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Steel Takeoffs for Equipment Skids and Fabrication Detail Sheets

SteelFlo Team3 min read

Steel Takeoffs for Equipment Skids

Not every steel fabrication job is a building. Equipment skids, pipe support frames, mechanical platforms, and industrial structures use the same steel sections — W-shapes, channels, angles, HSS tubes — but their drawings look different from structural framing plans.

Instead of member labels scattered across a plan view, equipment detail sheets put everything in a parts list table using verbose AISC descriptions:

AISC - C 4" x 7.2"
AISC - L 2.5" x 2.5" x 1/4"
AISC - TUBING, SQUARE, 2" L x 2" W x 3/16" THK
AISC - W 4" x 13

SteelFlo now reads these formats and converts them to standard AISC designations:

| Parts List Format | SteelFlo Reads As | |---|---| | AISC - C 4" x 7.2" | C4X7.2 | | AISC - L 2.5" x 2.5" x 1/4" | L2.5X2.5X1/4 | | AISC - L 4" x 3" x 1/4" | L4X3X1/4 | | TUBING, SQUARE, 2" L x 2" W x 3/16" THK | HSS2X2X3/16 | | AISC - W 4" x 13 | W4X13 | | ANSI/AISC Rolled Steel (C) - C 12x20.7 | C12X20.7 |

Why This Matters

Equipment fabricators have been underserved by steel takeoff tools. Most tools are built for structural framing — plan views with member labels like "W12X26" callouts on the drawing. When an equipment shop uploads a skid frame detail sheet, those tools find nothing because the steel information is in a parts list, not in labeled callouts.

SteelFlo bridges this gap. Whether your steel is called out as "W12X26" on a structural plan or "AISC - W 12" x 26" in a parts list table, it gets detected.

What Equipment Drawings Include

A typical equipment skid drawing has:

  • Parts list — every member with AISC designation, quantity, and material
  • Plan and side views — overall frame dimensions
  • Detail views — mounting holes, pipe supports, anchor bolt patterns
  • Section cuts — weldment details showing how members join
  • Notes — material specs, weld requirements, tolerances

SteelFlo reads the parts list for member detection and the detail views for connection information (bolt patterns, weld callouts, hole dimensions).

Industrial Fabrication Use Cases

This is not just skids. The same parts list format appears on:

  • Pipe support frames — structural frames that carry piping systems
  • Mechanical platforms — access platforms around equipment
  • Conveyor supports — industrial material handling structures
  • Tank saddles and cradles — supports for pressure vessels
  • Equipment bases — foundations for pumps, compressors, generators

If the drawing has an AISC parts list, SteelFlo reads it.

Try It

Upload an equipment detail sheet or skid frame drawing. SteelFlo detects the members from the parts list and the connection details from the drawing views — all in one pass.

Start free — no credit card required.

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