Insertion Point

Form: Frame Assignment - Insertion Point

Use the Frame Assignment - Insertion Point form to define frame joint offsets from Cardinal Points.

Select the frame object to be assigned an insertion point.
Click the Assign menu > Frame > Insertion Point command to open the Frame Assignment - Insertion Point form.
On the Frame Assignment - Insertion Point form, select or enter the desired parameters:

Cardinal Point drop-down list. Select a Cardinal point location on the selected member from this drop-down list. This figure identifies the possible locations.
Mirror about Local 2 and Mirror about Local 3 check boxes. As necessary check one or both of these check boxes to mirror the offsets about the Local 2 or Local 3 axis.
Frame Joint Offsets from Cardinal Point parameters. Select the coordinate system for the insertion point from the Coord System drop-down list. Then, in the End-I and End-J edit boxes, specify the global X, Y and Z joint offsets or the Local 1, 2, and 3 offsets at each end joint of the frame section. This feature is useful for modeling beams and columns when the beams do not frame into the center of the column. Frame member joint offsets are always fully rigid.

Important Note: When member joint offsets are specified, the local axes of the member are always based on the final position of the member after the joint offsets are applied. Similarly, the location of loads assigned to the frame object are based on the final length and location of the member after the joint offsets are applied.

Do not transform frame stiffness for offsets from centroid for non P/T floors check box. When this check box is checked, the frame stiffness is not transformed to account for the cardinal point or joint offsets. Thus, the cardinal point and joint offsets are used for graphical display only. This option is applicable only for floors that do not contain post-tensioning – floors with post-tensioning will always have their frame stiffness transformed based on the cardinal point and joint offsets.
Reset Defaults button. Click this button to reset default setting on the form.

Click the Apply button. Any previously assigned insertion point will be replaced by this assignment.

When the Apply button is used, the Frame Assignment - Insertion Point form will remain open until it is closed by clicking the Close button. This allows selection of another frame object(s), to which a different assignments can be made.

If only one assignment is being made to only one set of selected objects, the OK button can be used to both apply the assignment and close the form.

The following figure shows an elevation and plan view of a common framing arrangement where the exterior beams are offset from the column center lines to be flush with the exterior of the building. Also shown in this figure are the Cardinal Points for each member and the offset dimensions.

Important Note: When you specify member joint offsets, the local axes of the member are always based on the final position of the member after the joint offsets have been applied. Similarly, the location of loads assigned to the frame object are based on the final length and location of the member after the joint offsets have been applied. Consider the example sketches shown below. Sketch a) shows a plan view of a beam that has the j-end joint offset. The end joint is offset such that the beam extends from i to j' rather than from i to j. Sketch b) shows the local axes for the beam when it is in its original position without the joint offset. Sketch c) shows the local axes for the beam when it is in its final position with the joint offset. In sketches b) and c), the local 2-axis points upward and thus does not show in the plan view sketches. The program bases the local axes of the beam on those shown in sketch c).