Why streamline your tasks
Engineering often involves repetitive calculations and data entry, almost 80% of it. By automating these processes with Python, you can save time and reduce the risk of human error. Imagine being able to run multiple design iterations or extract data from numerous models with just a few lines of code – that's the power of automation.
Now you may think that automating this work will make your input redundant, this could not be further from the truth. You are upskilling yourself and future-proofing your skillset. As the engineering industry starts to embrace digital transformation, proficiency in programming and automation will increase in value. By learning how to automate STAAD.Pro with Python you are not just improving the workflow but you are also investing in a skill that will remain relevant in the future.
Accessibility
Contrary to popular belief, automating STAAD.Pro with Python is not reserved for coding experts. With its intuitive syntax and abundant learning resources, Python is one of the most beginner-friendly programming languages. Even those with minimal coding experience can quickly grasp the basics and start automating simple tasks in STAAD.Pro.
Thanks to LLMs it has also become much easier to develop code. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a fantastic coding assistant for beginners and reduces development time significantly. If you would rather not rely on LLMs, you can easily find an online course that will teach you everything you require. To give an example, there are courses specifically on Python for structural engineers. These courses will focus deeply on teaching you Python using examples relevant to your workflows.
How to get started
To get started we highly recommend looking at the following framework and evaluating where you are now and how to continue.
To help you achieve this, VIKTOR has created a simple and advanced tutorial for STAAD.Pro. Once you can read Python code and would like to make that first tool that uses a STAAD.Pro analysis as an input and lets you process the results. On the documentation, you can visit the simple tutorial. If you are confident in your Python skills and want to take it to the next level, follow the advanced tutorial to see how easy it can be to integrate STAAD.Pro and calculate the end forces on a parametric structure.
You may be wondering why doing this on the VIKTOR platform is desirable? Well, it immediately implements the final step of making these tools available and scalable for your colleagues and/or clients. The VIKTOR platform lets you develop these tools and once you are happy with the tool you have made, you can publish it to the cloud. VIKTOR also offers templates in case you wish to extend an existing tool, full user management, and version control, so without extra coding, you will also have the final step of the framework! This way you will create a STAAD.Pro integration that lets your user run STAAD.Pro calculations without needing STAAD.Pro on their machine.
So what’s next?
Get started with VIKTOR today and have your first apps ready within minutes and your first integration in an hour. You can sign up for free here and for any questions about STAAD.Pro integrations you can always consult the Community or the documentation.
