Bar Configurator

"Civil Engineering functions" docking window > Steel Engineering > General> Bar Configurator

Use the Bar Configurator dialogue window to fill the area between 4 boundary beams, or the area between 4 edges of a sketch with bars. The placing of bars along composite edges is also possible.

Please note that the Bar Configurator can only be used for straight bars!

When you call the function, the Bar Configurator dialogue window will be displayed:

The following options are available:

	Bars between beams
	Bars between edges
	Bars along c-edges

The settings specified in the dialogue window can be saved as favourites and re-used at any time if desired. To do this, click the symbol at the bottom left of the dialogue window.

More information on favourites management can be found in the Manage Favourites topic of the HiCAD Basics Help.

While the dialogue window is open you can click the Preview button to display a preview of the bars with their current settings. You can use the Zoom functions to enlarge or downsize the image.

Click OK to start the generation of the bars. The current status of the generation is shown in a progress bar.

The settings in the dialogue window can be saved as Favourites and reused at any time. To do this, click on the at the bottom left of the window to activate the context menu. More about Favourites management can be found in the Manage Favourites topics of the HiCAD Basics Help.

Please note:

The bars will be inserted in the drawing as an assembly called Bar elements.
A feature called Bar configurator will be created in the feature log. To change created bars, double-click the feature and modify the bar.

Bars between beams

Use this function to insert bars in an area between 4 beams. The beams must be located in one plane, but need not necessarily be connected to each other.

Click the symbol and identify 4 beams in the drawing in the following order:

left beam,
right beam,
upper beam and
lower beam.

HiCAD will then show you where (depending on the selected beams) the front/back and top/bottom sides are in the drawing. The info texts are aligned in Z-direction.

Insertion depth

Here you specify the insertion of the bars into the upper and the lower beam.

Fillet radius	For bars with square cross-sections (e.g. square steels, flat steels, hollow profiles, ...) you can enter a fillet radius for the insertion hole. A prerequisite for this is a sufficient clearance.
Clearance	Distance between bar and hole edges
Depth, Top	Insertion depth of bar in upper beam
Depth, Bottom	Insertion depth of bar in lower beam

If you use I-, L-, T- or U-beams/profiles as semi-finished products for the bars, the input fields beneath Insertion depth will be greyed out.

Bar, position

Choose the desired position of the bars. The following options are available. Possible are:

	The bars are placed on the centre axis of the selected area.
	The bars are placed at the rear on the inner side of the selected area.
	The bars are placed at the front on the inner side of the selected area.
	The bars are placed at the rear of the selected area.
	The bars are placed at the front of the selected area.
Distance	Here you can additionally specify an offset in Y-direction.

Example:

4 bars are to be placed into the framework with the settings shown below. The top view illustrates the different placing options.

Bars

Semi-finished product

Select a semi-finished product for the bars. If you click the symbol you can make your selection directly from the HiCAD catalogue.

Division

This option determines the division of the area by the inserted bars, influencing also the number of inserted bars. The following options are possible:

Max. clear dimension
Here you enter a maximum value for the clear dimension, i.e. a distance between two bars that must not be exceeded. In this case the distance between the left beam and the first bar, and the right beam and the last bar will be automatically calculated and shown in the corresponding ...border distance field. Here, too, the maximum clear dimension will be considered, i.e. the border distance will not exceed the maximum value.

If you want to specify a particular border distance, enter the required values. If you do not want the border distance to depend on the maximum clear distance, deactivate the checkbox.

Exact clear dimension
Here you specify the exact clear dimension, i.e. the distance between two bars. Enter the desired distance into the Clear dimension input field. HiCAD will then calculate the number of bars.
Number of bars
Here you specify the number of bars. Enter the desired value in the Number of bars field.

Bar, rotation angle

If you want to rotate the bar before its insertion, enter the desired rotation angle here.

Bars between edges

Use this function to insert bars into an area formed by a rectangular sketch or by 4 edges.

To identify a sketch in the drawing, click the symbol and select the 4 edges of the sketch.

To identify 4 edges located in one plane, click the symbol and select the desired edges. These edges need not necessarily be connected.

The edges must be selected in the following order:

left edge,
right edge,
upper edge and
lower edge.

HiCAD will then show you in the drawing, where the (depending on the selected edges) front/backand top/bottom sides are in the drawing. The info texts are aligned in Z-direction.

Dimensions

Projection, top	Excess length of bar with regard to the selected upper edge
Projection, bottom	Excess length of bar with regard to the selected lower edge
Distance	Determines the distance of the bars to the plane defined by the selected edges.

Bars

The setting options in this area correspond to those of the Bars between beams function.

(1) - (4) Selected edges of a rectangular sketch, (5) Settings, (6) Result in front view, (7) Distance in side view, (8) First border distance, (9) Last border distance

Bars along composite edge

Use this function to place bars along composite edges.

The c-edge is determined by the following parameters:

Selection of a sketch
The bars will be created perpendicular to the sketch plane along the sketch edges. Select a sketch in the drawing.
Selection of 3-D points
The bars will be created between the selected points, perpendicular to the selected facet.
Select the 3-D points and end the point selection by pressing the middle mouse button. Then, select the desired facet.
Selection of edges
The bars will be created along the selected edges, perpendicular to the selected facet.
Select the 3-D edges and end your selection by pressing the middle mouse button.Then, select the desired facet.

Dimensions

Bar length	Length of bars
Bar, offset	Distance of the bars to the sketch or facet

Bars

The setting options in this area correspond to those of the Bars between beams function.

A: Bars along a sketch (1)

B: Bars along a c-edge determined by 3-D points: (1)-(3) selected 3-D points, (4) selected facet

C: Bars along a 3-D c-edge: (1) and (2) selected edges, (3) selected facet

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