Trimble has launched a new Tekla plug-in tool, in association with Farrat, which will help to facilitate the efficient design and detailing of thermal break plates into structural steel framed buildings.
The time-saving tool, available for Tekla Structures, enables Farrat’s structural thermal break plates to be incorporated directly into a Tekla user’s BIM model, as well as automatically integrating with all structural attributes, scheduling and production dimensions.
The structural thermal breaks, fabricated by Farrat at its Altrincham manufacturing facility, are designed to insulate the connections between structural components, such as steel beams, reducing both energy loss through the building and the risk of interstitial condensation.
Prior to the launch of the plug-in tool, Tekla and Farrat customers would have had to manually model a generic steel plate with no specific attributes and label it as a thermal break plate. What’s more, the plate would not have been specific to any manufacturer, meaning that it would have been impossible for architects and engineers to generate precise take-offs and price estimates.
Now, once the tool has identified a steel connection where a structural thermal break is required, the dimensional and locational information is drawn direct from the connection and the appropriate Farrat break plate is automatically created. The plate remains linked to the steel connection, so any subsequent design changes are automatically reflected in the thermal break component.
The new plug-in can also automatically assign the correct attributes and weights for the full range of Farrat’s thermal break products, meaning that all dimensional, performance and price information can be contained in the object and exported.
Talking about the decision to partner with Farrat, Steven Insley, national sales manager at Trimble Solutions UK, said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Farrat on this new plug-in tool. A significant number of their steel fabrication customers use Tekla Structures as their primary design and detailing tool and, with Farrat’s structural thermal breaks regularly incorporated in the main frame model, it made sense for us to collaborate and work on combining the two.”
The structural thermal break plug-in is now available to download from Tekla Warehouse.
For more information on Tekla, visit: www.tekla.com/uk. For more information on Farrat, please visit: www.farrat.com/structural-thermal-break-connections
