecemark " or "ABM Options ."

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

Defaults: If you press " OK " to close this window, the entries made to " Material thickness ," " Steel grade ," " Thickness reference point ," " Surface finish " and " Color " become the defaults for the next-added multi-sided flat plate.

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, this material is assigned a piecemark using the appropriate material mark prefix listed for " Plate " in Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Member and Material Piecemarking > the " Prefixes " tab.

Any ' character string ' that you enter must be unique. Validation does not let you enter a piecemark that has already been assigned to materials. If you are adding a flat plate layout material or 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 editing the material, all materials that are exactly like the material are re-assigned the unique mark you enter when the 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.

Tip: If you want to change a submaterial mark, you should use Rename Project Items in Utility Options . That way all references to the submaterial mark are changed throughout the your current Job, even in Drawing Editor drawings.

Note 1: 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 when you Edit Material or Review 2D Items . For the current quantity of materials assigned this piecemark, see the " Current quantity " listed on this material's General Information window.

Note 2: Two flat plate layouts may have the same submaterial mark , but different submaterial mark index numbers , if each has a different " Thickness reference point ."

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

Material thickness: The thickness of this multi-sided flat plate (in the primary dimension " Units " or other units or gage ). The thickness of a " Checkered " plate is measured exclusive of its raised pattern. The thickness of the plate is its dimension along its Z material axis , which projects from the flat plate's work plane per its " Thickness reference point . Editing a flat plate layout and changing its " Material thickness " updates that material in the 3D model when you press " OK ."

Changes made to thickness update the model.

To enter gage plate: Type in the ' gage number' followed by ' ga ' (example: ' 4ga ' is rewritten as ' 4GA ' when you Tab out of the field). Right-click tells you the stored thickness (based on industry standards), from which the weight of the gage plate is calculated. Allowable gages are any whole number from 3 to 38 . You can also enter an exact decimal thickness to get the gage (example: ' .1345 ' becomes ' 10GA ' when you Tab out of the field). The " Description " for a gage plate follows the format: ' plate type prefix ' + ' numberGA ' + ' x ' + ' diameter ' (example: PL16GAx15 1/2 ).

Thickness precision: You can enter a plate " Material thickness " that is more precise than the " Dimension precision " that is set at Home > Project Settings > Fabricator > Detailing > Drawing Presentaton . For example, if you enter ' 5/32 ' and the " Dimension precision " is ' 1/16 ', the thickness of the plate will be ' 5/32 '. The thickness you enter will be reflected in the " Description " and will propagate to the bill of material, reports, etc. The setup option to " Round flat plate values " does not affect this. Be aware that the Ruler measures to whatever the " Dimension precision " is set to, which means that the plate's measured thickness may not exactly match its actual thickness.

Status Display: Material status > Material plate thickness
Report Writer: XXXXX . Thickness
Advanced Selection: Thickness
Parametric module: Thickness

Material width: read-only . This tells you the width (in the primary dimension " Units ") of the plate material that is being added/edited. This is the dimension along the multi-sided flat plate's Y material axis .

Changes cannot be made to width since such changes, if permitted, would result in distortion of the material's shape.

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

Material length: read-only . This tells you the length (in the primary dimension " Units ") of the multi-sided flat plate along its longitudinal axis ( X material axis ).

Changes cannot be made to length since such changes, if permitted, would result in distortion of the material's shape.

Report Writer: XXXXX . OrderLength
Advanced Selection: OrderLength or PartLength
Parametric module: OrderLength or PartLength

Steel grade: A36 or A572 or etc. This is the grade of steel for the multi-sided flat plate whose settings are defined on this window.

Setup: If the steel grade you want is not on the list box ( ) for this field, you can use Home > Project Settings > Job > Plate Grades to add it to the list.

Report Writer: MemberMaterial.Material.SubMaterial.MaterialGradeDescription
Advanced Selection: MaterialGrade
Parametric module: MaterialGrade

Thickness reference point: FS or Center or NS . Work points for the following three examples are all laid out at an elevation of 100 feet.Editing a flat plate layout and changing its " Thickness reference point " will update that material in the 3D model when you press " OK ."

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

' NS ' stands for near side. If you want the plate's near side to be at the elevation of the plate's work points, then select ' NS '. The near side is the face you are looking at when the left end of the multi-sided flat plate is to your left and the right end of the material is to your right. If you laid out the multi-sided flat plate in a plan view, the near side is the face that you see in that view.

' FS ' stands for far side. If you want the plate's far side at the elevation of the plate's work points, then select ' FS '. The far side is the face that is away from you when the left end of the multi-sided flat plate is to your left and the right end is to your right.

Select ' Center ' if you want the thickness of the plate centered at the elevation of plate's work points.

Piecemarking: Two flat plate layouts, each with a different " Thickness reference point ," may have the same submaterial " Piecemark ." The two plates will have different submaterial mark index numbers .

Note: The thickness reference point option cannot be used to change a material's reference elevation. You can change a multi-sided flat plate's " Reference elevation " using the General Information window.

Advanced Selection: MaterialOriginPoint
Parametric module: MaterialOriginPoint

Surface finish: None or Sandblasted or Red oxide or Yellow zinc or Gray oxide or Blued steel or Galvanized or Duplex Coating or Undefined 1 or Undefined 2 or Undefined 3 or Red oxide 2 or Any user added surface finish. This affects the colors of 'Solid ' members on erection views in the Drawing Editor . This also sets the color when "Output material color " is set to 'Surface finish ' for a VRML Export or a DWG/DXF Export . The "Color " ( not "Surface finish ") sets the color of this material in Modeling .

sand blasted red oxide yellow zinc user surface finish 1
gray oxide blued steel galvanized user surface finish 2

To assign a different surface finish, you can drop-down the current surface finish and select the one you want, or you can press the "file cabinet" browse button ( ) and double-click any surface finish that is on the list.

Auto or .

If this box is checked ( ), the material surface finish follows what is set on the member level.

If the box is not checked ( ), the material surface finish can be changed to whatever is available in the list of surface finishes. If the surface finish changes from what the member level has set, the auto checkbox will be unchecked automatically. When the auto check box is unchecked, the member edit window shows an information tag which notifies the user that an attached material is not following what was set on the member level.

Note 1: Submaterial piecemarks can be split apart by surface finish. All surface finishes that do not have the 'Break Marks Material' checked on can be applied to any like material with out the material splitting. If the 'Break Marks Material' is checked on then only like materials with that specific surface finish can have the same piecemark, and because the submaterial marks differ so would the member's piecemark.

Note 2:When exporting a KISS file using "model" as the "Data source " surface finish data on the materials are compiled into the KISS download as follows, with a few exceptions (G=galvanized, N= none or sandblasted, P= others). Those exceptions are:

  • If the box for "Finish" routing in KISS export setup is set to a user routing

  • If the user has adjusted the Abbreviation for any of the default provided surface finishes

  • If you are using a user added surface finish

In these cases you will get what is provided in either the User routing, or the abbreviation field. For other exports it will always provide the abbreviation in the 'surface finishes' settings page.

Tip 1: "Surface area" is reported on the General Information window -- and this can be used to estimate the amount of coating required and its cost.

Tip 2: Changing "Steel grade " "Color " and "Surface finish " do not cause the plate to be regenerated. This means that, if you change those settings only, material fit operations such as a Fit Exact may, optionally, be preserved.

Report Writer:MemberMaterial.Material.SurfaceFinish
Setup:Surface Finish Settings

Color: A predefined color or a Custom Color . This is the approximate color of the multi-sided flat plate when it is displayed in one of the three solid forms .

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 .

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

Checkered: or .

If this box is checked ( ), this plate becomes a checkered plate, which is a steel plate with raised ribs on its near-side surface to prevent slippage on items such as floors and stair treads. The " Material thickness " of a checkered plate is measured exclusive of the raised pattern. The prefix set for " Checkered " in Member and Material Piecemarking is applied to the " Description " on the General Information window and in the member bill of material ( example: PL3/8x10 becomes CHPL3/8x10 when ' CH ' is the prefix and it is set to " Append ... ." It becomes CH3/8x10 when not set to " Append... "). The " Weight of item " increases per AISC Thirteenth Edition Table 1-23, p1-87 and also depends on whether " Shop bill weight based on material " is set to ' Volume ' or ' Dimensions '. The plate will be detailed on the submaterial and the member with a small sample of the checkered pattern .

If the box is not checked ( ), the plate is considered to have a smooth, near-side surface.

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

 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 about this multi-sided flat plate.

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 Edit 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 multi-sided flat plate that is added next in your current session of Modeling .

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

Possibilities: If you are adding a new material or a legacy miscellaneous member, " Cancel " brings you back to the work point location step ( step 2 ) in the add operation. For an edit material operation, " Cancel " ends the operation.

Tip: When you open this window to review information only -- and you do not want to set the defaults for the next-added multi-sided flat plate -- 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.

Note: The settings shown on this window when it first opens for the adding of a material or legacy miscellaneous member are the settings of the last-added or last-edited multi-sided flat plate (unless you exit Modeling in the meantime).

"Clear" fills out this window with default settings. These same defaults are applied when the first new multi-sided flat plate is added during a session of Modeling in which no other multi-sided flat plate has been edited. For example, " Clear " automatically selects the default " Steel grade ," and zeros out the " Material width " and " Material thickness ." It also sets the " Thickness reference point " to ' FS '.

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