Design (iWall)

Task area Precast Wall

You can use this tool to define the design mode, connections, divisions, reinforcement, and fixtures of precast walls. You can use this function to create concrete walls, double walls, sandwich walls, thermal walls, composite sheeting and brick walls.

Right-clicking in the input area of the palette opens a shortcut menu where you can show and hide the description at the bottom of the palette.
In addition, you can add the currently selected area or parameter to the quick input list. This creates a QuickInput tab, which comes first in the palette. Similarly, you can remove the currently selected area or parameter from the quick input list. The QuickInput tab disappears when you remove the last parameter from the quick input list. To make sure that QuickInput is always open when the palette starts, select Start with QuickInput on the shortcut menu.

This section provides detailed information on the parameter currently selected. If there is not enough space to display the entire text, three dots at the end of the text indicate that some text is missing. You cannot scroll the description.

To enlarge the section so that you can read the full text, you can increase the width of the entire palette and/or move the line separating the parameter area from the description up.

Owing to the wide range of parameters available for the factory configurations, catalogs and the parameters defined by the user during element design or modification and owing to the current geometry of the element (outline or recesses), the program might not create all bars or lattice girders of the basic reinforcement and thus might not reinforce all parts of the element (for example, corners with acute angles, narrow webs between recesses or between recesses and the edges). The program does not check that all the bars and lattice girders are actually created.

That is why you need to spend some time thinking about how to handle nonrectangular element outlines and recesses. These considerations can be described as "engineering thinking". This is exactly the reason why the Precast Elements role requires some experience. In particular, do not create production data without checking the reinforcement beforehand.

To design the elements for a precast wall

1. Click Design (iWall) (How).
   Wall design consists of four parts. You always start by defining the design mode and selecting the required walls.
   

   Activate Design (iWall) in one of the following ways

   • Actionbar:Role Precast Elements Task Precast Wall Task area Precast Wall

   • Menu bar: Create Precast Elements Precast Wall

   • Palette: Tools Create area in the following modules:

   Precast Wall

2. In the toolbox of the palette, click Design Type to define the geometric properties, material properties and the attributes of the precast wall.
   

   You can find the toolbox above the tabs with the parameters. It contains the tools appropriate to the task at hand. These tools are always arranged on the left and they reflect the usual sequence in which you go along. They are followed by additional tools, which vary depending on the main tool selected.

   As soon as you select a new main tool, the current palette closes and a new palette opens. After this, it is usually necessary to select the objects again.
   The additional tools, on the other hand, always apply to an object you have already selected. A new palette is not opened.

3. Specify the parameters of the design mode and select one or more architectural walls, architectural elements, PythonParts or 3D elements.
   

   Architectural walls, architectural elements, PythonParts or 3D elements

   (Multilayer) architectural walls (such as Curved Component, Entity-Based Component or Spline-Shaped Component types), architectural elements, PythonParts and 3D elements can be designed as a precast wall using virtual any geometry. However, the automated functionality for creating layers, the connections, dividing up the elements, creating reinforcement or creating automatic fixtures, and so on, only delivers a complete, accurate result for rectangular walls and wall sections.

   

   • To select a single element, click it.
   • To select elements in a selection rectangle, hold down the left mouse button and open a selection rectangle around the elements you want to select.
   • Some tools allow you to select all elements in the current document by clicking All in the input options or pressing CTRL+A.

   To get detailed information on all selection options provided by Allplan, see Selecting elements, overview.

   When selecting elements, you can use filters, which allow you to filter by element type or property. For more information, see Using filters.

   The walls are labeled and a triangular symbol indicating the wall type and viewing direction is assigned to each wall. The position of the triangular symbol is defined by the orientation of the architectural wall.

   

   Symbols for wall type/design identifier and visible side of a wall

   The following symbols are used to mark the individual wall types. Deleting the symbol automatically deletes the entire design.

   or Double wall
   or Concrete wall
   or Brick wall
   Sandwich wall
   Thermal wall without in-situ concrete
   Thermal wall with in-situ concrete
   Composite sheeting
   

   The side where you can see the symbol is the visible side.

   For concrete walls and brick walls, this is the top side in production (filling side). This side will typically be the coarse surface on a concrete wall.
   For double walls, this is usually leaf 2, which is produced after leaf 1 and into which the predefined leaf 1 (plus the lattice girders) is tilted.
   For sandwich walls, it is the side that directly rests on the table in production.
   For thermal walls, this is leaf 1 for production. The lattice girders or fixtures used to connect the leaves are assigned to this side and the insulation is always applied to it.

4. Click Visible side in the toolbox of the palette to change the visible side (viewing direction) for all active elements. You can still change the parameters. All changes are immediately visible.
   Click 'Freeze' division to freeze the current state of wall element design.
5. Click Connections in the toolbox of the palette to define how to connect the wall elements at corners, joints and wall ends. In addition, you can place manual mandatory joints.
6. Set the desired connection option depending on your selection in the input options:
   • When you select Connection, select all precast walls to which you want to apply a connection at the corners and wall joints.
   • When you select Wall end, click the precast wall near the required wall end. For example, you can use this option to close open wall ends. Note that the connections you create can never protrude beyond the original architectural wall because it is not possible to lengthen layers.
   • When you select Mandatory joint, select the drop-in point within a precast wall. A manual joint will be created at this point. You can specify the drop-in point by pointing to an existing point and entering the relative coordinates in the dialog line.
     By using manual wall joints, you can control automatic wall division and use a different type of formwork than that used for automatic division joints.
     You can copy and move the mandatory joints. Use the Delete tool to delete the mandatory joints.
7. Specify the connection parameters and adjust the layers.
8. Click Divisions in the toolbox of the palette to specify how to divide the precast walls. Select one or more precast walls. You cannot use this tool to edit "frozen" walls. You can see a message to this effect.
   

   You need a special program version to create "frozen walls". When working with frozen walls, you can define different wall types within a wall. However, when you change the geometry later, the program does not divide these walls automatically or calculate the elements again.

   The selected walls will be divided vertically and horizontally with the most recent settings. The palette shows the current settings.

9. Specify the division parameters.
   Prior to detailing (definition of reinforcement and fixtures), you can now obtain approval for the design from the client.
10. After having created the joints, you can click Visible side in the toolbox of the palette to change the visible side (viewing direction) for all active elements. As a result, automatic wall division will start at the other wall end.
    In addition, click Division joints to mandatory joints to convert the current division joints to mandatory joints and thus lock the wall division. Use the Delete tool to delete the mandatory joints. This produces division joints again.

    Tip: If you cannot find the required division in the collection of default joints, you can convert the division joint to a mandatory joint, modify the converted joint by using Layer adjustment, and save it by selecting Save as a favorite. You can then load this favorite when you modify the other division joints converted.

    Click 'Freeze' division to freeze the current state of wall element design. This automatically converts the division joints to mandatory joints.

11. Click Basic reinforcement,... in the toolbox of the palette to create basic reinforcement, reinforcement for trimming for openings, lattice girders or connecting elements and cast-in nuts or lifting bolts. Select one or more precast walls. You cannot use this tool to edit "frozen" walls. You can see a message to this effect.

    The selected walls will be recalculated with the most recent settings. The palette shows the current settings.

12. Specify the reinforcement and fixture parameters.
    Here, too, you can use the toolbox of the palette to change the Visible side or to convert Division joints to mandatory joints.
    Click 'Freeze' division to freeze the current state of wall element design. This automatically converts the division joints to mandatory joints.
    You can use "Freeze" hollow blocks to freeze hollow blocks created automatically in the case of concrete walls and sandwich walls. The hollow blocks are then converted to manual hollow blocks as a result.
    

Notes:

• You can find additional tools at the bottom of the palette:
  You can use Match parameters to match the parameters of a different wall.
  You can use Reset input parameters to replace some parameters with the settings defined in the configurations.
  You can use Save as a favorite to save the settings. By means of Load favorite, you can read the settings back into the palette, where you can modify them. Click Favorite QuickSelect to select from the five favorites you used most recently.
• You can use the 'Properties' palette to modify the entire wall design and the individual elements, connections, recesses and assembly parts.