Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tekla - Custom Component Editing PDF
Tekla - Custom Component Editing PDF
Editing
Copyright 2004 Tekla Corporation
Contents
Contents ................................................................................................................................ 2
Stiffeners detail.......................................................................................................... 27
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
4.4
Appendix C: FAQ....................................................................................................... 68
Open the model Lifting bracket. This model includes the custom component named lb1.
2.
Press Ctrl-F or double click the Find a component icon to open the Component catalog
3.
Select Custom from the drop down menu to show all the custom components available
4.
Select lb1 from the list, right click and select export
5.
6.
7.
Import lb.uel file from the Lifting bracket folder to your new model
You can export custom components to *.uel files, and then import the files into
another model. Custom components are stored into xslib.db1 file which you
can copy from one model folder to another. Xslib.db1 file can not be placed for
use of all projects.
2.
Create the imported Lifting bracket custom component to the middle of the top flange of
the beam
3.
4.
Define your own custom component from the exploded detail by using the Custom
component wizard Detailing > Define custom component
Select the component, right click and select Edit custom component to open custom
component editor
Custom component editor opens showing the Custom component editor toolbar, the Model
browser and four views of the custom component
By binding all the chamfers of the gusset plate we ensure the shape of the plate
is kept when end plate thickness or the main profile is modified.
1.
2.
move the cursor to highlight the base plate top face and select it
3.
Following the procedure above tie the opposite chamfer and then the other chamfers
(shown below) to top face of the end plate as well
1.
2.
select one of its handles and bind it to the beam top face
3.
1.
Click the Display Variables icon to show the variables dialog box.
We can now see all the distance variables we have created so far
2.
Change the Label in dialog box of first two variables to Show (This will make them
visible in the custom component dialog box)
3.
4.
When you select a variable in the list Tekla Structures highlights it in the
model
1.
2.
Press Enter
The appropriate edge of the gusset plate is modified
CUSTOM COMPONENT EDITING
Lifting bracket detail
3.
The prefix D (Distance) in variable shows the variable is created by system and
the prefix P (Parameter) that it is a user defined variable
Define variables
for plate profiles
and materials
We will now add user defined variables to the variables dialog in order to control the gusset
plate profile from the custom component dialog box
1.
4.
5.
browse to profile in the model browser, right click and select Copy value
6.
Paste the profile value to the Formula field of the new variable
7.
Add the equation =P1 to the profile in the model browser to tie the new variable to the
gusset plate Profile
8.
Add the same way a new variable for the gusset plate material and tie it to the material
in the model browser.
9.
Create and tie variables for end plate profile and material the same way
1.
Define variables
for bolt size and
grade
2. Change the value type of the first variable to bolt size and the second to bolt standard
3.
Copy values from the Model browser to the Formula fields of the variables
4.
Bolt size & bolt standard MUST have the same name (P5 in the
example below).
5.
Tie variables for bolt size and grade back to the model browser.
10
1.
2.
3.
11
Create two IPE300 beams as shown and an end plate(144) to connect them
12
2.
3.
Parameters to be used
In this example we will input the following parameters:
Additional information:
Plate Length
Plate width
Plate thickness
Plate Material
Bolt Size
Bolt Grade
Once all parameters have been defined the finished result should look something like in
below:
13
The connection should also have the intelligence to adjust to suit a change in the profile of
either the main or secondary beam.
Create User
defined planes
Select the connection symbol, right click and select: Edit custom component.
1.
From the Custom component editor toolbar select Create user-defined plane
14
2.
3.
Pick three corner points of the cut to define the location of the plane and click middle
button
Only the objects directly on the magnetic plane move with the plane.
Note that the objects must be inside the plane frames to move with the plane
Use the handles in the plane corners to enlarge the planes to cover all the
polygon cut sizes possible needed.
4.
Move the user plane handles one by one 200 mm to the directions shown.
The plane is now resized but not placed symmetrically according the cut
15
5.
6.
7.
Repeat the procedure to create 2 vertical user planes on both sides of the notch
16
1.
Select all 4 planes and double click on one to open the properties dialog
2.
The planes will now be magnetic (this means any handles or chamfers on the
plane will become attached to the plane automatically)
Bind the planes
Select the horizontal user planes one by one and bind them to the top of the main beam
17
2.
Bind the vertical plane highlighted in the fig. below to the flange edge of the main beam
3.
Bind the other vertical plane to the web face of the main beam
4.
To see these values select the Display variables option from the Custom component
editor toolbar
18
1.
2.
3.
4.
Set the visibility of variables D2 and D3 to Show and the others to Hide
1.
Double click the plate and set the Start and end offset to zero, Modify
Before binding the plate to any planes we must first take away any values
already set in the plate properties. If not these values will always be added to
the user input values.
2.
Move top handle of the plate -30 mm in z direction to the magnetic plane
CUSTOM COMPONENT EDITING
End plate connection
19
3.
Tie Bottom handle to top flange of the secondary beam, Parameter D5 appears
4.
Add a new variable P1, edit the label to Plate length and edit the value to 200
5.
Set D5 = P1 +D2
20
1.
Add two new variables and name them to Plate width and Plate thickness
2.
Set the values for variables according the existing end plate
3.
4.
Edit the formula of variable P4 to be ="PL"+P2+"*"+P3 and select the Value type
Profile
5.
6.
21
Add a new variable and name it to Plate material, also change the Value Type to
Material
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
22
We will next tie the plate to the main beam taking possible changes of plate thickness into
account.
Tie the plate to
the main beam
1.
Tie the plate top and bottom handles to the face of the main beam
2.
Make these variables to follow the plate thickness by adding the plate thickness as an
equation to the variables
3.
23
1.
Double click the bolt group and set the Start and end offsets to zero, Modify
2.
Bind the upper handle of the bolt group to the top of the secondary flange. A new
variable D9 will appear
24
3.
Add a new variable, name it as Top flange to 1st. bolt and edit the value to 70
4.
1.
2.
Change the value type of the first variable to Bolt size and the second to Bolt standard
3.
4.
Copy values from the Model browser to the Formula fields of the variables
5.
Tie variables for bolt size and grade back to the model browser.
1.
Add two new variable and change their value type to Distance list
2.
25
3.
Edit manually the values to the formula fields of the variables as 2*60 for the Bolt dist X
and 80 for Bolt dist Y
4.
Tie the Bolt Pitch variable to Bolt group distance x and Bolt C/C to Bolt group distance
y in the model browser
You can not copy the values of distance lists from the model browser. Edit
them manually to the variables dialog box Formula field.
1.
2.
3.
26
Stiffeners detail
27
Create a beam
2.
3.
4.
2.
3.
4.
Create six user defined planes to the edges of the plates as shown to control the size of
stiffeners (Pick three points to define the location of the plane and click middle button)
28
You can also use user defined planes (Magnetic or not) to bind distances to
To make it easier to pick the stiffeners corners hide the main part
5.
Create one magnetic to the middle of the plates plane to control the plate's position in
depth
29
The objects must be inside the magnetic plane frames to move with the plane.
To make this detail to work for significantly larger profiles we should enlarge
the planes
1.
30
2.
The distance variable visibility in the variables list is by default False if the
distance equals to zero. Otherwise it is True
3.
Tie the magnetic plane in the middle of the stiffener to the connection plane shown
4.
5.
1.
The height and width of the stiffeners are now adjusted to the new beam profile whereas
the thickness of the stiffeners is always the same.
2.
31
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Right click the Primary part > Profile properties > Web thickness in the model browser
and select Copy reference
6.
32
A reference function refers to the property of object, such as the web thickness
of a part. If the object property changes, so does the reference function value.
Define the
condition for the
plate thickness
We will now use if-then-else statement to test whether the Variable P1 is bigger than the
condition and set the value according to the result
1.
2.
33
1.
2.
34
1.
2.
Enter the information in the dialog box according the fig. below
35
3.
36
1.
2.
Enter the information in the dialog box according the fig. below
3.
37
1.
2.
3.
4.
Enter the information in the dialog box according the fig. below
CUSTOM COMPONENT EDITING
Ladders custom part
38
5.
Select rung, and the components (including the objects in components) click Middle
button
6.
7.
We can see that 12 new rungs were created so there is now 13 rungs altogether
39
1.
Start the Custom component wizard from Detailing > Define custom component
2.
select Type as Part and name the custom component as Ladder simple, Click Next
3.
Select all the objects of the ladders( including the Array macro symbol), Click Next
40
4.
Select the grid intersection as the first position and second position 4000 mm above
(0,0,4000)
5.
Click Finish
CUSTOM COMPONENT EDITING
Ladders custom part
41
1.
2.
1.
Add a new variable (P1) to the variables list, change its value to 200 and name it as
Stringer top offset
2.
Select top handles of the stringers (one at a time) and bind them to the upper component
plane => Variables D1 and D2 appear
3.
4.
A custom part which has not been edited appears in its predefined size despite
the points picked for creating it.
To adjust custom part length to the points picked you can bind the part end (by
using handles or magnetic plane) to the corresponding component plane (as we
42
just did)
1.
Add a new variable (P2) to the variables dialog box and name it as Number of rungs and
edit the Formula to be 13 (This will be the number of all the rungs)
2.
Add another variable (P3) and tie it to variable P2 with the formula shown
Variable P3 returns now the number of rungs created by the array macro.
3.
4.
Select the Array macro symbol (the component is highlighted in the Model browser) Tie
the variables P3 and P4 to the model browser as shown
43
1.
2.
3.
Select handles of the lowest rung and tie them one by one to the bottom component
plane = > Two new variables (D3, D4) will be added
4.
44
5.
Ladder width
We will now create two magnetic planes in the middle of the stringers to control the ladder
width. We will adjust the magnetic planes to cover also longer stringers by binding the
magnetic planes top handles to upper component plane (This way the magnetic plane is
automatically resized according the picked positions for the custom part)
Since the handles of the rungs are positioned in the middle of the stringers they will move
with the planes as well and adjust with the ladder width.
Create magnetic
planes
Adjust the
magnetic planes
for longer
stringers
1.
Create a magnetic planes by picking 3 points in the middle of the stringer as shown and
click middle button
2.
1.
Bind one upper handle of both magnetic planes to the upper component plane
45
2.
Edit the formula of variables D5 and D6 to be =P1+20 and turn the visibility of variables
to Hide
This ensures the magnetic plane tops are always 20 mm higher than the stringers
1.
Add a new variable (P6) named Ladder width and edit its Formula to be 460.
2.
Tie the magnetic planes created one by one to the component plane in the middle
(Variables D7 and D8 appear)
46
3.
Edit the formula of variables D7 and D8 to be =P6/2 and turn their visibility to Hide
Add two new variables (P7 and P8), change their value type to profile and name them as
Stringer profile and Rung profile.
2.
Copy the rung and stringer profile values from model browser and paste them to
formula field of variables P7 and P8
47
3.
Bind the variables back to the model browser (P7 to both stringers and P8 to the bottom
rung)
48
Rung connections
We will now add a new variable in order to control the connections between stringer and
rung profiles.
1.
Add a new variable (P9), change its value type to Component name and name it as
connection.
2.
Copy the component name value from model browser and paste it to formula field of
variable P9
3.
Bind the variable P9 back to the model browser to the bottom rung)
1.
2.
3.
49
4.
We can make our Custom components easier to use by customizing their dialog boxes. By
modifying the input file of the custom component we can:
Add pictures,
We will next add a picture to the ladder simple custom part. We will then position the
parameters and group them to two different tab pages: Picture and Parts
50
To create the picture you can open an existing bmp from the
teklastructures\version\nt\bitmaps directory or take a snapshot from an
existing component dialog box and edit it by using any picture editing
program. You can also create the bmp from the scratch
Remember to use the standard Tekla colors in the bitmaps
Create the bmp
1.
Take a snapshot of the shown region of Ladder macro (S35) dialog box
51
2.
Edit the picture to be as shown below using any picture editing program.
(The size of the example picture is 62*250 pixels)
The first pixel in the top left corner of a bitmap must be the same color (grey)
as the background of the dialog box
52
1.
Open the Ladder simple.inp file in the model folder using a normal text editor (Notepad,
WordPad...)
2.
53
3.
4.
Close and restart the model to see the modified dialog box
5.
The number of fields and the coordinates added will effect to the size of the
dialog box. Each tab page can contain 25 fields. If there are more than 25
visible fields, Tekla Structures creates another tab page
54
Position the
picture and the
parameters
1.
2.
Add the X,Y coordinates and the length of the field for parameters P1-P6
3.
4.
55
56
Rename a tab
page
1.
To add a second tab Parts, edit the input file as shown below
2.
57
3.
1.
2.
58
59
60
1.
First create the objects for the sandwich panel: inner panel, insulation and outer panel.
Then make a cast unit of all the parts by Right clicking > Cast unit > Create cast unit.
2.
c.
d.
61
e.
Press the Finish button the component is created and added to component
catalog
Bind the panel objects' definition points to the component planes then they follow the
component definition points in creation.
1.
62
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
2.
3.
63
All panels of the Sandwich should start and end at the component's definition points.
Set the plane to "Component plane" in the Custom component editor toolbar.
2.
3.
4.
Next bind the insulation panel's definition points to the inner panel's outer side.
1.
64
2.
3.
4.
5.
Modify the inner panel's height so, that it can be picked from the outer side.
Select the start point of the insulation panel.
Right-click > Bind to plane
Pick the outer plane of the inner panel.
6.
7.
Now the insulation panel follows if the inner panel's thickness changes. Next bind the outer
panel's definition points to the outer side of the insulation panel.
1.
2.
3.
Modify the outer panel's height so, that the insulation panel can be picked from outer
side.
Select the start point of the outer panel and bind it to the outer plane of the insulation
panel.
Repeat for the end points of outer panel.
The outer panel now follows the insulation panel. The distances appear in the "Variables"
dialog. Hide all parameters by setting the visibility to "Hide".
65
5.
6.
Paste the profile value into the corresponding Formula field in the Variable dialog
Repeat for the insulation and inner panel.
We have now defined parameters for all profiles. Next we will map these parameters into the
custom component parts.
1.
2.
In the Custom component browser open the outer panel's Part > General properties
and right-click > Add equation over the Profile field.
Type the parameter's name into the field.
3.
Next separate the thickness and height into two individual parameters for each panel.
1.
2.
3.
Copy the corresponding values from the profile parameters into the "Formula" field
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Hide the profile parameters and leave the individual dimensions visible.
Set =P5 into the D9 and D10 formula fields to make the dimension react to thickness.
Set =P6 into the D7 and D8 formula fields to make the dimension react to thickness.
Close the editor and save the component.
66
In the model, double click the sandwich panel and modify the thickness and height values.
67
Appendix C: FAQ
If they do not have the same name the result will be as follows:
68
Q8. I want to input 2 separate values for the plate width and
thickness how can I use these values to make a profile
name e.g. PLT200*10?
And how to stop the values being input with decimal places
A8. If as in the example below you use P2 for the plate
width & P3 for the thickness use the formula
=PLT+int(P2)+*+int(P3). All text must be in inverted
commas , int() will stop the values being input with extra
decimal places.
69
70
A14. With this command you select the plane first then the
handle/chamfer to bind. Its the opposite of right click /bind
to plane
71
72