Are you still overdesigning steel connections?

Group or not to group, that is the question

When you are designing a standard building with shear or moment connections, having the option to group them so you can design only the reference connection is a must. The biggest requirement is to have these everyday connections designed quickly and easily. 

However, this approach might lead to not optimized, overdesigned connections, because the loads can vary level by level or frame by frame. Just imagine the economic impact of decreasing 1/16 in welding or eliminating a row of bolts from a group of 20 or 50 connections.

That doesn’t mean necessarily that you need to design the connections one by one. On the contrary, designing connections for their actual loads and by groups is a game changer.

Checkbot – the bridge between your tools

Checkbot is an IDEA StatiCa application that allows users to collaborate with multiple other applications. There are more than 25 software integrated with Checkbot nowadays – the top five most used applications are SAP 2000, Robot, STAAD.Pro, Tekla Structures, and ETABS.

Checkbot is a translator that helps us to bring information from the analysis or BIM model into the IDEA StatiCa environment. It manages your BIM workflows – importing and synchronizing connections and members. 

In past, the nodes were imported and added to a general list of joints. Later, you needed to open each joint, design a connection for it, and run the analysis for the selected critical loads. If the designed connection had the same configuration in another location, the recommended workflow was to use the Connection Library to publish, re-apply, and design, but this was still too time-consuming.

For us, it is important to help users be more productive by avoiding manual and repetitive tasks. That is why, Checkbot now enables you now to group and design connections in bulks. 

• import your analysis model from your overall BIM, 
• select the crucial load combinations – manually or by automatic recognition,
• identify the groups of similar connections,
• pick the most appropriate connection design from the set of templates for every group
• calculate and let the tools do their magic. 

See how it works

Summary

IDEA StatiCa Checkbot provides engineers with a detailed view of connections and links with their BIM, FEA, and CAD software to share their global model. The tools enable quick selection, management, and bulk operations on grouped connections, improving workflow efficiency in large-scale projects.

If you would like to explore bulk design and connection grouping further, read the following article.

Start saving time and construction costs by downloading the newest version of IDEA StatiCa.