Manage shapes

Tekla PowerFab
2022
Tekla PowerFab Tekla PowerFab GO

Manage shapes

You can manage the shapes in the Tekla EPM material database in several ways. You can add, delete, activate, and deactivate shapes. In addition, you can add grades, dimensions, and abbreviations for shapes.

Note that the shape list also contains system shapes that users cannot modify. Many of these system shapes may be missing some of the actual shape information, such as material grades or dimensions. These shapes are added for user convenience. If necessary, you can add material grades or dimensions for the shapes, or deactivate the shapes.

If you want to, you can use separate shapes for materials that may have the same or similar shape but have different grades. You can use the Tekla EPM system shapes for this purpose: just add the necessary dimensions or grades for these system shapes.

The shape list in the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance dialog box lists all existing shapes in alphabetical order. You can see different details of shapes:

  • The Shape column lists the abbreviations for the material shape.

    Abbreviations are common references that Tekla EPM uses to recognize a particular shape. For example, when you import a bill of materials, Tekla EPM searches for a match in the shape list. If no match is found, Tekla EPM asks you to select one. For example, this could happen if flat bars were referenced as FL instead of FB.

    The material database also contains shapes that are identical but can be found under two abbreviations, such as HSS and TS. Both abbreviations are available in the database to meet the needs of companies that use different terminology. Note that even though the two options are available, you should select one of them and use it consistently. This way, you can avoid problems when combining materials.

    The abbreviation is defined when adding a new shape. New abbreviations can also be added to enable cross-referencing in Tekla EPM.

  • The Description column shows the name of the shape.

  • The Grades column shows the number of grades included for the shape.

  • The Dimensions column shows the number of dimensions, or material sizes, included for the shape.

  • The Activated column shows whether a shape is active within Tekla EPM.

    Deactivated shapes, marked with No, are not available for combining or pricing.

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