Thanks for your comments everyone. It sounds, from the input so far, as though there is a difference, but it is negligible on small scale projects. Let me know if I'm wrong. The reason I didn't include anything related to the scale of the project (it's a small platform by the way, 19' by 8') is...
Oh I'm sorry. That was almost certainly a typo. You would break up the beams. Gotcha! I was thinking the same, but was wondering if there's a difference, structurally
Sorry, I'm new to the term "beak up" the beams. I would be happy to learn though. To answer your question, the cross beams tie into the side. The main beam that spans the length, as well as the cross beams, are all the same beam type/size.
I'm a new mechanical engineer, and one of the projects I’m working on involves a good amount of structural steel for a suspended platform/walkway. It has one main beam that spans the length of the platform, and several cross members connecting that beam to another parallel beam for support...
