Connection Hardware Calculator

Total Connections Required is the sum of Gravity Connections (sized to the panel's dead weight) and Lateral Connections (sized to the larger of wind force and seismic force on the panel face), each divided by the connection's allowable capacity after the safety factor and rounded up, with a 2-connection minimum for each category. Connection Type's three coded values do NOT rank low-to-high with the code number: 0 = welded embed plate (~12 kip rated capacity), 1 = threaded insert (~6 kip), and 2 = bolted angle/bracket (~20 kip) -- the threaded insert (code 1) is actually the WEAKEST of the three, not a middle value between the other two, so switching from 0 to 1 roughly halves allowable capacity per connection (and correspondingly increases how many connections the design needs), while switching from 1 to 2 more than triples it.

Governing Lateral Force is whichever of Wind Force (Design Wind Pressure times panel face area) or Seismic Force (Seismic Coefficient times Panel Weight) is larger -- at this calculator's defaults wind governs, but a taller, lighter panel in a high-seismic zone can flip which one controls. Embed Plate Size is looked up from Allowable Per Connection in four discrete steps (6, 8, 10, or 12 inches square) rather than scaling continuously, so it only changes when Allowable Per Connection crosses one of three fixed capacity thresholds (3,000 lb, 5,000 lb, or 10,000 lb).