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This innovative piece of software will save an estimated 30% to 70% of the time normally spent on drafting and lifting design of pre-fabricated and tilt-up concrete panels.

PanelsPlus is a stand-alone windows application, and works in conjunction with AutoCAD or any other drafting software. It can be used for lifting design, drafting of shop drawings, and product planning of pre-fabricated and tilt-up concrete panels.

>>> IN THE PRESS - CONCRETE INTERNATIONAL, September 2007

>>> IN THE PRESS - ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA, May 2006

The link with AutoCAD is via DXF or DWG files. PanelsPlus does not require AutoCAD to operate, but it is only using DXF and DWG files produced in AutoCAD, and it is exporting DXF file, which will be opened in AutoCAD for further refinement.

PanelsPlus interface

PanelsPlus software can be use by draftsmen to produce the shop drawings, or it can be used by an engineer for lifting design, or it can be used by a panel factory for quantity estimate and production planning. The most efficient usage is if all parties involved in a panels design and production project share information and communicate using PanelsPlus data files.

 Face lifting

How Does it Work?

Step 1:  Prepare all panels in AutoCAD, and save the file in DXF or DWG format

Step 2:  Import the panels into PanelsPlus software, grouped in walls (elevations). (Once the panels have been imported, the mass centroid, area, volume and weight is automatically calculated for each panel)

Step 3:  Import features and components such as: ferrules, recess areas, cast-in plates etc

Step 4:  Auto-define lifting points and props: face or edge lifters.

Step 5:  Check lifting and wind stresses.

Step 6:  Generate Auto dimensions,

Step 7:  Export to AutoCAD via DXF file (almost final shop drawing with dimensions).

3D View

...from start,

to end,

in no time...

PanelsPlus Tasks

1. Shop Drawings

Panels Plus software can be used for a very fast production of semi-final shop drawings. The designer can define the panel geometry either as (or a combination of both) closed polylines or single line elements in AutoCAD and save the drawing in DXF or DWG file format. The panels are grouped in wall elevations where several wall elevations will make the complete Project. Once all panels are defined for the entire job, PanelsPlus can be used to evaluate the centroids, areas, concrete volume for each panel. This information is used to assign the face or edge lifting points, and bracing. All the dimensions are generated automatically, and shop drawings for each panel can be exported to a DXF file and further refinement in AutoCAD if required.

All the dimensions shown in the figure below were generated automatically in PanelsPlus software.

Auto Dimensions

PanelsPlus also has an extended set of tools that allow the user to import shop drawing templates and then directly link the information from PanelsPlus to the shop drawing. The tedious process of manually extracting the same output for each panel is eliminated while simultaneously avoiding any chance of generating human errors. 

Imported Shop Drawing Template example

Users can also create custom symbols within PanelsPlus. These symbols can be assigned to represent ferrules within PanelsPlus and are also produced in the DXF export files that can be refined in AutoCAD.

User Defined Symbols Library

2. Lifting and Bracing Design

PanelsPlus can be used for lifting stage design and wind loading during construction, while the panel is supported only by the bracing. The software will provide envelope stresses in both directions, and moment diagrams during lifting for different angles of rotation. The stress results can be used to evaluate the need for additional reinforcement, and to predict the risk of crack development.

Once the panels are imported into PanelsPlus, it is very easy to define the lifters, and to check the lifting stresses and bending moments.  PanelsPlus implements a Finite Element bending analysis.

Finite Element Mesh and Lifting Stresses Contours

3. Production Management

The software can produce quantity summary tables, which can be used for production management and planning.

Gallery

Click on the titles below to view details:

Travis Stokes / David Wainwright  -  STP Consultants, Brisbane - QLD

David Bailey  -  Thomas & Associates Consulting P/L, Kurri Kurri - NSW

Universal Tilt Products & 3D Group Pty Ltd, Brisbane - QLD