Food4Rhino

Using Pangolin you can create complex steel structural model definitions that include details such as beam haunches, highly configurable cold-formed sections with stiffeners, surface loads with load transfer surfaces distributing them onto beams, load combinations made up of loads in load cases, and so on.

The created model then can be saved out as a file for later usage or sent directly over to Consteel by the connection component, for analysis with Consteel’s unique calculations.

The latest version of Pangolin can handle the analysis and design results returned by Consteel. The analysis results can be first and second order, or even buckling, while the design results can include strength and buckling checks.

Currently supported objects:

1. Geometry: Lines, arcs, polygons
2. Materials: steel, concrete
3. Section: more than 7000 predefined from Consteel section bank, or custom defined by section macros, including cold-formed sections with stiffener definition support
4. Structural: Beams, plates, supports, rigid bodies, diaphragms, link elements, haunches, tapered members
5. Loads: Nodal, line, uniform and linearly changing surface loads, load combinations, load groups, load cases, load transfer surfaces, thermal, elongation and pretension loads, prescribed displacement
6. Model: configurations, model portions, model create and deconstruct
7. Calculation: analysis and design result return
8. I.O. : Load from file, load from Consteel, save to file or Consteel, send and execute Descript
9. Other: layer, dynamic model object deconstruct

10. Integrated parameters for unambiguous definitions, avoiding the use of nebulous generic parameters

Other noteworthy features of Pangolin:

1. Integrated implicit data conversions: eg.: connecting a beam created with Pangolin into a Grasshopper plane parameter will automatically get the beam’s local plane, connecting it to a curve parameter will get the beam’s reference edge and so on.
2. Detailed component error messages and warnings: every component gives out detailed error messages if it is incorrectly used, and warnings, when the usage is not incorrect, but possibly problematic.
3. The plugin is runnable without the presence of Consteel, free of charge, including saving export files for later consumption. Consteel is only needed for performing the analysis and design on a model.
4. Iterative modification: if a model is sent over to Consteel multiple times during a work session, the model will be modified according to the changes instead of duplication. In later work sessions, the components can be synchronised with the actually open Consteel model to allow for continued modifications after Rhino and/or Consteel was closed and reopened.

See our blog about the basic usage scenarios:

1. Basic overview
2. Model definition with Pangolin
3. Utilizing Pangolin in a Consteel first approach

Some intro videos:

1. Pangolin quick example:
2. Portal frame steel structure:
3. Live connection:
4. Uploading to steelspace

The blog also contains posts with detailed calculations about Consteel's unique analysis and design capabilities, feel free to browse around!

Coming soon:

Model compare and merging functionalities