IES ShapeBuilder User's Guide
Training Videos
You will find the following videos below, showcasing several features available in ShapeBuilder.
ShapeBuilder determines the geometric and structural section properties for variety of complex shapes made from almost any material. ShapeBuilder also performs a finite element analysis to calculate the torsion properties for any arbitrary cross-section and to calculate the stresses on the cross-section from the loads you apply.
Import shapes from a DXF or text file, draw your own custom shapes, or build up shapes from parametric parts or by choosing shapes from numerous manufactured shape databases. The analysis results are easily exported to a text file or to excel. The shapes can be exported to a DXF file or to the IES Shape Database for use in other IES applications, such as VisualAnalysis.
Custom shape databases, categories, and shapes can be added, edited, and deleted directly in ShapeBuilder. Shapes can also be imported from the clipboard into a database category or exported from a database category to the clipboard.
In ShapeBuilder, it is easy to create and modify shapes. Shapes can be created from standard parametric parts, by selecting parts from numerous manufactured shape databases, or by drawing your own custom parts. Also, you can import shapes from several different file formats including DXF, STEP, and text files. Shapes are easy to modify to create the exact cross-section that you need.
ShapeBuilder provides quick and easy ways to position shapes relative to each other. Several tools are available for snapping, aligning, and spacing shapes to help you quickly achieve the desired cross-section.
In ShapeBuilder, any shape can be set as a hole to remove area from another shape. Holes are a powerful and easy-to-use feature to help you achieve the final shape that you need.
In ShapeBuilder, you can use polar coordinates, polar arrays, and polar grids to position shapes exactly as needed. This makes it easy to create cross-sections with circular patterns that would be cumbersome to produce in the standard Cartesian coordinate system.
Dimensions and text labels can help you effectively document your work in ShapeBuilder. Simply, create the exact dimensions you need or let ShapeBuilder automatically generate dimensions for you. Text labels and dimensions are adaptable and can always be repositioned and modified so that they appear exactly as needed in your report.
ShapeBuilder can automatically ‘flatten’ the model for you by merging touching parts, removing overlaps, and subtracting holes. You have the option to override this feature and manually flatten the model. This option is useful when trying to model a shape that is contained inside of a hole, for example.
ShapeBuilder will calculate the First Moment of Area and the Shear Flow for individual parts or at the horizontal and vertical locations that you specify. This allows you to easily determine the shear flow at any location on the cross-section.
ShapeBuilder can calculate the geometric, principal, polar, and plastic section properties for a shape. Also, the torsion section properties, normal stresses, shear stresses, and the warping function for a cross-section can be determined in ShapeBuilder. The results that are available depend on the number of boundaries in your model, on the number and type of materials you use, and on the loads you apply.
In ShapeBuilder, you can easily import shapes from a DXF or text file, export shapes to a DXF file, and export the analysis results to a text file or to excel. The shapes you create in ShapeBuilder can also be exported to the IES Shape Database for use in other IES applications, such as VisualAnalysis.
This video discusses the improvements made to the CAD Importer ShapeBuilder 13 and the various ways to import CAD files into the program.
The script feature in ShapeBuilder is a powerful tool that uses a command line interface to Import CAD files, add shapes, modify shapes, apply loads, extract results, generate reports, and much more. While it may be more efficient to perform many of these tasks using the traditional user interface, the commands demonstrated in this video become very useful for automating common tasks using an external script file. In addition to using the various built-in commands in the command line, some basic C# programming can be performed directly in the command line as demonstrated in this video.
In addition to using the command line directly, more complex scripts can be generated in any text file in the C# programming language and read into ShapeBuilder. This allows parametric studies to be performed, finite element meshes to be automatically refined, CAD files to be batch processed, and much more as discussed in this video.
A variety of new features have been added to ShapeBuilder 12 including database customization, shape import/export, new parametric shapes, side point modification, etc. A complete list of the new features in ShapeBuilder 12 can be found here.
A variety of new features have been added to ShapeBuilder 13 including the addition of a command line, the ability to import external scrips, and improvements to the CAD importer as discussed in this video. A complete list of the new features in ShapeBuilder 13 can be found here.
A variety of new features have been added to ShapeBuilder 14 inspired by user feedback as discussed in this video. A complete list of the new features in ShapeBuilder 14 can be found here.