beam design software

[proinwv2]

I am a mech. engr and I have a client that will require several beam designs in different sizes and loading.

They will all have uniformly distributed loads, that do not extend the full length between simple supports.

Also I might have the same in a statically indeterminate (3 supports) arrangement.

I need to calculate stress and deflection. There are enough variations and investigations to make software the best way to go.

I would appreciate any recommendations you guys might have. I probably will not use this again. I will not be designing trusses or complex designs, and would like to spend under $300.

Any suggestions. Thanks alot in advance!


Paul Ostand

http://www.ostand.com

 

[271828]

What design specification will you be using?

 

[proinwv2]

This is for an industrial product, not a bridge or other such design so there is no design spec, other than what I have set for my design.

In my case, my initial shot will use about 1/3 Sy to achieve deflections within the parameters of my machine.

Paul Ostand

http://www.ostand.com

 

[proinwv2]

I located a software package from Orand in Canada called Beam 2D.

Does anyone have any experience with this? It looks good.

Paul Ostand

http://www.ostand.com

 

[minorchord2000]

Methinks that you may be slightly over your head IMHO and you should really consult with a qualified structural engineer. This exercise is not just about designing and picking suitable beam section, but there are also the connections to consider.

 

[COEngineeer]

ostand, I know you said that software is the way to go. But if you look at AISC steel manual it has all the Shear Moments Deflections formulas for all the things you mentioned. Maybe just do a spread sheet so it will be a lot quicker to do different problems. But if you are going to use it again for other projects then yeah, buy a program.

I use struc calc but they are closer to $500. But they are cheap to upgrade. It is really simple to use if you have continuous beam. I wouldnt buy it if you are going to do trusses or frame though because it wont do that.

http://www.swijetty.com

Sea Water Intake and Jetty Construction

 

[rb1957]

there are alot of spreadsheet solvers around ... excelcalcs.com for one, yakpol.net for another. the solution (even for singly redundant beams) is pretty straight forward, it shouldn't take you long to develop your own spreadsheet (and you'll have the advantage of knowing exactly what everything does (and what assumptions you've built-in)

 

[COEngineeer]

Methinks that you may be slightly over your head IMHO and you should really consult with a qualified structural engineer. This exercise is not just about designing and picking suitable beam section, but there are also the connections to consider.

I am pretty sure a mechanical engineer can figure that out. You dont have to be civil/structural to know all that.

http://www.swijetty.com

Sea Water Intake and Jetty Construction

 

[DWHA]

Ostand
A word of warning, depending on the shape that you are using there may be failure modes you are not used to working with. Are you familiar with lateral torsional buckling and local buckling? These are failure phenomena that I personally would want to check.

I am sure that you are capable of determining the moments, shears and axial forces in the members, with that I would recommend Tedds. It is a program that I use often and it checks these failure modes, if you input the forces. However I am not sure of the cost of this program. I also believe that you can download a demo version of RISA. My old roommate from college used the demo version for a few months when he started working. You will not be able to save the file, and I am not sure of what you will be able to print out. But that may be an avenue worth looking into.

Good luck, and when in doubt make it stout.

 

[lkjh345]

I tend to agree with minorchord. Consultation with a structural engineer is probably advisable.

What are the unbraced lengths of the beam? If they are overly long, is there a way to provide a brace point?

What kind of support do the reaction points have? Can what ever supports the new beams support the load of the unit plus the beam?

How will you connect the new beams to their supports?

These are questions that need to be answered. Plugging numbers into a software program with no understanding of what those numbers mean is a shaky way to proceed.

Would most of us structural engineers feel its OK to post a question on the mechanical board to the effect of ' I need to size an RTU for a small office, were can I buy a software program to size it for me?'

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Check out

http://www.Archoneng.com

- "BEAMS" - $40 or $50 for steel only. They also have a wood program

If doing wood and/or steel - check out

http://www.BeamChek.com

- about $150 - yes it is spelled that way

 

[wikidcool]

Here's a fairly simple, but decently comprehensive sizing program for 150 bucks, that should do everything you stated it needing to do.

http://www.beamchek.com/

I don't want to poke the proverbial beehive here, and I'm not looking to start some big off-topic discussion, but if we never did anything we've never done before, how would we learn ANYTHING?? This sounds like pretty simple stuff as far as the world of engineering goes. Not like you're building a skyscraper. Good luck with your project, and if you have a question, post it on here! That's what these boards are FOR.

 

[lkjh345]

So, what you are saying is that it is OK for someone to practice engineering outside their area of knowledge and expertise.

I think most state liscensing boards for engineers would tend to disagree with that position.

 

[mrengineer]

Not to be contentious or territorial, but here are my thoughts:

I am a practicing structural engineer. I usually know what I don't know, and generally keep myself out of trouble by asking the right questions.

If you don't know what you don't know, you may not even realize that you need to ask certain questions. The tiniest gap in your knowledge can have disastrous consequences in this profession.

Are we enabling someone that is delving into an area outside their field of expertise to unknowingly get themselves into serious trouble? It has definitely happened before, and merits a warning at the very least. There are attorneys out there waiting with knife and fork for people who screw up when they practice outside their field of expertise.

Ostand, only you can answer the question as to whether you know what you don't know. If you cannot readily answer all of the questions posed by lkjh345, and there will be no one to check your design, then you really should consider having a structural engineer handle the beam designs.

 

[271828]

If this is a beam that's part of a machine, I have to assume that a ME would be an expert at designing that kind of thing--probably much more than most of us, considering fatigue, etc. I guess it depends on whether this is more of a mechanical application or structural application. Only ostand knows that.

 

[COEngineeer]

I just wanted to make a point that engineers are more versatile than that. I could have taken a few more credits and I would have graduated double major in mechanical eng also. Same goes with Mech eng major with civil eng. Wouldnt advance mechanics of material cover connections? I am pretty sure I also learned dummy load method to figure out deflection of a member from advance mechanics of material. I just think sizing structural members are part of mechanical engineering also. Have a good evening gentlemen.

http://www.swijetty.com

Sea Water Intake and Jetty Construction

 

[miecz]

If someone posts a request for a reference as to how to solve a problem, I'm willing to help. As soon as someone asks for software to solve a problem, especially outside of their field, a red flag goes up. I've seen too many engineers who are willing to trust a piece of software to solve a problem they otherwise couldn't solve. It may not be the case in this instance, but it sure sounds like it.

 

[proinwv2]

Golly guys, I sure got it started. First, thanks to all, for your help and concern. For the record I am both a ME and PE and have (ugh!) over 30 years doing this. I am not building a bridge but a platform, 12inche off of the floor carrying a static load. I can't say more due to client confidentiality.

I have many of these, similar ones, to design, besides determining the best lengths and support locations. I don't feel it worth while building a spreadsheet, and checking it for this one job. I burned out on shear, moment and deflections. Just too many of them to do.

Considering what my time is worth, the bucks into a program is a bargain, even if I never use it again. A bargain for me and my client.

For your interest, I have found one program at $285 and it looks very nice (and friendly). I haven't purchased it yet, but have run the evaluation version.

http://www.orandsystems.com/

I will look into your recommendations and again thanks to all.


Paul Ostand

http://www.ostand.com

 

[DWHA]

This is just a question, but if you are only 12" off the floor have you considered just blocking the machine up? What about pouring a 12" thick concrete pad. I am not sure what your situation is, but I am guessing that something like that could work well also.

 

[DaveVikingPE]

I like DrFrame -

http://www.drsoftware.com.

There's also GRAPE - a free finite element program that's a lot of "fun" to play with.