---
title: What is FrameAI?
description: Upload a steel drawing PDF. Get fabrication-ready shop drawings, Eurocode calculations, and IFC 4 BIM models — while you sleep.
category: Get Started
---

## What is FrameAI?

FrameAI is a web-based structural engineering tool that reads a steel drawing PDF and outputs a complete fabrication package. Think of it as a detailer who never sleeps.

## How it works — step by step

### Step 1: Upload your PDF

Drop your fabrication drawing PDF onto the pipeline. FrameAI accepts multi-page drawings with any combination of:

- General arrangement plans
- Elevation drawings
- Connection details
- Section cuts

The PDF is processed entirely in your browser — it never leaves your machine until you download results.

### Step 2: AI extraction (GPT-4o vision)

GPT-4o reads each page and identifies:

| Element | What FrameAI extracts |
|---------|----------------------|
| Beams & columns | Profile (HEA/HEB/IPE), length, orientation |
| Connections | Joint type, bolt pattern, plate dimensions |
| Grid lines | Axis labels, spacing, story heights |
| Member schedule | Part marks, material grade, surface treatment |

Confidence scores are shown per element so you know what to review.

### Step 3: Eurocode calculations

For each extracted member, FrameAI runs EN 1993-1-1 checks:

- **Section class** classification (Class 1–4) for combined bending and compression
- **Member buckling** — flexural, lateral-torsional, and combined
- **Connection design** — bolted shear (EN 1993-1-8), end-plate moment, column base plates

Your national annex (NL, DE, FR, IT, BE) is respected automatically.

### Step 4: 3D model (IFC 4)

The extracted geometry is assembled into an IFC 4 BIM model. You can download it and open it in Tekla Structures, Revit, ArchiCAD, or any IFC-compatible viewer.

### Step 5: Fabrication exports

One click, then choose your outputs:

- **Shop drawing PDF** — A3, with title block, part marks, dimensions, and connection details
- **DSTV NC1** — ASCII files per part mark for CNC beam processing machines
- **DXF** — 2D shop drawings for CNC cutting or laser etching
- **BOM** — Excel bill of materials with EN 10365 steel weights per member

## Who it's for

FrameAI is built for:

- **Structural engineers** who want to validate fabrication drawings against Eurocode before issuing them
- **Steel fabricators** who need a fast way to generate shop drawings from architect or engineer drawings
- **Detailers** who want to re-use a single PDF as the source of truth across the full workflow

## What FrameAI does not do

FrameAI does not replace an engineer making judgment calls. It automates the tedious, code-bound calculations — but you still sign off on every result before it goes to the workshop floor.

## Next steps

- [Upload a Steel Drawing](/docs/tutorials/upload-a-steel-drawing) — start your first job
- [Export to Fabrication](/docs/tutorials/export-to-fabrication) — learn what you can download