“The Steel Conference is a place where the design community and the construction industry come together for both education and networking,” said AISC president Charles J. Carter “We encourage architects to take advantage of our resources, like design information on hybrid construction and data about how steel is produced and its impact on embodied carbon.”

Many exhibitors conducted live demonstrations of their products. Photo © AISC

Walking the conference’s main exhibition hall is an education unto itself. There, the cacophony of whirring machines greeted attendees. Sparks flew off milling machines as they cut through steel sections, and robotic arms demonstrated their dexterity in welding and handling. Steel girders and beams were displayed throughout; some fitted with the latest in seismic bracing, and others suspended in air by multi-ton rotators. Steel fittings were also on view, with arrays of nuts, rods, bent bolts, washers, and more, found across exhibitor booths.

At the back of the expo, as part of AISC’s own booth, structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates and Cast Connex, a steel casting manufacturer, showcased a prototype of the Additively Manufactured Pedestrian Bridge, which they designed and built. The 50-foot-long bridge is the first of its kind, and as its names suggests, showcases the possibilities of steel additive manufacturing—in other words, 3D printed steel—which can be used in combination with standard materials, like hollow structural steel.  

“Additive manufacturing has the potential to be a game-changer in the steel building industry,” noted Magnusson Klemencic president David E. Eckman. “The method allows for the fabrication of complex geometries that could not otherwise be achieved, and, through analysis and optimization, it can reduce the amount of material used.”

AISC's own booth incuded a bridge prototype, with 3D-printed components, designed by Magnusson Klemencic. Photo © AISC

The bridge’s hypothetical setting is a forested site, and, to that effect, the design of its arch bases was rendered from scans of actual tree trunks; while other details, like connections to its tension rods, are branch-like. Notably, the top of the arch was also 3D printed, which allowed for a tighter radius than achievable through conventional bending methods. The bridge is currently being shipped to the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, for load testing.

Keynotes included IMEG senior structural engineering specialist Cliff Schwinger and Ronnie Medlock, vice president of technical services at High Steel Structures, a Pennsylvania-based fabricator. Breakout sessions, including an architecture-specific learning track, covered a range of topics, such as analyzing life cycle assessments to blending steel structures and tensile membranes.

Next year’s Steel Conference will be held in Atlanta from April 22-24.