About Slots and Collars

Slots are the openings that allow the passage of stiffeners across a panel or a stiffener. Slots resolve the interference between a penetrated and a penetrating element. A slot also contains a set of plates, called collars, to strengthen the connection.

See Also
In Other Guides
Content for Structure Apps

When you right-click in the Slot column and select Define/Edit Slot, the Define Feature and Parameters dialog box appears.

Slot Type
Lists different types of the slot.
Slot Name

Lists the slot name.

When you click More... in the Slot Name box, the Table Browser dialog box appears for selection of a slot.

  • This list is generated from the Slot Table defined in Data Setup.
  • If no slot table is set in Data Setup, the Slot Type list becomes unavailable and you can click More... in the Slot Name list to search and select the slot.
  • Filters are applied depending upon the Slot Name and Slot Type.
  • + sign near Slot Name and Slot Type indicates the filter applied. Click Reset Filter to remove filter.
Linked to Reference

Select this check box to link instantiate slots with its slot reference. Any changes done to the slot reference will reflect in the instantiated slots once they are synchronized. To synchronize the instantiated slots, right-click the ConnectionSet and select ConnectionSet Object > Update.

When you use the same slot reference for multiple slots, its parameters will be instantiated only once and shared between instantiated slots.

Note: By default, the Linked to reference check box is selected when the slot is defined as linkable in the slot table. If the slot is not defined as linkable, this check box is cleared and becomes unavailable. When this check box is selected and you create a slot, the app checks for the previous instantiation of the same slot reference. If it does not exist, the slot is instantiated and the parameters are linked. The public parameters are displayed in the Parameters tab but they are unavailable for edition.

Parameters
Slot Parameter
Lists the public parameters of slot. It contains the list of Parameter name, Parameter Value and Locked / Unlocked status.
Collar Parameters

Lists the public parameters of collar. It contains the list of Parameters name, Parameter Value and Status of the collar parameter if they are locked or unlocked.

At the bottom left, the number of collars found is displayed.

Collar Material and Orientation
Show Preferred List only
Select this check box to show only recommended combination of material-grade and thickness.
Note: If the Material table is not set in the Data Setup, then this option is unavailable.
Material-Grade
Select a material-grade from the list.

Select the Same as Penetrated check box if you want to retrieve the material-grade and thickness of collar same as of the penetrated element. If the material or thickness of the penetrated element is modified after the slot creation, you need to manually update the material and thickness of the collar.

Thickness
Select a thickness value in the Thickness list. When the slot is initialized, a thickness value is pre-selected based on your previous session. For more information, see Material and Orientation Tab.
Orientation
In the Material Throw Orientation list, select the orientation as Normal, Invert or Center.