Knowledge base

Connection Library – the largest database of downloadable steel connections

Steel

AISC (USA)

EN (Eurocode)

v23.1

This article is also available in:

Have you ever been stuck with finding a solution for a joint design? None of your previous projects have a similar geometry, all of your colleagues are too busy to help you, and you are just out of ideas?

From now on, you will know where to turn for inspiration. Simply enter connectionlibrary.ideastatica.com into your Internet browser.

With the Connection Library, you can browse examples with desired geometry and find inspiration within seconds! The use of the application is simple and intuitive! The basic set of the database consists of 400,000 designs and is expanding every day.

How it works

Connection Library is a web app that enables users to find inspiration by providing them with a public database of thousands of available connections. Users can consequently use the provided connections in the Connection app or share the search results with others, as well as download the connections and use them as the starting point in their projects.

The application is comprised of two pages – the input page and results page:

On the input page, the user can define a connection they are looking for using available input parameters. There is a 3D scene available so that it is clear what the search input looks like.
While on the results page, the user has available all the results for the input they entered previously. The user can review the search results in more detail, use filters to narrow down the search, or return to the input page and change the input.

The user can access a connection detail on the results page after they sign in. If the user does not have an account yet, then it is possible to sign-up as well. In such a case, the user is redirected to a page where they can register and get a Basic license account. While on the connection detail, the user has an option to download a trial license.

The source of this database is the connection models created and shared by users in another web application - IDEA StatiCa Viewer.

You can find a lot more about the usage and advantages of the Connection Library cloud database in this blog post dedicated to How to get inspired during steel connection design.