Stair Tool Advanced - How to create a Ramp using the Stair Tool?

Szabolcs Miko · ‎2018-01-04

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There are many ways to create a ramp in ARCHICAD (e.g., Ramp Object), but in this article, we are going to show you how to create one with the help of the Stair Tool. Here is what you will need:

a complex profile
a Stair with stringers
that's all

Structure

Create a custom profile

Open the Profile Manager Palette and create a profile with the desired width and thickness of your ramp. Do not forget to check Objects under 'Use with'.

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Turn off Finishes in the Stair Default Settings

Activate the Stair and open its Settings. In the Finish page, turn off Finishes (both Treads and Risers) all together.

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Set Stringer for the Structure and use the custom Profile as Stringer

Use the 'Stringer Only' option for both Flight Structure and Landing Structure. 'Stringer Right' is the only structure you will need. (The right side is used, because of the location of the Profile origin).

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Select the custom Profile for the Stringer

Make sure that the 'Stringer Profile Anchor' is set correctly. In this example, the Profile's anchor point (= origin) is at the top right corner, so the Stringer is lined up with the Finish. If the anchor point is in a different place, the Stringer will be placed next to the Finish. In this case, you can fine-tune it with the 'Stringer Profile Anchor' setting under Stair Default Settings / Stringers - Flight / Stringer Component Settings.

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Edit the Support Connections

If we have a landing, we must adjust the Support Connections and use Bisector for the Landing-Flight and the Flight-Landing connections.

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Adjust support ending

Select the Stringers – Flight than adjust the support ending and connections dimensions as desired.

Slope

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Make "Stair Pitch" visible

Under Options/Project Preferences/Stair Rules and Standards we have control over what is visible in the Stair Settings dialog. By default, the Stair pitch could be turned off here, make sure you turn it on.

Set the desired pitch and width

This can be done in the Stair settings. Set the 'Stair Pitch' to match the local standards or your preferred value. If it needs to be a fixed value, the minimum and maximum should match.

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Floor Plan Display in ARCHICAD 21

We can manipulate the Stair Floor Plan display to achieve the correct representation of a Ramp on the Floor plan. Basically, we get a fully functioning Ramp.

Settings

Under Floor Plan Symbol Components - uncheck Model View Option, and select: Walking Line, Up/Down Text, and Structure. Adjust the Relevant and Above Relevant Symbol settings.

Select Grid and change the Grid Display to only show the boundary for each Story settings.

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Select Structure and make sure to show stringers on Visible and Hidden Parts.

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Draw your ramp in floor plan view or 3D view

In this case Stinger was used for the 'body' of the ramp, but Stair - Beam can be used for this purpose as well.

Floor Plan Display in ARCHICAD 22

In ARCHICAD 22 under the Floor Plan Display of Stairs, you will find the Grid and the Structure under the same tab. It changed due to a new feature in the Floor Plan Display, the 2D representation for monolithic structures (read more about other new Stair Tool related features: Stair Tool - Further enhancements) To create the floor plan representation of a Ramp, we will ned to make the following settings in the Stair Settings dialog: Make the element independent for the MVO (Model View Options) settings by unchecking "by Model View Options" under Floor Plan Display:

Turn the display of Goings to "none" in both the Grid and the Structure Display:

The good thing is, once we have made all these settings and have a Ramp placed in our project, we can use it over and over again if we save it as a Favorite. We covered how to save one and other favorites for sub-elements in this article.

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Stefan Videnov · ‎2022-10-25

This process is a disaster. Fix fast.