1. Home
  2. Tekla Structures
  3. Adding Screws to the Bolt Catalog & Modeling Screws

Adding Screws to the Bolt Catalog & Modeling Screws

Tekla Structures Screws screw lag TEK Titen hilti Simpson Kwik-Bolt KB Power-Stud Screw Bolt Tapcon
Not version-specific
Tekla Structures
Environment
Not environment-specific

In Tekla Structures, bolts and screws are both defined in the Bolt catalog and Bolt assembly catalog. To add a screw it first must be created in the Bolt catalog; then the screw and applicable washers need to be defined in the Bolt assembly catalog. Once a bolt assembly has been created, it can be used to model the screws.

Add the screw to the bolt catalog

Open the Bolt Catalog: File (☰) > Catalogs > Bolt catalog

Image
File (three horizontal lines) then Catalogs then Bolt catalog

When adding bolts you can highlight other bolts that are similar to what you need to get started, as described in the Product guide Add a bolt to the catalog. With screws however, you may want to start from the beginning.

Image
Bolt catalog dialog with boxes and numbers correlating to the steps listed

 

  1. Name the screw. Here we are adding a ½"ø (diameter), 6 threads per inch, 13" long hex head (HH) lag screw.
  2. Click Add.
  3. Change the properties of the screw. Make sure you give it a unique standard, and add dimensional properties. For diameter, round to the nearest 1/16” increment for this to work properly in the model. Other fields can be accurate down to 1/128”.

Top Thick = Bolt head thickness
Span size = Dimension across flats
Top diam = Dimension across points

Image
usa_AStoBC_03.jpg
  1. When finished adding the desired screw sizes click OK. Save confirmation dialog box appears, click Save changes to model folder. Click the Update button to finish.
Image
usa_AStoBC_04.png

This creates a new screwdb.db file in the model folder that contains your new parts. This can be copied to a Firm folder or model template for use in other new projects.

Because we added a new standard, the bolt assembly (the parts make up the screw) needs to be defined. Even though a screw may not get a nut or washer, that assembly still needs to be defined so that it works properly.

Define a new bolt assembly

Go to File (☰) > Catalogs > Bolt catalog and select Bolt Assembly Catalog.

Image
Bolt assembly catalog dialog with boxes and numbers correlating to the steps listed
  1. In the Full name text box, add a name for the bolt standard.
  2. Fill out the text fields as desired.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Make sure the assembly you just added is highlighted in the menu. Point 4 in the picture above sets the grade of the new screw you added in the bolt catalog. Since nuts and washers are not used, just leave those as is.

Tip:
If your screw requires a washer, make sure it is added to the bolt catalog and referenced here.

  1. Click Update.
  2. Finally click OK.  A dialog appears, asking if you want to save changes to the model folder. Click OK again. This creates a new assdb.db file in the model folder. This can be copied to a Firm folder or model template for use in other new projects.

Modeling Screws

To use these screws, you will model them similar to bolts: using the Create Bolts tool. Screws are handled a little differently than bolts.  You must make sure the properties are defined correctly.

  1. Choose the name of the standard defined in the bolt assembly catalog.
  2. Since the screw will not use a far side (opposite head) nut or washer, Tekla cannot calculate the required length by normal means (e.g. grip). You must set which length to use by putting a negative value in the cut length field. Please note that this length must be the same one that is defined in the bolt catalog.
    Image
    The bolt catalog entry for the lag screw and the modeling bolt properties. There are boxes and a double headed arrow highlighting the Cut length is the negative value of the bolt (screw) length.
  3. Make sure that the appropriate checkboxes for washers and nuts are not selected.
Was this helpful?