How to Use Structural Steel in BricsCAD BIM

Quick answer: Structural steel modeling combines BIMAPPLYPROFILE, BIMLINEARSOLID, BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT, BIMADDECCENTRICITY, BIMRECALCULATEAXIS, DRAG, and BIMSTRETCH.

Using the BIM Profiles Panel

1. Drag and drop a profile from the BIM Profiles panel into the model space; this works the same way as LINE.
2. Click in the model space, or use the dynamic dimension fields, to define the starting point and following points.
3. Press Enter to end the command.

Confirming the note from this hub’s BIM linear solids page: BricsCAD doesn’t automatically generate connections between segments when the chosen profiles are structural steel.

Making a Structural Connection with BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT

1. Select the profiles you want to connect.
2. Launch BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT at the Command line, or choose StructuralConnect from the Model tab of the Quad.
3. With the Hotkey Assistant on (HKA on the Status Bar), a widget appears; tap Ctrl to cycle through the different connection options.
4. Press Enter to accept the selected option and finish.

Altering Segment Position with DRAG

Only works if the connections were originally created with BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT.

1. Set DISPLAYSIDESANDENDS to 1, the same variable confirmed on this hub’s MEP modeling page.
2. Select a face perpendicular to the profile’s section.
3. Launch DRAG.
4. Click to set a new position for the segment, or type a displacement value in the dynamic dimension field.

Creating a Structural Steel Model: A Worked Example

Setting up the grid and slab:

1. Launch BIMGRID to draw a grid as your base.
2. Click a starting point and type values into the dynamic dimension fields.
3. Draw a base slab underneath the grid using BOX.
4. Make sure the grid sits entirely on top of the slab, and that your profiles’ axes display.
5. In the Settings dialog, under BIM > Structural, make sure Display Axes is checked.
6. Open the BIM Profiles panel and drag a structural steel profile into the model, starting at the intersection of two grid axes and drawing vertically upward (toggle the specific snap point types you want in the ESNAP right-click context menu).

Propagating columns: 7. Launch BIMPROPAGATE. 8. Select the slab as the base solid and press Enter. 9. Select the column as your detail element and press Enter; BricsCAD zooms into the 3D detail. Press C to copy the column as a solid rather than as a block (the default). 10. Press Enter; BricsCAD automatically copies the column to every grid intersection, since you chose a floor slab with a BimGrid as the base solid. 11. Hover over the green checkmark and click Bim Grid in the dialog. 12. Click Explode to manually toggle individual suggestions and create your preferred pattern. 13. Press Enter to accept and finish.

Creating beams between the columns:

1. Open the BIM Profiles panel and drag a structural steel profile into the model; click the top of one column, then the next, in both directions (press Q for Quarter turn if you need the flanges facing upward).
2. Drag and drop a larger beam profile onto the second beam, since it has a longer span.
3. Select a beam and launch BIMADDECCENTRICITY to adjust its axis position relative to the profile.
4. Click the down arrow; the beam moves down relative to its axis.
5. Press Enter to finish, then repeat for the other beam.
6. Select the column and both beams, launch BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT, and press Enter to accept the default connection option; repeat for the other two junctions.
7. Select the two columns connected by the Y-direction beam and launch BIMPROPAGATE, choosing that beam as the detail solid, pressing C to copy it as a solid, then Enter and accepting whichever suggestions you want (suggestions appear at the bottom of every column in a symmetrical layout, and can be toggled off).
8. Repeat for the X-direction beams (box selections can grab all the lower beams at once).

Moving a beam:

1. Set DISPLAYSIDESANDENDS to 1.
2. Highlight the side face of the column and launch DRAG.
3. Move the column to its new position; connections with adjoining beams stay intact.

Creating a Detailed Connection: A Worked Example

1. Set DISPLAYSIDESANDENDS to 0.
2. Launch BOX and hover over the side face of the column.
3. Press Shift once so the face highlights blue.
4. Draw a plate on the column’s flange.
5. Select the beam and launch SUBTRACT.
6. Select the end plate and press Enter.
7. Select the face and launch BIMIFY from the Quad (or manually classify the plate via Classify Manually in the Quad’s BIM tab).
8. Open the Library panel and drag a bolt onto the plate, positioning it precisely with the dynamic dimension fields.
9. Select the plate and launch BIMPROPAGATE.
10. Select the bolt as the detail and press Enter.
11. Press Enter again and click the blue question mark; it turns into a green checkmark.
12. Hover over the checkmark and select Grid.
13. Add one row.
14. Press Enter to finish; the detailed connection is created.

Using BIMSTRETCH to Modify Structural Steel: A Worked Example

1. Open a new drawing.
2. Open the BIM Profiles panel (if its icon isn’t visible, right-click the ribbon and tick BIM Profiles under Panels).
3. Drag the profile you want into the model space.
4. Draw a column with a height of 3000 mm, then without exiting the command, draw a connecting beam 5000 mm long horizontally, then add another column at the beam’s end, also 3000 mm tall (make sure the profiles are turned correctly).
5. Select the three beams, choose Connect Structural from the ribbon or Quad, and choose the L-connection option, then press Enter; the entities connect.
6. In the ribbon, enable Display Sides and Ends and Prioritize selection of Faces on the Structural/MEP tab, or set DISPLAYSIDESANDENDS to 1 and SELECTIONMODES to 2 (Select Faces, the same bitcode confirmed repeatedly elsewhere in this hub).
7. Confirm the profiles are correctly classified as Beam and Column.
8. Launch SLICE to slice the beam in the middle; when prompted whether to slice along the axis, press Enter to accept Yes.
9. Select the beam’s midpoint and press Enter; it’s now sliced into two beams.
10. Select the two ends of the beams in the middle of the structure; they highlight yellow.
11. Choose Stretch from the Model tab of the Quad to run BIMSTRETCH.
12. Hover orthogonally upward, type a height of 2000 mm, and press Enter to accept.

The connections between the profiles automatically adapt to the new angle between the entities. If you’d only selected one of the two side-ends in the middle of the beam instead of both, the connections on the unselected side wouldn’t be included in the stretch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does BricsCAD automatically connect structural steel segments when drawing from the BIM Profiles panel? No, connections between structural steel segments aren’t generated automatically; use BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT afterward.

What does BIMPROPAGATE actually do in a structural steel workflow? It maps a detail (like a column or beam) from a base solid to every similar location, for example, copying a column to every grid intersection when the base solid is a slab defined with a BimGrid.

Does stretching a structural connection automatically update the connection angle? Yes, connections between profiles automatically adapt to the new angle created by a BIMSTRETCH operation.

What’s required before DRAG will work on a structural steel connection? The connection needs to have been created with BIMSTRUCTURALCONNECT in the first place.