RCC structural drawings, from column points to sections.
Every reinforced concrete (RCC) building repeats the same drawing work. We built a menu of commands for a structural consulting firm that turns the engineer's Excel schedules into column, footing, beam and slab drawings. The engineer keeps the design, and the tool does the drawing.
Built for one structural consulting firm. Client drawings stay private, so every picture here is our own drawing with sample data. Yours would follow your standards and schedule formats.
Commands20
on one menu
Footing rotations4
for eccentric footings
Slab marks10
one way, two way, chajja and more
Units2
millimetres, or feet and inches
Columns
Column plans
Places each column as a block carrying its number and size. When sizes change in Excel, it swaps the blocks and keeps the beams connected.
Block from typed X and Y lengths
Numbers rows, north or south first
Blank eight-column Excel template
Beams rebuilt to the new column face
2 more
Resized column holds its marked corner
Size reduction hatched on its own layer
1A column block from a typed size
2Numbered row by row
3New size from Excel, and the beams follow
Foundations
Footing plans and schedules
Turns one Excel row per column into footing outlines with starters, PCC beds, dimensions and schedules.
Normal footing centred on its column
Eccentric footing, column flush, four rotations
Separate normal and eccentric schedules
Types grouped by column size and length
3 more
Starter (25 mm) and PCC (75 mm) outlines
Dimensions move to a clear side
Lift footing from two corners
1Normal and eccentric footings on the plan
2Centred on the column, with starter and PCC
3Column flush with the edge, in four rotations
4A lift footing from two picked corners
5Types in Roman numerals
Sizing
Sizes from your load tables
Fills a column and footing sheet from the firm's own tables, stored in the tool. It looks values up and calculates nothing, so the engineer supplies the loads and checks the results.
Ten column types, each with load bands
Five SBC levels, normal and eccentric tables
Footing row matched by column size
Results written straight into the sheet
1 more
Sheet stays open in Excel for checking
1Loads and column types go in
2Two table steps, with no calculation
3Sizes fill the sheet
Framing
Beam layouts
Generates first-pass beams from wall lines, then numbers every beam by floor and type. It also exports measured lengths and widths to Excel.
Beams generated between pairs of wall lines
Floor prefixes: RB, PB, 1B, 2B
Labels try 14 positions to avoid clashes
Lengths and widths exported to Excel
4 more
Merges touching beams and removes duplicates
Beams near a column edge shift flush
Horizontals numbered first, then verticals
Cantilever, bracket, hidden and mid-landing beams
1Wall lines go in
2Beams run through the wall pairs
3Numbered by floor and type
Schedules
Beam and slab schedules
Draws schedules from Excel, tags beams by size and places slab marks. The sheets start from measured data, so the engineer adds the depth and steel.
Equal beam sizes share a Roman type
Ductile or non-ductile table layout
Ten slab marks with thickness and remark
Full slab schedule from Excel
2 more
Tables titled for terrace, ground or a floor
Small slab table, with duplicates removed
1Beam sizes become types
2Beam and slab schedules from Excel
3Slab marks, then tables
Geometry
Centre-line frames
Reduces column blocks and beam rectangles to a single-line frame. Beams meet at the column points, and each bay becomes a closed polyline.
Beam rectangles become single centre lines
Near-miss lines extended to true crossings
Beam numbers kept along the lines
Column circles with IDs at crossings
1 more
One closed polyline per slab bay
1Beams and columns as drawn
2One line per beam, one outline per bay
Sections
Beam and slab sections
A cut line on the plan becomes a drawn long section. Beam sections take sizes and steel from Excel and place the bars. Slab sections show outlines, thickness and sunk levels.
Section line with end marks and an ID
Beam depth read from Excel
Bars continue across equal-size beams
Extra top and bottom bars, dimensioned
2 more
Sunk and inverted beams shift by remark
Slab thickness and sunk dimensions
1A section marked on the plan
2Long section with bars and stirrups
3Thickness and sunk levels
What the engineer gets
A complete drawing set.
A numbered column plan
A dimensioned footing plan
Normal and eccentric footing schedules
A numbered beam layout with type tags
Beam and slab schedules
Beam and slab long sections
A centre-line frame
What the engineer provides
The design stays yours.
Column points
Sizes, or loads, column types and SBC
Footing sizes, depth and steel
Wall lines or beam rectangles
Beam depths and steel
Slab thickness, remarks and steel
Section lines, and the final check
Platforms and languages
Built on the CAD you already use.
AutoCAD
ARES Commander
AutoLISP
Excel
Also on bridges
Geogrid wall elevations for bridge approaches, from Excel to A3 sheets.
No. It draws and tabulates the engineer's data. The sizing step looks up the firm's own tables, with no analysis or code checks.
Which units does it handle?
Millimetres or feet and inches, chosen in a dialog. Excel accepts sizes like 300X600, 9"X21" or 5'6. The load-table step works in millimetres.
What needs to be installed?
AutoCAD or ARES Commander on Windows, with Microsoft Excel.
Do the schedules update when Excel changes?
They're drawn as plain lines and text, so you run the command again.
Do we have to draw a certain way?
Yes. Walls are lines on a wall layer, beams are rectangular polylines on the beam layers, and columns are the tool's blocks. Beams are numbered before schedules and sections.
Can we get a tool like this?
Yes. This one was built for one structural consulting firm, so yours would follow your standards, title blocks and schedule formats. We start from your own drawings.
Will you keep our drawings private?
Yes. We keep client drawings and project details private, and we're happy to sign an NDA before you share drawings.
Command:RT_START_PROJECT
Have structural drawings to automate?
Send us a sample drawing and your schedule formats. We'll reply with an approach and a fixed quote.
