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In MasterFrame, Grid Lines serve the same purpose as they do in a general arrangement drawing. They can be added to assist in identifying the positions of structural members. Grid Line positions can also be used in as part of the member referencing labels and also used in the design outputs. Within the Create menu, grid lines can also be used to assist in the positioning of structure when adding members.
The Grid Line Editor can be accessed through the first item in the Create menu. Alternatively, the Grid Line Editor can be opened using the short cut key Ctrl+G.
The Grid Line Editor interface opens in a right hand pane as shown below.
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The initial set up of the grid line panel is shown below.
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The Grid Line Editor provides tools which allow for the creation of grid lines. These can be done through a grid line creation proforma, or else manually by adding grid lines either by drawing or by specifying coordinates to position the grid lines. While in previous version of Masterframe, gird lines were positioned using nodes, effectively tying grid lines to the structure, this is no longer the case and so the grid lines now exist as lines, similar to construction lines on a drawing, and no longer need to be associated with nodes in a model.
To access the Grid Line Wizard from the Grid Line Editor, select the .png){kind=small}
icon. This opens the Generate Grid Line window.
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The Grid Line wizard allows for the creation of orthogonal, curved/radial or linear grid lines. There are also options to create a new set of grid lines, or to add created grid lines to those already within the model. There are also options which control the number of, start positions of, spacing and labelling of the grid lines. These settings depend on the type of grid lines to be created.
Creation Type:
Replace existing - uses the grid lines set up in the Generate Grid Lines wizard to replace any currently defined grid lines.
Add to existing - maintains any previously created grid lines and add those set up in the wizard to them.
If no grid lines have previously been set up, both options have the same function and will create only those grid lines defined in the wizard.
Grid Line Type:
Orthogonal XZ - the produces a set of grid lines which are parallel to the x- and z- axes, such that intersecting grid lines will meet at 90 degrees.
Curve Radial - produces a set of circular or curved grid lines with centre of radius at the input x- and z-coordinates. This option also produces as set of radial grid lines, originating from the same centre point
Rotated - this option produces a set of linear grid lines, with the gird able to be specified to run at an angle to the x- and z-axes.
The required settings for each of these grid lines types will vary, reflecting the type of inputs required.
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Orthogonal Grid Lines
The orthogonal grid lines option allows for the creation of sets of grid lines which are parallel to the x- and z-axes. Since the grid lines are defined to run parallel to the x- and z-axes there is no option to specify the centre of rotation of the angle to the x- and z-axis, and these options are therefore greyed out and not active in this option. The option are:
Number of grids - this specifies the number of grid lines to be created. This option is only used with the regular grids. For irregular grids, this option is greyed out and the number of grid lines created is specified by the spacings input
Z start position (m) - this input specifies the z-coordinate of the first grid line parallel to the x-axis. This input applies only to the Grid Line set 1 which is parallel to the x-axis.
Start Label - determines the label on the first gird line. If a letter is input the set of grid lines with be labelled with letters in ascending alphabetical order. where necessary, the label will use double letters. If a number is specified as the start label, the grid lines will be numbered in ascending number from the specified starting number. Note: On initial set up the X grid lines will be labelled with a letter while the grid lines parallel to the z-axes will be numbered. The lettering/number can be changed by clicking on the .png){kind=small}
icon at the bottom left of the Generate Grid Lines window. Alternatively, the lettered/number grid can be redefined after creating the grid line arrangement, using the Rename Grid Line area of the right hand pane.
Interval (m) - this option determine the spacing of the regular grid lines.
Spacings (m) - this option is active when creating irregular spaced grid lines. The required spacings are input, separated by a semi-colon. The number of defined spacings determines the number of grid lines created.
Once the required orthogonal system of grid line has been defined, click on .png){kind=small}
to create the grid lines.
In the Orthogonal Grid Lines option, it is possible to deactivate either the Grid Line Set 1 of Set 2, with only the active set of grid lines being created. If both Set are unchecked, the software will not make any changes to existing grid lines, or no grid line system will be created.
Curved Radial Grid Lines
The curved/radial grid lines option allows for the creation of circular grid lines with an associated set of radial gird lines. These can be specified to be set up about a centre point. The spacings of the grid lines can be regular or irregular.
Number of girds - this specifies the number of gird lines to be created for regularly spaced grid lines. For irregular grids, this option is greyed out and the number of grid lines is controlled by the number of spacings defined
Start Radius (m) - the radius of the first grid line
Start label - determines the label of the first grid line. By default, the curved grid lines will be the lettered grid lines while the radial grids will be numbered. These can be swapped using the icon. Alternatively, the grids can be relabelled after creation using the Rename Grid Lines area of the right hand pane.
Radius interval (m) - the specifies the fixed distance between the curved grid lines when creating regular gird lines. If the irregular spacing is specified this input will be greyed out and the spacing of the curved grid lines will be determined by the Radius Spacings (m) input.
Radius Spacings (m) - when created irregularly spaced grid lines, the spacing intervals are specified in metres, separated by a semi-colon. The radius of the first grid line is specified in the start radius input
Start angle (deg) - this input determines the angle of the first radial grid line, measure from the x-axis.
Angle (degrees) - for regularly spaced radial grid lines, this input determines the angle between the radial grid lines. This option is only active when creating regular grids, and will be greyed out if the Irregular spacing option is selected.
Angle spacings (deg) - this defines the angle between the radial grid lines.
Rotated Grid Lines
The rotated grid lines produces a set of linear grids, with either regular or irregular spacing, where the grids are rotated relative to the x-axis. The set-up for these grids is very similar to the Orthogonal XZ gird lines, with the addition of the input of the angle of rotation to the x-axis. The angle of rotation is specified in degrees relative to the required axis. In the Grid Line 2 set up, there is also an option to set the grid line set 2 to be perpendicular to grid line set 1, such that intersecting grids lines still meet at 90 degrees.
The default settings are for a rotation of zero degrees relative to the x-axis for grid line set 1 and a rotation of 90 degrees relative to the x-axis. In this case, this will produce a set of grid line identical to those produced using the Orthogonal XZ grid lines.
Adding Grid Lines with the Draw Function
Gird lines can be added manually be using the Create multiple grid line by drawing option, activated by clicking on the .png){kind=small}
icon. This option can be cancelled by pressing ESC.
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Expand the Create Grid Lines area
3.Click the Draw button found next to the “Create multiple grid lines by drawing” text
4.The Draw function will remain enabled until selected again, or the escape button is pressed
5.Expand the Grid Lines area if it’s not already expanded
6.Select the grid line set you want to add grid lines to using the “Grid line set to edit” radio buttons. Grid lines parallel to the x-axis are created with the Set 1 (X) option selected,while grid lines parallel to the z-axes are added by selecting the Set 2 (Z) option
7.Click the points at which you wish to add the grid lines. The first gird line will be centred at the origin point. Hoovering the mouse over a grid line will activate a snap point. With snap points active, moving the mouse pointer on screen will display a dimension value to assist in positioning grid lines. With a dimension value display on screen, typing a number in will manually define the required offset from the snap point. Pressing ENTER will then create a grid line at the typed in value from the snap point.
When entering this option when no grid lines have been previously created, the default grid line type will be the Orthogonal grid lines. To create non-orthogonal or curved grid lines using the draw function, it is necessary to also use the editing tools in the Grid Line areas to add an initial grid line type, graphically place this grid line on screen and then draw additionally grid lines of this same type. Once a grid line is added, when in the Draw mode, it is possible to continue to add new grid lines of the same type by selecting the required points on screen.
To change grid line type, the process of adding a new grid line is repeated, by clicking on Add Grid Line .png){kind=small}
and then selecting the grid line type from the Grid Line Type line under the General area of the Grid Line Editor.
When drawing grid lines, the grid lines types require the following inputs to place a gird line:
Orthogonal - since the grid lines are orthogonal to either the x- or z-axes, the distance from the relevant axis will define the location of the grid lines. The extent of the grid lines will be set by any other grid lines already created in the model and the extent of the grid lines will modify dynamically as more grid lines are created.
Between Two points - the grid line is positioned between a start and end point. Grid lines created using this method are not restricted in direction. The labelling of the grid line is controlled by the grid line set setting.
Curved - the curved grid lines can be defined in three ways. Centre and radius required the input of a centre of the circle, a circle radius and finally a start and finish angle. The start and finish angles are defined from the x-axis, with angles measured clockwise. Alternatively, a curved grid line can be created using the Between Three Points method. This requires the input of a start point, end point and a point internal to the curve. Finally, the third method to create a curved grid line is to use the Two Points + Arc Height method, where the start and end points are defined and then the distance from the mid point of the line joining the start and end points is input. The 'side' the distance is measured from controls the position of the curve.
In all of the grid line types, the input information can be selected graphically using the mouse pointer. When a point on the display is selected graphically, the values automatically fill in the right hand pane. The order information is input is in the order it appears in the right hand pane. Input information is shown in the bottom bar under the graphic display window. Additionally, values can be typed in directly to input areas in the right hand pane rather than defining the required points graphically.
Adding Grid Lines Manually
With a set of grid lines set up either by using the grid line wizard or by drawing, it is possible to add, delete or edit these grid lines using the tools in the Grid Line Editor pane on the right hand side of the screen.
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Expand the Grid Lines area
3.Select the grid line set the new grid line is to be added to using the “Grid line set to edit” radio buttons
4.Click the Add New Item button at the top of the list of grid lines
5.The input mode automatically enters “draw” mode when the button is clicked and the snap grid will become visible
6.Click anywhere on the screen to add a grid line at this location
Using Tracking Facilities While Adding a Grid Line
MasterFrame’s tracking facilities can be used to create a grid line offset from a point. When in draw mode, and with the Object Snaps enabled:
1.Hover over a point, and wait for the red X to appear – this indicates you are tracking from a point
2.Moving in a direction along the X or Z axis will indicate the distance the cursor is from the point
3.The distance can be set graphically using the mouse, or by type in a number to offset the grid line by a specified distance
Grid Line Properties
The properties of a grid line (or multiple grid lines) can be accessed and changed or amended through the property grid, found in the Grid Lines Edit panel. Clicking on a grid line, either through the graphical interface, or via the list of grid lines in the Grid Line Editor, will allow the editing of the following grid line properties
General
Grid Line Name: the identifier of the grid line, typically numerical or lettered
Grid Line Type: choose between orthogonal, between points or radial
Lock to Nodes: allows you to lock a grid line to member ends
•If a grid line is locked to a member end, when that member is moved the grid line will move with it
Location
If the grid line type is set to orthogonal, the following properties will be accessible:
X/Z Coordinate: the grid lines offset from the origin in the specific axis
If the grid line type is set between two points, the following properties will be accessible:
Start: the start location of the grid line defined by a point (X, Z) in meters
End: the end location of the grid line defined by a point (X, Z) in meters
If the grid line type is set to curved, the method used to define the curve can be set using the Curved Style property. There are three methods by which a curve can be defined:
1.Selecting centre position and radius
2.Selecting three points
3.Selecting two points and providing an arc height
Bubble Labels
The bubble labels represent the end point labels on a grid lines. Control over the label style and offsets is given by:
Label Ends Style: show the bubble label at the start, end, or both ends
Start Label Offset: the distance to offset the start label
End Label Offset: the distance to offset the end label
Selecting Multiple Grid Lines for Editing
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Expand the Grid Lines area
3.Using the Control and Shift keys, select multiple grid lines from the list
a)Only common properties will be available for editing through the property grid
Deleting Grid Lines
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Expand the Grid Lines area
3.Select the required grid line set using the “Grid line set to edit” radio buttons
4.Select grid lines to be deleted from the list of grid lines in the selected grid line set
a)Use the Control and Shift keys to select multiple grid lines
5.Click the delete button to remove the selected items
Repositioning a Grid Line Graphically
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Either
a)Click on the grid line to be edited in the interface, or
b)Click on the grid line name in the list of grid lines
3.Click the Draw button next to the “Graphically place the current grid line” text
4.Click the interface at the desired location to reposition the grid line(s)
Note: The number of clicks required to reposition a grid line will vary depending on the type of grid line. The number of inputs to be selected using the mouse pointer reflects the number of inputs required to define a type of grid line.
Orthogonal grid lines will only require on click to reposition them along the X or Z axis
Grid lines formed between two points will require a start and end point
Rotated grids will require differing degrees of input depending on the curve style
Renaming Grid Lines
To rename the grid lines automatically:
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Expand the Grid Lines area
3.Select the grid line set to be renamed using the “Grid line set to edit” radio buttons
4.Expand the Rename Grid Lines area
5.Set the naming style to either Lettered or Numbered
6.Provide a start value for the grid line set
7.Click the Rename button to apply the changes
Grid lines can also be renamed manually, using the Gird Line property gird.
Reversing Grid Line Names
1.Open the Grid Line Editor
2.Expand the Grid Lines area
3.Select the grid line set to be renamed using the “Grid line set to edit” radio buttons
4.Expand the Rename Grid Lines area
5.Click the Reverse button