Tutorials DetailCraft help Reference
Mark rules
Exactly when two parts or two assemblies share a mark, how marks are numbered, and how footing and bar marks work.
Written for DetailCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.
DetailCraft recalculates every mark after every change. Nothing is stored, so the marks always describe the model as it is now. See Check marks and the bill of materials for how to use them.
Part marks
Two parts share a part mark when all of these match:
- The part type (beam, column, brace or plate).
- The profile name (not case-sensitive).
- The material (not case-sensitive).
- The cut length, within 1 mm.
- Every hole: face, position along and across, within 1 mm, and diameter within 0.1 mm.
- Every cope: end, side, length and depth, within 1 mm.
The member's Name does not count. Neither do its position in the model, its rotation, nor which way it was drawn, as long as the part itself is the same.
Turned-over parts
A part is compared in every way it could be turned over that maps its section onto itself. If any of those makes it match another part, they share a mark.
| Shape | Turns that count |
|---|---|
| I-shapes, rectangular HSS, plates | End for end (about the vertical axis), end for end (about the horizontal axis), and upside down about its own length |
| Channels | End for end about the horizontal axis only, so the web stays on the same side |
| Angles, round HSS | None: compared as placed |
So a beam with a hole near its left end matches a beam with the same hole near its right end, and a column with holes in one flange matches a column with the same holes in the other flange.
Numbering
| Type | Part prefix | Assembly prefix |
|---|---|---|
| Column | c | C |
| Beam | b | B |
| Brace | br | BR |
| Plate (placed, end plate or base plate) | p | P |
Marks are numbered from 1 within each prefix. The order is: columns, then beams, braces and plates; within a type, by profile name in natural order (W8x10 before W12x26); then longer parts first.
Because numbering follows that order, adding or changing one part can shift the numbers of others.
Assembly marks
- Every part that is not welded to another part is the main part of its own assembly.
- End plates are welded to their beam, and base plates to their column, so they belong to that member's assembly.
- Two assemblies share a mark when their main parts share a part mark and their attached parts have the same marks at the same places (within 1 mm), allowing the same turns as the main part.
- The assembly prefix follows the main part: a beam with two end plates is a B assembly.
Plates you place with the Plate tool are not welded to anything, so each is its own P assembly.
Footing marks
Footings with the same length, width, depth, concrete text, bottom mat and starter bars share a mark: F1, F2 … in the order they were placed. Position and rotation do not count.
Bar marks
Bars with the same size, shape and dimensions A, B and C (rounded to the millimeter) share a mark across all footings. The mark is the bar number, F, and a counter per bar size: 5F1, 5F2, 6F1. A long-way bar and a short-way bar of a square footing are the same bar and share a mark; the schedule's Used for column lists both uses.