Tekla connection libraries that do not fight you
A practitioner-level guide to building Tekla connection libraries without the usual headaches: parameter sprawl, ambiguous component names, and the dreaded "what does this do?" question.
Steel connection libraries grow organically. By the time a team has shipped three buildings, the connection folder reads like an archeology dig — fragments of conventions, half-finished components, and the occasional "TEMP" file that has been there for two years.
The naming problem
Most teams name connections by geometry (e.g. "Beam_W_Column"). We tried naming by intent (e.g. "Moment_RHS_to_HSS_Bolted") and saw immediate downstream gains — fabricators stopped asking "what does this one do?" in detailing reviews.
# Naming convention
<Type>_<Section>_to_<Section>_<Bolted|Welded>_<Variant>
# Examples
Moment_RHS_to_HSS_Bolted_Std
Shear_W_to_W_Welded_Std
Bracing_HSS_to_Plate_Bolted_CleatedParameter discipline
Limit user parameters to bolt grade, plate thickness, weld size, and a clearance overrides flag. If you find yourself adding a fifth, the connection probably wants to be two connections.
If a connection has more than four user parameters, it is wearing a costume.
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