Quickly Create a Structural Model with CADmep

There are times in the MEP modeling industry that we need to create a structural model and CADmep is a very good tool for this. So let’s take a look at how we can quickly and efficiently build our structural model.

(For this example you will need a 2D structural drawing)
1. Open your 2D structural drawing
2. Click on the Polyline 3D Fill button
3. 
4.  
5. Select the line you wish to fill (does not need to be a polyline can be a standard line)
6. The “Fill Start Options” dialog box will open
7. 
8. In the first box select your structural steel service
9. In the second box set your section (optional)
10. Select the appropriate size (W16x26 in this example)
11. Click on the offset button and select how you would like it to fill (I generally select “Top” so that when I choose my elevation it will be top of steel)
12. Click on the elevation button and set your elevation
13. Click on the OK button
14. Select all additional lines in the drawing that represent that same size beam and hit enter when finished.
Additional trick:
Add exterior insulation to the beams to represent fireproof coating. That way you can detect clashes with the fireproofing.