Creating Slabs

New Slabs can be created in either the Floor Plan or the 3D Window.

Depending on the structure you choose for the Slab (either a basic or a composite slab), you have varying construction method options for the Slab Reference Plane:

See Slab Reference Plane.

Slab Geometry

Choose one of the three Slab Geometry Methods from the Info Box.

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With the first icon on the left, you can create a Polygonal Slab. Just like for Walls, the pet palette appears and allows you to draw straight and curved segments for the Slab’s outline.

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The second and third icon allow you to create a Rectangular or a Rotated Rectangular Slab. The rectangle is defined by placing two opposing corner nodes. A rectangle Slab is always aligned orthogonally with the normal grid. The Rotated Rectangular method requires that you first define a rotation vector, then drag the cursor in a perpendicular direction to complete the slab.

Create a Composite Slab

You can apply or customize a composite structure for a Slab.

For more information, see Composite Structures and Assign a Composite Structure to a Wall, Slab, Roof or Shell.

(Remember that the model’s Partial Structure Display settings will affect the display of composite Slabs.)

See Partial Structure Display.

If the structure of the slab is a composite, then the slab’s thickness is defined in Options > Element Attributes > Composites, and equals the sum of the skins’ thicknesses.

Note: You can edit a selected composite by accessing its settings from its context menu:

You have four options for the reference plane of a composite Slab: top of slab, bottom of slab; top of core, bottom of core.