Add, modify, and delete shapes

The Shape Maintenance dialog box allows you to add new shapes to the material database. You can also select which dimension properties are used for the shapes, and permanently delete unnecessary shapes.

Each shape in the Shape Maintenance dialog box belongs to one of the following material groups:

Angles
Beams
Plates
Rods
Tubes
None

All material groups have their own dimension property sets that determine how Tekla EPM calculates the dimension properties and estimates labor.

Each shape in Tekla EPM has the following properties:


Property	Description
Description	Each dimension property has a description in both imperial and metric units.
Dynamic	Determines what kind of entries the shape accepts. If Dynamic is set to Yes, the shape accepts any entry that the user enters as dimension. If Dynamic is set to No, the dimensions of the shape need to be added to the list. Note that if you select Yes, you cannot assign weights or other dimension properties for the shape.
Length	Shows if the dimension has length or if the descriptions contain the length. If the dimension descriptions contain the length or the dimension does not have length, Length is set to No. If the descriptions do not contain the length, but the dimension has a length, Length is set to Yes.
Property	Shows the weight calculation format of the dimension. You can view the details of the format by expanding the Dimension Format Properties section and opening the Property Formats tab.
Sur. Area	Shows the surface area calculation format of the dimension. You can view the details of the format by expanding the Dimension Format Properties section and opening the Surface Area Formats tab.

Note that some shapes also have qualified alternate dimension properties that you can select to use. In this case, two or more lines are shown for the selected shape.

Select the line whose properties you want to use, and click Save Shape to save the changes.

Add a shape

In the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance dialog box, click the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance ribbon tab.
On the menu, select Shape Maintenance.
In the shape list of the Shape Maintenance dialog box, select a shape that has as similar properties as possible to the shape that you want to add.

For example, when adding deformed bar anchors, you may want to select the anchor bolts shape, whose properties are calculated in the same way. This way, you do not have to modify the shape properties too much.
At the bottom of the dialog box, click New Shape.
In the Shape field, enter an abbreviation for the shape.

You can use any abbreviation that is not currently used by another shape.
Enter a description for the shape.
In the Material Group list, select a suitable group for the shape.

Note that if you select the None material group, Tekla EPM cannot calculate labor for the shape in the Estimating module.
Select the price and weight format for the shape.
In the Combining list, select if the shape should be multed, nested, or not combined at all.
If you want Tekla EPM to always look for a piece mark association when importing items of the new shape, select the PDC - Piece Mark Required check box.

If piece marks are not used, you can leave the check box unselected. Whether you use piece marks or not is defined in your company standard settings for the Production Control module.
If you do not want to allow piece tracking for the shape, select the Exclude from Instance Tracking check box.

Selecting the Exclude from Instance Tracking check box is especially useful for items like hardware.
If you are adding a shape that is also used in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, type the shape designation that is used in that software in the ERP Designation field.
Click Save Shape.

The new shape is added to the shape list.

Next, you can close the Shape Maintenance dialog box, and add dimensions, grades, additional shape abbreviations, and other properties for the shape according to your needs.

Modify a shape

In the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance dialog box, click the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance ribbon tab.
On the menu, select Shape Maintenance.
In the shape list of the Shape Maintenance dialog box, select the shape that you want to modify.
Modify the shape properties according to your needs.

For example, you can change how the shape should be combined, and which price and weight formats are used.
Click Save Shape.
To confirm changing the shape properties, click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.

Delete a shape

You can delete unnecessary shapes from the material database. For example, you might need to delete a shape whose properties are incorrect. Note that when you delete a shape in the Shape Maintenance dialog box, the shape and its properties are permanently deleted from Tekla EPM. Shapes that are currently used somewhere in Tekla EPM cannot be deleted.

Note:

We recommend that you deactivate shapes instead of deleting them. If needed, you can easily start using deactivated shapes by activating the shapes again.

In the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance dialog box, click the Shape / Grade / Size Maintenance ribbon tab.
In the menu, select Shape Maintenance.
In the shape list on the left side of the Shape Maintenance dialog box, select the shape that you want to delete.
At the bottom of the dialog box, click Delete Shape.
To permanently delete the shape from Tekla EPM, click Yes in the confirmation dialog box.