Research reviewed October 2026. This is a research-based review — we analyzed published specs, pricing, and user feedback.

Quick verdict

✓ Best for:Detailing shops and fabricators whose connection design and checking hours are the bottleneck in the detailing office.

✕ Skip it if:You never detail steel yourself, or you only need tonnage takeoffs from PDF plan sets.

SDS2 by ALLPLAN Review 2026: Steel Detailing With Connections Designed as You Model

Updated October 16, 2026 – Tested Intelligence

Quick verdict: SDS2 by ALLPLAN is an all-in-one steel detailing and connection design platform whose party trick is real: connections are designed and validated automatically as you model, calibrated to the fabricator’s own preferences, so the drawings and machine data that come out are already buildable. The 2026 release adds connection grouping for faster submittals and batch revision-chart editing. Pricing is not public. If connection design is where your detailing hours go, this is aimed at you.

What it is

SDS2, from ALLPLAN (part of the Nemetschek Group), is BIM software for steel detailing and connection design used by detailers, fabricators and structural engineers. Where most tools draw connections for a checker to verify later, SDS2 designs them as the model is built – fully validated, placed automatically, tuned to how the shop fabricates and the erector hangs steel.

The erection angle matters here. ALLPLAN stresses that SDS2 connections are designed to be fabrication- and erection-ready, not just geometrically correct: the same model produces shop drawings, erection drawings and the production data that feeds automated shop equipment. AECbytes’ look at SDS2 2026 highlights where the automation is heading: connection grouping that consolidates similar connections, identifies the controlling example and generates a code-compliant submittal package in minutes instead of a hand-compiled report, plus batch editing for revision charts across multiple sheets. The 2026 release also extends modelling beyond carbon steel to aluminum, stainless steel and fiberglass-reinforced plastic profiles.

Key features

Automatic connection design: fully validated connections designed as you model, per framing conditions and fabricator preferences
Connection grouping (2026): bundles similar connections into a concise, code-compliant submittal package
Live multi-user modelling: multiple detailers work in the same model simultaneously
Drawings and reports generated automatically from the 3D model, including shop and erection drawings
Batch revision-chart editing across multiple sheets, cutting a classic detailing admin chore
Automated modelling tools for miscellaneous steel – stairs, handrails and complex geometry
Production data out to automated fabrication equipment, plus interoperability with estimating and fabrication management workflows

Pricing

Pricing is not public. SDS2 is sold in modular packages – from drafting-level setups through full 3D modelling with shop drawing generation – through ALLPLAN and its channel partners, on quote. Get the quote scoped to what your detailers actually need, and judge it against connection-design and checking hours, where the automation claims its payback.

Who it’s for

Steel detailing firms and fabricators with in-house detailing, especially shops whose connection work is heavy and whose erectors complain about connections that model fine and hang badly. Integrated fabricator-detailer operations get the most: PVS Structures, quoted by ALLPLAN, runs SDS2 for everything from estimating and detailing through fabrication and feeding its automated shop equipment.

Who should skip it

Erectors who receive finished drawings from others – SDS2 authors the model, and if you never detail, you never touch it. Also skip it if you bid from PDF plan sets and only need tonnage: a takeoff tool answers that in an afternoon.

Pros

Connection design happens during modelling, not as a separate checking pass
Design automation is calibrated to the fabricator’s preferences, so output matches shop practice
One model drives shop drawings, erection drawings, reports and machine data
2026 additions attack real admin pain: submittal packages and revision charts

Cons

No public pricing, and modular packaging makes like-for-like quotes hard to compare
A professional detailing platform with a real learning curve – budget training time
The value case depends on volume of connection-heavy detailing; small shops may not feed it enough work

FAQ

How is SDS2 different from Tekla Structures?

Both are full steel detailing platforms. SDS2’s distinguishing pitch is connection design automation: connections are engineered and validated as you model, tuned to fabricator preferences, rather than modelled first and checked afterwards. Tekla counters with the larger global ecosystem.

Does SDS2 produce erection drawings?

Yes. Shop drawings, erection drawings and reports are generated from the 3D model, and the connection design is intended to be erection-ready – sequenced the way a raising gang would actually hang it, per the fabricator and erector preferences you configure.

How much does SDS2 cost?

Pricing is not public. It is licensed in modular packages through ALLPLAN and its partners, quoted per configuration.

Bottom line

SDS2 goes after the most tedious, error-prone hours in steel detailing – connection design and the paperwork around it – and automates them inside the model instead of after it. If your shop details what it fabricates and erects, that is exactly the right target. Just go in clear-eyed: it is a platform commitment, priced by quote, and it pays back in proportion to the connection-heavy tonnage you push through it.