How to create combined cross-sections

Creating Combined Cross-sections in Tekla Structures is easy but because many of us are so used to the part add feature, this functionality has not been commonly used. Using this feature, you can create parts that consist of two or more different cross sections. In order for this to work, the number of points to be used in cross-sections must match; otherwise it would be impossible to combine.
Rey Ople

picture 1

Foreword
Fall Greetings! A lot has been going on with Dowco and many of you have been aware of recent developments particularly in regards to Fabtrol and our recent software sales expansion in our India Office. Ewen has a summary of events ongoing in this issue of ConneXion and Rob Forester, Fabtrols Arvin Eugenio National Sales Manager, has a brief operations update on this page. Tero has elaborated a few vignettes which is always a worthy read while Toms article may answer many questions on using 64bit Technology and gives an intro to Tekla Structures 15.0. Dont forget to browse through Reys article on Page 4 on Creating Combined CrossSections. Also by this time, some of you have already returned your hardware locks and have received your FLEXnet entitlements for your licenses. A recent addition to our team, Dave Berryman, has an article on Page 2 which has quite a bit more information on these types of licenses which Im sure many of you would find useful. We are also happy to announce the addition of Abdelmalik Abdel El Ouahabi to our Tekla Structures Support Team. Fluent in both English and French, Abdel is based out of our Laval office in Quebec and will be supporting many of our customers on the East Coast as well as perform Tekla Structures Training in French at that office.

Tekla Structures, India Software Sales: Underway

We have now finalized discussions with Tekla (owners and developers of Tekla Structures software) and have an Agreement for our Tekla Structures 3D Modeling Software sales, training, and specialized services division to expand their territory to now also include India. We will now be proceeding with the establishment of a Dowco branded Integrated Construction and Technology Solutions Centre concept in India. This centre of excellence in services and product offerings represents a significant opportunity as the potential for local business is tremendous. The Indian economy has been growing at a Ewen Dobbie rate of 10%+ for the last few years and the country continues to attract President billions of dollars in investmentsmost of which is being spent on construction of facilities and infrastructure which are directly mainstream activities of DowcoMax (steel detailing, Tekla Software sales). Thus modern technologies (software sales/support and related services) in the construction industry, namely, 3D modelling/drafting/design/analysis/detailing/fabrication management, represents a tremendous business opportunity. With our recent acquisition of Fabtrol and their subsequent plans to establish a global reseller model, DowcoMax will also be among the first authorized resellers. We are excited to be introducing much-needed Fabtrol products to the Indian marketplace. Our goal will be to provide the Indian Steel industry with an enterprise-wide solution, offering services ranging from engineering to detailing, software solutions in Tekla Structures and Fabtrol, and also the necessary implementation and training services. DowcoMax CEO, Jyoti Chatterjee, and his HR team have been working feverishly over the last few months to recruit and hire the necessary staff to meet our business objectives. Special thanks to Rty Risto, Executive Vice President at Tekla Corporation for his continued support and belief in Dowco.

The picture (picture 1) on the right illustrates end cross sections of a part. After defining the cross sections (say cross1 & cross2) you can then add/create a profile in the catalog to join them together.

Ive listed the steps below using Version 14.0. 1. Add profile in the catalog (Modeling > Profiles > Profile Catalog). Right-click in Modify Profile Catalog dialog and select Add profile. Modify the profile as shown below; Profile name: (say) COMBINED CROSS SECTION Profile type: User-defined, fixed Profile subtype: cross1 (select from drop list) Equivalent type: Rectangular hollow sections or U profiles 2. 3. Click Update Add the second cross section to the profile by clicking Add button in the Select Profile dialog box. Cross section number should now be 2 as shown in picture 2.

picture 2

Check Profile and make sure Profile subtype is correct. Profile name: COMBINED CROSS SECTION Profile type: User-defined, fixed Profile subtype: cross2 (select from drop list) Equivalent type: Rectangular hollow sections or U profiles. Click Update > OK then OK to confirm/save changes to the model. Note: The Relative location of the cross sections is 0.00 and 1.00 respectively. If a third cross section is to be added, the Relative location of the middle should be in between these two values, e.g., 0.500, 0.700, etc. Also, if the cross sections are to be in a specific location, then cross sections need to be defined in such order. cross1=0.00 cross2=0.50 cross3=1.00 4. Apply the profile. picture 3

Tekla Structures Drafter & Project Manager Changes

To better support junior detailers tasked with basic drawing cleanup, the Tekla Structures Drafter functionality will be receiving a facelift. Available only on future versions of Tekla Structures starting from 14.1, Users can now modify drawings from the main level, including e.g. drawing layout changes. The ability to update drawings has also been added, making the Drafter more powerful especially when working with multi-drawings. The added functionality also meant an increase on the list price from $6,500.00cad to $9,600.00cad per license. Correspondingly, the annual maintenance and support fees have been increased from $1,300.00cad to Tero Laine $1,960.00cad* per license. This change in pricing takes effect when Tekla Structures 14.1 Final is released early November. Users owning existing Drafter licenses do not have to pay the difference in license pricing except for the slight increase in the maintenance per license costs. Tekla has also improved the Project Manager configuration. In order to support the normal work process of e.g. shop managers, a Project Manager configuration will now be able to: - Modify and create phases - Create NC files - Import XML files from Fabtrol for status information - Creating MIS exports (already available in previous versions) We think these added features will make Project Management Configuration the right tool for all project managers! * no adjustments in maintenance fees for 2008 for existing Tekla Structures Drafter owners increase in the maintenance and support fees will be in effect in 2009. Price increase for License and Maintenance fees for new purchases for this configuration are effective immediately.

FabTrol Systems, Inc. Proud new member of the Dowco Group of Companies
All of us at FabTrol Systems are excited to now be part of the Dowco family. Our flagship fabrication management software solution, FabTrol MRP, currently has an install base including 22 countries. With the synergies of Dowco/FabTrol, we are building a reseller foundation that will allow us to enter new markets that have traditionally been difficult to service and support due to time zone differences.

If the steps were followed correctly then you will see in your model something similar to Picture 3. Try it and have fun! For more information about this functionality, or to send your comments, please email TeklaStructures.Support.CAN@dowco.com.

ConneXion - October 2008

Contributors: Ewen Dobbie, Arvin Eugenio, Rey Ople, Tero Laine, Tom Knight, Dave Berryman Editor: Ewen Dobbie Art & Design: Thomas Cetnarowski - thomas@dowco.com: Tel. 604.629.6085 The Dowco Technology Services Technical Support Team: Tero Laine tlaine@dowco.com, Tom Knight tknight@dowco.com, Ted Yuen tyuen@dowco.com, Rey Ople r_ople@dowco.com, Dave Berryman - dberryman@dowco.com, Abdelmalik El Ouahabi - abouahab@dowco.com Tekla Structures Sales Team: Ontario tyeun@dowco.com; 905.565.9030 Quebec: Christine Boutet christineboutet@dowco.com; 519.910.9046 Rest of Canada: Ewen Dobbie - edobbie@dowco.com; Tel 604.606.5802 I Arvin Eugenio aeugenio@dowco.com; Tel 604.629.6087 Toll Free Number 1.866.77.DOWCO (1.866.773.6926) ext 1 (SALES), ext 2 (Tech Support) Administrative Assistant: Dorothy Smith dsmith@dowco.com; Tel. 604.606.5800 ext 5512 Accounting: Judy Beckett judyb@dowco.com; Tel. 604.606.5810 Dowco Technology Services Ltd. is a member of Dowco Group of Companies and is located at : 201, 5660 192 Street, Surrey, BC V3S 2V7 Visit the web@www.dowcotech.com Copyright 2008, Dowco Technology Services Ltd.

Rob Forester

The steel industrys growing commitment to BIM, modelbased estimating, and other application data exchange initiatives provide perfect opportunities for our companies to leverage resources to positively impact our customers and the industry as a whole.

FLEXnet Licensing lets you Flex your muscles!

FLEXnet Licensing lets you Flex your muscles!
The day of the hardware-based licensing system is rapidly coming to an end at Tekla. With the release of version 14.0 (which is completely FLEXnet enabled) many customers are now seeing the benefits of switching over. No longer are you bound to a hardware key. FLEXnet gives you the freedom you need in Dave Berryman todays rapidly changing work environment. The benefits include the ability to setup many stations with several different versions of the software which can access a pool of one or more licenses on the LAN server. Being able to borrow a license is also a new concept. Now you can easily loan out a license for up to 30 days or take one home for the weekend. If a borrowed license expires it simply becomes available again on the original computer. Here are some simplified instructions to give you an idea of the processes involved with installing FLEXnet. There are essentially 2 main types of license installations: Stand-alone and File Server. download using the following service releases: 12.0 uses SR6, 12.1 uses SR3, 13.0 uses SR7. Keep in mind that FLEXnet does not alter your model in any way. By upgrading to a higher service release you get all the fixes available before you may run into problems.

Filtering unwanted Attribute Files Out of User Interface

Users can now filter items shown in the default attribute list in Tekla Structures 14.0. This can be done with Advanced Option XS_ATTRIBUTE_FILE_EXCLUDE_LIST. You can find this from Advanced Options -> File locations. For example, using XS_ATTRIBUTE_FILE_EXCLUDE_LIST=PC_;Precast;CipH;Field;Cip_;IFC_, Tero Laine the saved attributes files with PC_, Precast, CipH, Field, Cip_ or IFC_ in them will not be visible. The picture below then shows how the default US Imperial AutoDrawings (formerly known as Drawing Wizard) dialog content is cut down from items you need not see when working in steel detailing projects.

64bit Tekla Structures and templates done with older versions

FLEXnet-Enabled Tekla Structures Versions will work on 64bit Windows operating systems, but are run in 32bit mode. Using a 64bit operating system enables the handling of bigger models also while using current 32bit versions of Tekla Structures. Tekla Structures can however, use up to 4GB of processing memory and Tom Knight running two simultaneous sessions will equally utilize 4GB each (because the 64bit operating system can use upper areas of the memory). This is of course possible, provided that users are running more than 4GB RAM on their machines. Tekla Structures 15, which will be released in 2009, will now be able to run in 64bit mode. This enables Users to manage considerably bigger models than in previous versions, so long as 64bit operating systems are used. Templates and reports created with Template Editor version 2.20 will however, not work in Tekla Structures 15.0 due to the 64bit environment. Therefore, the old reports and templates need to be converted to the new format in Template Editor 3.31. The conversion procedure is same for textual (reports) and graphical (templates) files. There are two ways to convert the reports and templates: one at a time or converting the whole report/ template folder at once. In both cases the converted files often need some editing work before they can be used. The amount of work needed depends upon the structure and complexity of the reports and templates. Simple templates convert automatically most of the time; complicated ones take several hours of work to finalize. It is recommended to get familiar with the new editor before starting the template conversions. Users will notice that it will take only minutes to create templates from scratch once they get comfortable with it (weve noted that the new Template Editor by the way is considerably easier to use than the old one) . Many users who have started to use the new version have experienced the added versatility as well as the ability to add more functionality into their templates. Tekla has released a special template conversion tutorial, which covers typical use cases and addresses some problems users run into after switching to new Template Editor. For more information on this, please visit the Tekla Extranet or email TeklaStructures.Support.CAN@dowco.com.

After upgrading your 12 or 13 versions:

Edit the user.bat file if the license was installed on a server Add as a second line,after line @echo off: set XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST=27000@myservername Activate the temporary entitlement with the Tekla Licensing Administration Tool and run LMTools After you return your dongle key(s) to Dowco Technologies we will send a permanent entitlement file or may continue to send you temporary monthly entitlements depending on your account. Prior to installing successive entitlement files you must deactivate the previous temporary entitlement and then copy over and activate the permanent one.

Some basic facts about FLEXnet: Tekla.lic

is always located on the computer where you installed the Tekla Structures License Server package is always modified (if needed) on server computer must be modified if you use a separate license server with work stations connected to it is never modified on client computers (as they are obtaining the licenses from the separate server machine) does not necessarily need to be modified if you run server locally on your TS workstation modifications are not related to TS versions same tekla.lic serves all the FLEXenabled TS versions

License Server installed on a standalone computer for one user:

Install Tekla 14.0 or 14.1 the License Server software (from the CD or download it) This creates a folder called C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server You will receive a file called the EntitlementCertificate.html in your email Copy the EntitlementCertificate.html to the C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder Run the Tekla License Administration Tool from your START menu Run LMTools and reread the license file (must be done only once) Open Tekla

US Recommended connections
Because Tekla Structures comes with a large set of custom components, finding the best components from this group is sometimes difficult with the Component Catalog, not to mention the trouble of using old connection toolbars! Tekla has added a nice help for detailers into 14.0 localization, a set of components which are typically used in North American jobs. Users can find them easily in new models by typing recommended to the Component Catalog search field, and a nice set of basic components for typical U.S. projects will be available. This information is stored in the ComponentCatalog.txt file in the C:\TeklaStructures\14.0\environments\usimp\system folder. Copying this file to the system folders of previous versions will also work.

License Server installed on a file server to serve several users:

Install the License Server software at the file server (or download it) Edit the Tekla.lic file to indicate the server name (this is most critical step) Copy an Entitlement file to your file server hard drive (youll receive it in an email) Run the Tekla License Administration Tool at the file server from your START menu Run LMTools from the file server and reread the license file (done only once) Open Tekla at the work station and enter the file server name 27000@myservername

License Administration Tool (LAT)

Is always installed and run on the computer that hosts the entitlement certificate (license)

LMTools
is installed when you install the license server (LAT) is always run from the computer that hosts the entitlement certificate can be used to start and stop the license sever too correct some problems that may occur can be run from a work station computer to give a Status Inquiry about the servers license usage can be run to determine if you have used the correct server name and other diagnostics

Determining your Server Name

The quickest way to determine the name of the server is to log onto the server and click the Windows START menu right-click on MY COMPUTER >> Properties In the popup youll see the COMPUTER NAME tab Open this to view the full computer name

Server Address
when you type in the server address at startup (ver 14) this information is saved to system registry, not to a file therefore, in version 14 the user.ini is not edited for the XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST path The usual address formats are 27000@myservername (27000 is the default TCP/IP port number for the license service) @myservername, @ipaddress or @myserver_ipaddress

Incorrect PIPE Profile Wall Thicknesses in US Imperial Catalog

Tekla Structures 13.1 and 14.0 US Imperial profile catalog has one error you should note: the wall thicknesses of EDI compliant pipe profiles are double what they should be. In the example below, the right wall thickness would be 1/2" untitled.PNG If you have a profile catalog using these incorrect values, you can request a file from support which fixes the problem. The US Imperial environment default profile catalog will be fixed to Tekla Structures 14.1.

Switching to FLEXnet
Releasing Dongle keys is always a concern because you may still work with models that are based on version 12.0 and 13.0 which were not FLEXnet capable. Versions 12 and 13 can all be upgraded to FLEXnet with a simple