Creating Braces
Open the builder dialog and click the Braces icon to access the brace settings and tools.
Choose a steel profile by typing in the name or selecting from the dropdown list. If the Profile list is empty, you need to first install a profile library.
Click the 'Build Brace' button to create new braces with the settings that are shown in the dialog.
Click two points in the model to create a brace. You can use arrow keys or SHIFT to enable SketchUp inferencing. The two points that were clicked now form the 'path-line' for the brace.
The position and orientation of the profile relative to the path-line of the brace (insertion point) is determined by the following settings:
- Placement Point (base insertion point)
- Rotation (rotate the profile)
- X Offset (horizontal offset)
- Y Offset (vertical offset)
- Mirrored (flip the profile along vertical axis)
When the Build Brace tool is active, a preview of the profile orientation will be displayed attached to the mouse cursor prior to your first click.
Creating Double Braces
Enable the Double Brace checkbox to create a double brace. This results in the generation of two profiles that are mirrored about the vertical axis that passes through the insertion point.
Below the double brace checkbox there are additional settings that control the orientation of the combined double brace profile relative to the insertion point.
Spacer plates can also be added if needed. The thickness of the spacer plate is controlled by the offset value of the (single) brace profile.
Note: Spacer plates are not fully implemented yet and may not work as expected.
Fill Bracing
You can use the fill bracing buttons to quickly place braces in your model between other structural elements.
When filling vertical braces, you must first select at least two columns and one beam. In this example, we have selected two beams and two columns so we have met the pre-selection requirements.
Next, we click the Fill Vertical Bracing button which will show a preview of what will be generated.
Change the fill options as desired. Here, we have set the Layout to Single Brace Alternating. Offsets can be applied to the brace end points if needed. Click the 'Create Fill Bracing' button to generate the members.
The Fill Horizontal Bracing feature is similar to Fill Vertical Bracing except that you need to pre-select 2 beams and the bracing will be generated horizontally instead of vertically.
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.