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Creating a Ubolt Channel T Post using the CADWorx 2016 Support Assembly
Modeler FAQ

Question:

How are Ubolt Channel T Posts modelled in CADWorx Plant Professional 2016 and added to
the Specification?

Answer :

In CADWorx 2016 versions and later, a Support Modeler feature is available from the 3D
Pipe Support Palette that allows Users to model User Defined 3D Pipe Support Assemblies
in the 3D Model.

In this example a Ubolt Channel T Post Support will be created as seen below.
As this Support is assembled using Structural Steel Sections, Users will need to ensure that
CADWorx Steel Members are available in the Specification. To load this, open the relevant
CADWorx Specification in the CADWorx Spec Editor and click on the “Pipe Supports” tab.
Select the relevant Pipe Support Library and in the “Properties” palette select “SteelLibrary”
and click on the “Browse” button as seen below.
Next, browse to the following directory and select the Steel Library Directory, based on
Units Preference. “Steel_M” is the Steel Library for Metric Units and “Steel_I” is the Steel
Library for Imperial Units. In this example, the Metric Steel Library will be selected as seen
below.

Once the relevant Steel Library has been loaded into the CADWorx Specification, click on
the Spec Editor “Beach Ball” and click “Save” as seen below.
The CADWorx Specification now needs to be loaded or reloaded into CADWorx Plant
Professional.

Now that Steel Sections are available for CADWorx Plant Professional Support Assemblies,
open the “Pipe Support Modeler” palette from the “CADWorx Plant I” ribbon as seen below.
On the “Pipe Support Modeler” palette, click on “Create New Assembly” as seen below.

Select an insertion point on the pipe and pick a direction point. IN this example, the “Mid
Point” of a Size 100 Pipe has been selected for the insertion point and the direction picked
is in the “–Z” direction as seen below.
This support can be added to an existing Support Group (Pipe or Elbow Supports) or a new
Support Group can be created by typing in a new “Group Name”. A “Name”, “Size Range”
and “Caesar II Type” can also be specified as seen below. Click on “Add Parts” as seen
below.

Next, select “Ubolt” from the “Library and Assembly Data” pull down menu as seen below.
Select the Ubolt SUP (*.sup) data file originally based in the Specification Catalogue file
and select the relevant size to be added to the model then click on the “Add” command as
seen below.
Next, select “Steel: Channels” and select the Bottom Centre Insertion Point. Select the
Section Size, in this example the South African “CP 100X50” is used and the Centre Line
Location is set to “Bottom”. The “Steel Length” will also need to be specified and in this
example this is set to “200” as seen below. Keep in mind that this can be edited at a later
stage quickly and easily from the model. Click the “Add” command once complete.

All the components for the Support can be added at this stage however in this example, in
order to avoid confusion, the other components will be added at a later stage in this
tutorial. Click on the “Close” command as seen below.
In the model the Channel has been added to the Pipe but the orientation needs to be
configured correctly as seen below.

Select the Channel and click on “Edit Parts” as seen below.

Scroll down and expand “Connections” and click on “Add Connections” as seen below.
A new connection point, “Connection-0” will be added and labelled in the model as seen
below. These connection points allow Users to define orientation of an assembly
component as well as where other components will be attached to this component.

Next, the Channel needs to be connected to the Ubolt by setting this under the “Connect”
option. Using Coordinates, the Direction and the Alignment can be configured. In this
example the “Direction” is set to “-1” on the Z Axis and the “Alignment” set to “1” on the Y
Axis as seen below.
In this example the Channel needs to be justified in the center of the length of the
Channel. This can be done by using Keywords to dynamically define the connection
parameters. Half of the length can be set by adding “LENGTH/2” to the “X” coordinate as
seen below. If this option is used and the Length of the Channel changed later, this
connection point will be automatically recalculated based on the new total length.

Once complete, click on “Apply” as seen below.

A new connection point now needs to be added to define the point in which the second
vertical Channel will connect to this Channel. Click “Add Connection” as seen below.

This connection needs to be place on the bottom of the flange and at the mid-point of the
length of the first Channel. Again keep in mind that the size and length of this channel may
change, so it is not advised to use fixed values but rather Keywords that will recalculate the
connection point when the length of the channel is adjusted. In this example, the Keyword
“LENGTH/2” is used to position ensure this connection point is placed exactly at the half
way point of the length of the Channel. The Keyword “DEPTH” will be used to ensure that
this connection point is placed on the bottom of the flange. Click “Apply” once complete as
seen below.
If configured correctly, the Connection Point Label will be in the correct position as seen
below.

The Long Description Schema should also be edited to ensure that if the member size is
changed in the model later, the Long Description for this component is automatically
updated. To do this erase the existing Long Description and click on the “Options” button
next to the Long Description field as seen below.
Next, select “Pipe Support Component Tables” and click on the “MEMBER_CMP_TBL” field
in the “Table Fields” list. Move this field into the “Long Desc Format” list to add this to the
Long Description as seen below. If done correctly, only “MEMBER_CMP_TBL” should be in
the “Format” field as indicated below. Click “OK” once complete.

If required, the Short Description Schema can also be edited to contain the updated
Member Size should the size change at a later stage. Once complete, click on “Close” as
seen below.
The second vertical Channel now needs to be added to the assembly. To add this Channel,
click on “Add Parts” as seen below.

Another South African “CP 100X50” will be used to create the vertical extension of this
support. This time the “Insertion Point” needs to be set to the Center Point of the Channel
and the “Center Line” location can be set to the “Center” as well. In this example the “Steel
Length” will be set to “385” as seen below however keep in mind that this can easily be
edited at a later stage in the model. Click “Close” once complete.
The Channel will be added to the Support Assembly but the orientation needs to be
corrected as seen below.

Select the second Channel and click “Edit Part” as seen below.
Scroll down and expand the “Connections” section and click on “Add Connection” as seen
below.

Select “Connection-1” under the “Connect” option to connect the vertical extension Channel
to the bottom flange of the first Channel as set in the step above. In this example, the
direction of the Channel will be set to “1” in the Z Axis and the Alignment of the Channel
will be set to “1” in the X Axis. Click on Apply as seen below.
If configured correctly, the vertical Channel should be orientated as seen below.

The last component to be added to the bottom of the vertical Channel extension is the
Base Plate. A connection point will need to be configured on the vertical Channel. To do
this click “Add Connections” as seen below.
As the Base Plate will be added to the very bottom center of the vertical Channel, the
“LENGTH” Keyword can be used in the X Axis of the object. Click “Apply” once complete as
seen below.

The Connection Point label should then move to the desired location as seen below.
Again, the Long Description Schema should be edited to ensure that if the member size is
changed in the model later, the Long Description for this component is automatically
updated. To do this erase the existing Long Description and click on the “Options” button
next to the Long Description field as seen below.

Select “Pipe Support Component Tables” and click on the “MEMBER_CMP_TBL” field in the
“Table Fields” list. Move this field into the “Long Desc Format” list to add this to the Long
Description as seen below. If done correctly, only “MEMBER_CMP_TBL” should be in the
“Format” field as indicated below. Click “OK” once complete.
Keep in mind, the Short Description Schema can also be edited to contain the updated
Member Size should the size change at a later stage. Once complete, click on “Close” as
seen below.

To add the Base Plate click on “Add Parts” as seen below.

Next select “Steel: Plates” under “Library and Assembly Data”. Click on “Structural Plate”
and select the Plate Thickness under the “Member” options. The Plate Length and Width
can be defined, however keep in mind that this can be changed at a later stage in the
model. Click “Add” then “Close” once complete.

The Base Plate will then be added to the support Assembly as seen below, however the
orientation and placement of the Base Plate will still need to be configured.
Select the Structural Plate and click on “Edit Parts” as seen below.

Scroll down and expend “Connections” then click on “Add Connection” as seen below.
Select “Connection-1” under the “Connect” option to connect the Base Plate to the bottom
of the vertical extension Channel as set in the step above. In this example, the “Direction”
of the Plate will be set to “-1” in the Z Axis and the “Alignment” of the Channel will be set
to “1” in the X Axis. As the center of the Base Plate needs to remain on the end of the
vertical Channel extension even if the Base Plate size change, the Keyword “LENGTH/2” will
need to be used for the X Axis and the Keyword “WIDTH/2” will need to be used for the Y
Axis. Click on “Apply” the “Close” once complete as seen below.
Now that the assembled Support is complete it should look similar to what is below.

The User now has the option to save this Support to the Specification for future projects or
if this Support is specific to this project only. In this example we will save this to the
Specification by clicking on the “Save to Library” as seen below.
This Support can now be added to the model from the Pipe Support Palette as seen below.

The Lengths can also be quickly changed for each component in the Support Assembly.
The Component Sizes can also be quickly changed for each component in the Support
Assembly.
If configured correctly, the Keywords used should recalculate the connection points and
adjust them accordingly as per the changed Lengths and Sizes as seen below.

As the Long Description Schema was edited to include the “MEMBER_CMP_TBL” field, the
Long Description should update automatically with the updated Member Size as seen
below.

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