To draw triangular or quadrilateral plate elements connecting existing nodes, use the following procedure.

1. On the Geometry ribbon tab, select one of the following tools in the Plates group:

   Use this tool…	To…
   Add Quad Plate	create four-node plate elements
   Add Triangle Plate	create three-node plate elements

   The mouse pointer changes to either the Add Quad Plate cursor () or Add Triangle Plate cursor (), respectively.
2. Click on any node that will form the first corner of the plate element. A line is "rubber banded" to the cursor from this node. This represents the first edge of the surface.
3. Click on the subsequent nodes to form the plate vertices in either a clockwise or counterclockwise order. The plate shape is "rubber banded" to the cursor as you move the mouse pointer to give you a preview of the plate shape.
   Note: Plate vertices should lie within a flat plane. Refer to " M. To check for warped plates " to verify that plates are planar.
   The plate is added to the model.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add more plates.
5. To stop adding plates:

   press <Esc>

   or

   select any tool