Hackathon ideas for structural engineering teams

Ingredients

• Connection list (spreadsheet)
• Factored P, V and M per row
• Beam and column sizes
• Shear and moment connection calcs
• Calcs.com API

Method

1. 01One row per connection: factored axial, shear and moment, beam and column sizes, orientation.
2. 02Step up from the smallest plate and bolt size.
3. 03Rows with moment go to the moment calc. The rest go to shear.
4. 04List the designs that pass every check, lightest first.
5. 05Compare the steel in members and connections. Open any sheet that fails.

What we learned. Limit the search to plate thicknesses and bolt sizes your fabricator actually uses, or it never finishes.

Same idea, your work. Any member schedule: size every beam or joist to the lightest that passes.

Pairs with B1 · A2
Built by two Calcs.com structural engineers

Ingredients

• Column loads
• Plate and pier size limits
• Anchor rod sizes you can buy
• Shop rates: plate, rods, labor
• HSS base plate calc
• Calcs.com API and Claude

Method

1. 01Enter loads, materials, and plate and pier limits.
2. 02Add the shop's rates for plate, anchor rods and installation.
3. 03Run every combination through the base plate calc.
4. 04Compare the three lightest and the three cheapest to install.
5. 05Enter the column count to compare totals across the job.
6. 06Send the options you want to a Calcs.com project to review.

What we learned. Six anchor rods can come in lighter than four and still cost more once you count drilling and setting them.

Same idea, your work. Footings or pile caps: rank the options by what they cost to build, not just material.

Pairs with B1 · C1
Built by two Calcs.com structural engineers

Ingredients

• 3D frame model
• Member forces from SAP2000 or similar
• Your grouping tolerance
• HSS connection calcs
• Calcs.com API

Method

1. 01Group the ends that would give you the same calc sheet: same members, same geometry.
2. 02Split those groups by force envelope (V, M and P) within your tolerance.
3. 03Solve one sheet per group and iterate until every check passes.
4. 04See the groups color-coded in the 3D model, so you know which connection goes where.

What we learned. A tighter tolerance means more groups but less overdesign. Pick it on purpose, not by default.

Same idea, your work. Floor framing: group beams or joists with similar spans and loads, and design each group once.

Pairs with A1 · C1
Built by three Calcs.com structural engineers

Ingredients

• Column schedule
• Loads at each location
• HSS column calc
• Calcs.com API
• AI agent

Method

1. 01Group columns by size and use. The test had 8 columns in 2 groups.
2. 02Set up one sheet per group.
3. 03Have the agent run every location's loads through that sheet.
4. 04Compare against the envelope. Upsize only the group that actually fails.

What we learned. Hand-check one location before you run the batch, and confirm the load units on the input table.

Same idea, your work. Footings or piers: check each location against one design per group, not the worst case.

Pairs with C2
Built by a Calcs.com engineer

Ingredients

• Hand sketch
• Loads
• Connection calcs
• Calcs.com API
• AI

Method

1. 01Photograph the sketch.
2. 02AI drafts the 3D model with member sizes and connections.
3. 03Every connection gets its own calc sheet in Calcs.com.
4. 04Limit states and pass or fail show on the model as results come back.
5. 05Pull the material takeoff and a rough quote.

What we learned. The AI drafts the model. You still review every sheet before anything goes out.

Same idea, your work. Redlined PDFs: turn markups into a list of members to check.

Pairs with B1 · A2
Built by our head of engineering and a structural engineer

Ingredients

• ETABS model
• Speckle
• Connection calcs
• Calcs.com API
• 3D viewer

Method

1. 01Bring the model in through Speckle.
2. 02Read the beam-to-column joints from the frame connectivity.
3. 03Match each joint to a connection calc by member sections.
4. 04Run all the sheets in parallel.
5. 05Color joints by pass or fail. Click any joint to open its sheet.

What we learned. Run the sheets in parallel. One connection solve can take 20 to 30 seconds.

Same idea, your work. Revit, Robot or Grasshopper: Speckle reads those too, so the same idea works from your model.

Pairs with B1 · B2
Built by our head of product

Ingredients

• US site address
• Geocoder
• Calcs.com environmental loads
• ASCE 7-16 or 7-22

Method

1. 01Type the address. Drag the pin if the geocoder misses.
2. 02Pick ASCE 7-16 or 7-22.
3. 03Get wind for each risk category, ground snow, site class, SDC and the seismic parameters.
4. 04Print the one-page design basis, and note which ASCE 7 edition it used.

What we learned. Switching ASCE editions can change the SDC, not just the numbers. Denver is SDC A under 7-22 but SDC B under 7-16.

Same idea, your work. Proposals: produce a one-page design basis for every new site before you quote.

Pairs with C2 · C4
Built by our growth marketing manager

Ingredients

• Architectural plans
• Framing markup
• Timber and steel member calcs
• Calcs.com API
• Claude skill

Method

1. 01Feed in the plans, the framing markup and the drafter's file.
2. 02Claude works out spans and load widths, then proposes a size for each member.
3. 03One Calcs.com sheet per member: 21 timber and 14 steel on the test job.
4. 04Compare against the engineer's issued computations.

What we learned. Set your design basis (dead loads, deflection limits) up front. The defaults won't match your firm's.

Same idea, your work. Renovations: read the existing plans and list every member you need to check.

Pairs with C3 · B2
Built by a Calcs.com engineer

Ingredients

• 3D connection diagrams
• Calcs.com connection library
• Autodesk Viewer

Method

1. 01Start from the members you're joining.
2. 02Add or remove parts: bolts, welds, plates.
3. 03Remove something the connection needs and it warns you and suggests close matches.
4. 04Open the matching calc in Calcs.com with your setup already in.
5. 05Carry on to drawings in Autodesk Viewer.

What we learned. Useful for detailers and estimators who don't know the calc library by heart.

Same idea, your work. Onboarding: help a graduate or estimator find the right calc for anything you design.

Pairs with A1 · B1
Built by a Calcs.com structural engineer

Ingredients

• A browser game
• Calcs.com connection links

Method

1. 01Play.
2. 02Crash into a connection.
3. 03Land on that connection's calc in Calcs.com.

What we learned. Put it on a tablet at your booth. People will queue for it.

Same idea, your work. Training: turn your firm's standard details into a quiz or game for graduates.

Pairs with D1
Built by a Calcs.com structural engineer

Ingredients

• Hand sketch
• Member forces from SAP2000
• Shop rates
• Connection calcs
• Calcs.com API
• AI

Method

1. 01Photograph the sketch. AI drafts the 3D frame and connections.
2. 02Group the connections by geometry, then by forces within your tolerance.
3. 03Solve one sheet per group until every check passes.
4. 04Compare base plate options by installed cost.
5. 05Get a material takeoff, a rough quote and a link to every sheet.

Combines C1, B1 and A2