Change Member Type

Change Member Type ( Modeling )

Tool summary :

Converts one or more members into a different member type. The members can be converted to beam, column, vertical brace, horizontal brace, joist, girt or purlin members.
You can also convert miscellaneous members that have rolled sections defined as their member main materials to members of any one above-listed type. The members that you select to be changed can be different types, but they will all be changed into a single type.
You get an error if you attempt to convert another type of member -- such as a custom member or a stair -- into one of these types.
Changing a member's type then changing it back may cause information about that member to be lost. It is, therefore, usually a bad idea to change the type of a member which has been added inside of Modeling .
You might, however, find this tool useful if you have imported members using Import Model -- see applications .
See (on this page) applications and the step-by-step instructions .

Also see :

VIDEO

A beam is changed to a horizontal brace so that gusset plates can be designed on the member. (Recorded in , v7.3.)

Modeling (where Change Member Type is a tool)
Import Model (to import models from other programs)
Automatically process after modeling operation ( User and Site Options > Modeling > , affects this tool)

Applications :

If you use Import Model to import a model to an SDS2 project from another program, you may find that some members are imported as a different member type than you want.
For example, you may find that members you want to apply gusset plates to are imported as beams. This tool lets you change those members to your preferred member type.
If, by accident, a new employee entered vertical braces where horizontal braces were required, you could use this tool to change the member type.

Step-by-step instructions :

You must do either step 1d (preselection) or step 3 (in-tool selection) to perform this operation. As described here , you will typically want to perform this operation only for special situations. Also see the warning at the top of this page.

1 . Before selecting members:

1a : You need to be in Modeling .

1b : You must Open ( Ctrl + o ) a view that shows the members whose type you want to change.

1c (optional) : Set " Automatically process after modeling operation " to ' Process and create solids ' (or, possibly, to ' Use Site Default ') if you want the members whose type you change to automatically undergo Process and Create Solids in step 5.

Select Items bindings (step 1d)

1d (optional) : In Select Items mode with the selection filter set to ' Default ' or ' Legacy Default ' or ' Beams ' or etc., use Select or Select+ (or draw an area box ) to select the member(s) whose type you want to change. Or you can use the Model Tree or Advanced Selection to select the members.

2 . Invoke Change Member Type using any one (1) of the following methods in Modeling :

Method 1 : Click the Change Member Type icon, which is pictured above. The icon can be taken from the group named ' Model - Member ' 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 > Member > Change Type .

Method 3, 4 or 5 : Change Member Type can also be configured to be invoked using a keyboard shortcut , the context menu , or a mode . For the lightning interface, this configuration is done using Customize Interface .

3 . Skip this step if you preselected members in step 1d .

Select Item(s) bindings

3a (if you didn't preselect) : Change Member Type activates Select Item(s) mode mouse bindings, and the status line prompts you to " Select members ." Press the Enter key or right-click ( Menu ) and choose " OK " on the menu when you are done selecting the members you want. Go to step 4.

Alternative : You can press the Esc key (or right-click and choose " Cancel " on the context menu ) if you want to end this operation without changing the type of any members. Do not continue.

4 . The Change Member Type window opens.

See step 5 . Not every member type can be converted to another member type.

Alternative 1 : Select a " New member type " (' Beam ' or ' Column ' or ' Horizontal brace ' or ' Vertical brace ' or ' Girt ' or ' Purlin ' or ' Joist '), then press " OK ." Go to step 5.

Alternative 2 : Press the " Cancel " button to end this operation. Do not continue.

5 . Those members that you selected in step 1d or step 3 whose type can be changed are changed. They are changed into the member type that you selected in step 4 . What you need to do next depends on the choice made to User and Site Options > Modeling > " Automatically process after modeling operation ."

Possibility 1 : If " Automatically process ... " is ' Process and create solids ', Process and Create Solids will take place automatically for all members whose type can be changed. Skip this step and go to step 6.

Possibility 2 : If " Automatically process ... " is ' Process ' or ' Do nothing ', each of the members whose components you selected (in step 1 or step 3) will be marked for the required phases of process and/or create solids and their associated member will be displayed in stick form . You will need to Process > Process and Create Solids before you can get many of the results that are reported in step 6.

6 . You may get the following results as a consequence of your completing the previous steps:

The members whose types were changed in step 5 will have been given a new system piecemark if they originally had a system piecemark.
For those members that are of a type that cannot be converted, the Warnings window opens. It lists the member number [num] of the members that were not converted and informs you that each of these members are " Not a convertible member type ." Member types that cannot be converted are stair, handrail, anchor rod and embed plate.
If you attempted to convert a perfectly vertical column to, for example, a beam or girt or purlin, the member will not be converted, and you will get the message: " Beams, girts, and purlins must have a plan length >= (1/16 inch or 1 mm) ."
If you attempted to convert a perfectly horizontal member such as a beam to a column, the member will not be converted, and you will get the message: " Columns must be >= (1/16 inch or 1 mm) vertically ."
If you attempted to convert a miscellaneous member that was not a rolled section , the member will not be converted, and you will get the message, " Miscellaneous member does not have a main material from which the section size can be determined ." You can also get this message for a miscellaneous member that is a rolled section if the box for " Main member material " is not checked ( ).
If you attempted to convert a member that had its " Model complete date " set, the member will not be converted, and you will get the message: " Member is marked model complete and cannot change type ."
If you attempted to convert a member that has a frozen piecemark , the member will be converted, but its piecemark will be thawed, and a new system piecemark will be assigned to it. You will get the message, " Piecemark on member has been thawed ." If there are other members under the original piecemark, they will not be affected.