The Constructions (Assemblies) library
Table of Contents
The Constructions (Assemblies) library contains all the existing assemblies that exist in your project. Access it from the Library > Constructions menu:
See also: Example constructions and components library downloads and How do I create a new construction?
Using the Library
The assembly library popup contains these sections:
- On the left is the search bar and a list of all the available assemblies in the project.
- On the right is the editor tab (first tab) and the bulk-actions tab.
Assembly editor
The assembly editor is used for creating new and updating existing assemblies. You can inspect a given assembly in the 3D perspective view and edit its properties.
Note that you can “lock” an assembly using the lock button under the 3D visualisation, to the right. This will prevent any unintended changes to the configuration of the assembly.
Vertical size
This is defined within the ‘Crossarms’ section and is defined as the distance between the top of the pole and the lowest attached crossarms
Crossarms
This section lets you configure the cross-arms of your assembly, allowing you to adjust the type, location, orientation, and other details.
Insulators
This section is where you can specify how this assembly will be used, the available options are:
- Termination
- Through Unstrained
- Ground Anchor
- Pole Stay Attachment
You then specify how the insulator will be attached to either a pole or crossarm and the available options are:
- Strain
- Post
- Pin
- Suspension
Once this has been done, the options below “Attached To” allow configuration of which cross-arm or pole the conductor is attached to, and adjust offsets and attachment angles. The bulk set option sets all insulators at once.
Beam
The beam editor has fields for changing the label of the beam as well as its dimensions, mass and strength data.
Brace
The brace editor has fields for changing the label of the brace as well as its dimensions, mass and strength data. The mass of the brace can be entered in and the length will be used to calculate the mass per meter of the brace. Thus if braces are duplicated with different lengths then the mass of the brace will be calculated from the mass per meter data.
Constraints
Certain assemblies are appropriate for certain situations. Constraints allow users to organise their assembly library so they select the right assembly for their task. For instance, one assembly might only be applicable for voltages below 1kV. By adding constraint information, you can search for the assembly in more advanced ways via advanced search in the search bar (read below)
Available constraints are:
- Min and max voltage - The minimum and maximum voltage this assembly should be used for, inclusive
- Min and max deviation angle - The minimum and maximum change in direction of cable that the assembly can facilitate. 0 degrees = perfectly straight. 90 degrees = a right-angle corner
- Intended usage - Standard categories to group assembly depending on application
Actions
Under the editor there are the following settings:
- Save - Note that all changes are saved automatically
- Undo - Undoes all changes since the assembly editor was opened for the current assembly
- Make a copy - makes a copy of the assembly
- Delete - deletes the assembly
Sidebar
The sidebar contains a list of assembly and a search bar that constrains that list.
Clicking on an assembly opens it in the editor panel. Selecting multiple assembly adds them to the bulk actions panel (explained below). A blue dot indicates that the assembly is currently being used in your project.
Search bar
The search bar filters the assemblies in the sidebar. Clicking the chevron to the right exposes the advanced search filters.
Advanced filters are:
- Voltage - As defined in the constraint section of each assembly
- Deviation angle - As defined in the constraint section of each assembly
- Used - Whether the assembly is being used in the current project
- Locked - Whether the assembly is “locked” or not. See above
- Warning - Find assemblies with warnings. Selecting the assembly and looking at the editor will reveal details about the warning
- Pole count - The number of poles in the assembly
- Wire count - Number of wires in the assembly
- Intended usage - As defined in the constraint section of each assembly
- Geometry - Enables matching (or excluding) of assemblies with similar geometries to the assembly specified, i.e. similar layout of attachment points. You can tune the sensitivity of the matching using the box to the right
Bulk actions panel
The bulk actions panel enables large-scale editing of the assembly library. Selecting multiple assemblies in the sidebar adds them to the bulk actions report, which can be used to quickly edit and review en masse.
You can further filter and sort this table using the headers of the report as you would any normal report in Neara. In the column header, select the bulk actions key to apply the same value to all the visible rows (i.e. it will not apply to rows that are filtered-out).
Importing and exporting assemblies
Clicking on the bulk actions tab without selecting any assemblies reveals the option to import assemblies from another project.
If many assemblies are selected, a table of all assemblies appears. Selecting the vertical ellipsis enables the export of the selected assemblies into a .construction file.