AECOsim Building Designer Help

To Place a Concrete Pile Beneath the Base Plate with a Concrete Placement Tool

  1. Select ( Place Concrete Pile ) from the ribbon.

    The Place Concrete Pile tool settings window appears with a round section selected for placement.



  2. You will need to change the section from a round section to a rectangular section: Click the value field next to the Section Name property. A section picker opens.
  3. In the section picker, select Rectangular Shapes from the Type drop list, and then select the RECT18x18 section from the section list.
  4. On the ribbon Placement tab, change the Place by option to Length at end 2, and enter 2:0 in the Length field. Continue with the default values for the rest of the placement options.
  5. The pile is attached to the pointer at the top center placement position. Move the pointer near the bottom of the steel column. The Structural snap icon appears while the column is highlighted, immediately confirming that the exact location is selected. The status line now prompts you to “Enter data point to place member”. However, before entering the first placement data point, you need to accurately position the Accudraw Compass so you can select the placement point for the pile at the bottom of the base plate:
    1. Enter a tentative snap (left/right mouse button chord) to momentarily position the AccuDraw Compass at the bottom of the steel column (coincident with the Structural snap).
    2. Rotate the AccuDraw Compass by keying in F (Front default orientation), move your pointer a bit in the negative Y direction, and press the Enter key to lock the AccuDraw Compass in the Y direction.
    3. Keyin a value of 0:2 in the AccuDraw dialog’s Y value field and press the O key to accurately offset the position of the AccuDraw Compass relative to the steel column in the negative Y direction. The 0:2 offset value is equal to the thickness of the base plate.
    4. Click the Z button on the AccuDraw window to lock the pointer in the Z=0:0 plane relative to the current AccuDraw Compass location. The Z button becomes highlighted, indicating the locked Z value.
  6. The status line is still prompting you to “Enter data point to place member”. Enter a data point.


    Note: Although the steel column’s Structural snap is sensed, the lock on the Z coordinate in the AccuDraw window ensures the top of the pile is exactly 0:2” below the bottom of the steel column. The placement method described in this step illustrates how using AccuDraw, you can place Structural components using only Structural snaps, thereby ensuring all Structural copes are created and analytical members are connected.
Parent topic: Place Concrete Pile