To shorten a beam in Advance Steel, pick Split Beams on the Home tab (Objects), select the beam, click the point where it should end, and delete the piece you don’t need. For a beam that has to stop short of another beam, draw a temporary line at the gap distance first and split the beam where it crosses that line.
This is Part 06 of my Advance Steel tutorial series for beginners, on the CTA maintenance platform. When we placed the beams, we ran them grid to grid to get them in quickly. Now some of them need to be cut back to their real length, and one needs to stop 1/2″ short of another beam.
Video version:
Follow along with the project file
Download the project file free here, unzip it and open it.
Go to the Top view and zoom in on the beam you want to shorten.
How do I shorten a beam in Advance Steel?
- Switch the visual style to 2D Wireframe.
- On the Home tab, in Objects, pick the Split Beams tool.
- Select the beam, then click the point where you want it cut.
- Select the piece you don’t need and delete it.
Do the same at the other end if needed. Check it in 3D. The beam should now be the right length.
How do I shorten a beam with a gap?
Now a slightly different case. Say the beam has to stop at another beam, but with 1/2″ of clearance between them. Easy:
- Draw a temporary line 1/2″ away from the point where the two beams meet.
- Pick the Split Beams tool again.
- Select the beam and click where it crosses the temporary line. The beam is now in two pieces.
- Delete the piece you don’t need, and the temporary line too.
Repeat at the other end. In 3D you’ll see the beam shortened on both ends with a 1/2″ gap.
There’s more on this tool, including joining pieces back together, in Split and merge a beam in Advance Steel.
What other ways are there to shorten a beam?
Split Beams is handy when you can click the exact point. There are other options:
- Grip stretch: click the grip at the end of the beam, point back along the beam and type the amount to take off.
- Trim/Extend: trims the beam back to another member’s system line, center or face.
- Cut at Object: cuts the beam at another member and sets the gap and cut type in one step.
All three are covered in how to extend a beam in Advance Steel. They work in both directions.
What should I check after shortening a beam?
- The length. Check the Geometry properties or measure it with
DI. - The gap. Measure from the end of the beam to the other member.
- Connections and welds that were on the piece you deleted. They go with it.
- Numbering. If the model was numbered, renumber after changes.
A common mistake is deleting the wrong piece after the split. Check in 3D before you move on, or use Undo right away.
Next: 07: Custom clip angle connection.
The whole mini tutorial series
- 00: Set up the project information
- 01: Create the grid
- 02: Create levels
- 03: Place beams
- 04: Create columns
- 05: Welded connections
- 06: Shorten beams
- 07: Custom clip angle connection
- 08: Adding bolts to the clip angle connection
- 09: Adding T-braces
- 10: Slanted beams
- 11: Clipping the beams
If you’d like to see the hardware and software I use every day, it’s all on my toolbox page.
