zbCAD/Metal Panel Layout
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Metal Panel Layout

Enter each facet from field dimensions. A facet is one flat face of roof or wall, seen from in front with the eave or base at the bottom. Pick a template and type its sizes; the preview follows every keystroke. Slope mode takes dimensions as taped on the roof. Plan + pitch takes horizontal dimensions and stretches everything square to the eave by the slope factor.

Lengths can be typed any way: 126, 126 1/2, 10'-6 1/2", 10.5 ft, 3.2 m, or a sum like =96+24. What a bare number means, and how lengths and areas are shown, are project settings. Pitch takes 6:12, 26.6 deg or 50%.

Edges are typed from the shape and can be changed by clicking the edge on the drawing. Each type takes its allowance from the project defaults, and any one edge can override it. Eave, valley and wall-base allowances push the panel past the line; ridge, headwall, hip and top allowances cut it back; rake, sidewall, jamb and corner allowances pull the layout in from the edge, which changes the edge rip and not the length. The dashed line on the drawing is where the metal ends.

Panel IDs read R2-07: facet R2, its seventh different panel counting from the start edge. Panels in a facet that can be swapped for one another share an ID, and the cut list gives how many to make: same length, same rip, same end cuts and laps. A mirror-image cut is a different panel.

Long runs are split when they pass the profile's maximum length, and the pieces together are longer than the run by one lap per joint. On standing seam every transverse seam is marked as needing a splice. Laps can line up across the facet, stagger on alternate strips, or snap to purlin lines.

Waste is coverage area less roof area, broken down by where it comes from: allowances, laps, angle cuts and notches, edge rips, and rounding.

Extra panels are spares: set a number in the project settings and each package orders that many more of its longest panel in each profile and color, marked EXTRA.

Coil order, a view of the cut list, is what to buy for the roll former: the linear length, area and weight of each coil width, gauge and color. Set a maximum coil length or weight in the project settings and it gives the number of coils and the length to order each at.

Packages group facets ordered together, each with its own subtotal and PDF. Profile, laps and allowances are set once as project defaults, and a facet can override them. Profiles are a project library; the starter set is generic and must be checked against the manufacturer.

The project is kept in this browser as you work. Save writes a file to keep or send. Nothing here checks structure, wind uplift, clips or fasteners.