Structural Modeler V8i

Compress Design Development Time

To facilitate the design and modeling of complex structures in steel, concrete, and timber, Structural Modeler supports the widest variety of structural objects and materials with a comprehensive range of dedicated tools. Components can be created as hot-rolled and cold-formed steel members from 18 international steel tables, roof and floor metal deck, steel trusses, steel bar joists, concrete double tees, spread footings, retaining walls, grade beams, caissons/drilled piers, and many more. Concrete components, such as foundations, walls, columns, slabs, and beams, are parametric allowing dimension-driven creation and modification, with support for a wide variety of cross sections.

Unique in the industry, intersecting members are automatically coped or cut back from supporting members with user-definable clearance, and—if necessary—rotated to the slope angle of their supports. If the supporting is column rotates or changed in size, the cope of the supported beam is adjusted automatically. Members may be straight or along any regular curve or B-Spline curve. In addition, powerful utilities are provided for the parametric creation of steel trusses, corbels, platforms, stairs, etc. Connectivity between components further accelerate the implementation of design changes, thus allowing the evaluation of far more design iterations or the compression of the design development process.

Structural Modeler provides immediate visual feedback and streamlines the creation of convincing presentations without the need to export data to an external visualization application, because powerful design visualization tools, which include ray and particle tracing, radiosity, animation, lighting, and camera controls, and more, are seamlessly integrated.

In addition, Structural Modeler not only supports Adobe PDF, the standard for electronic deliverables in AEC, including embedded 3D models, but also connects to the Google Earth service. 2D and 3D models in DGN and DWG can be published directly to the Google Earth environment, so you can zoom from space onto a site, view the facility in the context of rich geography imagery, fly around the structure, and then view associated content, like framing plans, details, schedules, rendered images, web pages, and more via embedded links.

Benefit

• Rapidly design and model the most complex structures
• Gain more time to evaluate more design options
• Get immediate visual feedback
• Better communicate the design intent and project information to stakeholders
• Achieve significant time savings in the design development phase

Structural Components of Any Complexity

With a full range of advanced solids modeling tools, Structural Modeler allows the creation of structural components of virtually any shape and complexity, such as free-form concrete columns, beams, pile caps, caissons, foundations, and more, which may contain openings, recesses, and protrusions.

Unlike applications that use facets to emulate curved surfaces, Structural Modeler creates truly curved and double-curved surfaces and solids for accurate construction information and smooth rendering.

Benefit

• Create complex structural components
• Extract accurate construction information from truly double-curved component
• Smooth rendering

Integrate Design, Analysis, and Documentation

Simultaneously with the physical members, Structural Modeler creates the analytical model, which contains finite element data, such as nodes, member releases, boundary conditions, loads and finite element segments, within the same objects. A variety of load cases and load combinations can also be created and managed in the model, and structural engineers have complete control over the numbering, splitting and location of the analytical elements. This finite element information integrates directly with the leading structural analysis applications, such as STAAD Pro, RAM Structural System, MIDAS/GENw, Oasys GSA and SFRAME. Changes as the results of the analysis and member optimization can be applied to the Structural Modeler model, thus allowing round tripping of data between design, analysis, and documentation.

In addition, Structural Modeler supports the industry standards CIS/2 and SDNF to interoperate with other structural analysis and steel detailing applications.
 
Benefit

• Seamlessly integrate with leading structural analysis applications
• Avoid data loss and re-entering of data
• Integrate with analysis and detailing applications via industry standards
• Make better informed engineering decisions with accurate analysis data

Reduce Construction Documentation Time

From a consistent building information model, coordinated plans, framing layouts, sections, and elevations are generated automatically, which comply with user-definable standards. Full control is given over the cut planes and forward and reflected view representation, as well as levels, symbology, material hatching and patterning, annotation and labeling, and dimensioning. User-definable extraction rules produce a variety of shop drawing representations, such as with single- or double-line, hidden lines, labeling and annotation of structural members, and changes since the last extraction can be highlighted.

Benefit

• Create coordinated construction documents
• Control every aspect of representation
• Achieve significant time savings in the construction drawings phase

Predict Performance, Quantities, and Costs

User-definable properties associated with structural members are used to query the building information model and to make selective or global changes to the geometry and non-graphical information. Accurate bills of materials and cost reports, schedules, and specifications can be generated in Microsoft Excel that include lengths, volumes, weights, finite element segments, center of mass, surface area, volumes, and more. Via a bi-directional between the model and the Microsoft Excel, changes to attributes, such as steel section size and height of member, in the spreadsheet to single or multiple structural components update both the physical and analytical model.

Benefit

• Query any aspect of the building information model
• Make geometry changes through associated attributes
• Generate accurate schedule and reports
• Modify the structural model by editing spreadsheets

Avoid Errors and Omissions

Structural Modeler automatically coordinates structural design and construction documentation through all project phases and manages inherent component attributes and properties significant for design, documentation, analysis, construction, and operations. All information is tightly linked, so changes made in either the physical model, analytical model, or drawing are reflected in corresponding representations and reports. Structural objects and components can be pre-defined and stored with settings for section name, level, 2D and 3D symbology, and default properties for coping, quantity takeoff, rendering, etc., thus enforcing corporate and project standards as well as capturing knowledge for reuse on subsequent projects.

Benefit

• Assure consistency across all forms of project documentation
• Enforce compliance with corporate and project standards
• Capture knowledge for reuse on subsequent projects

Empower Your Organization

Unlike applications that impose a particular way of working, Structural Modeler provides complete workflow flexibility. Using the same tools and an identical interface, you can work in a traditional 2D plan, advanced 3D model, or analytical model environment, attach attributes and properties to structural components and objects at the time of placement or add them as the project progresses. 

You can promote "dumb" 2D graphics, even if from other CAD applications, to "intelligent" 3D objects.

The model can be started in Structural Modeler then exported to an analytical application. Analysis and optimization results can then be imported back into Structural Modeler for the creation of construction shop drawings. Alternatively, the model can be created in an analytical application, then imported into Structural Modeler to create shop drawings and schedules. In any case, changes made in either application may be tracked and synchronized.

Available in major languages, Structural Modeler is delivered with localized content for a variety of country-specific CAD standards. Datasets include settings for 2D and 3D symbology, level, and properties for quantity takeoff and rendering, plus attribute schemas, seed files, steel tables, annotation symbols, report templates, and more. So Structural Modeler can be used right out of the box.

The user interface of Structural Modeler is easy to use, intuitive and self-explanatory, making 3D modeling as simple as 2D drafting. Tools are provided to tailor the user interface for particular tasks, workflows, or preferences. In addition to extensive user manuals and documentation, online-help is always at hand.

The Bentley Institute develops and delivers accredited professional training to help busy infrastructure professionals enhance their skills, increase productivity, and stay competitive. With unlimited access to all distance learning and OnDemand eLearning courses, the Bentley LEARN training subscription maximizes an organization’s return on investment in professional development by providing effective learning opportunities to all users while reducing costs and streamlining budgeting. The end result is a highly effective, well-trained workforce that increases revenues and profitability through service offerings that meet market needs and improved project delivery that’s on time and within budget.

Benefit

• Work the way that best suits your projects and workflows, not the application
• Use Structural Modeler right out of the box with localized content
• Shorten the learning curve
• Empower structural engineers and consultants
• Streamline budgeting for training
• Achieve significant savings in training costs and greater return on software investment

Collaborate and Interoperate Better

Structural Modeler is fully integrated with other Bentley applications, such as STAAD.Pro, RAM Structural Systems, Bentley Architecture, Bentley Building Mechanical Systems, Bentley Building Electrical Systems, and Bentley Navigator, providing a truly multi-disciplinary collaboration environment.

For interoperability with CAD-based applications, all major industry standards, such as DGN, DWG, DXF, STEP, and IGES, are supported. Model information can be exported in STP-format to facilitate rapid prototyping with laser cutters, 3D printers, and stereo lithography machines. Structural Modeler includes full support for the coordination view of IFC 2x, the emerging standard for information exchange between object-based BIM applications in the building industry, as well as the industry standards CIS/2 and SDNF to interoperate with other structural analysis and steel detailing applications.

Benefit

• Better collaborate and integrate
• Collaborate seamlessly across disciplinary borders in shared multi-disciplinary models
• Interoperate across different file formats
• Facilitate rapid prototyping
• Build as one

Work in a Managed Environment

Structural Modeler tightly integrates with Bentley ProjectWise, a collaboration server that manages access to project information across a LAN, WAN, VPN, or through the Internet, and publishes and synchronizes shared information, manages change, protects intellectual property rights, and more.

Benefit

• Share and synchronize project information securely with project partners
• Manage change effectively
• Protect your intellectual property