Joints

SKIP THIS CHAPTER. WAITING FOR BUG CASE 134361

Earlier in the training, we used joints to connect the walls in corners and straight connections. Now it's time to create a joint definition.

Figure 1. Corner joint.

Create joint definition

Go to IMPACT - Elements - Wall Joints to start the command.

Make sure that current selection is set to 'Project' (1) and click 'New' (2) to create a new definition.

Figure 2. Joint definitions.

Figure 3. Create new joint definition.

The joint contains of two parts; endcaps and cast-in materials. In the first tab, the endcaps will be configured. 

Figure 4. Endcap tab.

1. There is a red cross with numbers 1-4 in the middle of the preview. This is a plan view of a joint with four walls. It means that we can configure joints with up to four walls. 
2. The joint can consist of more than one element type. The available ones is walls, insulated walls, and sandwich walls. 
3. The configuration of endcaps.
4. When we use solid wall endcaps, they can be mirrored to fit the joint. 
5. Offset in x-direction.
6. Offset in y-direction.
7. Rotation.
8. If the joint should be where a wall meets the middle of another wall (see Figure 5) this can be configured with the setting for 'Continuous wall'.

Figure 5. Continuous wall joint.

We are going to configure a corner joint. It doesn't matter which walls we use, but they need to be in a 90 degree angle. Let's use walls 1 and 2. Select 'Sandwich' and the endcap 'WD34-115' on both walls. 

Figure 6. Select element type and endcaps.

The next step is to use the mirror, x- and y-offsets, and rotation to configure the joint. In our case, we just need to mirror wall number 2. 

Figure 7. Configure joint geometry.

Switch to tab 'Cast-in Material' to configure the cast-in materials which is going to be used to connect the two walls. 

Figure 8. Cast-in material tab.

1. There can be more than one cast-in material added to each wall. This setting will be used to assign which wall the cast-in material should be inserted in.
2. Cast-in material.
3. When the cast-in material is selected, the family and type is automatically presented.
4. The view decides in which orientation the cast-in material should be added into the wall. The views are numbered 1-6, see Figure 9 below.
   
   Figure 9. Views of cast-in materials.
5. Offset in x-direction.
6. Offset in y-direction.
7. Rotation in the cast-in material according to the perpendicular plane for the selected view.
   
   Figure 10. Rotation of cast-in material.
8. If the cast-in material have a countersinking parameter configured, it can be driven by the countersinking setting in the joint.
9. Which face (Front/Back or Left/Right) the cast-in material is inserted in.
10. Possibility to add comment for the specific cast-in material. This will show on the shop drawing.
11. For joints where the endcap and cast-in materials will be added symmetrical in both walls, it's possible to add an offset to prevent that the cast-in materials are colliding. See Figure 11.

Figure 11. Offset for cast-in materials.

We are going to add welding plates to each wall. See Figure 12 for values.

Figure 12. Configure cast-in material for joint.

The cast-in materials are now configured for placement according to the plan view. The elevation on the other hand is not configured yet. This will be done with the setup option in the bottom. There are two options.

1. Set an offset from bottom (A) and top (B) and then add a number of cast-in materials (C). The spacing will be calculated according to the wall.
   
   Figure 13. Setup option 1.
2. Set an offset from bottom (A) and top (B) and a spacing for the cast-in materials (C). The number of cast-in materials will be calculated according to the wall.
   
   Figure 14. Setup option 2.

We are goin to use setup 1 with values A=600mm, B=400mm, and C=2.

Figure 15. Joint.

The last tab 'Linear Cast-in Materials' are used where one wall meets the middle of another wall (See Figure 5 above). We'll skip that in this exercise. 

Save the joint by clicking 'OK'.

Use joint

We will now use the joint in our model. There have been a revision on level 2. 

Open level 2. Set the visual style to 'Wireframe'.

Go to Insert - Link - Link CAD to import the DWG reference.

Figure 16. Import DWG reference.

Find the file 'Lev_2_joints_revision.dwg'. To make sure that the scale is ok, change the 'Import units' to 'millimeter'. Finish with 'Open'.

Figure 17. Link the file and change the units.

The external reference will appear in the plan drawing. In the corners of grid lines A-3 and H-3 there is revision clouds. This is where the new joint will be used. 

Go to IMPACT - Elements - Connect wall. 

Select the two walls in corner A-3 and continue with 'Finish'.

The dialog for the joints will appear. There are now two joints available for the corner. Select the new joint 'AD6-006' and end with 'OK'. 

PICTURE AFTER CASE 134361

Figure 18. Select joint AD6-006.

The joint is now added, and the command is active. Select the two walls in corner H-3 and continue with 'Finish' and then 'OK'.

Figure 19. Select walls in H-3.

PICTURE AFTER CASE 134361

Figure 20. Result.

The joints have now been updated according to the revision. It's time to save the walls into the database. 

Go to IMPACT - Elements - Save Walls to start the command. 

Select the four walls and continue with the 'ECS' key. End with 'Save'.

PICTURE AFTER CASE 134361

Figure 21. Save wall.

Next: MEP Keys