A joint is identified at the free end of a structural member or at the
intersection of two or more structural members.
Selected Beams
| All |
The software considers all
structural members when calculating joints. |
| Select |
The software considers only the
structural members in Select structural
members
 when calculating
joints. |
| Calculate |
Click to calculate the joints.
The software highlights with pink color  the joints where
two or more structural members intersect, and with light green
color  the
joints of a structural member at its free ends.
The program treats touching, interfering and
non-touching structural members within a tolerance automatically
as beams and calculates the joints. However extrusions that are
solids can be treated as beams if desired (Right-click the
Solid icon and select
Treat as Beam). For
extrusions that are treated as beams, the program does not
automatically calculate joints.
|
Results
Lists the joints that the software finds in the model. Select a joint
from the list to highlight it in the graphics area. Pink joints are highlighted with
orange 
, and light green joints
with a bright green color 
.
Right-click a joint in the graphics area to list the structural
members that make up the joint in the Select Joint
Members box.
To modify a joint, right-click it in the graphics area to highlight
the members that make up the joint. To add a member, select a member that is not
highlighted. To delete a member from the joint, select the highlighted member in the
graphics area. The selected member disappears from the Select Joint Members box.
| Delete |
Click to delete a joint from the
list. |
| Keep
modified joint on update |
Select to save your modifications
when you click Calculate to
update the joints. |
| Display
neutral axis |
Select to view the neutral axis of
each beam. |
| Display
shear center |
Select to view the shear center
axis of each beam. The axis that connects all shear centers across
the beam length is colored red in the graphics area. The shear center of a beam's cross section is
that point through which when a lateral load is applied, it
causes only bending of the section and no twisting. For a beam
cross section with two axes of symmetry, the shear center
coincides with the centroid of the section.
|
Criteria
For non-touching structural members within a certain distance
(tolerance), the software computes an optimal tolerance value, but the user can
overwrite it.
Treat as joint for clearance less
than. Select this option to overwrite the optimal tolerance value.
Enter a value and select units for tolerance.