User guide & practical precautions

01 / GUIDE

Before you start: choose a workflow

IntelliDesign imports structured DXF geometry and Excel loads into PKPM. It does not turn arbitrary DWG files, PDFs or scanned drawings into a complete structural model. Engineers must review the model and perform the required analysis and design checks.

A standard floor is not a physical story number. Check the target standard floor in the project. JWS is the model file; a preview or dry-run checks the plan and does not mean that data has been written.

“Offline JWS” means that modeling does not connect to a running PKPM instance. This is separate from offline license access. A PKPM license and other third-party software licenses are not included.

02 / GUIDE

Installation, licensing and project preparation

1. When downloads are available, obtain the Windows installer from this website. Keep the bundled runtime libraries, sample drawing and Excel template.
2. At startup, claim the 30-day trial or activate a purchased key in License. The trial requires no payment details and never charges automatically. Each license permits one activated computer.
3. Install the matching PKPM bridge plug-in for Route B. For official MCP workflows, open the target project in PKPM 2027 first.
4. Save your work and make a separate copy of the complete project folder. Prefer keeping only the target PKPM instance open.
5. Confirm the project path, standard floor, floor height and workflow before previewing.

The app remembers some previous inputs. A remembered JWS path does not guarantee that PKPM has the same project open. Rehearse the full workflow on a copy before using a production project.

03 / GUIDE

DXF preparation: units, layers and origin

Use mm for coordinates, section dimensions and floor heights. Enter 5000 for a 5 m floor. Convert source drawings made in meters or centimeters first; units are not inferred from the drawing appearance.

The circle center defines the model origin in plan. All coordinates are transformed relative to it. Missing or multiple origin circles prevent parsing. Layer names can be customized in Settings; all seven must be nonempty, distinct and match the drawing.

Names shown as code are exact input values, even in the English or Traditional Chinese interface. Do not translate them. Start with the bundled sample DXF.

04 / GUIDE

Members and section labels

Columns

One closed rectangle represents a rectangular concrete column; two concentric nested rectangles represent a steel box column. Circular columns, irregular columns and arbitrary block references are not directly recognized by these default rules.

Beams

Draw beam centerlines. Examples: 300X500 for a rectangular concrete beam, HN700X300X13X24 for a rolled steel section, B H900X400X20X36 for a welded H section, and [14a for a channel. Abbreviations such as HM588X300 depend on library lookup; review the resolved dimensions.

Default anchor matching expects a label approximately 50 mm to the side of the beam midpoint, with approximately 20 mm tolerance. Use strip matching for labels displaced along the beam, then check dense beam areas carefully.

• Beam-layer segments shorter than 100 mm are filtered out.
• Beams without a recognized section are excluded from the plan.
• A beam passing through a column at its middle can fail the automatic hinge workflow. Split and clean up the line at the column.

Braces

One brace-layer line represents two members. An inverted V has ends at the floor bottom and a midpoint at the top; a V has its midpoint at the bottom and ends at the top. Place the section label approximately 200 mm to the side of the midpoint and use a supported steel H section.

05 / GUIDE

Materials and recognition settings

Check material grades separately for concrete beams and columns, rolled and welded steel beams, steel columns and braces. “Follow floor/project defaults” inherits PKPM settings; selecting a specific grade assigns it explicitly.

These material settings and the app's beam-end hinge rules apply primarily to offline and IntelliDesign plug-in workflows. Official MCP currently does not explicitly write those grades, hinge rules or special brace types. Review them in PKPM.

Layer names are case-sensitive. Re-parse and regenerate the plan after changing matching mode, layers, materials, drawings or target floors. Restoring defaults also resets related settings.

06 / GUIDE

Route A: generate a new JWS

1. Open IntelliDesign Modeling, choose a DXF and enter the floor height. An existing JWS is not required.
2. Check layers, materials and matching settings, then select Parse DXF.
3. Resolve origin and section warnings. Generate the import plan and review column, beam and brace counts.
4. Select Offline JWS and note the output path when complete.
5. Open the new JWS in PKPM and check geometry, sections, connections and materials.

Output is normally stored in JWS_Output beside the DXF, identified by drawing name and time, with the plan or report. This creates one standard floor and one physical story, not an assembled multi-story building.

Intersections can split one beam line into several members. A higher beam count is not necessarily an error; inspect the splits. The bundled runtime libraries are still required.

07 / GUIDE

Route B: import into an existing project

1. Save and back up the project. Open the correct PKPM instance, confirm that the bridge plug-in works and the target standard floor exists.
2. In IntelliDesign Modeling, select the DXF and target JWS, then verify the standard floor and height.
3. Detect PKPM, parse the DXF, generate the plan and run a dry-run.
4. The target floor must be empty by default. Enable appending to a nonempty floor only when that is intended.
5. Review the project and save prompts, execute Live Import, then check the summary, counts and report.
6. After a successful import, follow the prompt to save natively in PKPM or reopen the project before manually editing members.

Appending is not replacement or automatic deduplication. Repeating an import can duplicate members. This route applies certain beam-end hinge rules; the engineer must decide whether they match the intended analytical model.

The automatic backup covers the selected JWS, not the entire project. If the result is uncertain or members disappear, follow the recovery section below rather than immediately repeating the import or saving the abnormal state.

08 / GUIDE

Route C: incremental modeling with official MCP

1. Open the target project in PKPM 2027, save it and keep a complete backup. Prefer a single PKPM instance.
2. Open Official MCP Modeling, detect the service and verify the process and current project.
3. Select the DXF, standard floor and height, then generate the modeling plan.
4. Review additions, section updates, skips and conflicts. Resolve conflicts and preview again.
5. Run Model, Read Back & Save, then inspect the result in PKPM.

This workflow operates on the project currently open in PKPM. It does not switch projects based on a JWS path selected elsewhere. Identical members can be skipped; members missing from the DXF are not automatically deleted from PKPM.

• No automatic project-file copy is made; back up the project yourself.
• Unassembled standard floors cannot receive elevation braces requiring actual elevations.
• Review material grades, beam-end hinges and special brace types separately.
• Channels such as [14a are written parametrically without preserving their standard-section library identity. Use the IntelliDesign plug-in when that identity must be retained.

09 / GUIDE

Multi-floor DXF: preview the batch, then import

1. Open Multi-floor DXF Import and choose the IntelliDesign plug-in or PKPM 2027 official MCP.
2. For the plug-in, select the target JWS. For official MCP, verify the project currently open in PKPM.
3. Add each standard floor, its height in mm and its DXF. Use Add / Update for each row. Each floor has one drawing; duplicate standard-floor entries are not allowed.
4. Select Preview all floors and review counts, additions, updates and conflicts floor by floor.
5. Resolve conflicts, then Import all, Verify & Save. Check the completion record for every floor.

One engine is used throughout the batch. Changing the engine, floor mapping or DXF after preview requires a new preview. Floors are written and saved sequentially; do not assume a failure rolls back the entire batch. Identify completed floors before deciding how to continue.

10 / GUIDE

Excel loads: prepare, match, write and verify

Use the bundled template and preserve the sheet named 荷载数据 and all standard column names. Keep worksheet names, headers and enumerated values exactly as supplied, regardless of this website's language.

• Use PKPM model coordinates in mm, not raw drawing coordinates before the DXF-origin offset is removed.
• Only dead and live load cases are supported. Magnitudes currently must be positive integers. Changing the unit label does not convert a value.
• Give each record a unique load ID and a positive-integer standard floor. Rows with an empty load ID are skipped.
• Select add or replace for distributed loads, using the template's values. Set the enabled field to 是 (yes) or 否 (no).

1. Save and back up the PKPM 2027 project, then open Load Import.
2. Select the workbook and the JWS matching the current project. Validate Excel and resolve format errors.
3. Detect PKPM 2027, preview matching and review the object matched to each record.
4. Resolve unmatched or ambiguous records, then Write, Verify & Save.
5. Review each read-back result and inspect the load case, location, magnitude and saved state in PKPM.

Beam point loads must match beam centerlines. The start, midpoint and end of a distributed load must currently match one beam; split records to match actual beam segments. Where a node is missing, a load node is created only inside a valid slab area. Slab openings and locations outside slabs prevent the write.

11 / GUIDE

Post-import checks and recovery

After each import, check the project and floor, origin alignment, missing or duplicate members, beam splits, sections and materials, connections and hinges, brace ends, and load cases and magnitudes. Save and reopen the project to confirm persistence. A successful operation is not a completed engineering design check.

A backup normally contains the pre-import state, not the completed import. Copy it first and verify its time, contents and project before restoring. Determine what was already written before re-importing.

Backup coverage differs: offline generation creates new files; the bridge backs up the selected JWS; official MCP does not automatically copy project files; Load Import backs up the selected JWS and an existing matching BWS. None replaces a full project backup.

12 / GUIDE

Reporting issues and daily workflow

Use Submit Bug in the app to send a description and optional reply email to [email protected]. Include the app and PKPM versions, workflow, reproduction steps, expected result, actual behavior and error text.

Drawings, logs and license keys are not attached automatically. Keep your text if sending fails, or email support directly. Check that project information is appropriate to share; do not include passwords, payment details or complete license keys.

Modeling: Save and back up → prepare DXF → check settings → parse → review the plan → write → save/reopen and verify.

Loads: Save and back up → complete the template → validate Excel → preview matching → write and read back → inspect in PKPM.

For a replacement computer, provide the purchase email and order details. During an active license, support can reset activation for free without changing the remaining term.