User Guide

Tutorial 1 - Modeling
Version 5.0 21
member are considered fixed to or released from the member's points of
attachment (the end joints).
Note
• You should use member releases to model how members are attached to each other, for example
how beams are connected to columns or other beams. Use boundary conditions to model how
the structure is attached to its external points of support, for example how the columns are attached
to the foundation.
We will use fixed ends, so there is nothing to change here. Let’s start drawing the
columns.
Click Apply and we are ready to start drawing.
Notice that your mouse cursor has changed to and the Draw / Modify
Members
button on the Drawing Toolbar is “down”.
Drawing Grid
RISA-3D will open with a 30 x 30 grid spaced at one foot. This would work with
our model but let’s change it to make it easier to find our column and beam
locations.
Click on the Drawing Toolbar to redefine the grid. Use your mouse to select
Drawing Grid tab if it is not already selected.
The drawing grid may be specified in plan or in either elevation. For our model
we will leave the drawing grid in the XY plane.
To make our grid, double-click on the current entry of “30@1”in the first box in
the X-Axis column. This should highlight the entire entry in blue.
Now type:
3, 4@3.75, 3
Now double-click on the current Y-Axis entry of “30@1” and type:
10, 8.5, 4
The dialog should now look like this: