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TradeSteel framing

Find every bolted connection, from Vertex BD to erection on site.

Vertex BD draws a light steel framing house no differently from a timber frame panel: sections, boards, penetrations, all in the same environment. Field-Viewer shows that model at the workstation and on site, with the cutting list and every bolted connection alongside it.

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The Field-Viewer screen with the elevation of the steel portal frame on gridline B of Vermeulen Warehouse: two columns HEA 200 on base plates with anchors in concrete pad foundations, and on top of them a beam IPE 240 that connects to each column with a haunch and a bolted end plate. At plus 3 200 each column carries a bracket with the crane rail beam in section on top of it, an IPE 200 of 100 by 200, with the tag crane rail plus 3 200 between them. Diagonally across the bay runs the dotted bracing, an angle L 90 by 90 by 9 at 30 degrees. The right-hand end plate connection is tapped: it sits in a highlighted frame with a tap ring on it, and the info panel below reports end plate, eight M16 grade 8.8 bolts and a torque of 210 newton metres. On the left the dimension line of the height 4 200 millimetres, at the bottom the span 6 000. At the top is the version V7, at the bottom the buttons select (active), measure, layers and report.VERMEULEN WAREHOUSE · GRIDLINE BV7STEELWORKCRANE RAIL · +3 200IPE 240HEA 200L 90 × 90 × 9 · 30°4 2006 000END PLATE · 8 × M16 8.8TORQUE · 210 NmSELECTMEASURELAYERSREPORT

Cutting list per section, at the workstation

A steel frame element has just as many components as a timber frame panel, only in galvanised steel instead of timber.

C-studs and U-tracks

Every cold-formed section gets its own mark number, exactly as with a timber frame panel. The length and the punch-outs for penetrations are shown against the section you are currently working on.

Bolted connections

A connection between column and beam shows the number of bolts, the size (for example M12 or M16) and the tightening torque, so the erection crew does not have to guess which bolt goes where.

Wind bracing

The diagonals that keep the whole structure stable appear in the same cutting list as the columns and beams, including the angle at which they are erected.

Steel framing alongside timber, in the same model

Vertex BD draws a steel frame element no differently, at heart, from a timber frame panel: sections, boards, penetrations, all in the same drawing environment. Field-Viewer shows that result in exactly the same way, whether the project is in timber or in steel.

For a company that combines both techniques, that means one way of working on the floor instead of two. The same tablet, the same controls, only the sections on screen change from timber to steel.

Erection in sequence, connection by connection

A steel frame element leaving the hall has to be erected somewhere in a fixed sequence, just as with timber frame construction. Tap a column or beam, and you see straight away which connection it belongs to and which bolts go with it.

If the drawing office changes something about a connection after the element has already been made, the erection crew follows that change too, instead of continuing to work from a detail that has since been replaced.

See how that works on the floor

The Field-Viewer screen with the elevation of Vermeulen Warehouse along gridlines B to D: two columns HEA 200 on base plates are already standing, the beam IPE 200 between them lights up as the part now being placed, and the third column, the second beam and the bracing are dotted as what still follows. At the connection it reads end plate, 4 times M16; below the first bay the dimension 5 000 and below that assembly, step 3 of 8.VERMEULEN WAREHOUSE · GRIDLINE B-DV7STEEL FRAMEEND PLATE · 4 × M165 000ASSEMBLY · STEP 3 OF 8SELECTMEASUREREPORT

Which bolt goes where

A subcontractor who only has to erect the structure sometimes gets nothing on site but a printed detail of one connection, without the rest of the model to go with it. If the bolt does not fit straight away, it is guesswork until someone with a Tekla licence gets a phone call.

With the model itself to hand, you turn to the same connection, see the full detail including the wind bracing around it, and know within a few seconds whether you are dealing with an M12 or an M16, without a phone call to the office.

See how the same principle works for timber frame construction

Frequently asked questions about steel framing

Does Field-Viewer also work if the steel frame model comes from Tekla instead of Vertex BD?

Yes, via an IFC export you view a Tekla model in the same way. For light steel framing in Vertex BD itself, you do not even need an intermediate step.

Can a subcontractor who only erects the structure work with this without their own Tekla licence?

Yes. Field-Viewer does not replace design software, only the viewer on site. The erection crew opens the model, no licence or installation needed.

Can I see the tightening torque and bolt size of a specific connection?

If that data is in the model, it appears at the connection you tap, together with the rest of the cutting list.

Related trades

Field-Viewer turns around the same model, but every trade looks at it differently. Curious what that looks like in a neighbouring trade?

Mostly working in the hall, at the bench? See In the workshop.

See it on your own project

Request a demo with your own project, no obligation. We will look together at whether Field-Viewer suits your team in Flanders, in your workshop or on your site.

Not ready for a demo yet? Leave your email address and you will hear from us when there is news about Field-Viewer. Not a newsletter, a few emails a year at most.