Fabrication shops that still juggle spreadsheets, paper blueprints, and scattered records are increasingly finding themselves at a competitive disadvantage. CEI’s new ShopCalcs suite aims to close those operational gaps by putting three essential workflows—estimating, material nesting, and weld inspection—into a single, browser-based platform.
KANSAS CITY, MO, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — CEI is broadening its fabrication software lineup with ShopCalcs, a collection of three web-based tools tailored for pressure vessel and tank fabrication operations. The suite is designed to digitize critical tasks spanning the entire production cycle, from initial pricing to final quality assurance.
The problem is familiar across the industry: too many shops rely on manual systems that fragment information and create friction between departments. Administrative overhead piles up, and visibility into job status suffers when data lives in disconnected silos.
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ShopCalcs tackles these issues head-on with three dedicated applications bundled under a single subscription, each targeting a specific stage of the fabrication workflow.
Vessel Estimator equips estimators with the ability to build material take-offs, labor projections, and quoted pricing directly from a vessel model that incorporates shells, heads, nozzles, and supports. This moves the estimating process away from guesswork and toward structured, model-based calculations.
Kerfworks handles plate nesting by factoring in part geometry, kerf allowances, spacing, and grain direction. Beyond generating DXF cutting files and PDF job drawings, the tool helps planners spot and reuse leftover material remnants, reducing waste and improving material yield.
WeldMap focuses on the quality side of the operation, supporting weld mapping, welding procedure assignment, production tracking, inspection documentation, and QC reporting. Users can manage weld sign-offs and assemble exportable QC packages for project files, streamlining the documentation burden that often accompanies fabrication work.
All three applications run through web browsers and are compatible with shop-floor tablets. Security and workflow control come via Microsoft Entra sign-in and role-based access, ensuring that only authorized personnel can perform sensitive actions.
With ShopCalcs, CEI is applying its established engineering software expertise to the daily realities of fabrication shops, giving estimators, planners, production managers, and inspectors a digital framework for their responsibilities.
Learn more at www.thinkcei.com/shopcalcs-fabrication-shop-software.
A fabrication job passes through several hands before it’s complete. Giving estimators, planners, and inspectors purpose-built digital tools helps reduce gaps between those processes.— Cristian Garcia, CWI, CEI
Jordyn Hayden
CEI
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Why it matters: As pressure vessel and tank fabrication shops face mounting pressure to improve efficiency and traceability, digitizing core workflows is no longer optional. ShopCalcs offers a single-subscription path to modernizing operations, potentially reducing errors and administrative burdens that have long plagued manual processes.
