Automation in Design

About the development of the FEM module/workbench.

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cnirbhay
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Automation in Design

Post by cnirbhay »

OS: Windows 10
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.16.6704 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-16
Hash: 0c449d7e8f9b2b1fb93e3f8d1865e2f59d7ed253
Python version: 2.7.8
Qt version: 4.8.7
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 6.8.0.oce-0.17

Till now, I've been able to analyze my Structural models in FreeCAD and I've found the results really impressive. As I'm a structural engineering student and my requirement is to save my time from creating manual reinforcement & manual rebar drawings. So, I've an idea/question for the developers on this forum that can they build a program on FreeCAD that can create automatic reinforcement in the structural members of the building after analyzing the building with loads applied. Also, if it can create automatic rebar shop drawings of different views with automated annotations and dimensioning.

This process in result can save a lot of manual time.

Something related to this I've done with some other software but not exactly accurate. Link below directs to the post on my blog.
(https://cnirbhay.wordpress.com/2016/08/ ... in-design/)

Thank you.

Regards
Nirbhay Chauhan
(https://cnirbhay.wordpress.com/)
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yorik
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by yorik »

That would of course be marvelous, but it's a huge and complex work... But one day hopefully, we'll get there!
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bernd
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by bernd »

Hi cnirbhay,
great to see more structural engineers around. I have been the only one so far ...

Yeah that would be great, but even the big ones with millions of dollars have been trying to do this without success ...

I'm the step by step guy. Let's make it possible to make businesslike! reinforcement drawings with FreeCAD and let's make it possible to businesslike! concrete FEM calculations. We could talk about to connect them than. But since all this happens in one software (FreeCAD) we will be able to connect them, one day ...

Ahh see viewtopic.php?f=23&t=16375#p129624
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cnirbhay
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by cnirbhay »

Definitely, it will happen one day and it will be a great success. I'll go through the discussion topic mentioned by bernd and discuss its source code with my programmer friend. I'll make a video tutorial on reinforcement part soon.

Thank you.
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yorik
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by yorik »

One thing that could advance things well, would be tools to automatize certain boring and repetitive steps of rebar design. Like, automatically build the "cage" (excuse the lack of proper word) that holds structural bars inside the beam, etc
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hardeeprai
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by hardeeprai »

bernd wrote:great to see more structural engineers around. I have been the only one so far ...
There may be a few more, but may be in sleeping mode ;-)

See my mails:

search.php?author_id=255&sr=posts

At that time I was thinking that I am the only Structural Engineer.

Now, at least we three are there, who have declared; and I suspect there may be few more.

Even if not by profession, may be by interest.
bernd wrote:Yeah that would be great, but even the big ones with millions of dollars have been trying to do this without success ...
They will not succeed, as they more more worried to lock user in their own format, rather than using, promoting and enhancing IFC.
bernd wrote:I'm the step by step guy.
Every one has to be. No one has devised a way to take two steps at the time ;-)
bernd wrote:Let's make it possible to make businesslike! reinforcement drawings with FreeCAD and let's make it possible to businesslike! concrete FEM calculations. We could talk about to connect them than. But since all this happens in one software (FreeCAD) we will be able to connect them, one day ...
In what sense, you are using word "businesslike"?
Great!

Can you let us know, how you are using FreeCAD in your day to day work?

--
H.S.Rai
--
H.S.Rai
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bernd
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by bernd »

hardeeprai wrote:
bernd wrote:great to see more structural engineers around. I have been the only one so far ...
There may be a few more, but may be in sleeping mode ;-)
sleeping mode really describes it quite good ... search.php?author_id=255&sr=posts ;)
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bernd
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by bernd »

hardeeprai wrote:In what sense, you are using word "businesslike"?
In the regard of reinforcement I mean by "businesslike" somthing I can sell to customers, means drawings and material bills. Attached an ifc, the drawing and the material bill. The modell is possible in FreeCAD (may be some python is needed to do some rebars). But the drawing is a challange at the moment, and the material bill not possible at the moment. But we will see such stuff in FreeCAD ...
Attachments
reinforcement.zip
(184.61 KiB) Downloaded 363 times
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yorik
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by yorik »

Very precious info Bernd!
I think we are actually very close to that kind of result...
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chakkree
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Re: Automation in Design

Post by chakkree »

@Bernd Now, I interest in two python module for export dxf.
1. dxfwrite
2. ezdxf

it can install as Python library on FreeCAD. After I create all rebar model in all element of sample building ,I will try to export data from rebar object to dxf. My objective of creating rebar model, I want to make BOQ of rebar or make a Bar-cut schedule.
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