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In this tutorial we will show what information can be acquired using the Layout information.
- Layout information
- Bill of Materials.
Layout information
Checking area information
The Layout information tab gives you the information on multiple PV areas so you don't have to check the information yourself. This window has to be refreshed if any changes have been done to the PV area.
To start off you need to Select PV areas and either do a mass select or one-by-one selection of your PV areas. The order at which you select areas will also be the order of the numbering.
Customizing the layout information table
There are a few ways you can customize the layout information table to your liking. This can be done by clicking on the cogwheel icon or the filter.
- Customize the columns - click on the cogwheel to chose what type of information you want to see and to organize the column order.
- Customize the frame types to be counted - by clicking on the filter button you're able to filter out certain frame types. For instance, you can filter out maximum inclination exceeding tables and see how impacted your project capacity is due to complicated terrain.
Hide area contents
You can hide tables and objects related to them (except for electrical design) which speeds up AutoCAD's performance and provides a better organized workflow.
Select frames
You can also select frames that belong to a certain area by right clicking anywhere on the row.
Frame information
Clicking on the Frame information button and selecting the frame, will provide you all the information about the individual table to inspect.
Match properties
This tool is used to copy properties of a selected frame to “Frame & park settings” window. The selected frame properties are matched and placed automatically in Frame & park parameters.
Row & pitch display
Generates row numbering in PV areas and pitch distance between those rows.
Piling information
Piling information can be used to:
- Reference poles by numbering.
- Show the pole aerial length.
- Reference the coordinates of each pole to export into BOM.
To use Piling information simply click on the button and then select your PV area. After generation you'll see the piling numbers which represent the table number and pole number of that table along with the pole aerial length.
The numbering settings can be found in the command line after you click on Piling information.
Inclination angle
Displays the inclination of the frame object along with a directional arrow indicating the decline of the table. This inclinaton angle is of the actual 3D object and lines up with these directions:
- N-S angle for trackers - if the table is inclined to the north the inclination text will be colored in red.
- E-W for fixed-tilt (if azimuth is set at 0 degrees, otherwise inclination direction will rotate along with object azimuth).
This inclination is caused by terrain irregularities so this tool helps to check how every 3D frame is positioned.
Frame terrain
Displays the distances from frame points to the terrain underneath. All of the distances that are displayed also indicate the location that were checked for table height when placing the frame.
These values are referenced from the 0 value which is at the table slope calculation point. Distances in purple with a minus sign mean that there's a pit/ditch underneath. In the example below - if we had set our table height to 0.8 m. from ground - this purple distance would mean that the ground is 0.975 m. away from the table.
Distances in orange with a plus sign means that there's a hill/mound underneath. This would mean that from the reference height of the table the terrain gets close to the table.
Frame terrain can be used to inspect tables for how the terrain changes underneath them.
🛈 If you wish to learn more about this concept - click below:
Bill of Materials
Quick preview of bill of materials
The second tab in the Layout information is the Bill of Materials section. Here you can get a quick information about the materials that were used in the layout.
Exportation to XLSX format
To review the final detailed report you need to use the Export to XLSX feature. Select the location on your computer and select Yes or No if you want to open it after successful exportation.
Final Bill of Materials report
The final report in XLSX format contains:
• Project overview;
• Piling information (coordinates);
• Electrical design information - AC / DC cabling.
