Webinar Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis

Professional 18/11/2015

Results Connect , Robot API, Dynamo

Rafał Gawęda
Artur Kosakowski

© 2013
Autodesk
 Welcome to Autodesk Help Webinar Series!

Where do we announce?
 www.autodesk.com/help-webinars
 Autodesk RSA Forum
 BIM Toolbox

© 2013
Autodesk
 What are « Webinars » and how they are
intended to work

 What: Focusing on one or several topics in

order to give solutions for problems
frequently submitted to the support team

 How : The webinars will be the

combinations of slide presentations and
live use of the program followed by Q & A
sessions
These webinars are not supposed to be extended training sessions.

© 2013 3
Autodesk
 Topics covered in this “Webinar” and what we
plan for the next one:

 This Webinar :
 Introduction to Results Connect , API of Robot and
Dynamo
 Capabilities of these tools, how to access and use
them.

 Next Webinar :

Revit – Robot interoperability

© 2013 4
Autodesk
 http://knowledge.autodesk.com

Troubleshooting Articles – this is a new page focused around your most 
common troubleshooting problems:
http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/robot‐structural‐analysis‐
products/troubleshooting#?sort=score

© 2013
Autodesk
 Results Connect

 Results Connect is an application that allows designers and

engineers using Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis to seamlessly
access data and results with Microsoft® Office Excel®.

 Results Connect is fully integrated in Microsoft Office Excel as an

Add-in, and allows accessing data and results from an Autodesk
Robot Structural Analysis model using simple Excel formulas.

 Note: It is not required to have programing skills or knowledge

of Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis API to extract data for use in
spreadsheets.

© 2013 6
Autodesk
 Results Connect

 Each formula takes as arguments a set of parameters that can be

written directly inside the formula, which may come from specific cells
or from an active selection within Robot Structural Analysis. Once the
link has been made with Results Connect, data is available for post
processing with Excel formulas, graphs, pivot tables, and other
methods present in the application.

 With this approach, Results Connect enables a dynamic link

between Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis and Microsoft
Office Excel, eliminates copy/paste or CSV import/export
steps, and removes the need for programing skills and
knowledge of Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis API to
extract data for use in spreadsheets.

© 2013 7
Autodesk
 Results Connect

 By default, Results Connect is automatically installed with Autodesk

Robot Structural Analysis 2016.

 If you don't want to install Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis, clear

the check box in the Install > Configure Installation page of the
installer.

© 2013 8
Autodesk
 Results Connect

Where can it be found ?

© 2013 9
Autodesk
 Results Connect

How to use formulas?

© 2013 10
Autodesk
 Results Connect

How to use formulas?

© 2013 11
Autodesk
Results Connect
Results Connect – Selection Arrays
Arrays help to fill range of cells with single data
Arrays not implemented for load cases)
Results Connect
the Results connect tab is not available in Excel, check whether the
ddin has been added in the active addin section in the Excel Options.
Results Connect
the Results Connect is not in the active addin section in the Excel
Options,
elect « COM Add-ins » in the « Manage » drop- down list then click
GO ».
Check the check box « Results Connect » in the next dialog box then click
OK to make it available in Excel.
Robot API

What is API ?

Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of routines, protocols, and 
ools for building software applications. An API expresses a software 
omponent in terms of its operations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types. 
An API defines functionalities that are independent of their respective 
mplementations, which allows definitions and implementations to vary 
without compromising the interface. 
API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. 
A programmer then puts the blocks together.
Robot API - Documentation

Robot API documentation, examples, tutorials are installed as

Software Developer Kit (SDK) installation toghether with Robot:

directly from media:

64\Tools\RSASDK
Robot API - Documentation
Robot API – How to Start

n any programming
anguage it is required to
et Robot Object Modeler
with the highest version
umber one can have).
And that’s all. Then one
an start programming.

On this presentation we
will focus on the simplest
rogramming enviroment
which is VBA (Visual Basic
or Applications) in MS
Excel
Robot API – How to Start
NOTE :  Robot API uses SI units

declaration
Dim RobApp As RobotApplication

creating RobApp object

Set RobApp = New RobotApplication

checking whether Robot is running or not

Not RobApp.Visible Then
Set RobApp = Nothing
MsgBox "Open Robot and load Model", vbOKOnly,
ERROR"
Exit Sub
End If
Robot API – How to Start
Robot API – How to add add-in to menu

addin is made as exe or dll file it can be added to Robot Add-Ins menu
Robot API – how to make add-ins as dll
les
Step by Step procedure for C#:

ttp://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-
nalysis/creating-dll-for-api-and-making-it-available-for-robot-
menu/m-p/3749165#M9868

Step by Step procedure for VB:

ttp://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-
nalysis/creating-dll-for-api-and-making-it-available-for-robot-
menu/m-p/3749165#M9868
Robot API – speed up access to Robot

How to accelerate access to Robot data?

Create add-ins as dll files instead of exe

Why dll ?

Depending on actions is code the access to Robot is \ may

e a few times (~5) faster than by exe file
Robot API – speed up access to Robot in
ode
How to accelerate creating nodes and bars?

Use cache

im robot_cache As RobotStructureCache
et robot_cache = RobApp.Project.Structure.CreateCache

obot_cache.AddNode 2, 1, 0, 0
obot_cache.AddNode 3, 2, 0, 0
.
obot_cache.AddBar 11, 2, 3, "HEA 100", "STEEL"

RobApp.Project.Structure.ApplyCache robot_cache
Robot API – speed up access to Robot in
ode
How to accelerate creating, modifying panels, contours, lines etc
eometry?

Use BeginMultiOperation, EndMultiOperation

RobApp.Project.Structure.Objects.BeginMultiOperation

do some stuff with objects geometry

RobApp.Project.Structure.Objects.EndMultiOperation
Robot API – speed up access to Robot in
ode
How to accelerate creating, modifying model, loads?

Set Interactive flag as False and the beginning of code to minimize

nteractions with GUI and refreshing display by API

RobApp.Interactive = False

do some stuff

RobApp.Interactive = True
Robot API – speed up access to Robot in
ode
How to accelerate access to Robot data?

Use, Get collections or whole Servers

Dim RSelection As RobotSelection

Set RSelection = RobApp.Project.Structure.Selections.Get(I_OT_OBJECT)
Dim AllObjects As RobotObjObjectCollection
Set AllObjects = RobApp.Project.Structure.Objects.GetMany(RSelection)

Dim NodeServer As RobotNodeServer

Set RobotNodeServer = RobApp.Project.Structure.Nodes

Dim BarForceServer As RobotBarForceServer

Set BarForceServer = RobApp.Project.Structure.Results.Bars.Forces
Robot API – speed up access to Robot in
ode
How to accelerate retrieving robot results

Use query mechanism

ttps://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-analysis/vb-for-excel-api-not-
xtracting-peak-member-forces-from-robot/m-p/3146628#M655

ttps://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-analysis/speed-up-api-extract-
esults/m-p/5503403#M30136

ttp://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-analysis/api-fem-results-via-
uery-mechanism/m-p/4966864#M22814
Robot API
Robot API – Add-Ins and Macros depot

ist of add-Ins and macros publicly shared is available on Robot forum

ttp://forums.autodesk.com/t5/robot-structural-
nalysis/useful-addins-for-robot-api/td-p/3899448
Dynamo for Robot

What is Dynamo ?

Open-source Dynamo is a visual programming extension that allows

ne to manipulate data, create geometry, explore design options,
utomate processes, and create links between multiple applications.
Dynamo for Robot – how to start

Download and install Dynamo from http://dynamobim.com/download/

Add Structural Analysis package
Dynamo for Robot
Dynamo for Robot
tep by Step video example for cantilever beam
Dynamo for Robot

erform iterative
nalysis with
ynamo and Robot
tructural Analysis
or better decision
making in geometry
ze of your
tructure.
Dynamo for Robot

Modelling and analysis of complex frame structures, based on curved

orms
 tructural Optimization
ptimo for Dynamo, Autodesk® RobotTM Structural Analysis & MS Excel

earch for the optimal solution for

our structural analysis problem,
sing genetic algorithms from the
Optimo package and Robot
tructural Analysis as calculation
ngine.
Dynamo – Additional Ressources
dditional Video that shows the possibilities:
Dynamo - hints

Dynamo is intended to be a way of creating parametric models, loads

and running calculations. It is not possible to get any results from
Robot by Dynamo.

Dynamo for Robot uses 3D system of coordinates so in Robot it is

required to have or start project with Structure types such as
Building, 3D frame, Shell

Code running „direction” – from left to right

To obtain structure visualization in Dynamo enviroment create Nodes

by Point
Dynamo

eneral Dynamo website

ttp://dynamobim.com

Robot Examples

:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Dynamo\0.8\packages\Struct
ral Analysis for Dynamo\extra\
Questions ?

ase feel free to ask questions using « GoToMeeting » Questions tab now

may not be able to answer all questions during the webinar. Please post them on the 
Next webinar session on 13/01/2016 for the following topic : 

Revit – Robot interoperability