Introduction Tekla Structures stores the analysis and design properties of standard and user-defined profiles in the profile catalog.
Standard profiles are ones which can be obtained premanufactured.
You can also create user-defined profiles from user-defined cross sections.
Parametric profiles have a predefined, hard-coded shape, with one or more parameters to define the size of the profile. Tekla Structures calculates the cross-section shape each time you open the model. You can create parametric profile names and enter dimensions for them. See also Appendix A, Parametric Profiles, in the Modeling Manual.
To view or modify profiles, click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
Tekla Structures displays profiles in a tree structure.
Profiles are grouped according to rules such as profile type (e.g. I profiles) and profile sub-type (e.g. HEA).
Button Action
Saves changes to the catalog in memory until you click OK.
Saves changes to the catalog on the hard disk.
Used to exit without saving changes.
Not currently available in the bolt or plotter catalogs.
Different icons denote profile types, rules and profiles within the tree:
Pop-up menus allow you to modify the tree.
Before you start Read Things you should know (p. 115).
Topics Working with rules (p. 118)
Viewing or modifying the profile catalog (p. 122) Adding a profile (p. 122)
Creating a cross section (p. 123) Modifying a cross section (p. 124) Deleting a cross section (p. 125)
Adding a standard (fixed) user-defined profile (p. 125) Adding user-defined attributes to a profile (p. 127) Merging profile catalogs (p. 128)
Exporting the profile catalog (p. 128)
Exporting elements from the profile catalog (p. 128) Importing from previous versions (p. 129)
Importing the profile catalog (p. 129)
Working with rules
What is a rule? A rule filters the information in the catalog according to criteria set in the rule filter. For more information on how the filter works, read The filter (p. 116). For example, in the Modify profile catalog dialog box, profiles are grouped according to profile type (e.g. I profiles) and profile sub-type (e.g. HEA) using rules.
Icon Used to show
Profile type rule. Different icons show different types.
Rule
Individual standard profile Individual parametric profile
To change how entries in the profile catalog are grouped, you will need to modify the rules in the profile catalog. Read Adding a rule (p. 121).
Defining the material of profiles
Use the Modify profile catalog dialog box to associate profile types with certain material. You can define which profiles are available for steel parts, concrete parts, or both. This affects which profile types are shown in the Select profile dialog box. For example, if you create a steel part and click the Select... button next to the Profile field in the part properties dialog box, certain profile types will appear:
To define the material of a profile type:
1. Click Modeling>Profiles>Profile Catalog... to modify the profile catalog.
2. In the Modify profile catalog dialog box, select the profile type, for example L profiles. 3. To associate the L profiles with steel, right-click and select Material>Steel from the
pop-up menu.
A check mark next to Steel on the pop-up menu indicates that L profiles are available for steel parts.
5. To remove a check mark, select the profile type, right-click, and select Material and the option you want to make unavailable.
6. Click OK to close the Modify profile catalog dialog box.
7. Click OK in the Save confirmation dialog box to save the changes to the profile catalog.
Adding a rule
To add a rule to the tree:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog...to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click any existing rule, click Add rule to display the Profile manager rules dialog box.
3. Type in the Rule name.
4. Choose the Profile type to which the rule will be applied.
5. Enter the Name filter string that will define the new rule. As a default the wildcard symbol (*) is entered, meaning “all entries”. To group all catalog entries with names beginning with A, enter A* as the Name filter string. To group all catalog entries with names containing 100, enter *100*. Tekla Structures groups the catalog entries that satisfy your criteria under a new rule.
Adding a next level rule
A next level rule creates a subgroup under an existing rule.
Follow the instructions for Adding a rule (p. 121), but use the option Add next level rule.
Editing a rule
To edit a rule:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog...to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click any existing rule, click Edit a rule to display the Profile manager rules dialog box.
3. Modify the rule as required. Read Adding a rule (p. 121) for more on rules.
4. Click OK to return to the Modify profile catalog dialog box.
Organizing rules
Tekla Structures lists profiles in alphabetical order, and rules in the order which you can specify.
To change the order in which rules appear:
1. Click File > Catalog > Profiles > Modify... to display the Modify profile catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click the rule and use the Move Up/Move Down options.
Deleting a rule
To delete a rule from the tree:
For more information on filtering, see Using wildcards.
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog...to display the Modify profile catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click any existing rule, click Delete a rule. The rule is deleted and you are returned to the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
See also Exporting elements from the profile catalog (p. 128)
Viewing or modifying the profile catalog
To view or modify the profile catalog:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Click an existing profile to view or modify it.
Information on profiles is separated into three tabs:
General tab The General tab has information on profile types and dimensions.
Analysis tab The Analysis tab has information on the properties used in structural analysis. The structure is analyzed using the Finite Element Method.
User attributes tab
The User attributes tab is for viewing or entering user-defined attributes for profiles. Read A closer look at the export file (p. 143) for more information.
Adding a profile
There are two ways to create a new profile:
•
Copy an existing profile.•
Create a new profile from scratch.Copy an existing profile
The simplest way to create a new profile is by modifying a copy of an existing, similar one, as in the following example.
Steps 1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Find a profile similar to the one you want to create and right-click. A similar profile might be one with the same profile type and subtype as the one you want to create.
3. Click Copy profile. 4. Change the profile name.
5. Modify the profile properties.
Choose profile type and profile dimensions so that they match the new cross section as closely as possible. The profile type and profile dimen-sions (height, width, etc.) affect the connections applied, so a bad profile type, or missing values, may result in problems with connections.
Remember that some connections only work for certain types of profiles.
Always enter values for h and b, as these values can affect how Tekla Structures display profiles.
Creating a new standard profile
Alternatively you can create a new profile.
Steps 1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click anywhere in the tree structure and click Add profile. A new profile will be created with the name PROFILE (number).
3. Change the profile name. The profile name must be in upper case, with no spaces. Tekla Structures will automatically convert lower case text to upper case in this field.
4. Choose a profile type and profile subtype, then enter the profile properties.
5. Click Update and then OK to save your profile.
6. Click OK in the save confirmation dialog box to save the changes to the catalog.
See also Adding a standard (fixed) user-defined profile (p. 125)
Creating a cross section
Employ user-defined cross sections to create user-defined profiles.
Cross section with no inner contours
To create a cross section with no inner contours:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Define Crosss Section Using Polygon.
2. Pick the corners of the cross section. Pick the starting point to close the current polygon.
3. Pick the center point of the cross section. This will serve as the center-line point when used in a profile with user-defined cross sections.
4. Name the cross section in the User profile cross section dialog box, which opens automatically after the center point is picked.
5. Click OK to save the cross section.
6. Click OK to save the changes to the catalog.
Cross section with inner contours
To create a cross section with inner contours:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Define Cross Section Using Polygon.
2. Pick the corners of the cross section. Pick the starting point to close the current polygon.
3. Pick the corners of the cross-section inner contour. Pick the starting point to close the current polygon. Repeat until all inner contours are picked. Click the middle mouse button.
4. Pick the center point of the cross section. This will serve as the center-line point when used in a profile with user-defined cross sections.
5. Name the cross section in the User profile cross section dialog box, which opens automatically after the center point is picked.
6. Click OK to save the cross section.
Cross-section data is now stored in the profdb.bin, not the profcs.bin, as in previous versions.
7. Click OK to save the changes to the catalog.
Example A pitched I profile needs two cross sections with the same center point height. You can create a pitched profile as illustrated below. The cross-section inner contour and outer contour can be picked either clockwise or counterclockwise.
See also Modifying a cross section (p. 124) Deleting a cross section (p. 125)
Modifying a cross section
To modify an existing cross section:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Edit Polygon Cross Sectionto display the Modify Cross Section dialog box.
2. Click on the cross section you want to modify.
3. Modify the cross section point data.
4. Click Update and then OK to save the cross section and exit the dialog box.
5. Click OK to save the changes to the catalog.
Different types of chamfer
You can use different types of chamfer in user-defined profiles. Click Modeling > profiles >
Edit Polygon Cross Section to open the Modify Cross Section dialog box.
Number on the Point properties tab refers to each point picked when the cross section was created, in numerical order. The first point picked is Number 1, the second 2, etc. Click on the down arrow against Number to view or change the properties of each point.
When creating multi-cross-section profiles, it is important to create cross sections with the same number of points, created in the same order.
Click on the cross section, then click the down arrow in Chamfer type to choose a chamfer type.
The x and y values apply to the chamfer type. For example, for the chamfer to be equal on both sides of the angle, only enter a value for x, as in the illustration above. For an uneven chamfer, enter values for x and y.
Deleting a cross section
To delete a cross section from the catalog:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Edit Polygon Cross Section. 2. Click a cross section.
3. Click Delete.
4. Click OK to exit the Modify cross section dialog box.
5. Click OK in the Save confirmation dialog box to save the changes to the catalog.
Adding a standard (fixed) user-defined profile
Only user-defined cross sections are used to create user-defined profiles. Create the cross sections needed before adding a standard user-defined profile.
Single cross-section profile
To create a user-defined profile using a single cross section:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog.... 2. Right-click an existing profile, click Add profile.
3. Name the profile. The profile name must be in upper case, with no spaces. Tekla Structures will automatically convert lower case text to upper case.
4. Click User-defined, fixed in the Profile type list box.
Read Creating a cross section (p. 123) for more on cross sections.
5. Click the user-defined cross section to be used in the Profile subtype list box.
6. Enter 1 for the Cross section number and 0.0000 for the Relative location. 7. Click OK to save your profile.
8. Click OK in the save confirmation dialog box to save the changes to the catalog.
Multi-cross-section profile
To create a multi-cross-section profile:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog.... 2. Right-click an existing profile, click Add profile.
3. Name the profile. The profile name must be in upper case, with no spaces. Tekla Structures will automatically convert lower case text to upper case.
4. Click User-defined, fixed in the Profile type list box.
5. Click the user-defined cross section to be used in the Profile subtype list box.
6. Enter the Cross section number and the Relative location, assigning a new number and location for each one. Relative location values indicate the location of the cross section along the axis: 0.0 for starting end and 1.0 for second end.
7. Use the Add button in the Modify profile catalog dialog box to create more cross sections.
8. Click Update after defining each cross section in the profile.
9. Click OK to save your profile.
10. Click OK in the save confirmation dialog box to save the changes to the catalog.
Example In a pitched profile, Relative location values are 0.0, 0.5 and 1.0, for cross sections 1, 2 and 3.
Choose the profile type and dimensions so that they match the new cross section as closely as possible. Profile type and dimensions affect the connections applied, so the wrong profile type or missing values may result in problems with connections.
Some connections only work for certain profiles.
Always enter values for h and b as they affect how the profile is displayed.
Remember, cross sections affect the total weight of the profile.
Adding user-defined attributes to a profile
In addition to general and analysis properties, you can also create your own attributes for profiles. For instance, you might specify paint layer thickness, or the maximum grain size of concrete using a user-defined attribute.
To create a user-defined attribute for a profile:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to open the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Click Definitions... on the User attributes tab to open the Modify profile properties dialog box.
3. Click Add to add a user-defined attribute. The dialog box will now look like this:
4. Click the text under each heading to define the attributes using the following fields:
The values h and b are used when calculating the height of a part in pixels.
If the values are 0, the part is drawn as a line.
These values are also used when setting the position of the part.
Field Comment
Profile type Click the down arrow to indicate the profile types that the property will be applied to.
Quantity type The type of information the user-defined attribute will contain, e.g. weight, area, ratio, string.
Order The order in which user-defined attributes are shown in the dialog box. Smaller values are shown first.
Property name
This field is saved in the catalog and can be used in reports and templates.
When this field is used in a template,
PROFILE.PROPERTY_NAME indicates where the property name will appear.
Example:PAINT_LAYER_THICKNESS
Merging profile catalogs
The import and export options work together and are used to merge catalogs. It is a useful technique when:
•
Upgrading to a new version of the program, when you want to retain customized catalogs from the previous version.•
Combining catalogs stored in different locations.•
Sharing information from catalogs with other users.See also Exporting the profile catalog (p. 128)
Exporting elements from the profile catalog (p. 128) Importing from previous versions (p. 129)
Importing the profile catalog (p. 129)
Exporting the profile catalog
To export the entire profile catalog:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Click the Export button.
3. Choose a location for the export file.
4. Type in a name for the file. If you type in an existing filename, that file will be overwritten.
Exported catalog files have the file extension lis.
Exporting elements from the profile catalog
You can also export a branch of the profile tree, i.e. all the profiles grouped under a rule, or a single profile.
Branch To export a branch of the profile tree:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click the branch to be exported.
Symbol An abbreviation that can be used for the property, such as Ix, ct, etc.
Label The property name is translated to the label in various circumstances.
Field Comment
Use this method to export the entire profile catalog. If you want to export only part of your catalog, read Exporting elements from the profile catalog (p. 128).
5. Type in a name for the file.
Single profile To export a single profile:
1. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
2. Right-click the profile to be exported.
3. Click Export profile.
4. Choose a location for the export file.
5. Type in a name for the file. Exported catalog files have the file extension lis.
Importing from previous versions
You cannot import export files created with previous versions of the program. However, profile catalogs from previous versions are automatically converted when a model is opened in the new version. So, to create a suitable export file, open the relevant model in the new version and export the catalog.
Importing the profile catalog
To import a profile catalog:
1. Open a model which uses the profile catalog to which you wish to import.
2. Click Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog... to display the Modify Profile Catalog dialog box.
3. Click Import.
4. Indicate the location of the file to be imported. Exported catalog files have the file extension lis.
What happens to existing profiles?
If an existing profile has the same name as the one being imported, the program will give you three options:
Read A closer look at the export file (p. 143) if you are interested in the contents of the export file. You should also read this section if you are considering editing the export file.
Do not save your model in the new version, or you will not be able to open it in the older version.
Read Exporting the profile catalog (p. 128) for information on how to create an export file.
User-defined fixed cross section definitions
Each cross section definition has a unique name and ID number. If, during an import, a cross section is found in the existing profile catalog which has the same name, but different properties, the cross section being imported is renamed (an incremental number is added to the end of the existing name). The new name is also written to the Tekla Structures log file.
Each cross section definition has a unique name and ID number. If, during an import, a cross section is found in the existing profile catalog which has the same name, but different properties, the cross section being imported is renamed (an incremental number is added to the end of the existing name). The new name is also written to the Tekla Structures log file.