Advance Steel Tutorial Part 10: Slanted (Sloped) Beams

To model a slanted beam or brace in Advance Steel, set the UCS on the face it connects to, draw guide lines where the member’s ends go, create levels at the two end heights, then place the member as a column from the low end and drag its top grip to the high end. The levels keep the ends exactly where they should be.

This is Part 10 of my Advance Steel tutorial series for beginners, on the CTA maintenance platform. In part 08 we bolted the clip angles, and in part 09 we added the T-braces. Now come the slanted members that tie into those T-braces. Sloped pieces are where a lot of people get stuck in Advance Steel, so here’s a method that works every time: draw guide lines, set up levels from them, and snap the member to the guides.

Video
The design
Set up the view
Draw temporary guide lines
Create levels for the slanted member
Place the slanted member
Adjust its position
The second slanted member

Watch the video

If you don’t have the file from the previous part, you can download it from part 09.

What does the design call for?

Here’s the section we’re working from:

How do I set the UCS on the face of a member?

First, lock the UCS to the vertical face of the T-brace so we can draw guide lines on it. On the Home tab, in the UCS section of the Advance Steel tool palette, choose UCS 3 Points and pick three points on the face of the T-brace.

How do I draw guide lines for the ends?

The bolts need a minimum edge distance of 2″, so I mark that first:

Type L for Line and draw a line between the two corners of the brace.
Type M for Move, snap to the corner of the brace, and move the line 2″.
Type C for Copy, copy the line, and move the copy another 2″ the same way.

Using the same idea, draw guide lines for the bolt locations and for where the brace ends, which is 2″ past the last bolt. Try drawing them yourself; it’s good practice.

How do I get the heights for the ends?

Make two new levels, one for the bottom and one for the top of the slanted member. I called mine AA and BB. The member, which I’ll actually draw as a column, sits between them.

Set their altitudes to the exact heights you need. I get those numbers from the guide lines: click a line and its 3D coordinates show up in its properties.

Then go to Workplanes and set the bottom and top of the column to those two levels. Go to the Top view and switch to Wireframe.

How do I place the slanted member?

Start the Column tool from the ribbon.
Click the bottom end of the slanted member on your guide lines.
Set the section: Identical Angle, L4x4x1/2.

How do I adjust its position?

Click the blue grip at the top of the column and drag it to the top point on your guide lines, where the bolt-distance lines meet.

Then double-click the angle and go to Positioning. Switching to the Conceptual visual style makes it easier to see what’s going on. On this platform the angle needs to be mirrored. Close the dialog. The first slanted member is in.

How do I add the second slanted member?

The other side of the platform works the same way. Lock the UCS on the right face and draw guide lines that match the structural drawing: a 2″ edge distance and 2 1/4″ between bolts. Write down the heights you’ll need.

Create two more levels, CC and DD, and type in the heights you noted. Set the top and bottom of the column to these levels in Workplanes.

Start the Column tool (it’s also on the Objects tab), click the low end of the slanted member, then drag the top grip to the high end.

Notice that the top of the column stays tied to its level. Even if you try to snap the end point to a different line, it stays on that level. That’s exactly why I set up levels first.

What other ways are there to make a sloped member?

Place a beam point to point in 3D. With the right UCS and object snaps, the Rolled I Section tool can go straight from one 3D point to another. Quick, but the ends aren’t tied to anything.
Use a sloped work plane or UCS and place the member in it.
Frame tools for roof rafters: see portal and gable frames.

The level method takes a minute longer, but the ends stay put when you edit the member, which is why it’s used here.

What to do when the slanted member is off

The end won’t snap where I want. The end is tied to its level. Change the level’s altitude instead of dragging the end.

The angle is facing the wrong way. Use Mirrored and the rotation on the Positioning tab.

The guide lines aren’t on the face. The UCS wasn’t on the face when you drew them. Set the UCS again with three points snapped to corners.

The bolt edge distance is wrong. Re-check the guide lines against the detail. The 2″ edge distance is set before you place anything.

Both slanted members are in place. After this I bolt them to the T-braces. Next, we’ll clip their ends as the structural drawing asks: 11: Clipping the beams.

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.