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Component Manufacturing dverti$ dverti $ er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
Adverti$$er
January 2025 #17306 Page #37
Does Your Design Software Always Make the Best Selection of Materials to Use? By Glenn Traylor
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russ design software simply uses the lumber inventory to determine the least expensive solution when designing a truss simply based on price. Although this is a convenient function, there are several issues the software does not consider – and for these issues a designer should be making the determination. To illustrate this, here are two similar examples.
In the first example, shown in Figures 1 and 2, a top chord bearing 2 x 4 truss calls out for a bearing block to be plated in the bearing. The bearing block selected is a 2 x 8. Unfortunately, due to the short length of the member, the material must be carefully selected to prevent the splitting of the material when pressing. Even careful selection does not guarantee the member will survive pressing, much less installation, without breaking into multiple pieces.
Figure 1: Design calling for a block under extended top chord at panel point 1.
Figure 2: The 4 x 6 plate is installed and is ready to be pressed. The quality of the block will determine if that piece of lumber can survive pressing and installation.
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