Interoperability
What COMOSYS reads, writes and hands to the shop floor
A detailing package is only as open as the formats it exchanges. This page lists every confirmed link, the direction each one runs, what the fabrication line receives — and the limits, published alongside rather than left to be discovered.
Last verified: 13 August 2026
Model exchange
Seven confirmed links, each verified against the developer's own integration diagram. Direction is stated per link because that is the part that decides whether a route fits your workflow.
| Application / format | Direction | What the link carries |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk Revit | Round-trip | Bi‑directional exchange with Revit for two‑way BIM coordination — import analytical models, export detailed fabrication‑ready 3D models back to Revit. |
| IFC (Open BIM) | Import + export | Full IFC import/export for open BIM workflows — collaborate across platforms with industry‑standard interoperability. |
| 2D/3D DXF | Import + export | Import and export 2D drawings and 3D wireframes via DXF format for compatibility with any CAD platform. |
| IDEA StatiCa | Linked | Direct link to IDEA StatiCa for steel connection design with CBFEM analysis, stiffness classification, and code‑compliant reporting. |
| SAP2000 | Import into COMOSYS | Import analytical models from SAP2000 for structural steel detailing — preserving sections, loads, and member properties. |
| Tekla Structures | Round-trip | Bi‑directional integration with Tekla for BIM coordination — exchange detailed steel models and fabrication data in both directions. |
| ETABS | Import into COMOSYS | Import ETABS models directly into COMOSYS for steel detailing — maintain structural integrity from analysis to fabrication. |
IFC is the open BIM standard maintained by buildingSMART International, and it is the route to use when a project must not depend on any single vendor’s file format.
Fabrication output
Detailing only pays off if the machines accept what comes out. These files generate from the detailed model rather than being re-exported from a separate drawing set.
| Format | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| DSTV / NC1 | Beam lines and drilling/sawing CNC machinery |
| NC | Plate processing and profile cutting |
| DXF | Nesting, plasma/laser cutting and any CAD platform |
Drawings, material takeoffs and Bar Bending Schedules come off the same model, so a geometry change is made once rather than chased separately through the drawing set and the fabrication files.
Known limits
Published because a capability list without its boundary is not checkable. If any line below matters to your workflow, raise it before a trial rather than after.
- Automatic updates apply to macro-created elements only
- When the model changes, reinforcement and connections placed by macro regenerate — and the Bar Bending Schedule regenerates with them. Bars placed manually, one at a time, stay as drawn and must be refreshed individually. This is the single most important boundary on this page: plan detailing around macros if you want change propagation.
- The Tekla Structures exchange runs over IFC and CAD formats
- Models move between COMOSYS and Tekla Structures through IFC (Open BIM) round-trip and standard CAD formats (DWG, DXF), preserving member geometry, sections and assembly data. It is a format-level exchange, not a native in-application plug-in, so treat custom attributes and application-specific objects as needing verification on your own model before you commit a project to the route.
- COMOSYS does not currently hold buildingSMART IFC certification
- IFC import and export are supported and used in production, but the software is not listed on the buildingSMART certified-software register. If your client contract requires a certified IFC exporter by name, say so early — that is a procurement question, not a capability question, and we would rather raise it than have it surface at handover.
- Analysis links are one-way where the source tool owns the model
- SAP2000 and ETABS models are imported into COMOSYS for detailing; the detailed model is not written back into the analysis package. Where a two-way route matters, IFC and the Revit and Tekla links are the ones to plan around.
- This list is the vendor-confirmed set, and is deliberately conservative
- Seven links are documented here because seven are confirmed by the developer's own integration diagram. Additional applications and formats appear in the developer's wider material; they are not listed here until we hold written confirmation. If a format you depend on is missing from this page, ask — its absence here means unverified, not unsupported.
Test the route that matters to you, on your own model
The honest way to settle an interoperability question is to run your file through it. Send one model — a detail with the exchange you actually depend on — and we will run the round-trip and show you what arrived and what did not.
Arrange a file-exchange test