What Composites Are and How to Use Them

ArchiCAD uses the name Composite for a type of structure made up of two or more materials (for example, bricks, blocks, wood, metals, etc.). Each material composite (sometimes also called components or skins, depending on the ArchiCAD work window) can be used to create walls, slabs, roofs, and shells. It is possible to use the same composite for more than one type of object, although in the real world this is uncommon. The ArchiCAD project template file (the one used as a reference for creating new projects) already includes several composites for you to use. You can also create as many composites as you need, based on the materials that exist in your file.

how to create a new composite

Go to the Options/Element Attributes/Composites... (Options/Element Attributes/Composites...) menu to manage existing composites or to create a new composite. In the window that opens, you can: Duplicate... (Duplicate...): Creates a new composite, based on a selected existing composite, with a new name, and then you just edit its settings; Rename... (Rename...): Renames the current composite; Delete (Delete): Deletes the selected composite from the project;

Edit Skin and Structure of Line (Edit Skin and Line Structure) In this submenu you can select the skins and lines to edit them one by one. You can select them from the list of names or from the Preview. To set whether the composite's skin will be considered Core (Core), Finish (Finish) or Other type (Other) select it, click the black arrow and choose the classification. Use the buttons Insert Skin and Delete Skin to insert a new skin or delete a skin.

figure 1 - composite editing window

Options for editing skins When you select a skin, the available editing options are: Skin Thickness [m] (Skin Thickness): Sets the thickness of the selected skin; Skin Pattern (Skin Pattern): Sets the fill used to represent the skin; Cut Fill Pen (Cut Fill Pen): Sets the pen used for the selected fill; Cut Fill Background Pen... (Cut Fill Background Pen): Sets the pen used to represent the background of the selected fill; Use Skin End Lines (Use Skin End Lines): Turns the lines that define the end of the skins on or off; Skin End Line Pen (Skin End Line Pen): Sets the pen for the Skin End Lines; Skin Priority (Skin Priority): Sets a priority for the selected skin; Component Type (Component Type): Classifies the skin as Finish, Core or Other; Fill Orientation (Fill Orientation): Determines the orientation of the chosen fill based on the Project Origin or the Element Origin.

figure 2 - options for editing the skins of a composite

 

Options for editing lines To edit the lines, the available settings are: Use Skin Separator Line (Use Skin Separator Line): Turns on the line that separates skins; Skin Separator Line Type (Skin Separator Line Type): Sets the type of line used to separate the skins; Skin Separator Line Pen (Skin Separator Line Pen): Sets the type of pen used for the skin separator line.

figure 3 - options for editing the lines of a composite

To finish, click OK to confirm the settings for this composite.

how to assign a composite Select the object that will receive the composite and go to its Settings (Settings) menu, Ctrl+T. Click the Floor Plan and Section (Floor Plan and Section) tab and then Structure (Structure). Next, click the indicated arrow to see the composite options. Click the composite you want to apply and then click Ok. Notice the change on the object.

figure 4 - how to apply a composite