Mid span connections

[CETLV]

Does anyone know if Mid span connections have been implemented or are on the horizon?

[JustinVH]

This has not been implemented yet. You can use Magnets to place the truss at a mid span point but you cannot calculate Braceworks. As far as I know the calculation part of this is not yet on the horizon and I believe it may be due to safety regulations and some countries not allowing it. @Scott C. Parker may be better to confirm the safety regulation and allowance reasoning.

[Scott C. Parker]

15 minutes ago, JustinVH said:

calculation part of this is not yet

At the moment, calculating midspan is not supported due to unknown twisting reactive forces on the middle area of a truss.

When I'm calculating the loads on truss that need to connect at midspan locations, I fake it by inserting a corner block. Obviously, this is a workaround and does not offer accurate load calculations and the structural integrity of the truss sticks themselves. It does give you ballpark estimates to start discussing needs with your production team.

 

As with ground support calculations, I would love to have midspan calcs offered. It's on our lists and we know users want it. No idea when/if it may come about.

[CETLV]

Thank you very much.  This is what I figured.  I cant help but feel that BW was a bit ambitious of a product to be released before so many features that we knew were wanted have been able to be implemented.  This is the same with the curved LED wall tool, etc.  I suppose it is hard to keep up with technology changes.  I appreciate all the efforts.  Mid span connections are so much more common now than ever in corporate.

[Scott C. Parker]

20 hours ago, CETLV said:

I cant help but feel that BW was a bit ambitious of a product to be released before so many features that we knew were wanted have been able to be implemented. 

This is a common opinion many share about a lot of tools and features. As technology progresses and use cases expand, the levels of tool capabilities will always start to wain. As users suggest improvements and point out items that have become newly lacking, we add these to our lists of things to keep in mind during planning.
Software development takes several paths. Answering the needs of current users with specific problems is one. Figuring out what users don't know they need yet is another. When I reflect on this, I think of the path from cars that started at 15mph, to seatbelts, to airbags and crumple zones. 
Keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks, Scott