Steel detailing is a discipline defined by precision, coordination, and time. Yet across the construction industry, design and fabrication teams continue to face mounting challenges – shrinking deadlines, complex project geometries, and a shortage of skilled labor. As the need for efficiency grows, automation and interoperability are fast becoming essential rather than optional.
ALLPLAN’s latest release of SDS2 2026 reflects this shift. By enhancing automation, expanding material versatility, and strengthening integration with cloud-based platforms such as BIMPLUS, the new version aims to transform how engineers and fabricators approach steel detailing – turning repetitive manual processes into intelligent, connected workflows.
Across many engineering offices, time is still lost to the repetitive, manual tasks that underpin every detailing project. Compiling connection reports, maintaining revision consistency across hundreds of sheets, and managing multiple file versions are all labor-intensive processes that can delay delivery and increase the risk of errors.
At the same time, the growing use of hybrid materials – combining steel with aluminum, stainless steel, or FRP – is increasing design complexity and placing even greater pressure on already stretched teams. The challenge is no longer just about modeling accuracy; it’s about managing data efficiently and ensuring every stakeholder works from the same, verified information.
SDS2 2026 answers these challenges by focusing on efficiency where it matters most: in the automation of connection design, drawing control, and data coordination across teams and platforms.
Automation isn’t about replacing detailers. Instead, it’s about giving them the tools to focus on constructability, coordination, and the decisions that matter most. SDS2 2026 introduces several automation features designed to reclaim valuable time for engineers and fabricators.
For example, the new connection grouping feature (Figure 2) automatically consolidates similar connections, identifying the “controlling” example in each group and generating a concise, code-compliant package for review. Instead of manually compiling hundreds of near-identical reports, detailers can now produce submittal documentation in minutes while maintaining accuracy and traceability.
Similarly, the new batch-editing functionality for revision charts significantly speeds up detailers’ drawing workflows, allowing teams to visualize and edit information across multiple sheets at once. This improvement, while seemingly modest, addresses one of the most time-consuming administrative tasks in detailing – ensuring consistent updates across large drawing sets without the risk of missing a revision.
Modern projects are rarely limited to one material. Architectural and industrial structures increasingly combine steel with lighter, more sustainable alternatives. Recognizing this trend, SDS2 2026 now supports additional material types and custom profiles, allowing users to accurately model components made from aluminum, stainless steel, or fiberglass-reinforced plastics (FRP).
This expanded versatility enables detailers to handle a wider range of work – from architectural detailing to mixed-material industrial assemblies – within a single environment, without switching software or introducing manual geometry workarounds.
The ability to handle more materials gives engineers the confidence that their data, drawings, and fabrication outputs remain accurate across every part of the model.
Automation doesn’t stop at the modeling stage. With the 2026 release, SDS2 strengthens the bridge between design and fabrication through enhanced data exchange and cloud integration.
New welding improvements (Figure 3) enrich the data contained within IFC exports and BIMPLUS uploads, ensuring every weld point – including robotic layout nodes – is accurately communicated to fabrication teams. By providing complete weld information directly in the model, fabricators can take full advantage of robotic assemblers and welders, significantly reducing setup time and potential errors.
Meanwhile, the integration with BIMPLUS, ALLPLAN’s open cloud collaboration platform, continues to evolve. Detailers can now upload SDS2 models directly to BIMPLUS for clash detection, issue tracking, and model-based coordination (Figure 4). Drawings, CNC data, and BOM details can be attached directly to 3D objects, ensuring a single, traceable source of truth across all stakeholders. This interconnected workflow eliminates silos and enhances visibility across the entire project lifecycle – from detailing to fabrication to construction.
SDS2 has long been known for its intelligent connection design, which builds fully validated connections based on the complete framing condition, load requirements, and fabrication preferences. The 2026 release expands support for more complex and custom connections, with intelligent checks for constructability, such as compliant slot and bolt combinations to automated weld and hole validation. Designers and detailers can count on every connection aligning with industry standards and fabrication needs, which means faster verification, fewer manual corrections, and greater trust in the detailing output.
At the same time, to support the need for increasing accountability and transparency across digital workflows, SDS2 has also introduced verification problems for North America and Europe – standardized test cases that validate the accuracy of connection design results against recognized benchmarks. These examples allow engineers to verify performance with confidence, knowing the software has been rigorously tested for accuracy and compliance.
Together, these advances reflect how ALLPLAN is turning automation, accountability, and verified performance into the foundation for smarter, more trustworthy steel detailing.
SDS2 2026 exemplifies ALLPLAN’s broader Design to Build vision – connecting every stage of the workflow through data, automation, and collaboration. Whether it’s generating connection reports in minutes, maintaining revision consistency across dozens of drawings, or sharing fabrication-ready data through the cloud, this release gives steel detailers and engineers the tools to deliver projects with unprecedented speed, accuracy, and control.
By combining intelligent automation with advanced interoperability, SDS2 2026 doesn’t just accelerate detailing – it significantly enhances it. The result is a smarter, more connected workflow that empowers detailers to focus on precision, quality, and innovation, setting a new benchmark for the steel industry’s digital future.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in AECbytes sponsored articles are those of the sponsor and do not represent or reflect the views of AECbytes.
