Other connections

In this exercise we will more closely at the following items :

- drawing a splice connection

- the resemblance between connection groups "Beam vs Beam" en "Beam vs continuous column"

- storing the settings of a connection and later reusing them

- Open the drawing Splice connection.dwg

- Click on the icon Splice

- Select the beam on the left

- Select the beam on the right

- Double-click the connection Beam splice

- Press <Enter> to end the command

- Click on the icon Assembly/Part selection
If <Assembly selection active> appears on the command line, then press the same button again, because we need the Single object selection.

In Single object selection we can select per part
In Assembly selection Parabuild will automatically select the entire assembly when we select a part of that assembly

- Click on the icon Isolate selection

- Select the beam to the left

- Press <Enter> to end the command

- Select the one beam that is now visible

A Grip is shown at the end of the profile.

- Move the cursor to above the grip and click on the left mouse button

- Move the cursor to the left. If the beam doesn't shorten in a straight line, then press the function key <F8> to activate Ortho mode

- Now enter 1200 and press <Enter> to confirm the stretch distance

- If the view manager is not opened yet, then click on the icon View manager

- Click on the lamp next to the first line Restore visibility of all items

The splice connection is special compared to other connections because location of the connection is not the intersection between the two base profiles.
(the intersection point doesn't exist when the profiles are parallel)
That is why the end of the profile that you selected first is used for the placement point of the plates of the connection. The second base profile is shortened or lengthened.

- Open the drawing Other connections.dwg

- Click on the icon Beam vs Continuing column

- Select the front/middle column

- Selecteer the tube to the left

- Double-click the connection Tube Endplate & Flangeplate

We will now draw the same connection on different locations.

- Select the front column again

- Select the tube to the right

- Select the middle / back column

- Select the back / left tube

- Select the middle / back column again

- Select the back / right tube

- Press <Enter> to end the command

Modify the dimensions of the endplate as follows :

- Top 50
- Bottom 50

- Left 25

- Right 25

It is possible that the connections are rotated 180° compared to each other, if you didn't consistently selected the tubes or columns on the same edges. This causes the top/bottom distances to be switched.
In this case it is not an issue because we can simply correct the distances.
If you need non-symmetrical connections then you would have more work with correcting the distances per connection.
Then it would pay off to select the base profiles consistently : for example consistently at the bottom and on the inside of the building.

- Activate the tab Flangeplate

- Modify the top distance to 50 and also the bottom to 50

- Activate the tab Bolts

- Modify the number of vertical bolts to 2 and the number of horizontal bolts to 1

If you rotate the view and zoom in on the connection then you can see that the bolts are not centered. By default Parabuild will always draw the bolts on the start position of the bolt pattern.

- Click on the button of the bolt pattern

- Modify the Bolt placement for remainders to Centered on the right hand side

- Click on

- Click on the icon Beam vs continuing column

- Select the front / left rafter

- Select the tube (collar tie) that is located between the rafter and the column at the front

- Double-click the connection Tube Endplate7

We will apply the same connection somewhere else.

- Select the rafter in the back / left

- Select the tube (collar tie) that is located between the rafter and the column in the back

- Press <Enter> to end the command

- Modify the top distance to 70 and the bottom distance to 70

Zoom in on the new connection and select the rafter.
You can see that the bolts didn't drill any holes in the rafter.
The reason for this is because the bolts are located too closely to the web of the rafter and they penetrate the web/flange rounding.
We must move the bolts to solve this.

- Modify the left distance to 20

- Click on the icon Beam vs beam

- Select the front / left rafter

- Select the second tube between the front rafters

The connection that we want to use (end plate and flange plate) is not shown because we've started the wrong icon. But we can still continue...

- Click on the button

- Double-click the connection Tube Endplate & Flangeplate

- Press <Enter> to end the command

- Click on the Side view button at the bottom to change to a view of the front of the plates

- Modify the top distance to 60 and the bottom distance to 60

- Press the button next to the 'left' distance so that Parabuild calculates this distance

- Modify the width of the endplate to 80

- Activate the tab Flensplaat

- Modify the top distance to 60 and the bottom distance to 60

- Activate the tab Bolts

- Modify the number of vertical bolts to 2 and the number of horizontl bolts to 1

- Click on the button of the bolt pattern

- Modify the Bolt placement for remainders to Center on the right hand side

- Click

- Click on at the bottom of the dialog box

- Enter Exercise for the name and then click on

- Click so that the original 3D view is restored

- Click on the icon Beam vs Continuing column

- Select the middle / left rafter

- Select the other tube that is not yet connected to the front rafter

- Double-click the connection Tube Endplate & Flangeplate

- Navigate to the next connection on the same height in the middle of the building

- Select the middle rafter

- Select the tube on the right side of the middle rafter

- Press <Enter> to end the command

If everything went well then you can now see the Review macro dialog box with 2 Macros in it's title bar.
If that is not the case because you didn't perform the actions in one command, then you can use the icon Review Macro to modify the new macros.

- Click on at the bottom of the dialog box

- Select the file Exercise that we saved before and then click on

The parameters of all the tabs were now applied on all the macros that are currently being reviewed.
The parameter file that you saved is stored in the library of Parabuild. If you use a shared library on a network, then your colleagues will have access to the same parameter files.