Quality structural steel design service — design, detailing, and 3D models — for successful fabrication and erection in Chicago, Il.

Best Structural Steel Design for Your Project, by Structural Beam!

The success of the structural steel project lies in cooperation and clear communication between the designer, engineer, fabricator, and erector. Structural design, structural steel detailing, shop drawings are the expertise of our team. Work with the best, call Structural Beam today at +1 773-917-8998 for a free consultation!

From architect’s vision to structural steel elements

Structural engineering services and structural design services

It takes an architect and a client to provide a vision, it takes an engineering team, fabricator, and erector along with builders to translate that vision into the language of structural steel elements, like columns, beams, girders, trusses, and joists, and finally into actual buildings. Our comprehensive services include structural design, structural analysis, and structural design support for both residential and commercial building construction projects.

Drafting, 2D drawings, and 3D modeling

At this stage, depending on what kind of documentation input we have received from our client, our designers might start with the initial drafting of your project, or proceed directly with 2D and 3D modeling.

The beauty of 3D modeling is that it allows the client to see how his project will look “as-built”, communicate it with the architect and give our structural engineers the green light to proceed with the next stages of the structural design process.

The work of a structural steel engineer is to make calculations and come up with designs and specifications for the structural steel elements. Structural Beam’s engineering team accomplishes it by using sophisticated professional software, to create 2D and 3D drawings.

This is the outcome of the first stage, the 3 D General Assembly Drawing is produced using CAD Modelling. This is the industrial standard for steel detailing today, and our structural steel designers are adept at using it.

The General Assembly drawing is to be approved by the architect and the structural engineer after all the comments were submitted and issues resolved. It is standard for the GA drawing to be approved first, and only then the next stage can begin.

Structural steel detailing stage

The result of this stage is the production of fabrication drawings. Even though both the architect and our structural engineering team issue their own drawings, fabricators cannot fabricate based on the engineer’s drawings. The fabrication, or shop drawings, have to be produced.

Shop drawings production

This stage involves a lot of back and forth communication between the engineers, architect, steel fabricators, and erectors. Plan and elevation details are from the drawings provided by the architect, while the connections, along with the sizes of structural steel members, are derived from the drawings of the structural engineering team.

The designer’s drawings then go to the fabricators and erectors, who analyze them, make notes, and then do the shop drawings. Shop drawings’ purpose is to give feedback to the designers and engineers for confirmation to make sure, that designer’s message came through and the fabrication can begin.

Single part drawings

Single part drawings can be a drawing of a beam, a girder, or a truss. In structural steel engineering and fabrication, every part is important, because you can’t assemble the whole structure if single elements are out of size and not go specs. Our fabrication team does detailing for every structural member.

Assembly drawings

The assembly drawings are also produced to achieve full clarity on the elements and the plan for the steel structure’s assembly from the single parts. Our steel detailers work hard, to provide our steel fabricators with exact plans and instructions, so the fabrication team has a clear understanding before the fabrication commences.

Structural Beam’s team includes structural engineers, steel fabricators, and steel erectors, that regularly work together and achieve great results, which you can see in our portfolio.

Whether you are a house owner, looking for a private home renovation or remodeling, or general contractors looking for a larger-scale commercial or residential building construction project design, our team is provenly capable of taking it on and bringing it to the timely completion.

Start by calling us today at +1 773-917-8998 and telling us about your project, we’ll take it from there!

What is the importance of structural steel design?

Structural steel design allows the creation of structurally sound and safe buildings. All steel structures, commercial, residential, and industrial structures require the designing stage, which has to be completed before the actual construction can commence.

What is structural steel design?

Structural steel design deals with designing structural steel buildings. Structural steel buildings are comprised of structural steel members of regular and custom profiles, chosen during the structural designing process.