Description

Everything MIDAS GEN NX does in the interface is also reachable from outside it. This part shows how far that goes on an existing mid-rise building model with 47 supports: a custom tool connects to the running session with the MAPI key, syncs the model, runs the analysis, and reads service and strength support reactions back out — the same operations an engineer would click through, now driven from one screen built around this particular task.

What sits on top of the API is a small program written with an AI coding agent inside the IDE, prompted with a role, a numbered list of the required functions, and a link to the MIDAS API Python documentation so the agent uses real function names. From the reactions MIDAS GEN NX returns, it sizes isolated footings to ACI 318M-14 for one-way and two-way shear at an allowable bearing pressure of 150 kPa, then writes them back into the model as plates meshed at 0.5 m with the support node kept on the mesh. Results leave the model and the design comes back into it, without a manual hand-off.

Reviewing the generated code is treated as part of the workflow rather than an afterthought. The walkthrough shows the foundation engine written for uniaxial bending where biaxial was required, plus two runtime failures — reaction extraction on load combinations, and the drawing step — each fixed by feeding the error back to the agent.