IDEA StatiCa 26.0: Synchronized anchoring, bulk connection workflows, AASHTO for infrastructure projects, and the new Section app

Version 26.0 Highlights

Version 26.0 is about giving you fewer steps between your model and your code-checked result. Your anchoring workflow stays synced with the Connection app, updating existing Detail files. You can generate a single consolidated report for all the connections in an entire project. If you design bridges, tunnels or retaining walls acc. to AASHTO, all your structural members are now fully covered. And if the October 2027 Eurocode deadline is on your radar, the new Section app gives you a head start.

Anchoring: synchronized design across Connection and Detail

If you design anchoring in Connection and then need to verify reinforcement and concrete capacity in Detail, those two models now sync better with each other. Connection pushes load effects, materials, and geometries directly into your Detail project, and you can update an existing project without re-entering data.

You get full support for cast-in plates, pre-installed and post-installed anchors, code-checked to Eurocode, AISC, and SCI. Surface reactions and resultant forces are visible directly in the 3D scene, with governing elements highlighted, so you can see exactly what needs attention and where.

Connection: know your utilization before you calculate

When you are iterating on a connection design in the Connection app, 26.0 has introduced a machine learning prediction engine that shows you the maximum utilization as you change parameters. See it update in real time, to get a directional read on your design before committing to a full CBFEM calculation. It is designed to save time spent on iterations when you adjust a plate thickness or bolt layout.

Unified Checkbot: steel and concrete in one project

Checkbot now lets you handle both steel and concrete designs within the same project. That means a mixed structure with steel connections and concrete D-regions no longer needs to be split across separate projects. A new 3D scene engine also keeps fast responses even with large structural models.

Visibility controls – Hide, Isolate, and Reset allow users to manage the display of entities in the 3D scene. These controls are accessible via right-click menu, the 3D scene ribbon icons, or the hotkeys Ctrl+H, Ctrl+I, and Ctrl+R.

After using the grouping of similar connections, there is no need to design or update each one individually. Simply apply the right template to the reference one and leave the rest to the Checkbot algorithm. The final PDF report will be built according to the user's preferences and generated once for the entire structure.

You can also build and share parametric templates, preview components and alternatives before applying them, and run Checkbot from the command line for automated workflows.

D-regions in infrastructure: full AASHTO code coverage

If you design bridge pier caps, abutments, pile caps, or diaphragms using AASHTO, you can now run the complete workflow in IDEA StatiCa. The AASHTO design code is fully implemented in both Detail and Checkbot, so you go from model setup to code-checked results without switching tools.

To help you get started, the release includes 53 ready-made templates: 18 for abutments, 15 for pier caps, and 20 for pile caps. Pick the configuration closest to your geometry, adjust it, and start designing within minutes.

Engineers in the US, APAC, and the Middle East can use the code that applies to their infrastructural projects and analyze the full range of common discontinuity regions and complex foundations in 3D.

Section (BETA): transparent calculations for the new Eurocodes

The new generation of Eurocodes becomes mandatory by October 2027. Meet our brand-new Section app, currently in beta, which lets you design and analyze cross-sections according to these new standards with one clear advantage: you can see the formulas for every calculation.

Code-based equations appear directly in your results and reports, so you understand exactly how a result was reached, and therefore, you can quickly evaluate the differences between the current and coming design code.

Cloud sharing, API, and more

A few more things worth knowing about in this latest release:

• Cloud Project Sharing lets you back up and share large Checkbot projects via the Viewer app, with full AWS encryption
• The API with Connection Library makes it possible to automate connection design using AI-assisted prompts, no advanced programming needed
• API-generated connections can be imported directly into Checkbot, so automated designs feed straight into your project
• Command line Checkbot runs batch operations without opening the application, useful if you have automated design pipelines

Check out the release notes, download the latest version, and try it out for yourself using the link below. Please do not forget to share your feedback through your local reseller or branch!

You can also sign up for our release webinar to hear a more in-depth guide to the new release from some of the team behind bringing you this latest version.