To make a miter cut in Advance Steel, open the Advance Steel tool palette, go to Features and start the Miter tool. Select the member to cut against, press Enter, then select the member to cut. Advance Steel cuts both members at a clean miter and opens a dialog where you set the cut type, the gap and the weld.
When two members meet at a corner, like the top rail of a frame or angles framing an opening, you want them cut at a clean miter instead of overlapping. The Miter tool does that in a couple of clicks, and the cut shows up correctly on the shop drawings.
Where is the Miter tool in Advance Steel?
The Miter tool lives in the Advance Steel tool palette, under Features. To open the palette, go to Home > Extended Modeling > Advance Steel Tool Palette:
The palette opens as a flyout. Click Features in the bottom left corner:
How do I make a miter cut?
- Start the Miter tool.
- Select the member to cut against and press Enter.
- Select the member to cut.
Advance Steel makes the miter between the two members and opens the dialog:
On the Properties tab, use the Type drop-down to choose Saw Cut – Flange or Saw Cut – Web.
The Cut options set the gap between the two members and the weld options:
Set the gap your shop needs for the weld, check it in 3D, and you’re done.
Saw Cut – Flange or Saw Cut – Web?
The type decides which way the cut runs through the section. Pick the one that gives the cut the detail shows. If you’re not sure, try one, look at the corner in 3D from both sides, and switch if it’s wrong. It’s a dialog setting, so you can change it without redoing the miter.
Tips for mitered frames and openings
- Miter one corner, check it, then do the others. A frame around an opening has four corners, and they should all be the same.
- Keep the gap the same at every corner, so the weld is the same everywhere.
- Check the cut length on the shop drawing. A mitered member’s length is measured differently from a square-cut one, so make sure the drawing shows what the shop expects.
Miter tool vs Cut at Object: which should I use?
Cut at Object (also under Features) can make a miter too: pick the Miter Cut option in its dialog. It also does saw cuts where one member stops at another, so it’s the tool for most member-to-member end cuts. Use the Miter tool when you specifically want two members mitered at a corner. Cut at Object is covered in how to extend a beam in Advance Steel.
What to do when the miter comes out wrong
- The wrong member was cut, or the cut is backward. The pick order matters: the member to cut against first, then the member to cut. Undo and pick again.
- There’s no gap for the weld. Set it on the Cut tab.
- The members overlap or don’t meet. Extend or shorten them so their system lines meet at the corner first, then miter.
- The cut isn’t on the drawing. Update the drawing after adding the cut.
The gap and weld should match the detail and what the shop needs. Ask the shop what gap they want for the weld.
