Understanding Part Orientation

Understanding part orientation can take some time to figure out while modeling in Tekla
can be accomplished by simply changing the parts to the correct position values through trial
and error, having a good grasp of these concepts can help speed up productivity, and be an
all around better Tekla modeler.
First we will explore some aspects of the Tekla model that affect the position of parts, and
then tie these together with some examples.

Coordinate Systems
There are different types of coordinate systems in Tekla we will discuss Global and Local.
The Global Coordinate refers to the green cube you see in the bottom corner of a new model.

This indicates the default 0,0,0 location of the model, and the default X, Y, and Z directions.
The Global Coordinate is static and cannot be changed. It is mostly referenced during import
and export operations from Tekla Structures.
The Local Coordinate system is also known as the current active Work Plane. It is represented
both as a red coordinate arrow with the X and Y directions, and as a 3D icon that also
includes the Z direction.

The Local Coordinate system has a direct affect on the positioning values in your Beam and
Column Property dialog boxes. A value used when the Local coordinate system is set one way
will give completely different results if the Local coordinate system is moved or changed.

It is crucial that you are aware of your current Work Plane/Local coordinate when setting the
position properties of the parts you are adding to the model.

Reference Lines
Parts in the model are located by a theoretical line between the starting and ending handles
called the Reference Line. This reference line is set by the locations of the handles in the
model. Changing the position values in the Part Properties will move the profile around the
reference line; it does not move the location of the reference line in the model.
All of the positioning properties are based on the reference line looking from the start handle
towards the end handle.

Faces
Next we need to examine the concept of the part faces. Not counting the ends, parts have 4
faces Top, Front, Back, and Below. Below is an example of several profile types, and how
Tekla views these faces.
Each of these is represented as if we were looking from the Start (yellow) handle towards
the End (magenta) handle. I-profiles are upright, angles are in the letter L, with the longer
leg vertical, channels have their toes facing to the right, and tees are upright in the letter T
orientation.

When talking about part Rotation, these are the settings you will find in the drop-down menu
when these profiles are used as beams or columns. It is important to remember that the
faces do not change if the parts are modeled in differently if you roll a beam over on its
side, the Top is still the Top, its just no longer facing up.

Example 1 - Beam orientation

For parts that are modeled with the beam tool, it is important to remember that all
positioning settings are relating to the current active Z direction. We will take a typical beam
as an example, with the Local Coordinate/Work plane in the default position.

Beam properties have position options of On plane, Rotation, and At depth.

On plane controls the right-left position, in relation to the current Z plane. Its options are Middle,
Right, or Left.
Rotation gives the options Top, Front, Back, or Below. This is to control which side faces the positive
Z direction.
At depth controls the up-down position, in relation to the current Z plane. Its options are Middle,
Front, and Behind.

In the image above, the On plane is set to Middle, the Rotation is set to Top, and the At depth
is set to Behind.
For On plane and At depth values, it helps to picture a simple beam.

The dashed yellow line indicates the reference line, with the start (yellow) handle to the left
and the end (magenta) handle further away. This sets up the Left and Right directions of the
On plane setting. The image from the dialog box has the current setting to Middle, which
centers the profile on the reference line.
The reference line also sets the location in the Z plane for the profile At depth value.

Anything in the positive Z direction is considered in Front of the plane, anything in the
negative Z is considered Behind the plane. The image from the dialog box is set to Behind
so this makes sure that the beam profile is set below the reference line, since top of steel is
what you are normally working from.
Rotation settings are simply to set which side should face the positive Z direction. With a
default coordinate system where Z points up, the Top face should face the positive Z.

So, to quickly recap, with the default local coordinate system, the beam settings are On plane
set to Middle, the Rotation is set to Top, and the At depth setting is Behind.
But what if the Local Coordinate system is changed? Remember that the position values are
directly tied to it specifically the Z direction for a beam. The below images show the default
coordinate and position values, and then the exact same beam with different coordinate/work
planes. Notice that the position values are all different.

Physically, the beam is no different. It has the same properties for fabrication data exports
like CNC/DSTV, and the drawings are not affected by the change in the local coordinate. You
simply need to be aware of how this changes the required settings to model in a part a
certain way.

Example 2 Column orientation

For parts that are modeled with the column tool, position is handled a bit differently. We will
take a typical column as an example, with the Local Coordinate/Work plane in the default
position.

Column properties have position options of Vertical, Rotation, and Horizontal.

Vertical controls the up-down position, in relation to the current Y plane. Its options are Middle,
Down, or Up.
Rotation gives the options Top, Front, Back, or Below. This is to control which side faces the
negative X direction.
Horizontal controls the left-right position, in relation to the current X plane. Its options are Middle,
Left, and Right.

The following image is looking down at a column, with the current active coordinate showing
positive X to the right, and positive Y going up.

The line shown in red, the Vertical position, will always follow the positive Y direction of the
local coordinate.
The line shown in blue, the Horizontal position, will always follow the positive X direction.
The next image shows the rotation face settings when viewing a column from the top. To
help put this in perspective, remember that faces of the part are considered from the Start
(yellow) handle, towards the End (magenta) handle. If you remember the face guide at the
beginning, this shows that columns are modeled from the bottom up. Because of this, the
front and back faces appear reversed when viewing from above.

Another image from a 3d perspective. Note the position of the handles yellow (start) and
magenta (end). This column has a current rotation of Front, that is, the front face is the one
facing the negative X direction.

(Advanced) Z-direction and part properties

There are some exceptions to these rules.
The Z direction can cause some confusion if aligned with the reference line of a beam (start
handle to end handle), or if it is not aligned with the reference line of a column.

If a part created with the Create beam tool is modeled so that:

The reference line is aligned with the Global Z direction, and
The start handle to end handle direction follows anything except the negative Z direction of the
current active coordinate system;

Then Column Properties will be opened when editing this part, and those positioning settings
apply.
If the current active coordinate system is set so that the start to end handle path follows the
negative Z direction, then Beam Properties will be used to modify the position of the part.

If a part created with the Create beam tool is modeled so that:

The reference line is not aligned with the Global Z direction, and
The reference line is along the Z coordinate (positive or negative) of the current active coordinate
system;

The Beam Properties dialog box will be opened when editing this part, but the positioning
behavior will mimic that of a column.

The On plane field will mimic the Vertical position properties, and the At depth will mimic the
Horizontal position properties (e.g. selecting Right will move the part Down per the Column
Vertical properties).

In this situation, the rotation values are for which face is facing the positive X direction.
As a rule you should not work with the coordinates set in this manner to avoid
confusion.

When working with beams make sure the coordinate system does not have its Z aligned with
the reference line.

(Advanced) Rotation and Drawings/CNC data

It is also important to keep drawing and CNC output in mind when changing the rotation of
parts. If you review the section on part faces mentioned earlier, you can see that the
properties do not change simply because a different rotation is selected in the part
properties.
If you take a beam, and set the rotation so that Below is facing the positive Z, it is effectively
upside down this may not make sense because a beam shape is the same either way in the
real world, but when generating fabrication data, the software and the machine that is
processing the beam needs to determine which side is up.

The beam shown here has the rotation set to below, with bolts in one of the flanges. Since
the software considers this to be the bottom flange of the beam, the bolt holes are
represented this way in the DSTV file.
Tags:
position
vertical
horizontal
rotation