Importing DXF File Into Staad Pro V8i

Before going through this exercise read through the CADWorx Midway - Model for Steel Analysis, STAAD blog post to understand how the model is created. This post is intended for designers and engineers to understand how to take models from CADWorx and import them into STAAD to be analyzed.

After the designer exports the dxf file open Staad Pro and click on the file menu->Import->3D DXF

Select the import button, then find the file that you want to import, select the file. Note, there may be an error that comes up after you import the file into Staad. To remedy this error save the dxf file on your local computer drive then import the file again. 

After importing the file, select all of the elements of the structure then select the geometry menu->Intersect Selected Members->Intersect. 

Then a box comes up that asks you to enter Tolerance put zero if it is not already selected. 

Then it will tell you if any new beams are created, click ok.

After this check to make sure that the stucture is all one and not broken up. Go to tools->Check Multiple Structures.

Now that you have a complete interconnected structure you can start defining the types of beams, loads, and supports that your project requires. In subsequent blog posts, I will show you how to apply and run an analysis from this point.  

Cheers,

Jonathan