Blocks

The block wizard can be activated from the block table view accessed by going to Explorer pane > Data > Blocks. From the table, select the wizard icon to bring up the block wizard dialogue box:

Blocks allow for the rapid creation of models by allowing replicas of groups of members to be defined.

Definition

Name

An optional identifier for the block.

Members

The members to be assigned to this block. These can be either 1D or 2D members.

Replicate

The replicate feature allows multiple copies of a member to exist in the model. The copies (replicas) remain linked to the geometry of the original member.

Offset spacings can be defined in the global x, y and z directions. This can be in the format "4 4 4" to define three replicas at 4m spacing or using the shorthand "3@4" to create the same result. The syntax types can be mixed e.g. "6 3@4 8" to expand to five replicas with spacings of "6 4 4 4 8".