When you are detailing for steel, you will most likely need to use Gratings sooner or later. Gratings are an important part of the structural model, especially in the plant or mining industry. In Advance Steel, you can create a standard from the library grating or create custom-sized gratings. It is possible to convert a sketch into a grating.
All these methods are described below. Also, six methods of making custom cuts using available tools in your grating are described in detail.
Inserting Gratings
To access the tool, you have two options:
Home Tab > Objects Panel > Standard Grating
or: Objects Tab > Grating Panel > Standard Grating
Insert standard grating with its size selected from the standard drop-down list of available sizes using this tool. When you activate this tool, you will immediately be prompted to specify the center point of the grating. When you specify the point, the standard grating will be inserted with the specified point as its center and a dialog box will open:
You can choose the Class of the grating to be inserted into your model. Depending on the class selected, you can choose the size available from the drop-down below the Class drop-down menu.
The remaining tabs, such as Material, Positioning, etc., are similar to the tabs you might know from other components available in Advance Steel.
Inserting A Rectangular Variable Grating
To access the tool you have two options:
Home Tab > Objects Panel > Variable Grating, Rectangular
or: Objects Tab > Grating Panel > Variable Grating, Rectangular
You can insert a rectangular grating by specifying two diagonally opposite corners. When you activate this tool, you will be asked to specify the start point and then the end point. When you finish, a similar dialog box to the box described above will open. Additional options will be available since it is a variable grating – Grating Length and Width:
Inserting A Bar Grating
To access the tool you have two options:
Home Tab > Objects Panel > Bar Grating
or: Objects Tab > Grating Panel > Bar Grating
This tool is used to insert a bar grating. When the tool is engaged, you have to specify the two points that define the length of the grating – the start point and the end point. Upon specification of the end point, the bar grating will be inserted, and a dialog box will open where you can further specify all the parameters:
Polygonal Variable Grating
To access the tool you have two options:
Home Tab > Objects Panel (Expanded) > Variable Grating, Polygonal
or: Objects Tab > Grating Panel (Expanded) > Variable Grating, Polygonal
You can insert a polygonal grating by specifying its corners. When you engage this tool, you will be asked to specify the corners that will define the outline of the grating. Once you specify all the points of the grating, you need to press ENTER to confirm. The grating will be inserted, and a dialog box will open where you can proceed and finalize your selections:
Grating At A Polyline
To access the tool you have two options:
Home Tab > Objects Panel (Expanded) > Grating At Polyline
or: Objects Tab > Grating Panel (Expanded) > Grating At Polyline
Use this tool to insert grating at the selected closed polyline. When you engage this tool, you will be asked to select a closed polyline. After you select the polyline and confirm your selection by pressing ENTER, the grating of the shape of your polyline will be inserted, and a dialog box will be displayed, where you can tweak all the options available:
CREATE GRATING FEATURES
The Features Tab of the Advance Steel Tool Palette provides you with several tools to create grating features:
Rectangular Contour, Center
Use this tool to create a rectangular contour cut on selected grating by specifying the center point of the contour.
When you activate this tool, you will be asked to specify your grating near a corner. Once you select a grating, you will be asked to specify the center of the grating cope to be created, which will also be the center of the rectangular cut to be located. Once you are done, a rectangular contour will be created on the selected grating, and a dialog box will open:
Rectangular Contour, Center
Use this tool to create a rectangular contour cut on selected grating by specifying two diagonally opposite points of the contour.
When you engage this tool, you will be asked to select the grating to be modified near the corner. The next thing you need to do is specify the two diagonal points of the rectangle inner contour. Once this is completed, the cutout will be created, and a dialog box (same as above) will be displayed where you can further modify your cut.
Circular Contour, Center
This tool is used to create a circular contour cut on the selected grating by specifying the center point of the contour.
When you engage this tool, you will be asked to specify your grating near a corner. Once you select a grating, you will be asked to specify the center of the grating scope to be created, which is also the center of the circular cut. Once you are done, a rectangular contour will be created on the selected grating, and a dialog box will open:
Use this dialog box to further modify your cut (radius, positioning, contour offset).
Circular contour, 2 points
Using this tool, you can create a circular contour cut on the selected grating by specifying the center point and radius of the contour cut.
When you activate this tool, you will be asked to select the grating and then to specify the center point and the diameter of the circular contour cut. Upon completion, a dialog box (same as above) will open where you can make adjustments to the values.
Polygonal Contour
Using this tool, you can create a polygonal contour cut on the selected grating by specifying the end points of the segments of the polygonal cut or by selecting an existing closed polyline.
When you engage this tool, you will be asked to select the grating near the corner. Once you make your selection, you will be asked to specify the start point of the polyline or select the existing polyline. Once you are done selecting, you need to press ENTER to confirm. The polyline contour cut will be created, and a dialog box will open where you can further modify your cut.
Element Contour
By using this tool, you can create a contour cut of the selected grating by specifying the shape of an element, such as a beam, column, etc. The cut shape can be an exact cut or a casing cut.
To switch the type of the cut go to Objects Tab > Switch Panel > Cross Section: End or Casing
Process For Exact Cross Section Contour
- Make sure that you have Exact Cross Sectionselected in the Objects Tab > Switch Panel
- Start the Element Contour Toolfrom the Advance Steel Tool Palette.
- Select (1) the platewhen prompted and then (2) the object to cut to.
- A dialog box will open where you can define the details of the cut.
- When you are done, close the dialog box.
- A cut of the earlier specified outline will be created.
Process For Casing Cross Section Contour
- Make sure that you have Casing Cross Sectionselected in the Objects Tab > Switch Panel
- Start the Element Contour Toolfrom the Advance Steel Tool Palette.
- Select (1) the platewhen prompted and then (2) the object to cut to.
- A dialog box will open where you can define the details of the cut.
- When you done, close the dialog box.
- The cut will be created as specified earlier.
This concludes the Grating’s Tutorial. Good luck using all the methods and tools described above. If you find this article valuable, please subscribe to my blog to be notified when I publish a new article.
If you are interested in upgrading your hardware or software, make sure to check out My Toolbox article, where I share information about the tools I use and special discounts you can use as well.
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