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Flying forms

Flying forms (or table forms) consist of a pair of steel or aluminium trusses topped with closely spaced joists that support a plywood deck. In this way panels of formwork up to 100 sq m can be decked out to form an entire bay of a suspended floor slab. After striking, the forms are moved out from under the newly formed slab on a set of rollers placed under the trusses. They are then lifted by crane to the next location.

While primarily for slabs with flat soffits, the forms can accommodate edge beams and other features in certain circumstances. The system is clearly most suited to buildings with a significant number of repetitions; a minimum of 7 or 8 uses are probably required.

Acknowledgement: The Concrete Society

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