Tekla Custom Api Development: Make Tekla Work Your Way

By Author: Maria
Total Articles: 37
Comment this article

Tekla Structures is already a powerful platform, but projects are rarely simple. Every steel fabricator, detailer, or project team has their own way of doing things. Standard tools cover a lot of ground, but there are moments when you feel the software should just do a little more, or do it faster, or do it exactly the way your project needs.

That is where the Tekla Open API can change everything. It lets you shape Tekla into something that fits your own process instead of you trying to fit into a fixed workflow. Tekla Custom API Development and Custom Component Development can be done via the Tekla Open API

How does Tekla Open API help?

Tekla has an Open API that lets you create your own tools, scripts, and plugins. Think of it as a set of doors into Tekla’s brain. You can reach in, grab the data you need, and tell Tekla to do things automatically.

If you are creating similar drawings every week, the API can generate them in a batch. If you need custom reports for material procurement, the API can prepare them exactly as your purchasing team likes. If you want a specific type of export for your ...
... CNC machines, the Tekla Custom API Development can handle that too.

What this means is you spend less time repeating the same manual steps and more time solving the actual engineering or detailing challenges.

Tekla custom component development for unique needs

Every project has something unique in it. It might be a special truss, an unusual connection for a heavy load, or a bracket that nobody has modelled before. Tekla lets you create these as custom components.

Tekla custom component development can make geometry parametric, so it changes shape and size when you change certain values. If you are building multiple pipe racks with slightly different spans, one smart component can adapt to all of them.

Over time, these components are built into your own library of solutions. The next time you get a similar job, you are not starting from zero.

Tekla Automation that saves days of work

The real magic happens when you mix custom components with API automation. Imagine placing a single component and having Tekla automatically generate all the bolts, plates, welds, and even the related drawings in the background.

For steel fabrication workflows, this means hours or even days saved on repetitive tasks. It also reduces human errors, since logic is built into the tool itself. Once it is tested and working, you can trust it to do the job right every time. Repetitive Custom API Development, repetitive detailing tasks can be automated so your team spends more time on complex engineering and less on clicking through menus.

Examples of what can be automated

There is a lot you can do once you start working with Tekla Custom API Development. A few examples:

- Automatically number every part in a model following your own project rules
- Generate fabrication drawings in bulk with pre-set views and dimensions
- Export material lists directly to your ERP system without re-entering data
- Create CNC-ready files straight from the model so the shop can start cutting immediately
- Build model checks that flag missing bolts, misaligned parts, or clashing assemblies
Using Tekla Custom API Development, fabricators can connect design directly with production, ensuring accuracy from model to shop floor.

Why does this matter in large projects?

In a big industrial or commercial project, the number of parts, assemblies, and drawings can be massive. If you are doing everything manually, the risk of small errors is high. And small errors in steel fabrication often turn into big problems on site. Tekla Custom API Development empowers detailers to create smart, project-specific automation that speeds up delivery and improves accuracy across large models.

Custom API tools reduce that risk. They make sure the model stays accurate, the drawings match the model, and the fabrication data is always up to date. That level of consistency is hard to achieve any other way.

For more information please visit https://www.stridelysolutions.com/tekla-training-center/