In short: There are three ways to turn a STAAD.Pro model into a CAD drawing: STAAD's own DXF export (fast, but single lines only), STAAD's Steel AutoDrafter (plans and sections with some rules about how the model is set up), and a dedicated converter such as STAAD To CAD, which draws real member outlines, merges split members and adds section callouts. This guide compares them and ends with a checklist for issuing drawings from a model.

A STAAD.Pro model knows the geometry, every section and every length. A drawing needs the same information, laid out so a checker, a detailer and a fabricator can read it. The gap between the two is drafting time, and the method you choose decides how big that gap is.

What a usable frame drawing needs

Before comparing tools, it helps to agree on what "done" looks like. A frame or elevation drawing that a detailer can work from has:

  • The right view: one frame or one elevation, not the whole 3D model.
  • Member outlines at the real section depth, so a deep rafter looks deep.
  • One line per physical member, even if the analysis model splits it into segments.
  • Section sizes, written on the members or given as marks with a sections table.
  • Clean layers: centre lines, outlines, text and tables kept apart.

Keep this list in mind as we go through the three options.

Option 1: STAAD.Pro's DXF export

From the File menu, use Import/Export → Export and choose 3D DXF (the whole model) or 2D DXF (one plane, chosen by orientation and a node on that plane). Bentley's help page on DXF export has the details.

Good for: a quick reference, a background for coordination, a single-line sketch.

Limits: members come out as single lines, split members stay split, and there are no outlines or sections tables. You export one plane at a time. Most of the drawing list above is still to be done by hand.

Option 2: Steel AutoDrafter

Recent STAAD.Pro editions include a Steel AutoDrafter workflow that produces plans at chosen levels and sections in orthogonal directions, saved as DXF, along with a material take-off. See Bentley's Steel AutoDrafter workflow.

Good for: framing plans of regular, orthogonal steel buildings.

Limits to plan for:

  • Bentley's documentation says the model must use the Y-up orientation and must be analysed and saved first.
  • For projected plans of sloped planes, the nodes need to lie exactly in one plane; Bentley's own knowledge base notes that small deviations can give a partial or wrong drawing.
  • It is built around plans and sections of building framing. If what you need is a frame-by-frame elevation of a tapered PEB frame, check the output on a sample frame before you rely on it.

Option 3: STAAD To CAD

STAAD To CAD runs in your browser as part of SS Workbench and connects to STAAD.Pro on your PC through the free STAAD Connector. You select a frame in STAAD.Pro, bring it in with one click and get a DXF section drawing.

What it does for you:

  • Real outlines: members drawn to their section depth, with flange lines.
  • Tapered members drawn with start and end depths and labelled with their plates.
  • Merge split members one at a time with a review of combined depths, or Auto Merge the whole frame.
  • Two annotation styles: full section text on members (leader lines for short ones), or marks with a sections table (MARK, SECTION, LENGTH, QTY).
  • Skip callouts on chosen members, preview before download, undo and redo everything.
  • Layers for centre lines, outlines, flanges, annotation and the table.

Limits to know: it draws one plane (XY, YZ or XZ) at a time, for the members you select, and it produces DXF. Open the DXF in AutoCAD and save it as DWG if your office needs DWG. It reads the model only and never changes it.

Side-by-side comparison

DXF export Steel AutoDrafter STAAD To CAD
Output DXF (2D or 3D) DXF plans and sections, plus a take-off DXF section drawing
What you draw Whole model or one plane Plans at levels, orthogonal sections The members you select, in XY, YZ or XZ
Member outlines at section depth No, single lines See Bentley's documentation Yes, with flange lines
Split members merged No See Bentley's documentation Yes (manual or Auto Merge)
Tapered PEB members Single lines See Bentley's documentation Start and end depths, plate labels
Model rules None Y-up, analysed and saved, planar nodes for sloped plans Members need section properties
Best for Quick reference Framing plans of regular steel buildings Frame and elevation drawings, PEB frames

Checklist before you issue a drawing from a model

A converter removes the copying, but the engineer still owns the drawing. Before it leaves the office:

  1. Freeze the model. Note the STAAD file name and date on the drawing so everyone knows which revision it came from.
  2. Check every member has a section. A member without a property will show as a placeholder or be missed.
  3. Review merges. Collinear segments should be one member; members at a kink or haunch should not.
  4. Compare the sections table with the design output. The sizes on the drawing must match the sections that passed the design check.
  5. Check overall dimensions against the general arrangement: span, eave height, ridge height, bay spacing.
  6. Re-export after any analysis change. It takes a minute, which is quicker and safer than editing the drawing by hand.

Which should you choose?

  • Use DXF export when you need a quick 3D or single-line reference.
  • Use Steel AutoDrafter for framing plans of regular, orthogonal steel buildings that meet its model rules.
  • Use STAAD To CAD for frame elevations and PEB frames where you want outlines, merged members and section callouts with as little clean-up as possible.

For a step-by-step on the export itself, read STAAD.Pro to AutoCAD: how to export your model to DXF.

Try it

Open STAAD To CAD in SS Workbench, select a frame in STAAD.Pro and compare the result with a plain DXF export. While the frame is selected, MTO Generator can give you its steel weight in Excel.