Finding the perfect solution for Structural Engineering

Solution

Byrom Associates decided to work with Autodesk reseller, Graitec, to deliver Autodesk Advance Steel and support it and provide training. Graitec’s level of expertise regarding the Autodesk software and steel detailing generally was a key factor behind the decision. Graitec ran a demonstration of Autodesk Advance Steel for Byrom Associates, including how it would benefit them as a company. Graitec also delivered five days of training on the product. It has also provided Advance Steel technical support as part of a rolling 12-month support contract which has been used significantly.

In addition, Graitec has customised drawing outputs for Byrom Associates. By making Advance Steel available to them, Graitec has helped increase the level of automation that Byrom Associates use. It has effectively taken what users get out of the box with Advance Steel and then tailored it to what Byrom Associates wants as an output. Also, Graitec has created new specific buttons to enable its customer to increase that output speed further. This has helped Byrom Associates to reduce typical projects from three or four days to one, and they are now trying to reduce that down further to around half a day.

Graitec also has its own plug-in for Advance Steel, known as Graitec PowerPack for Advance Steel and that gives users extra functions, tools, data, and connections. Being able to use Graitec PowerPack for Advance Steel is a benefit of being a supported Graitec customer. If you buy the support package, you get access to the PowerPack. Byrom has been able to utilise commands such as “Export model to solids” and the “threaded rod connection.”

The two companies have a close working relationship. According to Hurst: “Graitec has always delivered a first-class service to us. Not only are they experienced and expert in Autodesk Advance Steel software and steel detailing work more generally, but they are also highly responsive. If we ever have any issues, we simply log a support call, and we know they will quickly call us back.”

For Byrom Associates, the main benefit of using Advance Steel is its high-quality 3D modelling capability. The consultancy can create a 3D model of the steelwork and bring it back into its timber frame model. Byrom Associates now uses Advance Steel on nearly all its projects. It uses it to ensure steel elements are of the right size and will fit in notches and support points their designers create in the timber frame for those elements. The consultancy also reports that output – from automatic drawings to bills of materials and loading lists – is of much higher quality.

Added to that, the fact that Advance Steel is a 3D modelling tool enables Byrom Associates to conduct clash detection and ensure problems are ironed about before they get to the site. It can also deliver fabrication output automatically. Once the modelling is done, the system will produce all of the drawing output automatically. That capability reduces the time spent on steelwork on a typical project from around a week to approximately a day.

It has also opened new options to Byrom Associates. Previously it might have developed a quick 2D line drawing to illustrate what steel framing would look like. It can quickly and easily produce full fabrication drawings of all the steel connections required in a project. Customers are pleased with this capability, and they also praise the clear, concise output.

Byrom is now also taking advantage of Advance Steels 3D modelling and automatic output to create and detail their Glulam structural timber projects. These are structural elements connected with bolts and steel plates, so it doesn’t matter to the software that it’s a timber beam, not a steel beam. According to Hurst: “We have also had comments back from the site, highlighting how much better the steel kits were fitting since we started using Advance Steel. The drawings are of higher quality, and you can access multiple part drawings also, making life much easier for the fabricators.”

In addition to the Autodesk steel design software, Byrom Associates has recently purchased Advance Design from Graitec. Advance Design is Graitec’s analysis package. Byrom Associates plan to set up workflows between Advance Design and Autodesk Advance Steel, and Advance Design will play a part in the design work that Byrom Associates does moving forwards. It is yet further evidence of the close partnership between the two companies and Byrom Associates ongoing belief in the capability both of Graitec and Autodesk’s steelwork design software.