Break Member Apart

Break one or more pieces of material apart from a member. The broken-apart material(s) become a separate miscellaneous member.
  • Step-By-Step
  • Tips and Tricks
  • Related Tools

1 . Preselect a Member to enable the Members contextual page and click the Break Member Apart icon found in the Modify section.

Alternative: Invoke Break Member Apart using the Find Tool by searching the command name and clicking the icon, which is pictured above.

2 . The status line prompts, "Locate Material to break apart." Left-click (Select) one or more materials and press Enter or right-click (Menu) and select OK. The material(s) you select become a separate miscellaneous member.

Alternative: Press Esc or right-click and select Cancel to end the command.

   

  • Break Member Apart can be used in Modeling to break one or more pieces of material apart from a member, so that the broken-apart pieces of material are given a member piecemark and detailed separately as one miscellaneous member.

  • If you remove submaterial from a member that is a part of a group member, the submaterial is made into a miscellaneous member that remains a part of the original group member.

  • You might use this tool to break a gusset plate apart from its brace so that they become separate shipping members, each with its own member detail.
  • Performing a Break Member Apart operation does not check the box for Break Apart on the member edit window.
  • Editing a member after Break Member Apart: For a beam, column, vertical brace, or horizontal brace (which are members that connection design can generate connections on), connection design locks on the member edit window will continue to be editable. Process and Create Solids will update all components of the original member, including the broken apart components. Even if you change the member's Section size, a subsequent Process and Create Solids will update all components of the original member.
  • Editing a miscellaneous member created by Break Member Apart: Suppose you have a miscellaneous member that is connection material which was broken apart from a beam, column, or brace. If you graphically alter the connection material—for example, by performing a cutting operation or changing its holes or editing the material itself—the member it was broken apart from is marked as having a graphical connection . When a member's connection is graphical, connection design will not alter the connection.