Using Element Soft Types

To distinguish the elements used for building representation rather than for other types of structural design, element soft types are used. These are elements which have the same attributes as standard (hard type) elements, but which have different names to identify their functions.

The soft types used for building design are as follows:

Compound Wall (CWALL)

a soft type of Subframework (SBFR), used to hold one or more wall components representing, say, one storey of a multi-storey building.

Compound Floor (CFLOOR)

a soft type of Subframework (SBFR), used to hold one or more floor components representing, say, one storey of a multi-storey building.

Compound Screed (CSCREED)

a soft type of Subframework (SBFR), used to hold one or more screed components representing, say, one storey of a multi-storey building.

Straight Wall (STWALL)

a soft type of Section (SCTN), used to represent a wall created by extruding a 2D Catalog profile from a start position to an end position.

[Curved] Wall (WALL)

a soft type of Generic Section (GENSEC). This can, in principle, be used to represent any shape of wall created by extruding a 2D Catalog profile along a path defined by a Spine. The Walls and Floors application for Version 11.3 restricts the use of this element to the representation of a Ring Wall, for which the Spine path is all or part of a circle.

General Wall (GWALL)

a soft type of a Panel (PANE), used to represent a wall created by extruding a user-defined 2D shape through a specified distance (equivalent to the Panel's height/thickness). This could be used, for example, to represent a column, where the 2D shape of the column's cross-section is extruded vertically to the required column height.

Wall and Floor Fittings, such as doors, windows, manholes etc., can be represented by Compound Fittings (CMPF), Sub-Compound Fittings (SBFI), Fittings (FITT), Panel Fittings (PFIT) or Fixings (FIXI) in the usual way.