JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Aug 21 · 15 min readSteel fabrication software in 2026: a structural steel fabricator's guide to the four categoriestldr: If you fabricate structural steel, most search results for "steel fabrication software" are about sheet metal job shops and will not help you. The software that matters for your trade splits int30
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Aug 20 · 14 min readTekla PowerFab vs STRUMIS vs FabSuite: an honest comparison for steel fabricators (2026)tldr: If you are comparing Tekla PowerFab, STRUMIS, and FabSuite, you are choosing between two systems, not three, because FabSuite became PowerFab after Trimble bought it in 2018. Both are serious st00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Aug 10 · 10 min readOutsource, hire, or buy software: how steel fabricators fix an estimating bottlenecktldr: When the bids stack up faster than your estimators can count, you have three ways out: outsource the estimating, hire another estimator, or buy takeoff software. They solve three different probl00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Aug 5 · 13 min readFabrication estimating software: why sheet metal tools break on structural steeltldr: Search "fabrication estimating software" and almost everything you find prices sheet and plate parts by cut length, nest yield, and machine time. Structural steel is priced on a different basis 00
JFJosh Fordinbidferra.com·Jul 29 · 10 min readFerra 1.5, our biggest release yet: connections, columns, and open signuptldr: Ferra 1.5 is the biggest release we've shipped. Connection data, column property detection, and joist and brace detection are all live today, along with a rebuilt 3D viewer, and you can now crea11N
