Handrail to the Side of a Beam.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help in advance! (and in Advance Steel!)

Our company standard dictates that handrail should be two inches from the flange of the beam - for example, on a W8x31, the centerline of the post should be 6 inches from the center of the beam.

Advance Steel has the option, under Post Connection, of using a "plate perp with weld". This is the connection I need.

The problem comes up when I wrap handrail from one beam to another - the flange width changes, and the handrail cannot be inserted using the centerline of the beam.

Is there a way to define handrail center as a distance from the flange of the beam? Maybe I'm missing something.

[ads_bunescc]

The distance between the web of the beam and the post of the railing, when using the "plate perp with weld" option under the Post Connection, is defined by the "plate length" which can be set as a fixed value using the joint properties.
If this doesn't fully answer your question, maybe you could provide a model so we can have a closer look on the practical case.

[Anonymous]

Catalin:

You're on the right track, but not exactly what I'm trying to do.

The attached model shows an exaggerated instance of what is happening. I have a W8x18 (5.25" flange width) framing along one side of a platform, and a W12x65 (12" flange width) framing along the other. Grating is defined by our company standard to extend to the edges of those beams. Handrail is defined 2 inches outside the flange.

As you can see, I can set the handrail to appear 2" beyond the flange of the W12 (using 8" from the web), and get excessively large spacing for the W8. This isn't what I want though. I want a constant two inches from the edge of the flange, as it wraps around the corner.

Note that this is an engineering office, not a detailer or fabricator, and as such we are just showing handrail for reference. I don't need to show the bolted or welded connections, or even that plate. As long as the handrail is in the right place, it'll be good enough for me.

Thanks for your help.

[ads_bunescc · Accepted solution]

When you want to wrap a handrail from one beam to another, the options for the handrail created will apply globally for the whole handrail on both beams.
If you want to have different lengths between the edge of the flange to the post of the railing, you should create different handrails for each beam. This way you can establish different options (including lengths) between the handrail and the beam.
After that, you can use the "Miter" option from the Advance Steel Tool Palette - Features for connecting the horizontal middle handrails; or others.

I have attached a modified model who has 2 steps as i mentioned: first one is with 2 different handrails for each beam, each on with it's options; and the second one, i have use "Miter" to connect them.
I hope this will answer your question, and will help you and your team.

[Anonymous]

It does help. While that isn't ideal, I guess the program just hasn't developed to the point to do the flange spacing (something to suggest?)

This will serve my purposes.

[ads_bunescc]

Glad to help. Thank you for the suggestion. We will take it for consideration for future plans.

[Anonymous]

I am having the same problem. I think the post distance out from the edge of the beam flange should be adjustable for each post or each different beam size that particular handrail connects to. This problem comes up frequently.