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One Connection Per Request

Shear tabs, base plates, splices, welds: give the agent the member sizes, the factored loads, the material and bolt grades, and the code, and it returns a connection calc sheet laid out to be checked line by line. Design one connection per request: the shear tab lands, then the base plate, then the splice, each building on the last. The same brief works wherever the connection lives: a beam-to-column shear tab in an office building, a base plate under a transit canopy column, a welded splice on a pipe rack.
A complete connection brief
Design a bolted shear tab connection: W18x35 beam to W12x65
column flange, 42 kip factored end reaction. A992 members,
A36 plate, 3/4 in A325-N bolts, E70XX fillet welds.
AISC 360-22 LRFD. Cite the spec section for every limit state
you check.
“Check this connection” gets a generic answer. The brief above gets a calc you can sign off on.

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Step-by-Step

1

Tag the sheet you are working from

Type @ in the message box and tag the framing plan or connection detail from your Files area, so the agent works from your geometry and your numbers instead of a description. The Mentions guide covers the picker.
The @ picker showing the Files section with projects, documents, and uploads folders
2

Send the brief for one connection

Cover the four things every connection calc needs:
  • Geometry: the members being joined, and the plate or weld arrangement if you have one in mind
  • Loads: the factored forces the connection must carry
  • Materials: member and plate grades, bolt grade and diameter, electrode
  • Code: the standard, the edition, and LRFD or ASD
3

Watch the calc take shape

The calc sheet builds live in the Canvas beside the chat: project reference, code references, each limit state checked with its spec section, and the final design status. The finished files arrive as download links; the deliverable side is covered in Mathcad Calc Sheets.
A conversation with the Canvas open showing a fillet weld capacity calc sheet beside the chat, with deliverable download links and the design summary
Set your header fields first. Project name, number, calc by, checked by, and your company logo carry onto every sheet. See Branded Reports.
4

Ask what else to look at

One follow-up turns the draft into a plan:
The follow-up
List every limit state you did not check for this connection,
and why each one could matter here.
Prying action, block shear on the coped beam, weld access: whatever comes back is your checklist for the next request.
5

Move to the next connection

Keep the thread going and reference what is already on the table: “Now design the base plate for the same column, using the reactions from the shear tab calc.” One connection per request keeps every calc clean and checkable.

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More Briefs That Work

Base plate
Design the base plate for an HSS8x8x1/2 canopy column:
120 kip factored axial, 15 kip factored shear. A36 plate on
4000 psi concrete, 3/4 in F1554 Grade 36 anchor rods.
AISC 360-22, LRFD. Cite the sections you use.
Weld check
Check a fillet weld: E70XX electrode, 1/4 in leg, 10 in weld
length, 35 kip required shear. AISC 360-22 LRFD. Quote the
table you take the nominal weld stress from.
Both follow the same shape as the shear tab brief: geometry, loads, materials, code, and a request for citations. You are the engineer of record: the agent checks the limit states and cites the sections, and you verify the calc line by line before it goes in the package.

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Next Steps

Design Checks

The sibling workflow for members: beams, columns, footingsDesign Checks

Mathcad Calc Sheets

The calc deliverable: formats, downloads, checkingMathcad Calc Sheets

Branded Reports

Header fields and your logo on every sheetBranded Reports

Structural Agent

The agent behind this workflow, end to endStructural Agent guide
Questions? Email support@stru.ai or book a call.