Creating Tapered Columns

[DrugFree906]

Hello All,

 

This is my first post, but I've been reading your helpful replies for quite some time now. Glad to finally be a 'card carrying member' of CADTutor!

 

My question: How can you create tapered steel I-beam columns in AutoCAD Architecture?

 

I think some people refer to the type of construction where these tapered columns are used, as 'Pre-Engineered' structures?

 

Thus far, I have tried the following (in this order):

 

1. Looked in the Content Browser. No luck.

2. Looked in the Structural Member Catalog. Interesting, but no luck.

3. Tried to modify a column pulled from the Design Tool Pallet. No luck.

4. Tried to create a tapered Custom Column. I was hoping that you could select TWO profiles drawn at different Z elevations (top and bottom), but no such luck. Looks like you can only select a single polyline profile, and essentially extrude it into a custom column shape.

5. Tried to modify a previously created custom column. Again, no luck.

6. Lastly, I drew the exact tapered column I want using lines. I drew this in three dimensions (obviously). Next, I selected all these lines and attempted to find a command that would convert them in to a column object. If such a command exists, I didn't find it. Fail.

 

I come to you, tired and beaten.

I can't believe I'm the first person to want to use AutoCAD Architecture to draw a tapered building column.

 

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you much,

 

Nate

[ReMark]

Heck, in plain AutoCAD one could start with the "base" profile of the column and using the Extrude command with the Taper option get the desired results. Another option, in plain AutoCAD, would be to loft between the normal column profile and the slightly smaller column profile.

[Noahma]

Well, there are several ways to create something that might work. The first is to pull in the I-beam shape from the structural member catalog (search around the manage tab for it) And then add a trim plane to it. The second would be to create the column by mass elements, then attach any info you need to that column via Property sets.

 

Is there a picture you can attach? That might give us a better idea of what you are trying to do.

[Popz]

You can open "HELP" and type "rigid frame" in the search window and get a way to do this... but it's not easy to follow (IMO)...

I too would love to know how to do this type of frame, we do a lot of steel framed pre-engineered buildings...

Been thinking of building one with SketchUp and importing into ACA to see how that works.