SimpleStruct - ConstructiVision Resources

Workflow 2: Design & Detailing

Once the project is set up, Design & Detailing is where each panel is drawn: its shape, its openings, its face, and the hardware cast into it. Every feature follows the same loop: open its dialog, set the values, press OK, and the panel redraws.

Overview

Each panel starts in Main Panel Details and gains its features from the ConstructiVision toolbar, which runs left to right in the order a panel is built on the bed: the form, the cuts through it, the partial-depth shaping, the face, the embeds, and the pick and brace points last. The panel's data is stored inside its own drawing, and every sheet is drawn from that data.

Key Steps

• Set the Main Panel — width, height, thickness, bottom and top elevations, a peak or arched top, edge miters, expansion gaps, the casting face, the panel mark and its gridline marks.
• Cut the Openings — windows, doors, dock levelers, rough openings and blockouts. Snap To boxes register a feature against a panel edge, and typing c centres an opening on the panel.
• Shape and Finish the Face — recesses, pilasters, lintels, spandrel seats, chamfer, reveals and exterior face materials.
• Place the Embeds — weld connections single, along an edge or in an array, chosen from the project's embed catalog, plus slab dowels and ledger or top-plate anchor hardware. A plate on the down face is marked "Dn" and one on each face "Ea", so a black-and-white print still shows where it is cast.
• Add Pick and Brace Points — placed on an automatic grid or by hand. Their positions are for the lift and bracing engineer to review and confirm.
• Review It Phase by Phase — the phase buttons show the panel one build stage at a time: 1 Form, 2 Face, 3 Down Face, 4 Up Face, 5 Pick and Brace, and All.
• Check It on the Site — once the panels are attached to the site and stood up, Interference Check lists every clash with its cause, and QA Findings takes you to each one in turn.

Panel Features, in Groups

• Panel shape and form
  • Main Panel: width, height, thickness, elevations, peak or arched top (a Top Arch Radius gives a curved top), edge miters, panel joint (expansion gap), casting face, mark and gridline marks
  • Sandwich Panel: the exterior wythe, the insulation and the structural wythe
  • Top Step and Footing Step
  • Roof Line: sloped and stepped roof lines
  • Chamfer: edge chamfers and profiles
• Openings through the panel
  • Standard Opening: windows and other openings, including future openings and drips
  • Man Door, with size, position and swing
  • Dock Leveler
  • Rough Opening
  • Round and arched openings, and pipe and conduit penetrations
• Partial-depth shaping
  • Recess / Blockout: rectangular, circular, arched and triangular
  • Beam pocket: a Recess with Z Offset 0
  • Pilaster / Lintel (a brick ledge is a Lintel), and Lintel Details for a band that stands proud of the face
  • Spandrel Seat
• Face treatments
  • Reveals, horizontal and vertical
  • Exterior Face: form liners and face materials, area by area, each hatched with its material on the sheet
• Embeds and hardware
  • Weld Connections, and Edit Embeds for the project's connection and embed types
  • Slab Dowels along the panel base
  • Ledger / Top Plate, with anchor hardware
  • Pick Points and Brace Points
• Panel tools
  • Linked Panels: one panel drives its clones and mirrors
  • Build-phase views, the 3D solid model, and 3D Viewpoint
  • Revision History, with Revert to Previous Revision and Restore Next Revision
  • Up-Convert Panel: brings an older panel up to the current storage format, reversibly

What Gets Created

• A dimensioned panel drawing with every feature
• A 3D solid of the panel, with its openings and recesses cut from it
• Weld connection labels and schedule, named from the project's embed catalog
• Pick and brace point positions for the lift and bracing engineer to review
• The panel's own data, stored in its drawing, ready for the sheets and the materials list

Best Practices

• Work in Build Order — follow the toolbar from left to right; pick and brace points come last because they depend on the finished panel.
• Use the Embed Catalog — choose connections from the project's catalog rather than inventing a new name for a similar connection.
• Check Early — attach and stand up the panels and run Interference Check before detailing every panel, so a clash is found once.
• Document Assumptions — note the assumptions behind the design (loading conditions, material suppliers, fabrication capabilities) for reference during coordination.
• Establish Review Cycles — review the drawings regularly with your engineer, fabricator and construction partners.

Engineering Stays with Your Engineer

ConstructiVision does not check connection capacity, design loads or development lengths, and it certifies nothing. It records the values your engineer provides, carries them onto every sheet, and surfaces the geometry for the engineer to verify: the centre-of-gravity mark and weight from the panel's 3D solid, pick and brace positions, and clashes between panels.

Integration with Other Workflows

Design & Detailing uses the project details and embed catalog from Project Setup, and every sheet in Documentation is drawn from the panel data entered here. The Materials List counts what is drawn on each panel.

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