Underlining its commitment to making the design and construction process as efficient and collaborative as possible, voestalpine Metsec has created a new facility on its website which will allow the design, construction and installation team to more easily understand and incorporate popular, standard construction details for the company’s pre-panelised building system, Metframe
Sixty interactive 3D models have been created and organised into two distinct areas, each aimed at specific disciplines within the construction team, although all professionals may find the information useful.
As its name suggests, Metframe Architectural Details features 3D computer-generated, colour illustrations of a variety of common construction details, including window and brickwork, door in internal panel, stairwells with concrete half and quarter landings, balcony and internal party wall with concrete floor.
Each of the 24 details in this section is designed to provide support for architects and other members of the design and construction team. The details demonstrate the ease with which Metframe accommodates different areas of a building’s design and provide a clearer understanding of how the various building elements interact with the system.
From the section’s main screen, users are able to filter the details according to their particular area of interest by making selections from a number of predefined criteria, including fire protection, rainscreen, insulation, composite decking and disproportionate collapse bar.
Thumbnail versions of the details provide a quick and easy visual key which, when clicked, take the user to the detail itself. Here, the user can interact with the 3D illustration, zooming in and out using the scroll wheel of a mouse and rotating the model in all three dimensions by click-holding and moving the mouse in the desired direction.
The illustration incorporates numbered hot links, which enable the user to zoom into specific areas and explore the detail further. This is accompanied by a brief explanatory text on the detail itself.
The screen also features a Revit download button through which users can request Revit files, which can be incorporated directly into their own design files, providing useful additional information and enhancing BIM compliance.
Each screen also suggests a number of other details related to the one being viewed and which may be of interest to the user.
The second section of Metframe 3D Details shows 36 Base Level Details. Aimed mainly at the contractor and installer, this area is designed to assist with the most common steel to steel connections encountered during the installation of Metframe. Illustrations include a typical panel, window detail, brick tie rules for movement joints and connections to different building elements such as steel beams and concrete foundations.
As with the Architectural Details section, this area of the website enables details to be filtered according to a predefined list, but with different criteria. Here, users can select from 23 filters, including floor penetrations, concrete floors, brick tie channel, joists and balcony.
Selection and presentation of the detail of interest is in a consistent style to that used for the Architectural Details, with users able to interact with each model in a similar fashion and request Revit files for incorporation into the building’s design and construction information systems.
Ben Gallimore, technical manager for Metframe and lead on the project, states: “The new Metframe 3D Details facility expands our support to the entire project team, from architects and design through to final installation of the Metframe system.
“The illustrative models provide a clear understanding of how Metframe is incorporated into the most common building structures and provides clear, easy to understand details.
“In designing the system, we were also keenly aware of the need for projects to be BIM-compliant and enabling users to request Revit files from the details facilitates this.
“Initial feedback on the utility has been very positive and we are confident that it will prove invaluable to the design and construction team, adding further to the support that Metsec provides.”
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