Basic Structural Steel Drawings useful for Fabrication and Erection

Structural Steel Fabricators that actually prepare the steel structure or building heavily depends on detailed drawings prepared by the steel detailer. The steel detailer produce these drawings using the construction drawings supplied by structural engineer depending on material availability and shop fittings. Below is a brief outline of essential drawings required during structural steel fabrication and erection.


Design Drawings

These drawings are produced by structural engineers or architects. Design drawings contains all the details required to prepare structural drawings. They provide data on loads, axial forces, moments, and shear forces. It also contain information of each framing member, precise dimensions, location of each beam and column and general notes for reference.


Anchor Bolt Settings

Anchor bolt plans explain settings of all anchor bolts with regard to the foundations or footings. Typically, the construction of the foundation has nothing to do with steel fabricators job but the masonry plans may contain some items which the steel fabricator need to furnish. They include leveling base plates, anchor bolts, grilles and machinery braces that must be positioned by the masonry person well before the erection of the steel framework. The steel fabricator supply final anchor bolt settings plan to the masonry person to explain he field placement of the anchor bolts.


Column Base Connection Details

This generally illustartes connections between the steel framing and the foundation. It may contain information like grout thickness dimensions, elevation of base plates and anchor bolt projection, etc.


Detail Drawings

Detail drawings present details of all connections. It displays the relationship between connected structural members and may contain common assembly and clearance dimensions. Steel Shop drawings are produced from the connection details furnished here.


Shop Drawings

Steel fabricator uses Shop drawings to fabricate each structural member in steel fabrication shops. Structural steel members are manufactured according to the details and dimensions information furnished in the detail drawings. Standards for shop drawings differ from one fabricator to another but typically all drawings comply with the AISC (Americal Institute of Steel Construction) standards for structural detailing.


Erection Plans

The structural drafter prepares Erection plans for the steel structure. These drawings contain important information such as the location of each member or sub-assembly in the steel framing, column base connection details, anchor bolt plans, etc.


Bill of Materials (BoM)

Typicaly, a CAD draftsman pepares the bill of materials listing all structural members of the steel framing seperately. The bill of materials is displayed on all shop drawings and contain information such as required material quantity, erection marks, shop and field fasteners, size of connecting plates, etc.


General Notes

General notes are required on all steel drawings and provides essential information such as type of steel, size of holes, size of bolts, hole patterns, etc required by the fabrication shop.



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