Compound Cells
Compound cells include 3D models and 2D symbolic representations of Building components, and they optionally include a perforator. The 2D and 3D components can be cells nested within the compound cell. Compound cells reside in Compound Cell libraries.
Resymbolization
Compound cells provide special graphics for cell resymbolization when sections are generated, and they provide information on cut openings in the forms where they are placed. A Compound Cell can be static or parametric.
- Static compound cells — compound cells, created using standard modeling tools, having the following components: a model, a 2D graphic, and a shape for the perforator. The components are arranged in the DGN file and the Compound Cell Manager is used to create the compound cell. Static compound cells can only be updated by replacing or redefining the cell definition.
- Parametric compound cells — compound cell 3D geometry, 2D graphics, and perforators that are created using a parametric tool such as Stair Maker, Truss Builder, or Parametric Frame Builder. Compound cells are then placed directly into the model or saved in a cell library. A parametric compound cell can be updated by changing the parametric recipe (generally in the dialog where it was created) for that cell.
Parts of a Compound Cell
A compound cell consists of the following parts.
- 3D model — the 3D portion is used in the model.
- 2D graphic — the 2D portion is used to resymbolize the model when sections are cut.
- Perforator — the perforator is a standard shape used to create an opening when the Compound Cell is placed in a form.
- Origin — the origin
determines the insertion point for placement and replacement of the cell.
Compound cells can be created with an origin and either a 2D graphic or a 3D graphic. However, the benefits are greater for including both the 2D and 3D representations. When plan symbols are used to cut sections through a model, 2D graphics are used to represent the 3D cell in the model. When processing 3D graphics, control over section symbology is increased and processing time is decreased.
Placed as Shared Cells
Compound cells can be placed as shared cells when the Shared option is
turned on in the Place Compound Cell tool settings window. Shared cells are
placed using
(
Place Compound Cell
) or
(
Compound Cell Manager
).
- Only one definition of the first cell instance for any given cell is written to the file. Additional cell instances are designated as copies to reduce the file size.
- Shared Cells can be
globally updated or replaced. When replacing a cell, check the Replace
All Shared Cells option in
(
Replace Compound Cell
).
- It is possible to change or update a shared cell in a design file without changing the cell definition in the library. In this case, two cell definitions are maintained: the library definition and the shared definition.