Shop drawings
Make steel and reinforced concrete shop drawings from a Struxt3D design: erection plans, connection details, assemblies, parts, reinforcement and bar schedules, as PDF, DXF, NC1 or BVBS.
Struxt3D can turn a finished design into a set of shop drawings: anchor bolt and erection plans, connection details, assembly and part drawings and lists for steel; formwork plans, reinforcement drawings, schedules and a bar bending schedule for concrete. The drawings use the sized members, the designed connections and the designed bars, so they show the design as it is now.
Drawings need a design. Run it with F6 first; the buttons are greyed out before. After any change, design again and make the drawings again.
Opening the drawings
- Results summary › Shop drawings (Simple interface).
- File › Shop drawings… or Design › Shop drawings… (Full interface).
With nothing selected, the whole drawing set is made straight away. With a member, joint or footing selected, the Drawing set form opens first, so you can choose to draw just the selection. The status line at the top shows progress, sheet by sheet.
The drawings window
The window opens over the app. The list on the left holds every drawing in the set; click one to show its sheet in the main area, where you can zoom and pan. Close the window with the × button or Esc.
If some details could not be drawn, a Notes button appears in the bar. It lists what was left out and why — for example a connection type that has no detail drawing yet, such as end plates on tube sections or members framing in at a slope. Those connections keep their design; their members are drawn with plain ends.
The drawing set
Open the Drawing set form from the drawing list to choose what to draw and how. Your choices are remembered for next time.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Scope | The whole model, or the selection (when a member, joint or footing is selected) |
| Sheet | The sheet size and title block template |
| Steel | Anchor bolt, erection plans and elevations · Connection details · Assembly drawings · Single parts (members) · Plates · Field bolt list and bill of materials |
| Concrete | Formwork plans · Reinforcement drawings · Beam, column, slab, wall and footing schedules · Bar bending schedule |
| Units | Metric (mm) or Imperial (ft-in) |
| Weld symbols | ISO 2553 or AWS A2.4 |
| Projection | First angle or third angle |
| Title block | Job number, client, fabricator, drawn by, checked by, revision |
Click Make drawings to build the set, or Cancel to keep the current one.
Exporting
From the drawings window you can export the set in the formats fabricators use:
| Export | What you get |
|---|---|
| Every sheet, through the browser's print dialog: choose Save as PDF as the printer | |
| The sheets to a printer | |
| DXF | One DXF file per sheet, in a .zip, for CAD |
| NC1 | DSTV NC files of the steel parts for CNC cutting and drilling, in a .zip |
| BVBS | Bending data of the reinforcing bars for bending machines |
| Lists | The bolt list, bill of materials and other lists, in a .zip |
An export that has nothing to write — NC1 for a concrete model, BVBS for a steel one — says so instead of downloading an empty file.
Good practice
- Check the design first: drawings show failing elements as designed. Look at the utilization and the design tables before you draw.
- Fill in the title block before exporting, so every sheet carries the job and revision.
- Struxt3D's drawings are a strong starting point for detailing. Review them with your detailer and fabricator before issue.
See also Reinforcement bars and steel connections in 3D to check the design visually before drawing it.