HSS Insider – Nov. 2020 – Structural Castings

November 2020 | Issue #2

Insights and Benefits of Structural Castings

Get the latest technical articles, peer perspectives, resources and news. Plus, join us for our upcoming webinars. 

HSS Articles

Connecting to Structural Castings

Steel castings are not just for the highly visible, complex showcase structures you see highlighted in magazines. While no one can argue their architectural splendor, we are finding them increasingly applicable in “standard” construction.

The Capabilities, Value and Opportunity of Designing with Steel Castings

We spoke with Carlos de Oliveira, CEO and co-founder of Cast Connex Corporation, to hear his thoughts on how steel castings compare to conventional fabricated connections. His insights on cost savings, ease of fabrication and aesthetic advantages are illuminating.

Learning Opportunities

Designing Efficient HSS Vertical Bracing Connections with Qnect

The Steel Tube Institute is partnering with Qnect to demonstrate how HSS vertical bracing is made more efficient using Qnect’s powerful connection design and optimization tool. Learn what makes Qnect’s Vertical Brace connection efficient, how to set up preferences for your project, how to run a joint in the tool and read the reports.

This live webinar has already been presented. Watch more HSS webinars from STI’s Webinars On Demand library.

Concrete Filled HSS Members

This webinar will explore the design and practical implications of using concrete filled HSS on your next project. Learning objectives include the advantages of concrete filled HSS and design explorations under a variety of loading conditions.

This live webinar has already been presented. You may access the recorded webinar for free and order the quiz by clicking the button below. Note, if you have already ordered the webinar or quiz you will need to log in to your account to access them.

Bolting to HSS

This webinar explores several HSS splice designs and fabrication requirements with learning objectives including requirements for a splice connection, examples of splice connections along with their economic considerations, and options that include proprietary materials.

This live webinar has already been presented. You may access the recorded webinar for free and order the quiz by clicking the button below. Note, if you have already ordered the webinar or quiz you will need to log in to your account to access them.

Related Resources

Welding of Hollow Structural Sections

Explore the three basic types of welds that account for practically all structural weld joints.

Architecturally Exposed Hollow Structural Sections 

STI dives into surface finishing of HSS and how it relates to hot-dip galvanized AESS pieces, including finishes, curved members and connections.

In the News

ABI September 2020: Despite ongoing decline, indicators of future work improve

Find out why the third quarter of 2020 looks promising for architecture firms. While the ABI score for September indicates the majority of firms still saw a decline in their firm billings, things seem to be improving for the months ahead. 

AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) requires a subscription to view historical ABI data. This link will take you to the AIA login.

Steel Imports Down 21.9% Year-to-Date Through September

Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1,255,000 net tons (NT) of steel in September 2020, including 1,166,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (down 2.8% and 1.1%, respectively, vs. August final data).

STI Survey

Thank you to all that participated in the recent STI survey. Your responses were valuable and will help inform the education and resources we bring you. A shout out to our two $50 Visa gift card raffle winners, Jules Van de Pas with CSD Structural Engineers and Tyler Sease with Southern Steel Engineers, LLC.