The complexity of a single task rarely slows down structural modeling. However, multiple small, repetitive tasks that accumulate across a project can.
A modeler may repeatedly place similar connections, apply reinforcement patterns, update drawing details, generate reports, check model information, or move data between systems. Each task may take only a few minutes. Across hundreds or thousands of elements, however, those minutes become hours.
This is exactly the gap that Tekla Structures plugins are built to close.
These plugins (built on the Tekla Open API) can turn established modeling rules into reusable, repeatable workflows. For structural engineering teams working on large or highly standardized projects, Tekla automation can reduce repetitive effort while improving consistency and giving experienced team members more time to focus on engineering decisions.
Why Structural Modeling Needs Automation
Manual modeling workflows create three predictable problems.
- Repetitive Tasks and their scale
Consider a steel structure with hundreds of similar beam-column connections. If every connection requires the modeler to manually select parts, enter dimensions, position bolts, add plates, check clearances, and repeat the process, the team is spending valuable time on actions that follow a predictable pattern.
The same applies to repetitive reinforcement layouts, drawing annotations, documentation, and model checks.
A task that takes two minutes does not sound significant, but when you have to repeat it 500 times, it represents more than 16 hours of work. Large structural projects can contain thousands of similar objects and operations. Even modest time savings per operation can therefore create substantial productivity gains.
- Variation
Two experienced modelers may interpret the same modeling standard slightly differently. A small difference in component settings, naming, dimensions, or documentation can eventually create inconsistencies across the model.
- Manual re-entry of data
Manual data entry between modeling, analysis, and fabrication systems may introduce errors due to human oversight. These errors are expensive to catch late.
Custom Tekla plugins exist to remove the repetitive layer so engineers and detailers spend their time on decisions that actually need a human.
What Are Tekla Structures Plugins?
A Tekla plugin is an extension that adds functionality to Tekla Structures or automates specific modeling and documentation workflows.
“Plugin” covers a few related things inside the Tekla ecosystem, and it’s worth separating them:
- Tekla Open API applications: It is the developer framework behind most plugins. The Tekla Structures Open API, the Tekla Structural Designer Open API, and the Tekla Tedds API all let developers build tools that read and write model, drawing, and property data without modifying Tekla’s core code.
- Custom components: Reusable parametric components that encapsulate common structural details or assemblies, allowing teams to standardize frequently used configurations.
- Macros: C# source files that can automate sequences of user-interface actions or routine processes inside Tekla Structures.
Most plugins come from one of two places: Tekla Warehouse’s public catalog, or a Tekla Trimble development partner building bespoke tools for a specific fabrication practice. Stridely Solutions works in the latter category, building both published Warehouse plugins and fully custom automation tools.
Top Categories of Tekla Structures Plugins for Structural Engineering
Not all plugins solve the same problem. In practice, custom Tekla plugins can target several areas of structural modeling.
1. Connection and Assembly Automation
Connection detailing is one of the most repetitive parts of any structural model. And that’s what makes it the highest-value target for automation.
A plugin can take selected structural members and automatically create plates, bolts, welds, stiffeners, or other connection elements according to predefined parameters.
Stridely has developed Tekla plugin tools such as its Column Beam Endplate Connection and Batten Plate plugins, which are designed to streamline recurring structural detailing workflows.
2. Reinforcement and rebar automation
Rebar modeling can involve large numbers of repeated operations. It often requires repeatedly selecting couplers, applying product codes, and configuring country-specific requirements.
A custom Tekla plugin built around dropdown-driven configuration and automated product coding can turn what used to be manual, error-prone categorization into a consistent and fast process. It is particularly valuable for manufacturers managing multiple coupler types and regional variants at once.
Custom Tekla Structures automation tools can also help generate recurring reinforcement arrangements based on parameters such as spacing, diameter, cover, geometry, and member dimensions.
3. Drawing and documentation automation
Modeling is only one part of the structural detailing process.
Teams also spend considerable time producing fabrication drawings, general arrangement drawings, reports, schedules, and other documentation.
The good thing is, drawing production is where automation gains compound fastest. It’s because every model change has to eventually propagate into a drawing set. Plugins that automate annotation, dimensioning, view generation, and bulk renumbering have the capability to remove one of the largest sources of late-project overtime.
4. Collaboration and interoperability
Structural models generally require collaboration. Engineering teams may need to exchange information with analysis software, fabrication systems, manufacturing platforms, project management systems, or other BIM tools.
Wondering how to deal with that?
Well, Tekla Open API can support integrations between Tekla Structures and external applications. For organizations with established internal systems, this can be particularly valuable. A custom integration may address a workflow that an off-the-shelf plugin cannot.
How to Measure Whether a Plugin Is Worth Adopting
A plugin should not be adopted simply because automation sounds attractive. You need proof.
Try calculating this: Time per task × number of repetitions × project frequency.
Suppose a repetitive modeling operation takes four minutes and occurs 1,000 times during a project. That represents 66+ hours of manual work and is worth automating.
However, time is only one metric. Also consider:
- Reduction in rework
- Reduction in modeling errors
- Consistency with project standards
- Training time for new team members
- Impact on drawing production
- Integration with existing workflows
- Maintenance and support requirements
- Number of projects where the automation can be reused
Where Tekla Plugins Come From: Marketplace vs. Custom-Built
There are two common starting points for teams looking for Tekla automation.
1. Ready-made plugins
Tekla Warehouse provides a central platform where users can discover and access extensions, custom components, tools, and other resources for Tekla Structures. Stridely’s own plugin tools have also been published through Tekla Warehouse.
In fact, two of Stridely’s plugins — the Batten Plate plugin and the Column Beam Endplate Connection plugin — were nominated for the Tekla BIM Awards 2024
Marketplace Tekla plugins can be deployed quickly but come with limited flexibility. Also, a marketplace plugin may not fully match your company’s connection standards, naming conventions, workflows, or integration requirements.
2. Custom-built plugins
Custom development makes more sense when the process is specific to your organization or represents a significant recurring bottleneck. A custom plugin can be designed around your existing standards, model structures, business rules, and downstream systems.
Stridely’s Building & Engineering services include BIM automation, custom plug-in development, parametric and reusable components, automated drawing and report generation, and structural detailing. For teams exploring intelligent automation, Stridely also offers AI solutions for building, engineering, and BIM workflows.
Custom Tekla Plugin Examples from Stridely’s Portfolio
Two examples illustrate what custom Tekla plugin development looks like in practice.
1. A power plant equipment manufacturer building exhaust stack systems up to 80 meters tall had been modeling every chimney component (inlet, outlet, ducts, insulation, transition sections) by hand. We built a custom plugin around the manufacturer’s engineering rules and automated chimney part placement and geometry generation, improving both speed and consistency across projects.
2. A global manufacturer of mechanical rebar splicing systems required manual rebar splicing configuration across multiple coupler types and country-specific product requirements within a three-month delivery deadline. A custom plugin developed by the Stridely team automated product coding and region-specific configuration, delivering 100% accuracy in component categorization while cutting configuration time significantly.
Tekla Plugin Adoption Best Practices
Rolling out plugins without a plan tends to create its own mess. You might end up with duplicate tools, unclear ownership, and nobody sure which version is installed where. A few habits keep Tekla automation manageable as a team scales its plugin use:
- Start with one high-value bottleneck. Do not automate everything at once.
- Install through Extension Manager. It ensures versions and updates are tracked centrally rather than scattered across individual machines.
- Document the current process first. You need to understand the existing rules before encoding them.
- Separate engineering decisions from repetitive actions. Automation should support engineers, not hide critical decisions.
- Use project standards as inputs. Parameters, naming conventions, materials, connection rules, and drawing standards should be reflected in the solution.
- Test against real project models. A plugin that works on a simple test model may behave differently on a complex production model.
- Plan for Tekla version changes. Open API capabilities evolve over time, so maintenance should be part of the adoption plan.
- Train users on exceptions. Teams should know when to use automation and when manual intervention is appropriate.
- Review periodically. Remove plugins nobody uses, check for compatibility issues after Tekla version updates, and watch for any performance drag on larger models.
Getting Started with Tekla Automation
After you identify the processes that need automation, check what’s already available on Tekla Warehouse. Pilot the solution on a single project before rolling it out team-wide and confirm version compatibility up front.
For workflows that don’t fit an existing tool, a Tekla development partner can scope and build one around your actual fabrication standards rather than a generic template.
