Create parametric profiles by sketching
You can create parametric user-defined profiles by sketching. You can change the dimensions of parametric profiles each time that you use them in a model.
To create parametric profiles by sketching, do these tasks in the order shown here:
- Sketch the outline of a profile
- Refine the shape of a sketched profile by adding a constraint
- Add dimensions to a sketched profile
- Define positioning planes for a sketched profile
- Check a sketched profile
- Save a sketched profile
- Use sketched profiles in a model
- Modify sketched profiles
- Example: Create a symmetric C-shaped profile by sketching
To get started, sketch the outline of the profile.
About the sketch editor
Use the cross section sketch editor to create and modify sketched profiles.
When you first open the sketch editor, the view is empty. The grid coordinates and labels that you see in the sketch editor depend on the grid properties of your actual Tekla Structures model.
When you open the sketch editor, Tekla Structures also opens the Sketch Browser and the Variables dialog.
About the Sketch Browser
The Sketch Browser shows the objects (lines, arcs, circles, constraints, dimensions, and chamfers) of a sketched profile in a hierarchical, tree structure.
The Sketch Browser automatically opens when you open the sketch editor.
When you click an object in the sketch editor, Tekla Structures highlights the object in the Sketch Browser.
The Sketch Browser shows the following information about each sketched profile:
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Extrusion type (0, 1, or 2) and thickness of the sketched profile
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Lines, arcs, and circles
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Constraints
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Distances and dimensions and their values
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Chamfers and their type (0=None, 1=Line ... 7=Line and arc) and dimensions.
Variables in sketched profiles
Variables can define fixed properties, or they can include formulas, so that Tekla Structures calculates the property value each time you use the profile in a model.
Use the Variables dialog to define the properties of a sketched profile. The Variables dialog automatically opens when you open the sketch editor.
Note:
The Variables dialog functions the same way as the corresponding dialog in the custom component editor. For more information on how to use variables, see Add variables to a custom component.