- Aplitop, a Spain-based developer of civil engineering software, has teamed up with Soltec to launch TcpMDT Photovoltaic, an application designed to optimise topographical work in solar installation projects.
The app, created as a CAD plugin, aims to streamline planning, reduce earth-moving operations, and simplify measurements and the relocation of solar trackers in PV plants.
“In essence, this tool seeks to simplify the tasks involved in the design and maintenance of solar energy installations, which leads to a saving of time and resources,” an Aplitop spokesperson told pv magazine.
The new tool enables precise calculation of earthworks early in project development. It conducts a 3D terrain analysis, dividing the project into areas based on maximum slopes, tolerance, and height differences.
The tool also analyzes longitudinal (north-south) and transverse (east-west) slopes, calculates 3D topographic surfaces for natural, design, and final terrain, and creates configurable profiles.
It includes advanced terrain modeling tools that automatically calculate axis, gradient, and profiles for each tracker. Additional interactive tools detect and resolve non-compliance with criteria, while calculating and drawing embankment and cutting volumes for tracks requiring earthworks.
The application offers a customized, assisted design with automatic distribution of mono-, bi-, and articulated tracks or conversion from designs made with other applications.
It includes a tracker catalog with details such as physical dimensions, panel numbers, nominal clearance, and support definition, including height, driving depth, and longitudinal distribution. It also automatically numbers tracks and supports, linking them to project references.
It generates detailed reports on areas, trackers, supports, slopes, and volumes, and sends data to field devices for staking out. The tool creates a 3D model of the installation, offering a realistic final terrain representation and exporting to the industry foundation classes (IFC) format for integration into OpenBIM workflows.
TcpMDT Photovoltaic Powered by Soltec is available through Aplitop’s global distributor network.
Author: Pilar Sánchez Molina
This article was originally published in pv magazine and is republished with permission.
