The enhanced interoperability between Tekla Structures and Tekla PowerFab fabrication management system enables seamless and easy cooperation between steel detailers and fabricators who are using Tekla PowerFab.

With Tekla PowerFab Connector, you can now quickly and easily get an up-to-date fabricator catalog and finishes and real-time fabricator statuses from the fabrication management system.

You can also pass model information for purchasing, change tracking, and submittal packages directly back into the fabrication management system. This collaborative, fully integrated end-to-end workflow ensures the accuracy of information being submitted.

Tekla PowerFab Connector reduces manual fixes and resolving of conflicts in data transfer, which minimizes the risks of delays in fabrication and delivering to site, wasted material, and projects exceeding budget.

Tekla PowerFab Connector enhances interoperability between Tekla Structures and Tekla PowerFab, transforming the communication and submittal process. It will make it quick, accurate, and easy to set up and use throughout the project from procurement to fabrication including change management.

(1) Modeling process starts

(2) Submit for purchasing (ABM)

(3) Detailing continues

(4) Release fabrication drawings and other real-life information

(5) Fabrication starts

Now you can easily submit data at any stage of your project without depending on the existence of fabrication drawings or part numbering.

In addition to bringing a lot of new functionalities to support the end-to-end workflow, the old export to Tekla PowerFab functionality has been reinvented to support and guide the real project workflow. All the functionalities in the old dialog are also present in the new enhanced submittal workflow but exactly when you need them.

On the ribbon, there is a new Tekla PowerFab tab that contains tools for the end-to-end collaborative workflow. The tools help the project team to collaborate utilizing the same information.

The fabricator using Tekla PowerFab can share their catalog of profiles, materials and finishes to the detailer via a cloud storage. The detailer can then select to use the fabricator in a project and access their data.

See Fabricator settings.

After this, the new workflow functionality guides you to use the correct profiles and materials supported by the fabricator.

Before submitting any objects, you can validate the model using the correct fabricator settings. You can validate the model either manually, object by object, or automatically using the validation tool.

The Validate model tool helps you to find and correct problems before you submit anything to the fabricator.

Using the tool, you can be confident that the profiles, grades, finishes, or the part you are submitting to the fabricator will be accepted by the fabricator using Tekla PowerFab. and that the data exchange happens smoothly.

See Validate Tekla PowerFab submittal.

The submittal tool guides you when you export and submit different types of packages to the fabricator at any stage of the project. You can export the following data from Tekla Structures either locally to check it or directly to Tekla PowerFab for estimating, material ordering, and fabrication:

• IFC data
• data for procurement
• drawings and drawing info
• CNC data

You can export IFC data to the fabricator for estimating. See Estimating settings.

For the procurement phase, you can create a package for the fabricator for material purchasing and define the necessary properties. The exported file format is .trb. See Procurement settings.

When your drawings are ready, you can submit your drawings to the engineering office for an external approval process. When your drawings have been approved, you are ready to submit the package for fabrication. The exported file format is .pfxt.

See the following:

• Drawings for external approval settings
• Fabrication settings

To enable seamless collaboration and communication, you need to have a Trimble Connect project selected to which both you and the fabricator are connected. Subsequently, the fabricator gets notifications of your submittals in Tekla PowerFab. The fabricator can then review the submittal, and accept or reject it, and send comments to you.

You can view the current status, the content of all submittals, and fabricator's comments in Submittal history.

See View submittal history.

For managing the procurement process, there is the new Procurement control tool. You can use it to assign order numbers for materials to be purchased, which allows change management later in the project. The tool also allows you to easily see if there are changes in the model that might affect procurement and require resubmitting a package for procurement.

You can also check and track changes made to already procured steel.

The Status Sharing service has been added to the Trimble Connect ribbon tab to facilitate its use and also to support the Tekla PowerFab Connector workflow.

Status Sharing has the Show only actions from Tekla PowerFab switch for quickly displaying the fabricator status.

See Renewed Status Sharing.

Import from Tekla PowerFab is still available as a separate functionality. See Import from Tekla PowerFab. We recommend that you use status sharing instead of import for statuses.