Element plan

Module(s): Precast Slab + Precast Wall + Structural Precast Elements + Production Planning

You can create element plans for slab elements, wall elements and structural precast elements. Element plans are particularly useful for concrete slabs and concrete walls as they can be used as an alternative to single panel schemas.

The term 'element plan' refers to the representation of a single precast element displayed in several views within a separate window on screen (= element plan window). You can control how this element is displayed by selecting a predefined layout. You can decide whether the program is to automatically determine the scale for a predefined sheet size or you can specify a fixed value. As an alternative, you can have the program automatically calculate the sheet size for a predefined scale.
The program automatically creates and places all the views defined by this layout and the dimensions in the element plan window. In addition, a table with a list of components in the relevant element is created automatically.

You can work in the element plan window in the same way as in the window provided in the Edit Element tool, which means that the precast elements will update to reflect any additional reinforcement and fixtures you create in element plans. As opposed to the edit element tool, manual additions (dimension lines, text, details and so on) are retained when you close the element plan window and open it later. When creating new element plans, you can specify whether manual additions and/or change notices are to be retained or deleted.

You can use the Print Element Plan tool to create a preview of the current page in the selected format. The title block used is fully user-definable. You can then print the preview or place and save it in a different drawing file.

Layout catalogs for element plans

Basic rules for element plans

Local mark numbers in element plans

Advanced features for element plans

To generate and edit an element plan for a single element

1. Click Element Plan (How).
   

   Activate Element Plan in one of the following ways

   • Menu bar: Create Precast Precast Slab/Precast Wall/Structural Precast Elements

   • Palette: Tools Create area in the following module(s):

   Precast Slab

   Precast Wall

   Structural Precast Elements

   Production planning

2. Click Delete Element Plan on the Element Plan Context toolbar if you want to delete manual element plans including change notices.
3. Select the elements of which you want to delete the element plans or enter the mark number in the dialog line (provided the Selection with mark number option is selected).
   If you want to delete the change notices only, make sure that Delete Element Plan is not selected.
   

   • To select a single element, click it.
   • To select elements in a region, use the left mouse button to open a selection rectangle around the elements you want to select
   • To include all the elements in the current document, click All in the Input options or press CTRL+A. Please note that this option is not available for all tools.

   For more information on the options available for selecting elements in Allplan, see Selecting elements, overview.

   When selecting elements, you can use the Filter Assistant to apply a filter based on element types and/or properties. For more information, see Filter Assistant.

4. Click Delete Element Plan again to finish deleting element plans.
5. Click the relevant element in plan or enter the mark number in the dialog line if the Selection with mark number option is enabled.
   

   Basic rules for displaying elements

   The first time a precast element is displayed in the element plan window the element plan is ”calculated”; in other words, the views and the dimension lines are created and placed. A table is generated, and mark numbers are assigned to the additional reinforcement and fixtures in the views (in addition, leaders are drawn from the mark numbers to the additional reinforcement). You need to select a valid layout for the display of the element clicked. The program automatically proposes the first valid layout.
   Closing the element plan window or selecting another element hides the element plan. When you read the element back into the element plan window later, it is only displayed but not recalculated. This ensures that any changes you make in the element plan (e.g. text added or moved) are retained.

   When you make changes in the Element Plan dialog box (applies if you select a different layout or scale; however, choosing a different page is irrelevant), the contents of the element plan window are deleted and calculated again. You can decide whether manual changes in the element plan are retained or not.

   Note: Secondary reinforcement or fixtures drawn in an element plan are always retained as they are used for the model. On the other hand, layout elements added manually to elements created automatically within views and sections (e.g. dimension lines, partial schemas, fixture labels etc.) are always deleted.

6. Make settings for the parameters in the Element Plan dialog box and click OK to confirm if you have selected an element for which you have not manually created an element plan yet.

   Now the workspace is divided into two windows. A view of the selected element is displayed in the window on the left. If several pages are defined for the selected layout, and take you from page to page. To select a different layout or to change the scale, click Modify Element Plan and specify whether manual additions and/or change notices are retained or deleted.

7. Define the scope of layout elements in accordance with the element type and edit them as you would using the Edit Element tool.
8. Click Change notices to define change notices for the current element plan.
9. Click Label to place a label style in the element plan.
   

   A label style is essentially an associative label. The contents of a label style update to reflect any changes you make to the properties of the element to which the label style has been applied.

10. Click Legend to manually place a legend in the element plan.
11. If necessary, you can modify the existing element plan:
    • Click Update Element Plan and confirm the dialog box with the Update setting to update the table, dimension lines and the label style of the element plan without losing any manual modifications or additions. Changes in the layout catalog, for example, require an update. Parameters altering the layout (e.g. the position of the views or the table) are not taken into account.
      Note: Most changes are updated automatically.
      To include the mark numbers for bars and meshes in the update, select the Reorganize local mark numbers or Reorganize global mark numbers setting in the dialog box.
      To exclude the dimension lines created automatically from being updated, first click Switch dimension line update off in the dialog box and then click Update Element Plan again. To include the dimension lines created automatically in the update again, click Switch dimension line update on in the dialog box.
      

      This setting is always displayed.

      When you select this option, the global marks of the current element plan are split off from the other global marks of the placing drawing and rearranged immediately.
      In other words, the program automatically carries out the New Mark Number tool and then selects the Rearrange Marks tool.

      This option can be very useful, for example, if the same global mark number is used by different precast elements. Consequently, you could create a full schema for one element plan only. Using this option, however, you can split off the relevant marks and create a separate full schema.

      By combining ( Rearrange Marks) the global marks at element plan level, you can label the corresponding bars with the same local mark number using the Dimension Line/Label tool and the brackets with the setting.

      

      This setting is only displayed when you have selected the Manual setting for the Local mark number in the Configurations.

      When you select Reorganize local mark numbers, the local mark numbers of the current element plan are reassigned in accordance with the rules that otherwise apply to the Auto ascending starting at 1 setting.

    • Click Create New Element Plan to delete the element plan and to generate a new element plan with the layout set. You can specify whether to retain or delete manual additions and/or change notices.
    • Click Delete Element Plan to delete the current element plan including change notices. If you want to delete the change notices only, make sure that Delete Element Plan is not selected.
12. Click Print Element Plan to print the selected element
    or
    select a different element by clicking it in plan or entering its mark number in the dialog line if the Selection with mark number option is enabled.
    

    Clicking this icon displays the printed image of the selected element on screen. For output, click one of the buttons at the bottom of the dialog box.

    	You can zoom in on a section. This is possible when you are running Windows Vista or Windows XP (if Display Properties on the Control Panel is set to Windows XP style).
    	This displays the Schedule Output Options.
    Excel	You can save the schedule as an Excel-format file (.csv).
    	You can place the schedule in the drawing file.
    	You can print the schedule.
    Text Format	You can save the schedule as a text file (.txt).

13. The viewing area remains open when you quit the tool. This way, you can quickly change to a different module. If you do not need this view any longer, click 1 Viewport. This saves the data. Please note that this operation cannot be undone.
    

Note: In the case of double walls, the data of the visible and invisible sides is listed in the table in accordance with the settings in the layout catalog. Make sure that the positions of the two views for the unfolded leaves agree with the list in the table.