Beam Attributes: Reference Node

Description

Aligns the second principal axis of selected beam elements to a node. This provides one way to rotate the beam about its longitudinal axis.

The alignment is achieved by changing the principal axis angle of the beam without assigning the reference node, or by assigning the reference node.

Beam reference node attributes are independent of load and freedom cases.

Dialog

Node Number

The reference node number as an integer.

If a real number is entered, the node number is rounded to the nearest integer.

Assigning a zero reference node is the same as deleting the attribute.

Negative node numbers are ignored.

Action

The method used to align the beam.

Two options are available.

• Align

  Selected beams are converted to Beam2 and the principal axis angle is set to align the principal 2 axis with the specified node.

  If the ends of a beam are collinear with the specified node, or if the node number is invalid, the principal axis angle is set to zero.

• Assign

  Selected beams are converted to Beam3 and the reference node is set as the specified node.

Common Controls

• Retrieve from model
• Keep selection
• Scale / Add / Delete / Apply

See Also

• Beam Elements: Local and Principal Axes
• Beam Attributes: Principal Axis Angle
• Align Tools: Beam Axes to Plate
• Align Tools: Beam Axes to UCS
• Align Tools: Beam Axes to Framework
• Entities: Beam Elements