The steel beam bridge structure consists of various types of members that demand high splicing accuracy. Selecting appropriate reference planes in the view and setting parameter labels are crucial steps. It is essential to predefine geometric parameter labels, positional relationship labels, and material property labels within the family template file.
Steel beam bridges comprise many main components, including upper chord members, lower chord members, web members, upper horizontal connections, longitudinal beams, main crossbeams, secondary crossbeams, and transverse connections. Due to the diverse component types and strict precision requirements, modeling these structures is a complex task.
There are two main modeling approaches:
Method 1: Use each node of the steel beam bridge as the base point for each component family. Define the positional parameter relationships for components such as upper chord members, lower chord members, upper horizontal connections, longitudinal beams, and splice plates relative to these nodes. After creating each component family separately, predefine the node positions within the project. Then, insert the components sequentially according to these nodes to complete the overall model.
Method 2: During family creation, set position labels relative to a common base point for each component. Insert these components sequentially into the overall project based on this shared base point.
The first method is ideal for large projects with a wide variety of members, offering reusable components for similar future projects. The second method suits smaller projects where faster modeling is a priority.
A critical aspect of the first method is to classify each member by its “belonging” category before modeling. Another key factor is inserting members into the overall model using grids and elevations in the Revit project to establish nodes. From splitting members to merging them, the connections between members depend on the nodes and their positions within the overall project.
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up