LANTEK DUCT

MODULE
MANUAL
 INDEX

1. Introduction
2. Duct figures parameters
3. Duct figure parameters edition: General parameters
4. “More” button
a. Cutting mode
b. Cutting line
5. General
6. Auxiliar
7. Fibre
8. Junction
9. Marks
10. Arcs
11. Turning vanes
12. Flanges
13. Simulation
14. Break
15. Generate duct holes
1. Introduction
This module allows us to automatically calculate the unfolding of the parts in the duct
library. To do this the user only has to enter the requested data (dimensions, junctions and
connections…) and the program will calculate the 2D development of the selected part. The
corresponding 2D parts are saved into the current job so they can be nested and machined
afterwards.

In order to do the calculation of this unfolding, we need to enter the values for the part. To
get into the dialog to enter data, just select a figure of the duct library with the mouse, y either
click on enter, or double click in the desired figure. (See duct figures parameters).

In the list of figures it is possible to see a bigger view of the figure, to get it, right button
click on the figure and go to Properties. You’ll get the view of the figure and in the bottom of the
new dialog, a description of the figure that can be modified by the user. To close it, just click on
the dialog and it will disappear.
2. Duct figures parameters:
When opening any of the figures that belong to the duct library, a dialog will appear. This
dialog is equal for every figure, and the parameters inside, will allow you to define the figure’s
dimensions. These parameters could be grouped the following way:

General parameters:
Those are the parameters that can be set for all figures.

Dimensions
Figure’s dimensions definition.

Supplements
There’s the possibility, only available for some of the figures to define supplements.

Additional parameters
This is additional information, only requested for some figures that changes from one to the other.
To reach those fields, just click on More button.

3. Figure parameters edition: general parameters

Position
It is the position of the figure in the drawing.

Quantity
Number of figures that have to be made.

Thickness
Thickness for the figure.

Material
Material to be used when creating the parts. In this field you have to choose a material that has
previously been created in the data base.

Machine
In this field you can select the machine that will be used to cut the 2D development of the
unfolded parts of the figure. The machines that can be selected are those ones that have been
previously created in the data base.

Isolate
Internal isolate for the part. Here you can select one of the isolates that have previously been
generated. You can create isolates, in the Tools menu, Cooling, Isolate icon.

Isolate
Same as in the previous explanation, with the external isolate.

Comment
It is an additional field, and there’s no need to fill it, but it allows you to write a comment for
every figure, that will be readable, later on, in the CAM module, in Figures view, figure’s
properties.
 Figure’s parameters: Dimensions
Each figure provides a graphic that will explain the meaning of each of the fields in this dialog.

• Figure parameters: suplements

Seams (C1, C2)
In this combo you can select any of the previously defined seams. To define a seam, click
on the Cooling tool bar, Seams icon.

Connections (f1, f2, ...)

The conections define the way one figure is going to be joint to another within a cooling
system. They can be created in Expert, and later on selected from this combo in this dialog.

Turning vans
The turning vanes are inside sheets that have to be located to provide a higher stability to
the figure and a better distribution for the element that will be inside the figure afterwards.
This option is only available for some figures (i.e. see figure 20).

Cooling holes

3d-Simulation
Some figures provide a 3D simulation. The 3D view changes when new parameters are
entered for the dimensions of the figure. This option helps visually to avoid errors in the
entering of parameters for figure dimensions.

In the 3D simulator you can rotate, zoom or see the part in its different perspectives.

Open dialog „Additional data“

This parameter is inside the configuration of the general duct parameters. If this parameter
is active, when opening the figure, the dialog “Other data” will the automatically opened.
In it you will be able to configure some additional data that are not in the main dialog. If
the option is not active you can always access this dialog clicking in the button “More”.
Note: Options mentioned above with explained deeply later in this manual.
 m= flange

c1= seam = this is the

value of the seam for f1/f2 = connections =
this figure the value of the
connections for this
figure with another

Position Æ Definition of the position of the figure inside a HVAC installation.

Index Æ This field will be active if, previously, a pressure indexes table has been assigned to the
figure. This index affects directly the thickness and the dimensions of the figure.

Isolate Æ You can assign an inside or outside isolate to the figure, that will be taken into account
for the later cost calculation. The isolate has to be configured previously.

Representation of the figure development:

Figure example 1 Æ Development of the figure.

Figure example 2 Æ This is the flange for the figure, that will be assembled with the figure
development afterwards.
 m = flange

c1=Pittsburg 35x17 c1=Pittsburg 35x17

f2 = METU 20

Generatrixes
1:2: One each
two are
marked

f1= METU 14

o 3D Simulation button
To control the rotation of the figure you can use both left and right button of the mouse at
the same time.
4. Button

For example
cutting angle:
ß1 = 90°
90°

0°

Flange joint to the part:

Yes Æ the flange and the development
will be generated together
No Æ two different parts are created

9 Cutting mode (Development type):

Development type:
O = 1 part
L = 2 parts
I = 4 parts

Type of figure development

With this parameter you can select the way the figure is going to be Developer, that is how
many parts will be generated. This option will be available for all square figures. The posible
options are:

Cut in I Æ Four parts are generated

Cut in L Æ Two parts are generated

Cut in O Æ Only one part

9 Cutting line:

In the next two screenshots you can see a development in O, and just on top of it (marked
in green lines) the development of the same figure in I. The first screenshots shows the cutting
line in the middle of the base line, and the second one perpendicular to the base line.

Cutting line ........... Middle of the base

 Cutting line ........... Perpendicular

Warning. In mirrored parts the middle of the base line and the perpendicular to the line will be
same.
5. General

Area

There are four different methods to calculate the area:

- Rectangle (Area of the external rectangle)
- External (Area of the external contour)
- Real (Actual area, without taking into account the internal holes)
- DIN (Area is calculated following the DIN formula. Only available for
some figures).

The calculation of the area will be used afterwards in cost calculation as

well.

Generatrix
It is possible to set the number of generatrixes to be used in the calculation of the figure
development. The bigger the number, the more accurate the contour will be.

Generatrixes Æ In the screenshot below, you can see the generatrixes in grey colour. You
can also configure the system to show some of these lines to help in a visual way to the
folding of the development.
 1
12
2
11
3 .
4
.
. .
. .

If a canal machine is installed, the program can assign canal parts, automatically to that
machine. The other parts will be assigned to machine you select for machining the parts.

Force machine:

If this parameter is active, all parts coming out of the development, will be assigned to the
same cutting machine, that one assigned to the part. If the option is not checked, the
program will automatically assigned the rectangular parts that are canal parts to the shear
or canal machine that should be previously installed. If the option “Only turning vanes go
to canal” is checked, only parts that are turning vanes are assigned to this machine, even if
there are rectangular parts that could be cut in it.

Position is the name of the part

Part reference is not asked for, and index is used instead.

Index
If the option is not active, the reference of the part
won’t be requested.

Prompt for data in each part

If this option is selected, when generating the figure development, a dialog will be open for
aditional information such as customer. Besides also part reference could be changed,
because this is automatically generated. This option is visible when the checkbox „Position
is the name of the part“ is not active.
Required position

If this option is active and no position has been enter in the position field, a warning
window will come up saying the position hasn’t been defined. And the figure development
won’t be made until the parameter is selected.

Open „Aditional data“ window

If the option is checked, every time a figure is opened, so will be the “Additional data” dialog

6. Auxiliar

Marks on seams and connections

The lines that separate part and seams and connections can be automatically configured to
be marked afterwards, if this checkbox is active. If it’s not, the lines won’t have this
marking technology, and will be visualized in light blue colour (no-cut technology).
Light blue: Lines are
only visible in the
screen and won’t be
machined.

Grey: Lines have

marking technology,
so the cutting
machine will mark
them afterwards.

Warning: The final

colour depends on the
configuration of
CAM colours.
Marks on parts to curve:

This option will only affect some of the figures in the duct library. The connections in
rectangular parts will be folded by the grey lines:
Support lines

Support lines can be viewed or hidden depeding on the checkbox above, and it will only be
a graphical difference, as it does not affect the machining.
Flanges equal to base

This option affects the way the flange for the part is calculated. If the option is active the
length of flange matches the edge of the part, if the option is off, the flange is lengthen
perpendicularly until the end of the part.

In the following drawing both developments have been mixed, for a better understanding
of this option. The green line should be the development with the flange equal to base.

Warning: To be able to use this option, the flange has to be generated along with the part.
Susbtract frame depth from male and Substract frame depth from female.

When including seams in the calculation of the part, the thickness of the part may be
bigger so the bended part does not fit in the part limits. In this case the seam of the part has
to be reduced accordingly and that’s what you get with these parameters.

Inner side upwards

If this parameter is active, the view in the screen is the one that corresponds to the inside of
the part. When the option is not active, the outside of the part will be shown.

Outside contours clockwise

When this option is active, outside contours will be cut clockwise.

Contornos interiores en sentido horario

When this option is active, holes or inside contours will be cut clockwise.

Generate special messages

This parameter will help to define special parts such as deflectors or collarines. In
rectangular parts allows you to define the position of the special part: top, bottom, front,
back. If the parameter is active, this message will be shown in the label list, to help
afterwards with the final assembly of the figure. This message can also be shown in the
CAM module, to do so, just click on the part, (right button), Properties, More button.
7. Fibre

Fibre

This option defines the position of the neutral fibre in the figure. Considering position and
thickness, the dimensions to be entered to define the figure can be different. There are three
possibilities:

Inside

The dimensions of the figure are referred to the inside of the part.

Neuter

The dimensions of the figure are referred to the neutral fibre of the part.

Outside

The dimensions of the figure are referred to the outside of the part.

Neutral fibre

The position of the neutral fibre does not need to be in the middle of the thickness, this
only happens when this value is 50%. The bigger this value, the more the neutral fibre gets
near the outside of the figure.
8. Junctions

With this option you can configure the parameters that have to do with the assembly of the figure.

The type of junction affects the calculation for the development of the figure, as you have defined
how two parts of the same figure are being joined. As explained above, a figure can be break in I,
L or O (1, 2 or 4 parts). Depending on the type of junction selected, a proper thickness will be
calculated for each joining.
9. Marks

In this tab you can configure the parameters related to the marking of the resulting parts. If the
option „Mark on“ is not active, no marking will be generated at all, if the option is on, then you´ll
be allowed to select the type of marking.

Type Æ Lines

Selecting this type the marking will be done by lines.

Technology
This combo corresponds to the parking technology. (This information will be used by the
postprocessor to generate the appropriate codes in the cnc).

To cut
It is the distance between the marking lines and the edge of the part.

Order
This parameter selects or not the order of the marking direction.
Join ends
With this parameter you can control whether the marking between several lines has to be
turned off or not. With this you can avoid unneeded times to turn on and off the marking
(continuous marking).

Type Æ Short lines

Exactly the same as in the previous version, but resides the length of the line can be
defined.

Lenght
It is length for the marking short lines.

Type Æ Drill cycles

This option is to select that the marking will be made with an auxiliary tool, a drilling
device and the marking will be done by points.

Points
Number of points in each line.

Type Æ Notches
The marking of the generatrixes will be made by notches.

Depth
Field to define the depth of the notch.

Width
Field to define the width of the notch.
10. Arcs

In this dialog you can configure the parameters for the calculation of the arcs in the figures.

Generate arcs
If the development of the figure has arcs, with this parameter you can tell the system to
keep them or break them into segments.

Elements
It is the number of elements that will be used to break the arc. The bigger the number the
better the contour calculation will be.
11. Turning vanes

In this dialog you can configure the turning vanes for HVAC figures.

Turning vanes

If this option is active, along the development of the figures, you’ll get the turning vanes.
When the checkbox is on, the dialog shows the dimensions to enter the desired values for
a, h, d, q1 and q2.

Mark side parts

With this parameter active, the side parts where the turning vanes are attached, will be
marked with points or circles. This marking will be very helpful when joining the turning
vanes with the figure. When using this option, some more parameters have to be defined:

Holes
This option is related to the type of marking, by circles or points, and you need to define
some new additional parameters such as number of holes, dimensions for the circles,
distance between holes…
In fact this option is only available in some of the figures, those with the button in the
main dialog of that figure.
Turning vanes definition
It is possible to define up to five different turning vanes for each figure. If the figure has
two entries, then we can define up to ten, five per entry. The dialog shown below is where
you can edit the turning vanes for each figure. You just have to enter the percentage for the
turning vane position. For each of them two values have to be entered, the percentages in
both entries.
12. Flanges

In this window you can define the lengthening of the flange, which will help, later on, for the
assembly of the flange.
13. Simulation

In this dialog you’ll be allowed to define the behaviour of the simulation window in some
of the figures in the duct library.

Open simulation window

If this option is active, when opening a figure with this simulation facility, the simulation
window will be opened automatically.

Simulation Æ with every figure

Selecting this option, the system will update the 3D graphical representation of the figure
with each change in any number of the dimensions of the figure.

Simulation Æ with every dimension

Selecting this option, the update in the 3D view will be made, when the full value in any
dimension field changes.

Simulation Æ only with 3D button

With option the update in the 3d view will only be made when clicking in the 3D button.
14. Break

Once this option is active, the development of the figures that go beyond some given values, will
be automatically broken. When breaking, the program selects the seam selected in the current
dialog.

There are different ways of breaking the development:

By length Æ Here you can define the maximum dimensions for the segments (for instance the
size of the sheets in the warehouse).
By number of tracks Æ Here you can select the number of generated segments.
Use the minimum rectangle of parts:
If this option is active the part will be rotated in such a way that the outside rectangle will
be minimum. This way the position of the part will be optimum and the results to break the
part are better. In order to search the outside rectangle, the rotation step has to be entered
(Angle step).

By sheet dimension Æ Here the program searches, using the value in field By, the best sheet
format for breaking the development of the figure.

Warning: When there are a lot of sheets in the database this option may require quite
a long time, as the system has to check all the sheets in the sheets warehouse.

Break in same tracks: The broken segments will be equal.

15. Generate duct holes
With this option duct holes can be generated manually. For that you have to previously design
duct holes in the CAD module and save them as duct holes. The generated holes can be selected in
this dialog afterwards.

To assign duct holes to a given figure just open it and click on the icon , to get the following
dialog:

Face

It corresponds to the face where these duct holes are going to be placed. Just below the
Face options you can find a drawing that explains where reference axes will be for X and
Y coordinates of the holes.

Reference
In this field you can select the type of duct hole.

X,Y
Values for X and Y coordinates where holes will be placed.

New
If you click on this button you’ll get a selecting window for the already CAM predefined
duct holes.

Delete

With this option you can delete lines in the duct holes list.