Tek1 has detailed over 100,000 precast panels over 19 years.
over 90,000 were detailed under a proxy name Advanced Pretty Pictures Pty Ltd
Here are some of the projects we’ve been involved with in recent times – as of this photo (2016-2017). What’s cool about it is that they’re all in the same place at around the same time.
Rarely will you ever see them so closely located together, let alone in the same photo. Personally I thought it was pretty cool. (Please click on the photo below to get a close-up view).
Hi folks
Demo of the Auto-dimension metal curve tool
Auto Dimensioning Metal Curves from Tek1 on Vimeo.
This post is a demonstration of the powerful tooling Tek1 has at its disposal. This will save you, the client: time and incorrect dimensions.
This tool dimensions complex metal curves in a fraction of a second. You can’t make a mistake – that is impossible because the computer does the heavy lifting. And it can’t take more than 10 seconds (maximum). Imagine dimensioning everything by hand. That would take forever!
It allows our engineers and draftspeople to focus on the more important things: reading and interpreting drawings, and making good design decisions.
with kind regards
Ben
Bubble Deck – What’s so good about it?
If you can build something quicker, than translates into making money quicker. There’s a premium on speed.
Less manpower on site. That means less potential problems to deal with. Which eventually translates into money. Generally speaking, the problems and costs associated with a project are proportional to the number of people involved in it.
Bubble deck slabs, because they are filled with air, are significantly lighter. Also you can have wider spans – without as much column support. This is very desirable from an architect’s point of view.
The BubbleDeckGroup tout it as being cheaper to manufacture. Personally, I’m sceptical of this claim. I think it’s the same, if not more.
They also say it’s more environmentally friendly. It probably is relative to other solutions, but I don’t think it’s actually helping the environment. It’s sort of like the marketing on a cigarette packet saying that it’s “healthier” than other cigarettes. It is probably healthier, but cigarettes as a whole, generally speaking are not healthy.
What are the costs?
Everything has to be designed correctly and properly early on. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It forces designers to plan and think things out, before the actual construction. But if the design team does a bad job, you can be sure that the entire project is going to be delayed, and is going to be monumentally expensive.
Tek1 – Now has Bubble Deck Capabilities
Bubble Deck
After sending our staff overseas for an intensive Bubble Deck training camp, and after the development and preparation of tools to handle Bubble Deck detailing, Tek1 is pleased to announce that in addition to stand panel detailing, Tek1 has started to draw Bubble Deck slabs.
This has been the culmination of months of hard work.
What is bubble Deck?
What is happening?
Summary: Lifters minimum 10 tonnes & must use N20 loop bars
Why?
Suppose you have a 9 tonne panel. Then a 10 tonne lifter will suffice, would it not? Wrong! The panel will sometimes actually be more than 9 tonnes due to dynamic loading. What is dynamic loading? It is the additional load that is felt by the lifter, caused by lifting the panel. If the crane drops the panel very quickly, and then stops abruptly, then the panel lifter will face a strain significantly higher than its static weight. To prevent accidents and injuries – not to mention losing a panel and the antecedent costs, all panels henceforth must have 10 tonne lifters as a minimum.
What to do now?
For the general public, as an aside:
What is a lifter?
If you don’t know what a lifter is, it is basically a hook that allows a crane to lift up a panel. This “hook” is secured to the panel with what is called a loop bar.
What is a loop bar?
It is simply a bar which secures the lifter to the panel. If you have no bar, then the hook will simply snap off the panel. If the hook snaps off the panel while it is being lifted by a crane, you can be sure that it’s gonna kill some unlucky soul who might be walking under it. So it’s very important that every lifter is secured with the correct loop bar. There is no point putting in a loop bar if you put in the wrong one.
In this blog post we will explain what N12-200 EF means.
Please see the below diagram of a precast panel elevation
Well, what does N12-200 EF it mean?
Let’s break it down.
This is the diameter of the rod. 12 mm.
The 200 portion means that the rod should be spaced 200 mm apart.
This means that the rod should be on each face. i.e. on both panel faces. This is best served via a diagram.
I hope you learned something!
Lapping – what is it?
It’s got nothing to do with being over taken on the F1 track. Lapping refers to the “overlapping” of reinforcement with another section of reinforcement.
Why do we lap?
Lapping Requirements?
Trench Mesh Laps
Please see below:
Square mesh lap
Very similar to the above – please refer to that diagram.
Reinforcing Bar Laps
Please see below:
I hope this helps you. Any questions? Feel free to ask. I may even write up another post if the question is good enough.
The Mould Face
This post attempts to explain the following two questions, for those starting to learn the precast trade:
What is a precast panel?
These my friends are precast panels:
What is the mould face?
So then what is the near face / far face / mould face?
What is the significance of the mould face?
When you draw a panel, you want to indicate on your drawings that the mould face is on the building exterior.
Standard Shop Drawing Practices
This diagram should certainly clear things up for you:
I hope you learned something. Any questions, please ask.
