Steel fabricators
Weights, cut lists, nesting, flat patterns and quotes for the work going through the shop.
Fabora Steel Tools
The offline calculator app for steel fabrication and welding
21 tools for the metal trades in one app: steel weight, pipe offsets, bolt circles, tank volume, welding settings, cut lists and more. Every tool works with no signal, because workshops and sites do not always have one.
Built by a working UK steel fabricator
The tools are the ones actually used on a shop floor: weights that match the section book, offsets that match the pipe, cut lists that match the saw. No account, no sign-up, and the free tools stay free.
Works offline21 toolsFree tieriPhone and browser
Built forFabricators, welders, pipe fitters and steel erectors
WorksFully offline, on site and in the workshop, with no signal
RegionsUK, US, EU, AU and India units, sections and currencies
Real app screenshot
The tool grid, ready for the job
Results are estimates based on the values entered. Always check dimensions, material data and supplier information before ordering, fabricating or lifting.
Short answer
What is Steel Tools?
Fabora Steel Tools is a free offline app for steel fabrication, welding and metalwork. It puts 21 calculators and reference libraries on your phone: steel weight by section, pipe offsets, bolt circle spacing, tank volumes, welding settings, stock cutting, plate nesting, flat patterns, stair stringers and a full UK section library.
It runs on iPhone and in any web browser at tools.faboraplatform.com. Six tools are free with no account and no sign-up, and Fabora Pro unlocks the full set. Everything works with no signal, because the numbers are needed at the saw, the bench and the site, not back at the office.
Built for the people who cut, weld and fit steel
Steel Tools is aimed at the trades that need real numbers fast, from the fabrication shop to the site gate.
Welders
Starting machine settings, gas and consumable calculators and reference charts at the bench.
Pipe fitters
Pipe offsets, cut lengths and angles worked out at the job, not back at the office.
Steel erectors
Section weights, bolt circles and site measurements with no signal needed on site.
Site engineers
Quick checks on weights, beams and setting out without opening a laptop.
Metalwork businesses
One toolbox on every phone in the team, with the same section data and the same answers.
See Steel Tools in use
Real app screens: the same calculators used on shop floors, with diagrams that match the work in front of you.
Steel weight
Weights from the section library
Pick a standard UK section or enter custom sizes, and get the weight and cost for the exact length and quantity on the job.
Pipe offsets
Offsets without the trigonometry
Enter the set and travel and read the cut length and angles straight off the screen, with a diagram that matches the pipe in front of you.
Welding settings
Starting parameters for the machine
Get starting amperage, voltage and wire speed suggestions for the process, material and thickness, then tune from a sensible baseline.
Stock cutting
Cut lists with less waste
Feed in the cuts the job needs and the stock lengths you buy, and get a cutting plan that shows exactly what to cut from each bar.
The full toolbox
What every tool does, and when you would use it
A working guide to all 21 tools in Fabora Steel Tools. Every tool runs on iPhone and in your web browser, works in metric or imperial, and carries section data and units for the UK, US, EU, Australia and India. Six are free forever, and the two marked phone only need a camera.
Calculate
The numbers a job starts with: weights, beams, folds, welds and volumes.
Free
Steel Weight Calculator
The Steel Weight Calculator gives you weight, cost and surface area for plate, bar, tube and sections in mild steel, stainless or aluminium.
Use it when you're pricing a job or working out what a fabrication weighs before you order or lift it.
Covers 2,600+ UK sections plus US, EU, AU and Indian libraries, takes custom sizes and imperial fractions like 10 1/2 in, and adds price per kg or lb.
Steel Beam Calculator
The Steel Beam Calculator sizes sections by region, giving moment, shear, deflection and weight for a chosen beam.
Use it at the planning stage to shortlist a UB or UC size before the engineer signs off the final selection.
Section properties come from published data: UK Blue Book, the US AISC shapes database, EU ArcelorMittal, plus AU and Indian tables. Compares on-edge against laid-flat.
Free
Unit Converter
The Unit Converter handles workshop conversions for dimensions, loads, stress, welding, weight and structural units.
Use it when a drawing lands in the wrong units and you want the numbers straight before marking out.
It's free, and it covers dimensions, loads, stress, welding, weight and structural units, so the awkward workshop conversions are all in one place.
Press Brake Calculator
The Press Brake Calculator works out tonnage from material tensile strength, plus K-factor, flat length and bend deduction for the fold.
Use it before setting the brake, to check the machine has the tonnage and to get your flat pattern right first time.
Radius floats from the die you pick. US gauge chips run 7 ga to 14 ga, with metric kN and tonnes or US tons.
Welding Calculator
The Welding Calculator gives starting amps, wire size, shielding gas and heat input for MIG, TIG, MMA (stick) and FCAW.
Most useful on a process you don't run every day, when you want a sensible starting point before striking an arc.
Works as a welding amperage chart with region-aware terms: stick in the US, MMA in the UK, same numbers either way.
Free
Tank Volume Calculator
The Tank Volume Calculator gives capacity for box, cylinder and cone-bottom tanks, with flat or dished ends on the cylinder.
Use it when a customer asks what their new tank will actually hold, or what it weighs once it's full.
Results in litres and m3, contents weight for the liquid you pick, and partial fill levels so half-full has a real number too.
Optimise and nest
Get more parts out of less material, and keep the leftovers working.
Stock Cutting Optimiser
The Stock Cutting Optimiser turns your cut list into a bar-by-bar cutting plan with minimal offcuts and a visual layout of every bar.
Use it when a job lands with a long cut list and you need to know how many bars to pull.
It allows saw kerf on every cut, and reusable offcuts can go straight to the Offcut Store for the next job.
Plate Nesting
Plate Nesting lays your parts out on plates and sheets, showing yield percentage, plate weight, cost and a workshop layout.
Use it when you're pricing or cutting plate work and want the cheapest standard plate size that fits the job.
Kerf and part spacing follow your cutting process (plasma, laser and others), and it exports a per-plate DXF at true part size, kerf compensation left to the machine.
Offcut Store
The Offcut Store keeps an inventory of usable plate and bar offcuts, with sizes and locations, so leftovers get used before new material is bought.
Use it before raising a material order, to check whether a drop in the rack already covers the job.
Reusable offcuts from the Stock Cutting Optimiser can be sent straight in, each logged with size and location.
Develop and lay out
True-size patterns and set-outs, from pipe runs to whole staircases.
Pipe Offset Calculator
The Pipe Offset Calculator gives travel, run and cut length for simple and rolling offsets from your offset and fitting angle.
Use it when you're setting out a pipe run around an obstruction and need the travel before you cut.
Multipliers built in for 45, 30, 22.5, 11.25, 60 and 5.625 degree fittings, plus ASME B16.9 long-radius elbow take-outs. Works in mm or inches with fractions.
Flat Pattern
Flat Pattern develops 33 shapes to flat blanks: cones, segmented bends, square to round transitions, branches, hoppers, ducting and more.
Use it when a job needs a cone, square to round or branch cut from plate and you want the blank right first time.
Develops on the mean line from material thickness, splits big cones into segments, adds lap allowance, and exports true 1:1 DXF or a tiled PDF template.
PCD / Flange Holes
PCD / Flange Holes lays out bolt holes on a pitch circle (bolt circle in the US): chord step-off, XY coordinates and a live 1:1 drawing.
Use it when marking out flange holes on the bench and you need each centre spot on before drilling.
Standard flange lookups for PN, BS 10 and ASME B16.5, straddle or on-top first hole, optional OD and bore, DXF and PDF export.
Arc Calculator
The Arc Calculator solves a curve from any two of radius, angle, chord, rise or length, then gives set-out offsets to mark it.
Use it when a drawing gives you a chord and rise but the job needs the true radius, or the other way round.
Set-out offsets come as measurements you transfer straight to the job, and reflex angles past 180 degrees are handled.
Baluster & Divider Calculator
The Baluster & Divider Calculator gives even spacing for pickets, cross members and dividers, with clear gaps and centre-to-centre pitch worked out for you.
Reach for it on gates and balustrades, any time every gap has to come out equal.
It also produces a shop mark-out list, so the spacing goes from screen to steel without re-working the numbers.
Stair Stringer Designer
Stair Stringer Designer sets out straight-flight stairs and steel stringers, checked against the building rules for your region.
Use it when quoting or fabricating a staircase and the set-out has to sit within the rules before you cut steel.
Covers UK per-nation guidance, US feet and inches, AU and EU limits, rest landings, closed-plate or sawtooth stringers, and exports a DXF per flight plus a set-out PDF.
Quote and cost
Turn the numbers into a price a customer can say yes to.
Price Sheet & Quote
Price Sheet & Quote costs a job from labour and material lines, adds markup and VAT or sales tax, then generates a branded quote PDF.
Use it to get an enquiry priced, labour, steel and markup included, with a quote out the same day.
Stock lines pull weights from the section library. Nesting, cutting and weight results drop straight into a quote, and saved quotes reopen for re-issue.
Site and reference
The data and checks you reach for between calculations.
Free
Section Library
The Section Library holds 2,600+ UK sections with weights and dimensions: UB, UC, PFC, SHS, RHS, CHS, angles, flats, bars, plus stainless and aluminium stock.
Use it when you're quoting and need a section weight or dimension without digging through tables.
Full profile data (web, flange, root radius) with BS EN designations, plus US, EU, AU and Indian libraries. One tap sends any section to the Steel Weight Calculator.
Phone only
Photo Markup
Photo Markup lets you take a site photo and add measurements, arrows and notes straight onto it.
Use it on a site survey, so the dimensions you took come home attached to the photo instead of scribbled on a scrap.
Marked-up photos save to the job. Phone only, because it needs the camera.
Phone only
Colour Matcher
The Colour Matcher photographs a painted part and matches it to the nearest RAL or BS standard colour.
Use it when a repair or extension has to match existing paintwork and nobody kept a record of the original spec.
Matching needs the phone camera; the RAL and BS colour reference itself is browsable without it.
Free
Screen Ruler & Bolt Gauge
Screen Ruler & Bolt Gauge puts a calibrated mm and inch ruler on your screen, plus a bolt gauge to identify bolts and washers.
Use it when an odd bolt lands on the bench and you need to size it without hunting for the callipers.
Calibrated once against a bank card; works on a phone screen or a desktop monitor.
Free
Angle Finder
The Angle Finder gives you a live angle readout and bubble level from your phone's motion sensor, plus a camera protractor.
Use it to check a mitre before you cut, or read the pitch of an existing frame you're matching.
Photo measure and mitre helper modes work on the web too: import a photo, click points, read the angle.
Pricing
Free tools forever, Pro when you want the lot
Six tools are free with no account, no sign-up and no card. Fabora Pro unlocks every tool and every export, on the web or through the App Store, where new subscribers get a 7-day free trial.
Free
Free tier
£0, no sign-up
Free forever, no account needed
Included free
- Steel Weight
- Unit Converter
- Tank Volume
- Screen Ruler
- Angle Finder
- Section Library
Web and App Store
Fabora Pro
Every tool, every export
£4.99/month
Or £39.99/year, the best value
Everything in Pro
- All 21 fabrication tools
- 1:1 DXF and PDF cut-file exports
- Save to jobs and branded quote PDFs
- Every region pack: UK, US, EU, AU and India
- Works offline, nothing uploaded
Subscribe on the web, billed securely by card, or through the App Store, where new subscribers get a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime either way.
Where you can use it
iPhone and any web browser today, with Android in closed testing. Same tools, same prices, wherever you are working.
Live now
In your browser
The full app runs in any browser on PC, Mac or phone at tools.faboraplatform.com. Six free tools, the rest with Fabora Pro, and it keeps working offline once you have opened it.
Live now
iPhone and iPad
On the App Store now. Six free tools, Fabora Pro with a 7-day free trial for the full set.
In closed testing
Android
The Android version is in closed testing on Google Play. It ships once Google's testing requirements are met.
Short answers on Steel Tools
Practical answers on the free tier, Fabora Pro pricing, offline use and where the app runs.
What is Fabora Steel Tools?
Fabora Steel Tools is an app for iPhone and any web browser with 21 calculators and reference libraries for steel fabrication, welding and metalwork: steel weight, pipe offsets, bolt circles, tank volume, welding settings, stock cutting, plate nesting, flat patterns and more. It was built by a working UK steel fabricator, so the tools are the ones actually used on a shop floor.
Is Steel Tools free?
Six tools are completely free with no account, no sign-up and no card: steel weight, unit converter, tank volume, screen ruler, angle finder and the section library. Fabora Pro unlocks the other 15 tools and every export.
How much does Fabora Pro cost?
Fabora Pro is £4.99/month or £39.99/year, the same price on the web and through the App Store. On the web you pay by card and can cancel anytime from the link in your receipt email. Through the App Store, new subscribers get a 7-day free trial and billing is handled by Apple.
Does Steel Tools work offline?
Yes. Every tool works fully offline with no signal, which is the whole point: workshops and sites do not always have a connection, and the numbers are needed there, not back at the office.
Is Steel Tools on Android?
The Android version is in closed testing on Google Play and is on its way. The iPhone version is on the App Store now.
Can I use Steel Tools on a PC?
Yes. The full app runs in any web browser at tools.faboraplatform.com, with the same six free tools and the same Fabora Pro prices as the iPhone app. It works offline once opened, and the two camera tools stay phone-only because a desktop cannot point a camera at the work.
Does the web version have the same tools as the iPhone app?
19 of the 21 tools run on the web, with the same free tier and the same Fabora Pro prices. The two camera tools, Photo Markup and the Colour Matcher, stay on the phone because a desktop cannot point a camera at the work. The Angle Finder's live sensor modes also need a phone; its photo measure and mitre helper modes work anywhere.
Do I need an account or password to use Steel Tools?
No. Steel Tools has no accounts, no sign-up and no passwords, on iPhone or on the web. On the web, Fabora Pro stays unlocked in the browser you subscribed in, so there is nothing to sign into on your next visit. Settings gives you a recovery link for moving to another device, and your receipt email carries a manage link for billing.
How do I use my Fabora Pro subscription on another computer?
Open Settings in the browser where you subscribed, copy the recovery link, and open that link on the other computer. Your subscription unlocks there without any sign-in, because there is no account behind it. Treat the link like a key, since anyone who opens it gets access. If you lose it, email info@faboraplatform.com and we will sort it out.
How do I cancel Fabora Pro?
On the web, open the manage link in any Steel Tools receipt email and cancel in the customer portal; there is no phone call, no account and no notice period. Through the App Store, cancel in your Apple subscription settings. Either way you keep access until the end of the period you have paid for, and the six free tools keep working forever.
Can Steel Tools export DXF cut files?
Yes. Fabora Pro exports true 1:1 DXF and PDF cut files from the flat pattern developer, the PCD and flange hole layout, plate nesting and the stair stringer designer, ready for a plasma, laser or profile cutter. The DXF carries the true part size, with kerf compensation left to the machine, and exports work the same on the web and on iPhone.
Does Steel Tools replace an engineer or supplier data?
No. Results are estimates based on the values entered. Always check dimensions, material data and supplier information before ordering, fabricating or lifting, and keep structural decisions with a competent engineer.
Who makes Steel Tools?
Steel Tools is made by Fabora, and it was built by a working UK steel fabricator. Fabora also makes Fabora RAMS and LEV Ready for UK steelwork and workshop teams.