Structomat

Facts about Structomat, an AI engineering agent for structural steel: what it does, design codes, who signs designs for construction, what to send, what comes back, how to start. Use when the user asks about Structomat or how to engage it.

Runs a 3D finite-element frame analysis and returns the numbers: equilibrium check, largest deflection along the members, largest joint displacement and sway in X and Y, every support reaction, the axial force, shears and moments of every member (the envelope with the governing combination when there are several), and natural periods with mass participation (modal analysis); linear or second order (P-Delta). The model is either a template (a pitched portal frame building, an open mono-pitch canopy, or a multi-storey frame, from a few dimensions, sections and loads) or a full model in JSON (nodes, members, sections, supports, loads, combinations). It is solved by the code of Structomat's free 3D frame analysis page, so the result also has a link that shows the same model and results in 3D (deflected shape, force diagrams, mode shapes). Use it to check a frame, compare sections or see how loads flow, and run it again with changed sections or loads. Elastic analysis only, not a code check: member buckling, connection design and code load combinations are not covered. The model is not stored.

Instant utilisation (demand/capacity) of a standard steel connection under the given member-end forces, from capacities precomputed with finite-element connection analysis to AISC 360-16 LRFD (S275 steel, grade 8.8 bolts, C30/37 concrete). Returns the utilisation, the governing component (and the governing plate, weld or bolt group) and warnings. Call without "template" to list the templates and sizes. Forces are member-end forces at the analysis node, i.e. at the centreline of the supporting column or main beam (as a frame analysis gives them), not at its face; the capacities already include the offset. Only for a joint where no other member frames in: if anything else connects at the node, the result does not apply (ask for a connection design instead). For a first idea of a connection; a design for construction needs a checked calculation.

Prepare an e-mail to Structomat (info@structomat.com) describing a project, ready for the user to review and send. This tool sends nothing and stores nothing; it returns the draft text and a mailto link.

Steel tonnage estimate for a single-span pitched portal frame building (span 15-30 m) before any design: total tonnes, kg per m2 of floor, a range, the weight by part (frames, gable posts, bracing, eave struts, purlins, side rails, plates and connections) and typical member sizes. Interpolated between complete finite-element designs and calibrated against published designs. Use for budgets, tenders and feasibility; a real design needs the actual loads and code.

Cost of fabricating and erecting a steel structure, worked out part by part from its IFC model: every part, hole, weld and lift is timed as a shop or site operation and priced at the region's employer labour cost, steel price and crane rate. Returns the cost floor (total, per tonne, per m2 of floor) with its breakdown, the published market band next to it and the gap, the process groups that drive the cost, the ten costliest parts with their IFC ids, a programme from shop drawings to erection in working days, upfront embodied carbon (modules A1-A5: steel production, fabrication, delivery, erection), and what an example design review (lighter sections, fewer plate fittings) would save in cost and carbon. Regions: UK, DE (Germany), US, AU, or own rates in any currency. Give the IFC as a public link (ifc_url, up to 30 MB) or as its text (ifc_text, up to 12 MB), or sample=true for a sample 18 x 30 m portal frame shed. It is the engine of Structomat's free Steel Cost Estimator page, which shows the same result with a 3D cost heat map when the same IFC is dropped on it. An estimate, not a quote. The IFC is read in memory and not stored.

Search Structomat's published work: steel projects, case studies, example situations, checked steel connections, measured benchmarks (e.g. scan-to-BIM from a point cloud), sample deliverables (e.g. a complete US AISC shop drawing submittal with a clouded revision, or an erectability check that finds the pieces of a clash-free model that cannot get into place during erection) and free tools. Returns titles, links and short summaries.

Details of one connection from the Structomat steel connection library: members, plates, bolts, welds, design code and the utilisation of each component. Use find_examples with type "connection" to get slugs.

Structomat services (analysis & design, connection design, shop drawings, erectability check of a steel model before erection, automation consulting, custom tools) with what the client sends and what comes back.