Workflow: Bridles
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Vectorworks Spotlight offers a suite of commands and tools for designing and analyzing bridles and their connected support structures. With a Braceworks license, you can perform load calculations to assess the structural stability of the rigging system. When the design is complete, bridle assembly diagrams and parts lists can be easily generated for the riggers on-site.
When a truss lacks adequate rigging points directly overhead, a bridle can be used to support the truss. Add bridles to a venue file that already contains the event rigging.
To place bridles in the drawing:
Manage the bridle inventory of parts. Select Manage Bridle Parts to specify the available parts and their properties.
Decide whether to enable autonumbering at placement, and specify the Automatic Numbering Preferences.
Select the Bridle Preferences command or click Preferences on the Tool bar with the Bridle tool selected, to define the default parameters of bridle objects. These can be changed after placement from the Object Info palette.
Use the Bridle tool to insert bridles in the drawing.
If the roof cannot sustain horizontal forces, a mother grid may be needed to support the bridles.
From the Bridle Configuration dialog box, adjust how an individual bridle is built from the available parts.
Calculate the forces applied to the rigging system (Braceworks required). Make changes to the system as needed.
It is recommended that you run calculations throughout the design process (Braceworks required), to check for errors and adjust the design.
Create the bridle paperwork.
Use the Data Tag tool to insert data tags with parts lists in the drawing; on the Bridle Preferences dialog box, you can select data tags to be inserted automatically when a bridle is inserted.
Select the Create Bridle Report command to create a bridle parts worksheet. The data can be sorted to assist with organization and assembly.
Select Create Bridle Assembly Diagrams to generate diagrams, and optional parts lists, for the bridles.
