Joining Members
Unlike when connecting members (see Chapter 11.4.8), this function does not require a common point of intersection. Thus, free members at a certain distance to a member can be joined to the nodes of this member. However, if you want to connect the member by extending it, use the Extend Member function (see Chapter 11.4.10).
To access the corresponding function, use the menu option
- Tools → Join Members.
The following dialog box appears.
In the Settings dialog section, enter the number of the member whose nodes you want to join the free members to, or select it graphically with 
.
The text box below specifies the distance, that is, the circumference where RFEM looks for free member ends.
If the Also select other connected members check box is selected, RFEM also includes members that are connected with an already selected member in the member list of the text box above.
The How to Connect Free Member Ends dialog section allows you control how the free member ends are connected to the selected members: You can either move them to the nodes of the selected members or connect them with eccentric connections.