Steel

Last revised: November 11, 2018

The MicroStation CONNECT replacement workflows can be found here: Creating a Parametric Steel Section (Instructional Video) 
The MicroStation V8 download for this utility can be found here.

Installation Instructions

The following files can all be placed in the ..\MicroStation\mdlapps\ folder:

• steel.ma
• steel.dll
• steel.htm
• steel99.stbl
• cisc.stf
• corusCUSTOM.stf
• German.stf
• japan.stf
• korean.stf
• maisc.stf
• pacific.stf
• Polish.stf
• Russion.stf
• uk.stf
• usAISC21.stf
• usLRFDv3.stf

The steel section data files (.stbl and .stf files) can be put in different directories if desired (see below).

To load Steel:

Key in: MDL LOAD Steel from the Key-in Browser

or

from Utilities > MDL Applications > Browse, select Steel

To use Steel

After the application is loaded, a 'Steel' tool box will be displayed. The tool box contains two icon: 'Place Steel Section', and 'Steel Section Parameters'. Clicking on place steel icon will start placing a steel section. The steel section is chosen in the Tool Settings dialog. Additional placement parameters are in the Steel Section Parameters dialog, accessible using the Steel Section Parameters Icon.

Section data tables

When the application starts up, it reads one or more steel section data tables from ASCII file(s). These files contain the section dimensions. Steel for MicroStation V8i supports two different steel table formats. One format is that of the "steel97" application that has previously been available, and the other is the steel table format from the Structural for TriForma application. The latter format have been updated more recently and are believed to be more reliable, however there is no warranty, express or implied regarding the accuracy of the steel table information in either format.

A number of steel section files have been included - steel99.stbl, which was compiled for the steel99 application available on the ProCADD web site (), modified to the steel97 format; and 12 steel files in the Structural for TriForma format (cisc.stf, corusCUSTOM.stf, German.stf, japan.stf, korean.stf, maisc.stf, pacific.stf, Polish.stf, Russion.stf, uk.stf, usAISC21.stf, usLRFDv3.stf). We recommend that you select the steel tables that are applicable to your work and delete the rest. Alternatively, they can be moved to different directories and the STEEL_TBL configuration variable set up to find the appropriate tables for a particular project (see below).

The format of steel97 application ASCII data format contains the section name, section type, and dimensions.

   ------- Example --------------------------------------------------

      S12x35           2  12.000000 0.428000  5.078000  0.544000  1.187500
      S12x31.8         2  12.000000 0.350000  5.000000  0.544000  1.187500
      S10x35           2  10.000000 0.594000  4.944000  0.491000  1.125000
      S10x25.4         2  10.000000 0.311000  4.661000  0.491000  1.125000
      L8x8x1           7  8.000000  1.000000  8.000000  1.625000 
      L8x8x0.875       7  8.000000  0.875000  8.000000  1.500000 
      L8x8x0.75        7  8.000000  0.750000  8.000000  1.375000 

   ------------------------------------------------------------------

The section types are:

      Type ID     Shape type
      -----------------------------------------
      1            W-Shape
      2            S-Shape
      3            HP-Shape
      4            M-Shape
      5            C-Std. Channels
      6            MC-Misc. Channels
      7            L-Angles
      8            WT-Tees
      9            MT-Tees
      10           ST-Tees
      11           Struct. Tubing
      12           Std. Pipe
      13           X-Strong Pipe
      14           XX-Strong Pipe

Files in this format must have the extension ".stbl".

The TriForma format differs in some particulars. See the beginning of the file usLRFDv3.stf for documentation. These files must have the extension ".stf". Note that the steel application cannot process steel sections with types 6,7,8,13,14,15,16, and 17 in .stf files - their definitions are simply ignored.

The TriForma format follows the new AISC guidelines and does not include fillets for many of the shapes, since these vary widely during manufacturing. The program supports nonzero radius values, but in many cases the radius is set to zero. More of the .stf format steel section files will be available soon.

The application finds the steel tables using the following algorithm:

1. If there is a configuration variable "STEEL_TBL", the application looks in that directory for all files with extensions ".stbl" and ".stf" and attempts to read them.
2. If there is no configuration variable "STEEL_TBL", the application looks in the directory that is pointed to by the MS_DATA configuration variable and attempts to read all files with extensions ".stbl" and ".stf".
3. Looks in the directory pointed to by the "TFDIR_DATA" directory, if there is one, for files with ".stf" extension.
4. The application always looks for all files with extension ".stbl" and ".stf" in the directory that the application is loaded from.

Placing sections

• Click on the "Place Steel Section" icon.
• Select the appropriate steel section table from the top option button.
• Select the appropriate steel section type from the second option button.
• Select the desired section by name in the combo box.
• Choose whether to fill or hatch the steel section, or neither.
• Indicate whether you want to create a cell from the steel section.
• The cell name will be the section name if this is turned on.
• Choose colors, etc., by using the Steel Section Parameters dialog, if desired.
• The hatch spacing is equal to the current text height times the spacing factor.
• The justification point is stored per section type. To change it, edit the value in the Justification column of the table in the parameter dialog. Double click slowly in the desired cell to get the combo box to come up.

Please post any questions or comments regarding this utility in the Bentley Library Forum.

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