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Export a KISS file for fabrication software
Send the bill of materials to a fabrication management (MIS) program as a KISS 1.1 file: assemblies, parts, phases as sequences, holes, copes and welds.
Written for DetailCraft 0.4. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
In the Output group, open More and choose KISS file for fabrication software. DetailCraft downloads <name>.kss, a KISS file ("Keep It Simple, Steel", version 1.1), the plain text format most fabrication management programs import a bill of materials from.
What is in it
- The header: a job number (the first eight letters and digits of the model name), the model name, the date and time, and whether sizes are metric.
- For each assembly mark: its main part (quantity = how many of the assembly), a drawing line (A-B1 and so on, the assembly drawing's number), an assembly line (name, type, weight, overall length, depth and width), one sequence line per phase the assembly is in, and labor lines: holes (how many, diameter, thickness through), copes and welds.
- Then each part attached to it, with the total quantity (per assembly × assemblies), as the standard asks.
- Loose bolts and anchor rods on drawing BOLTS, assembly FIELD.
- Every line gives the type (W, C, L, HSS, PL, or MI for a custom profile), size, grade, cut length in millimeters, part name and weight.
Imperial or metric
In DetailCraft settings, KISS file sizes chooses:
- Automatic (the start): imperial when every member is an AISC shape, metric otherwise.
- Imperial: shapes by their AISC designation (W 16X26, HSS 4X4X.250); plates and bolts, which DetailCraft keeps in millimeters, to the nearest 1/16 in; weights in pounds.
- Metric: European shapes by their name (IPE300), plates as thickness X width in millimeters; weights in kilograms.
Lengths are always in millimeters with two decimals, whatever the setting: the KISS standard asks for that and the receiving program converts them.