PlantWise Help

Structure Builder

The Structure Builder is used to create and edit structure sections and is opened either from the Edit Structure tool icon on the Structure Toolbox, or from the Plant > Structure > Structure menu choice in the PlantWise dialog, or from the Edit Structure tool icon on the Structure Toolbox.

The dialog is broken into nine sections:

  • Menus
  • Name
  • Structure Preview
  • Location
  • Member Properties
  • Left/Right Bays geometry
  • Front/Back Bay geometry
  • Levels
  • Command Buttons

The following sections discuss each of these parts of the Structure Builder.

Structure Builder

Menus

There are three menus in the Structure Builder Dialog: File, Edit, and Display.

Menu Description
File
  • Save Model
  • Save Model As
  • Close the dialog
Edit
  • Bay opens the Structure Bay Editor.
  • Floor opens the Floor Editor.
  • Default Column Rotation allows you to set the depth of the column’s cross section to be in line with the front/back faces (0.0) or the left/right faces (90.0) of the section.
  • Restore All Member Defaults removes any changes you made to any of the members created by the structure.
  • Delete All Extra Members deletes any member that has been created independently and associated with the structure.
  • Copy Structure opens the Copy Structure dialog.
  • Copy Section opens the Copy Section dialog.
  • Delete Structure, and
  • Delete Section .
Display
  • Zoom To the structure
  • Zoom To Section
  • Highlight the structure
  • Highlight Section
  • UnHighlight the structure
  • Display Toggles... opens the Display Toggles dialog.
  • Mass Properties opens the PlantWise Mass Properties dialog for just the current structure section.
  • My Groups opens a new Named Groups dialog with only the groups that contain the selected component listed.
  • All Groups opens the PlantWise All Named Groups dialog.

Name

Even if a structure is made up of only one section, the structure and the section are individually named. This practice allows you to vary geometry within the structure while maintaining the sense of a building. The sense of “building” can be valuable for edits made through CAD and reporting.

In the Structure Name field, you can select an already existing structure to edit or enter the name of a new structure. To guarantee that a new structure name is accepted, it is best to either Tab out of the field, or press <Enter> while in the name filed.

In the Section Name field, you can select an already existing section to edit, or enter the name of a new section. To guarantee that a new section name is accepted, it is best to either Tab out of the field, or press <Enter> while in the name filed.

The Description field allows you to enter a longer description of the structure section.

Section Preview

So you can better visualize the structure being created, there is a preview window to the right of the Member Properties section of the Structure Builder.

The preview window reflects, in plan view, the current contents of the structure builder, even if the section has not been accepted. The placement point is represented by a X; the Back face of the section is represented by a line; and the Right face is indicated with .

Location

Each structure section is independently located at the bottom of the front- and left-most column.

A section’s location is composed of X, Y, and Z coordinates as well as its counter-clockwise Rotation about the originating column. Although the values in the Rotation drop down list are increments of 90, you can enter any rotation value. As with structure and section names, pressing the <Enter> or <Tab> while in the Rotation field, ensures proper registration of the section’s rotation.

SettingDescription
Place Structure Section You can also place a structure with a CAD graphic in a manner similar to how obstacles and pipeways are placed in this manner. You can draw a rectangle in CAD and then use the Place Structure button on the Structure Toolbox to assign a structure to that graphic. The Structure Builder opens with the default member shapes and designations selected in the Member Properties section as well as the location and geometry information of the selected rectangle. From that rectangle, PlantWise assumes a one bay structure with:
  • the southwest corner for the x- and y-ordinates of the structure;
  • the length of the southern face for Left/Right bay spacing; and
  • the length of the eastern face for Front/Back bay spacing.

You need to provide a z-ordinate (if other than grade) as well as level spacing.

Member Properties In the Member Properties area of the Structure Builder, you choose whether the section to have Columns, Beams, or Bracing and what type of member be used for each.

By selecting or un-selecting the Use check box for each member category, you define if there be columns, beams, or bracing members used in the structure section. The Type and Designation of those members are selected from their individual drop down lists.

When selecting to use columns, beams, or bracing, a Type and Designation must be provided. These designations serve as defaults for the structure and can be changed at any time. Individual member type and designation can be changed be changed through the Bay Editor and the Structure Member Builder.

Default beam, bracing, and column designations are set in the Structure category of the PlantWise Project Setup dialog (see Setup Variables).

Left/Right and Front/Back Bays Because structure sections can be rotated, the sides of a structure are not based on direction (north, south, east, west), rather the sides are front, back, left, and right. Therefore, when defining bay spacings, cantilevers, and bracing, you provide values separately for the Left/Right and Front/Back directions.

Left/Right and Front/Back bay options

  • Spacing - Horizontal bay spacings can be fixed or variable.

    For Fixed Spacing, you select the number of bays and the fixed distance between the column lines.

    For Variable Spacing, you define the distance between each column line. To add a spacing before a selected distance, you select the distance and click the Add before button to the right of the spacing list. Similarly, you can Add after a spacing as well. Selected spacings can be removed with the Delete button.

  • Cantilevers - The outer bays on each side of a structure section can be cantilevered (i.e. no outer columns) by selecting the corresponding check box in the Left/Right Bays or Front/Back Bays regions of the dialog. If the front and/or left bays are cantilevered, the placement point is still the location of the front- and left-most column. If the structure section does not have columns, the placement point still represents the front-left column position of the non-cantilevered bays.
  • Bracing - To define bracing for a full structure section, select the pattern from the Bracing drop down list for either the Left/Right and/or the Front/Back bays. Bracing patterns are:
    • K
    • Lower Left to Upper Right (LL to UR)
    • Upper Left to Lower Right (UL to LR)
    • X

    Structure bracing patterns from left to right: K, Lower Left to Upper Right, Upper Left to Lower Right, and X.

    Bracing can be removed by selecting None in the pattern drop down list.

    Bracing and panel settings can be edited, added, or removed on a bay by bay basis from the Structure Bay Editor.

  • Panels - For larger bay spacings, PlantWise may divide a bay into multiple panels. The number of panels is the closest integer to the result of the bay width divided by the bay height. The same members used for bracing are used for the interior column members used to separate panels. Examples of bracing in a multi-panel bay are shown below.

    Structure bracing patterns, for 2-panel bays, from left to right: K, Lower Left to Upper Right, Upper Left to Lower Right, and X.

  • Spacing - By default, there is a vertical gap between bracing members and floors as well as a horizontal gab between bracing members. The size of gap is set in the Project Setup (Structure Member Design Offset).

    As shown below, bracing members do penetrate columns or beams sufficiently to represent solid connections upon rendering.

    Gap between bracing members

    Gap between (A) a bracing member and the z-ordinate of section; and (B) a bracing member and a floor.
Levels Vertical attributes of the structure section are defined in the Levels section of the Structure Builder.

The three ways to define elevation spacings: fixed, variable elevations, and variable heights.

  • For fixed floor heights, select the Fixed option and enter the Number of levels and the fixed vertical Spacing.
  • For variable floor elevations, select the Elevations option and enter the elevation of each floor, in order, from the lowest to the highest.
  • For variable floor heights, select the Heights option and enter the vertical heights of each level, from bottom to top.

As with variable bay spacing, you can add and remove level elevations or heights with the Add before, Add after, and Delete buttons.

Floors Structure floor functionality adjusts to the your’s need. Floors can be excluded from the section, included in the section for reporting purposes, or included as an obstacle to routing.

Selecting the Include Floors check box includes floors in the structure section for reporting and mass property calculations. By then selecting the Floors are Obstacles check box, you further define if the floors be act as obstacles to pipe routing. Default floor settings are set in the PlantWise Project Setup dialog in the Structures section (Floors Are Obstacles By Default? and Use Floors?).

Floors are Obstacles must be checked if structure routing functionality (structure pipeways, vertical pipeways, vertical chases, and floor penetrations) be needed for the structure section.

Similarly, Floors are Obstacles must be checked for proper automatic placement of placeable inline components.

Stairs Stairways are added to a structure by selecting the Include Stairs check box in the Levels section of the Structure Builder. When checked, the default values for Riser Height, Tread Length, and Direction becomes active for you to edit. Direction indicates at what side of the bay the bottom stair will be approached from. For example, a Front direction stairway to go up from the front of the bay to the back of the bay.

Command Buttons

  • Accept builds the section in the model and on the CAD screen.

    After accepting the section, the section data remains in the entry fields in anticipation that only a few changes are needed to build the next section of the structure. A new section is defined by providing a new Section Name and changing the data in the necessary value fields.

  • You can exit the Structure Builder by clicking Close. Any data entered after last Accept is discarded.

Editing Sections

Structure sections are edited by changing attribute values in the Structure Builder dialog while the structure and section are listed in their appropriate name fields. Changes are implemented once you click Accept.

To select the section to be altered, you can:

  • Open the Structure Builder from the PlantWise window and then select the structure and section.
  • Select the desired section after clicking on the Edit Structure tool icon on the Structure Toolbox.

Copying Structures and Structure Sections

You can copy complete structures or specific structure sections that will maintain any customizations to members, bays, and bracings. Both the Copy Structure and Copy Section dialogs are opened from the Structure Builder Edit menu.

SettingDescription
Copy Structure Once the PlantWise Structure Builder - Copy Structure dialog is open, you need to provide a New Structure Name as well as the name of the section that will be placed or offset to locate the new structure (Location refers to). Additional sections will be copied and moved by the same vector as the referenced section. You can then select to provide Location coordinates for the new structure, or Offset values in the X, Y, and/or Z direction. Both placement options allow you to provide additional Rotation for the new structure.

Copy Structure dialog.

For the new structure to be created, you must click Accept. The Close button cancels the Copy Structure without implementing the new structure.

Copy Section Copy Section is very similar to copy structure. Once the PlantWise Structure Builder - Copy Section dialog is open, you must supply a New Section Name, but the New Structure Name is optional. Placement of the structure can be by Location or Offset, and additional Rotation can be added.

Copy Section dialog.

For the new section to be created, you must click on the Accept button. The Close button cancels the Copy Section without implementing the new section.

Parent topic: Structures