CUSTOM CLADDING CREATION

[muleman1]

We have created a custom cladding profile, where do we save it so we can use when we create cladding?

[Anonymous]

See if this helps you out (go to around 5:00 if you don't want to watch the whole thing):

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/screencast/Main/Details/7ed64630-8e...

[muleman1]

@Anonymous I am missing some little something....I was able to create the cladding using the screencast, thanks for the link! .....but, my sheet profiles I drew at a 24" width are generating at a 15/16" width. In the tables the width is designated as 24. Suspiciously, 24mm = 15/16". I change values in tables to 609.6 which would be close enough to 24 ", if in fact the table values are in mm. I restart AS but the cladding still generates at 15/16". Do I redraw profile in mm??? Secondly, if you notice in screenshot, you see that 'lap needs slightly adjusting as the adjoining 'hemmed' edges should nest. Where do you adjust the side lap of the profiles? Also, in all this fray, I have generated two three profiles I would like to delete from the tables/database, is this possible?

[muleman1]

@múinteoir @Emanuel.Nestor have you guys any input for a solution?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to reply at lunchtime--we've been swamped today.  I'm also afraid I'm not the expert with all the answers about cladding--I just found the expert to point you to in the case of that video.  

However, I did some experimenting and noticed in the Table Editor under Management Tools that I can delete rows.  The data is in 4 columns with a light blue-gray background (at least on my screen) and there is a narrow column with a medium blue background just to the left of the "Key" column.  Try right-clicking on that narrow column and see if "Delete Row" is available.  

As far as the units question, are you able to scale the profile you already drew by a factor of 24 and get it to show up at the correct size?

Not having enough time right now to try creating my own, and never having created any other profiles yet, I'm just guessing at the overlap problem.  If you get the profile to show up at the correct size and still have a problem with the overlap, are you off by one or two thicknesses of the material? Or is it some seemingly random value? You've probably double- and triple-checked your reference axis locations already, but if you have not see if they are in the correct place.

[Anonymous]

Just to elaborate a bit more on the reference axis issue, let's use the screenshot in your original post.  On the left end it appears that the upper left of the pattern of nine "radio buttons" is selected, whereas it looks like the center column of radio buttons is over the point where the section edge should nest with the adjacent section.  If you try a profile with the center radio button selected is the overlap at least closer to being correct?

[muleman1]

@Anonymous thx for the suggestion of scaling up my profile dwg. Sounds logical. I will try it soon. I busy too with others right now.  It sure would be nice if there was detailed help documentation. I guess I just cant comprehend how software can be released without a comprehensive instruction manual. Did they really design AS without somebody writing down the commands and what they do????? How hard can it be to have a complete manual with an index? Surely someone, somewhere understands and knows have to use the software......right? Enough with the rant......Thank you for your valuable time to help us!! If we figure it out, we post what we find.

[muleman1]

yea....those radio buttons are another mystery. Cant find any info anywhere of exactly how to use um, sometimes they snap to objects in random fashion. sometimes the snap at different rotations....????

[Anonymous]

If your install is similar to mine, try looking in C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Advance Steel 2016\Help.  I just stumbled across that late yesterday afternoon.

As far as the radio buttons, it looked like in the video the user chooses one of them from the toolbar flyout then uses the osnaps to precisely place them. They seem to establish the point through which an axis running parallel to the long direction of the sheet passes.  Perhaps I will get a chance to try creating my own profile soon and can learn some more about them.

[muleman1]

Thanks for the dialouge, maybe in numbers we may eventually get the program to function as advertised...The only help on my hard drive is 2015, our 2016 help is online, neither mention in detail how to apply, adjust or the purpose of the radio buttons. Basically like the majority of the the other documentation, it just mentions that certain commands, macros, etc...exist.

We have successfully created many different compound and/or extruded profiles for other projects, with 100% success. But the wheel has run off when trying to create a custom cladding. 

When I get time, I will draw another profile in mm to see if that works. May take a few days, but I will try as we need the custom claddings, it is a roofing we use regularly.

there seems to be only one snap point on the radio buttons, ( I moved them up an 1/8 inch so you could see the snap point )

[johnjmbennett]

Try this link for FAQ on user profile creation, this is the first part to creating cladding profile

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/advance-steel/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/...

Second part I could only find a graitec FAQ on creating cladding, the new profile needs to be added into the cladding profile table within the system.

http://www.graitec.com/uk/FAQ_view.asp?FAQID=480&Language=EN&Name=How+to+add+a+new+cladding+profile+...
I searched using google for these FAQ .

Hope this helps out.

[muleman1 · Accepted solution]

finally, the solution to creating the profile to its exact dimensions was to draw in mm. I open a metric template, drew the profile as we needed and saved as a dwg. THIS IS SUPER WEIRD OK ??? We have successfully created many other user profiles using imperial template with absolutely no problems....but this profile had to be drawn in metric???? Instead of us paying for support, we should get paid for testing? Now to see if i can get it to work as user cladding.....

[muleman1]

@johnjmbennett @Anonymous THANKS for you time and input with our issue, could not have figured it out without your input!  I have one last question about the attached image, When inputting into Astorules database, what does the value in the last column "StepWidth" control ??? Also I attached  a screencast in case someone else is struggling, so they can see it is possible.....

[Anonymous]

After placing and measuring a couple of examples, it appears that the "StepWidth" column has to do with the spacing between ribs (whether consecutive, major-major, or minor-minor seems to depend on the characteristics of the profile), not the total width of the sheet.  

[Anonymous]

Well, I guess our answer about the help content is here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/advance-steel-general-discussion/as2016-offline-documentation/td-p/578...

[Anonymous]

Well, I guess our answer about the help content is here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/advance-steel-general-discussion/as2016-offline-documentation/td-p/578...

[Anonymous]

cool thanks

[HarryHighpants]

I tried to create a 1200x75mm sandwich panel, and followed the steps in the screencast above.

The results are not what I was hoping for.

The panel width of 1200 is fine, but it does not cover the defined cladding area properly

I get strange trimming to the contour of the defined area, and lower right corner of the region is not clad at all. Not to mention an additional panel at the left end which is outside the defined area.

[AleckGiles]

Hi,

I don't think the StepWidth column in the tables does much. If your cladding has obvious ridges it seems to be set to the pitch of those ridges but it doesn't seem to matter much.

If I understand what people mean by the "Radio buttons" in posts above then they are reference axis. Whenever you draw a beam you can place the system line in one of 9 locations. These blue symbols are blocks and the insertion points define the nine possible locations of the system line relative to the beam - you can actually put them where you like. When first drawing you have to place them on a snap point of a line so you might want to draw construction lines which you can delete once the reference points are placed.

@HarryHighpants - When defining cladding profiles I actually do not define ANY reference points. The system works out the central point automatically. Then i don;t get the error you see. If I try to define the reference points i get all sorts of strange behaviour too.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Aleck Giles

Application Engineer,

Graitec, UK.

[HarryHighpants]

Thanks @AleckGiles it now works!