Hoists not "connected" to truss

[anthall5]

Hi all

 

Having just started down the road with Braceworks, my first issue is that I dont seem to have the hoists "connect" to the truss systems. I have a bunch of trusses and change them to hanging positions. I insert hoists with the hoist tool and snap to the red lines etc - all good so far. If I move the system height, the hoists move correctly.

 

When I run the Braceworks "Check all system objects" I get the attached screen grab - which to me indicates that the hoists are not associated, or connected, to any truss....is that correct?

 

Can someone tell me what Im doing wrong?!

 

Many thanks!

 

Ant

 

[jcogdell]

Did you change the trim heights of the hanging positions after connecting the hoists by changing the Z coord?
Once the hoists are attached you need to use the change trim height command to keep the hoists attached when you change the trim height.

 

You can also use  the change system trim height button in the OIP, to check whether the hosts are correctly connected.
in the change trim height dialogue, set the the change drop-down to entire system, then everything that is connected will be highlighted enabling you to see if any of the hoists aren't connected to the trusses correctly.

Otherwise what does the calculation overview errors and warning section say?

 

If the hoists have become disconnected then you will need to re snap them to the trusses, you can do this by dragging them to the side and then back onto the truss
if the drops are disconnected then you will need to re-insert them with the insert connection tool or the insert drops command

 

Also if possible try not to convert your trusses to hanging positions when you are are planning rigging, it can cause problems such as not being able to identify or display the trim height of the trusses inside the hanging position.
If you are doing this to give the trusses a name, you can use the position name field in the truss properties instead and use a data tag to label them, there are a number of different tag styles in the library for this.
Also any light or other spotlight object hung from the truss will have the trusses position name pushed into its position field, the same as if it was hung from a hanging position.
 

[anthall5]

Thanks for the feedback @jcogdell

 

Ive been back in to the drawing and tried every way to change the trim height & they all work & move the hoists with the truss symbols. Ive re drawn it without converting to hanging positions & understand the comments re data tags (with which I am familiar).

 

There really does seem to be a massive issue with connecting the hoists to the trusses, and also in the way Braceworks reports this.

 

If I system check all objects I get the attached image (system check all objects.png)

 

If I select everything and run System Check Selection I get the same result.

 

If I select just everything on the upstage, I get the attached image (System check selection) - and similarly if I just select the downstage stuff

 

If I select everything, I get the same result as if I'd system checked all objects....

 

This is a fairly simple system, but for the life of me I cannot get the hoists to be connected. Ive watched the Braceworks demo video many times now & Im stumped.

 

Ive tried re snapping in 3D, side, end, plan etc etc - same result every time - I get the red snap line & triangle so its definitely connecting in some way, but Braceworks thinks otherwise.

 

Any other help you can offer would be much appreciated...

 

Many thanks

 

 

 

[jcogdell]

Can you DM me the file so I can take a look?

[anthall5]

Just DM'd you the file - many thanks

[jcogdell]

I've had a look through you file and have figured out what is going on,
After I cleared the calculation results and ran a full Braceworks calculation, not the check system command the truss calculates correctly.

The check system command is not a full Braceworks calculation, its meant to be used to check whether your system is ready for a Braceworks calculation by looking for unsupported elements, disconnected hoists and other 'physical' errors in the system, that would prevent the system from calculating. This means the command will not do any force/weight calculations or produce any results related to them, such as force lines, hoist loading and heatmaps.
 

[anthall5]

Ah! I didn't have all of the Braceworks commands in my workspace!...wow, what an idiot...

 

Thanks so much - all good now!