3.3.10: Generate Cross Section Table

Fig. 3.3.10.1: The “Cross Section Matcher”-component returning a standard profile for a custom profile.

An entry in a cross section table consists of a row which contains:

• "country": country of origin

• “family”: name of the group to which the cross section belongs (see section 3.3.1)

• “name”: name of the specific cross section (see section 3.3.1)

• a “shape” field which defines the basic cross section type:

  • “I”: I-section

  • “[]”: hollow box section

  • “V”: trapezoid, filled section

  • “O”: circular tube

  • "S”: spring

  • “Sh”: shell

• geometric properties which are used for drawing the cross section

• area, moments of inertia, etc. that define the cross section's mechanical behavior. Can be independently defined from the cross section geometry

A “#” in the first column means that the corresponding row serves as a comment.

The “GenCSTable”-component takes a cross section (or a list of cross sections) as input and returns the equivalent table of data as a string. The physical units used for output are always metric. When plugged into a panel the information can be streamed to a file which then constitutes a valid cross section table. Karamba3D reads the data of cross section tables only once. So in order that changes in a table take effect, restart Grasshopper.

It is possible to save the table data in different formats via the component's context menu (right-click on the component icon to make it appear). The menu item "Save cross section table to file" leads to a "save"- dialog where the drop down list "Save as type" allows to select between bin-, dat- and csv-format. The binary format (.bin) is recommended for large tables since it loads fast. However bin-files are not readable in text editors.