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1
- #1
medeek
Structural
- Mar 16, 2013
- 1,104
I recently starting working on this web based truss design software. I am still waiting on a copy of TPI 1-2007 to show up so I can make sure the analysis conforms to the proper ANSI standard for metal plate connected trusses. Any thoughts on what one should add into something like this and make it a top notch piece of software. The intended audience is residential designers, engineers and other design professionals.
I know I am recreating the wheel a bit here when much more complex pieces of software already commercially exist (ie. Mitek, Alpine etc...). However, as some of you may know these vendors do not allow their software into the hands of architects or engineers, they only sell or lease to truss manufacturers. I find this a bit troubling since the vast majority of residential trusses are designed with one of these softwares and it is essentially a black box to the design industry.
My intent is not to circumvent the usual process of truss design and manufacture by the truss plants but to give other design professionals a tool to help estimate, check and create different scenarios for their truss needs.
Once I get this project far enough along where its output is actually useful, I will try to package it into a full app and then make the binary and full source freely available and hopefully enlist the help of others in its continued development.
The current prototype is here:
I know I am recreating the wheel a bit here when much more complex pieces of software already commercially exist (ie. Mitek, Alpine etc...). However, as some of you may know these vendors do not allow their software into the hands of architects or engineers, they only sell or lease to truss manufacturers. I find this a bit troubling since the vast majority of residential trusses are designed with one of these softwares and it is essentially a black box to the design industry.
My intent is not to circumvent the usual process of truss design and manufacture by the truss plants but to give other design professionals a tool to help estimate, check and create different scenarios for their truss needs.
Once I get this project far enough along where its output is actually useful, I will try to package it into a full app and then make the binary and full source freely available and hopefully enlist the help of others in its continued development.
The current prototype is here:
