SteelMind
Steel estimating software that shows its work
SteelMind reads structural drawings and turns them into takeoffs — shapes, lengths, counts and AISC weights, ready to price. The math is running live on this page. Try it before you talk to anyone.
Built by the owner of a working structural steel company, for the steel industry — it ran our own bids before it ran anyone else's.
Takeoff — 12 sheets read
bid-ready| W21X50 | 12 × 40 ft | 24,000 lb |
|---|---|---|
| W12X26 | 8 × 28.5 ft | 5,928 lb |
| HSS6X6X3/8 | 16 × 12 ft | 5,276 lb |
| L4X4X3/8 | 24 × 6 ft | 1,411 lb |
| Total | 36,615 lb · 18.3 tons |
Counted, weighed and rolled up from the drawing callouts — the arithmetic every estimator runs at 11pm, done before lunch.
Live proof
This math runs our takeoffs. Use it.
The same AISC shape data behind SteelMind, live and free — 1,004 shapes with piece weights for any length and count.
Shape weight lookup
| Shape | lb/ft | Depth (in) | Area (in²) | 40 ft × 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W14X730 | 730 | 22.4 | 215 | 29,200 lb |
| W14X665 | 665 | 21.6 | 196 | 26,600 lb |
| W36X652 | 652 | 41.1 | 192 | 26,080 lb |
| W14X605 | 605 | 20.9 | 178 | 24,200 lb |
| W40X593 | 593 | 43 | 174 | 23,720 lb |
| W14X550 | 550 | 20.2 | 162 | 22,000 lb |
| W27X539 | 539 | 32.5 | 159 | 21,560 lb |
| W36X529 | 529 | 39.8 | 156 | 21,160 lb |
Showing 8 of 273 in this family. Narrow it with the search box.
Top matches shown — the full 1,004-shape roster lives on the free tool page.
The takeoff is the bottleneck
Every steel bid starts the same way: a drawing set, an RFQ deadline, and somebody counting every beam, column, angle and embed plate by hand — then catching the addendum that changed a sheet already counted. Do it slightly wrong and you lose the job, or win it at a loss. In most shops that work lands on one person, at night, after the real work is done.
SteelMind automates it: drawings in, structured takeoff out. Estimators check numbers instead of generating them — and the bids you never had time to finish get finished.
Drawings in, takeoff out
- 1
Drawing set received
S-sheets, schedules, addenda — the whole package
- 2
Members extracted
Every beam, column, angle and plate, per callout
- 3
AISC weights applied
lb/ft from the designation, extended to tonnage
- 4
Scope flags raised
BY OTHERS items surfaced, not silently priced
- 5
Bid-ready takeoff
Checked by your estimator, not built by them
Steel-specific, not construction-generic
Generic construction estimating software handles the demo project and falls apart on a real drawing set. The difference is domain knowledge:
| Generic estimating software | SteelMind |
|---|---|
| Steel is one line item among thirty trades | Steel is the whole product — shapes, grades, connections |
| You type quantities in after counting by hand | The takeoff comes off the drawings automatically |
| Weights come from whatever you paste in | Weights come from AISC shape data, extended to tonnage |
| A BY OTHERS note is your problem to catch | Out-of-scope items are flagged, not silently priced |
Works with your AI assistant
Ask Claude what twelve W21X50s weigh. It calls our server.
These calculators are a public MCP server, listed in the official registry as ai.structupath/steel-tools. Point any MCP client at https://www.structupath.ai/api/mcp — no auth, no signup — and your assistant answers steel questions with our math and cites this site. The first steel tools in the registry, as far as we can find. All 14 tools and install instructions are on the MCP server page.
Frequently asked questions
- What is steel estimating software?
- Software that turns a structural drawing set into a priced bid: counting members, looking up AISC shape weights, extending lengths into tonnage, and applying labor and material costs. The takeoff — counting every beam, column, angle and plate — is the slow, error-prone part, and the part most worth automating.
- How is this different from general construction estimating software?
- General construction estimating software treats steel as a line item. Steel-specific software knows the 50 in W21X50 is pounds per foot, that HSS designations are dimensions needing a lookup, that galvanized and plain steel use different gauge series, and that a BY OTHERS note moves scope out of your bid.
- Does it do structural steel takeoffs?
- Yes — that is the core of it. SteelMind reads structural drawings and extracts the steel into a structured takeoff: shapes, lengths, counts and weights, ready to price. Built by a structural steel contractor in Denver for his own bids first.
- Can my AI assistant use these tools?
- Yes. The calculators are a public MCP server — point Claude, Cursor or any MCP client at www.structupath.ai/api/mcp and it can look up gauges, compute plate and shape weights, and pull connection references directly. Listed in the official MCP registry as ai.structupath/steel-tools.
- What does it cost?
- SteelMind is in early access — pricing is per shop, based on bid volume. Consulting starts with the $1,500 Steel AI Assessment — a one-day analysis of your workflows, delivered as an AI Opportunity Map — and custom tool builds start at $8,500. The reference tools and calculators on this site are free, no signup, and stay that way.
Put your next bid through it
Bring a real drawing set — not a demo project — and see what the takeoff looks like. If it does not earn its keep on your bids, do not buy it.
Early access · Per-shop pricing · Free 30-minute walk first