beam/post finishes

[kafka]

Hi,

I am looking for a good solution to add material finishes/coatings to structural members such as beams or posts. I know, know... you can do it with 2d annotation, but sometimes it useful to have a 1:50 section with all 3d elemets already in place and "retouch" only lower scale (1:20, 1:10).

So, please have a look at the attached pic, for posts I generally join a structural post within an arch post with different material , but what if have several overlapping coatings?

For beam I have not find a decent solution yet...maybe a custom family wtth overalapping extrusions? Will this affect performance when loaded? Any more good tips?

I think will be good in future to add a layers as for walls/roofs to structural components as well!

[rkitect]

We recently made a beam family to include a second extrusion showing the fire rating system around the beam (using a second extrusion just as you mention). This not only allows us to assign a material to it but also allows us to see any interferences we may have with surrounding assemblies.

[twiceroadsfool]

Im not sure if everyone knows this, but its QUITE handy:

MATERIAL of the structural element, and PAINT of the structural element, are seperate, and can be parameterized seperately.

Go in the family, and paint the structural member. INstead of picking a material, pick <add parameter.>

No second extrusion needed. :)

[rkitect]

That does not allow you to see the thickness of the surrounding materials for fire rating, which from the looks of the thumbnails is what the OP is wanting.

[twiceroadsfool]

My fault. I didnt open the attachements, so i thought we were talking about a finish coat like paint, only.

Yeah, for those cases, we model seperate extrusions in to the structural family.

For things like Gypsum wraps around wide flanges, where its an entirely different shape, we have seperate families for it.

[cliff collins]

What happens to the wraps when you link in the RS model and you turn off your
"Arch Structure" ?

cheers

[rkitect]

This is what subcategories are for :)

[twiceroadsfool]

What happens to the wraps when you link in the RS model and you turn off your
"Arch Structure" ?

cheers

Depends on what it is thats getting applied. If its a seperate family like my second example, nothing happens. Its in the arch model.

If its a Paint parameter on the structural member, we get with the Engineers to get the appropriate materials selected. It requires an Engineer with a Team Player attitude, so were fortunate to have a select group that we do a lot of work with. Plus, since i have the RST content built the way it works more efficiently, ive had good luck sending them content and getting them to use it.