But let's start with some big numbers. In 2021, IDEA Statica published:
- 39 blog posts
- 18 international webinars for 6,000+ attendees and registrants in total
- 3 case studies
- 2 major product releases
- 100+ new support center articles
January
We started the year with a big blockbuster (should we rather say a "blogbuster"?) written by our colleague Jan Kubicek. In this article, Jan was showcasing how IDEA StatiCa can help you to speed up the connection stiffness calculation compared to the manual calculation or spreadsheet templates.
February
In February, we continued with our super-popular webinars. More than 300 people followed the very first topic of the year 2021 which introduced the most efficient way how to work with CAD BIM links.
If you are curious about how to do your connection design job even faster, you definitely should not miss these five tips we introduced in our blog post.
Are you more concerned about concrete rather than steel? And, do you think truss models can survive the 21st century? No matter, if your answer is yes or no, we suggest you read Prof. Walter Kaufmann's thoughts on why he is concerned that truss models may no longer be used in the future.
March
Whether you are an experienced IDEA StatiCa user or just a newbie, you might come across several issues when using the software. Such issues are even more frustrating when it comes to licensing. If something like this happens to you, you can try one of our tips to help you solve the most common licensing problems.
At the very end of March, one of our customers, company KÉSZ, shared with you their experience on designing a steel structure for the HUNGEXPO exhibition center arrival hall. Using several integrations between IDEA StatiCa, Grasshopper, Consteel and Tekla Structures, they were able to design and optimize thoroughly the structure while keeping the tight deadlines.
April
Sometimes, it is important not to take ourselves so seriously. Especially, when it is on April's Fools Day. It was then that you could read about how IDEA StatiCa designs and code-check paper structures.
The Moment Connection is a joint that besides normal and shear forces, allows the transfer of bending moment forces between two structural members or from the structure to the foundation. And the grand overview of moment connections was exactly another successful blog post of our colleague Jan Kubicek.
But neither moment connections nor paper structure code-check was the peaks of our audience interest in April 2021. The true blockbuster was the introduction of the new version 21.0. With its big AISC-compliance update, faster CBFEM solver and Member application going live, it brought an enormous amount of new possibilities for our users. But the greatest improvement introduced in this release was undoubtedly our new User Portal enabling IDEA StatiCa users to check online their licenses or submit support requests. And you can bet your bottom dollar this is just the beginning of available functionalities of this service in the future.
If you missed the introduction of version 21.0, you can anytime join almost 800 of its attendees and return to in the recording of our introductory webinar.
May
Have you ever heard of condensed superelements? These elements are not visible but essential parts for the whole model helping it to behave more realistically. In this article, condensed superelements were thoroughly described by our Product Engineers. This improvement was introduced also on a dedicated webinar.
In April we talked about moment connections. So, the natural continuing piece of content for our readers was a description and classification of shear connections published in May 2021.
June
The program IDEA StatiCa Connection has undoubtedly changed the game in steel connection design a couple of years ago with a clear message - a software tool as easy as it can be, powered by the most sophisticated method inside. Though it's so comfy to use, there are several essential principles an engineer should always keep in mind. And our colleague Adam Kozousek summed up for you.
Where are today's limits of automation in structural design? What if the future of structural analysis is already here? Answer to these questions tries to bring up to the table our Product Engineer, Jan Kubicek, in his June's article about connection design automation and IDEA StatiCa Open Model feature.
IDEA StatiCa transformed the experience of thousands of structural engineers into the software you use almost every day and save time. Are you curious how much time you can exactly save with IDEA StatiCa? You can easily check it in 3 minutes using our steel or concrete designing value calculators.
July
For some, the summer months are a period for some rest. But that's nothing for us. We rather prepared a set of webinars for steel connection design beginners, called Tackling IDEA StatiCa Connection. In its five lessons you could learn about:
- The basics – such as setting up the license, general settings or UI and main controls.
- Moment connection design
- Shear connection design
- Complex connection design
- BIM Links
These webinars caught the interest of almost 2,000 participants in total.
As fatigue is one of the most dangerous types of steel failures, we decided to focus on this topic in our article written by our experienced Product Engineer, Alexander Szotkowski.
In July 2021, we also welcomed on board our customer No. 5,000.
August
After years of development and localization of our products for the US engineering community, it was high time to take the next step – the new IDEA StatiCa US office was launched close to Philadelphia. Led by Dave Eckrote, the main goal remains – continue the US business expansion.
Starting last year with welded and bolted connections, and following in 2021 with articles about moment or shear connections, we continued in publishing blog posts related to various types of connections. In August, you could read about gusset plates.
For those, who are more interested in the practical use of IDEA StatiCa in real projects, there were two new case studies published. One of them introduced the redevelopment of the main station in Nice, France, the other an iconic building from Swedish town Växjö.
September
We continued with case studies in September as well. This time, Jason McCool from Robbins Engineering allowed us to take a peek under the hood of their tiny, yet complicated canopy of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Arizona, USA.
Just a few weeks ahead, we acquired a new Product Engineer, Ralph Pullinger to our team. And he introduced himself to the audience with his first article on how IDEA StatiCa can be used to design and check virtually any type of splice connection.
October
No doubt, the cornerstone of October activities was the release of the new IDEA StatiCa version 21.1. Introducing the new Checkbot or concrete slender column design are just some of the new features introduced in this version.
The humble baseplate is quite possibly one of the last connections to be designed but it is quite literally the first piece of steel that is needed on a project. Our colleague Ralph put the baseplate connection "under the microscope" to help you to find out, how IDEA StatiCa deals easily with them.
Arch-shaped members are used in bridges, roof structures, industrial buildings, stadiums, shopping centers and alike. Thanks to the IDEA StatiCa Member, we can help engineers to design these elements quickly and efficiently. That's also the reason, why our webinar about arch-shaped members was totally packed by curious engineers.
November
If October was the month of the new product release then November had another key point – the very first IDEA StatiCa Global User Day, a virtual meetup for all users, partners and supporters of our software. Three interactive sessions packed with presentations, panel discussions and live voting polls attended by almost 1,000 engineers.
The fourth session of the User Day was somehow special. We announced the first best structural engineering projects in IDEA StatiCa Excellence Awards 2021. In the end, seven winners were carefully selected from almost 100 submissions. If you would like to know them, you can find them in this big overview of the Award winners.
Do you often deal with beams and prestressed pre-tensioned tendons? If you want to learn how to significantly boost the design and code-checking of the geometry of these elements then you might find it useful to watch our webinar on this topic.
December
When we launched our new website back in 2020, we carefully kept an eye on how our visitors are using it, searching for topics to find answers to their specific requests. To streamline their way to desired content even more, we improved a lot our Support Center before the end of the year. The improvements are not over yet, still plenty of novelties to be delivered soon.
We are absolutely thrilled to have the option to cooperate with state-of-art universities worldwide on the verification of our software and methods. In 2021, we launched cooperation with several new institutions in the USA as well – The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois Chicago, and The University of Tenessee in Knoxville. Outputs of their verifications can be found in our Support Center.
The last webinar of 2021 looped back to the ICON Växjö project, Sweden, realized by the Peikko company. Thanks to this webinar, you will be able to compare the efficiency between the original design approach and the new workflows that are possible in the latest versions of structural applications.
Summary
The year 2021 was undoubtedly a challenging year for IDEA StatiCa in many ways. We are very happy to have been able to sail through it together with you, and we are already looking forward to the many new and exciting content we are preparing for you in 2022.
