M. To add a node at overlapping beams

To connect to overlapping beams with a node at that location, use the following procedure.

You can manually select beams that are overlapping or the program can automatically detect these for you using the optional first step below.

Tip: This functionality can be used to determine the coordinates of intersecting beams by adding a node at that location.

(Optional) Automatically select overlapping beams:
1. On the Geometry ribbon tab, select the Intersecting Beams > Highlight Intersecting Beams tool in the Beam group. The Intersect Members dialog opens.
2. In the Enter Tolerance field, type a tolerance used for how close members should pass before the program considers them to be overlapping.
3. Click OK.
The program automatically selects all overlapping beam sets.
Alternatively, you may manually select a pair of intersecting beams.
On the Beam Tools ribbon tab, select the Intersect Beams tool in the Model group.
Type a tolerance to use in the Intersect Members dialog and then click OK. A message dialog opens to indicate that new beams have been created.

Note: The Merge Selected Beams tool in the Beam group on the Geometry ribbon tab can be used to reverse this procedure. Refer to M. To merge two or more members for details.