Getting Started with Advanced Truss Design

Begin a new design or open a saved project from your dashboard.

Analysis vs Design Mode

When starting a new truss, you'll choose between two modes that follow the same general process but have different endpoints:

Analysis Mode

Stops at the analysis results, providing you with:

• Member forces for each load case
• Deflection results at all nodes
• Support reactions

Design Mode

Includes all analysis results plus an additional design step that:

• Designs member sizes for each member group
• Optimizes steel or timber members that pass all design checks
• Focuses output on selected member sizes with full calculations

Choose from standard geometries to speed up your workflow.

Speed Up Your Workflow with Pre-Built Templates

The most efficient way to start your truss design is with one of our provided common truss shapes. This automatically sets up the full truss geometry and gives you a huge head start because you don't have to manually add each node and member.

Available Templates

Bridge Trusses:

• Pratt Bridge
• Howe Bridge
• Warren Bridge

Roof Trusses:

• Pratt Roof
• Howe Roof
• Fink Roof
• Scissor Truss
• Parallel Chord Roof
• Semi-Parallel Chord Roof

Customizable Parameters

After selecting your base shape, easily modify key dimensions like the span length, height, depth, and number of web elements.

Move nodes, add members, and place supports with ease.

Full Customization with Custom Geometry Mode

Switching to custom geometry mode allows for full customization of truss configuration with unlimited nodes, members, and supports. You can build any truss you need to analyze, whether it's determinate or indeterminate.

Editing Standard Shapes

If you start from a standard shape template, you have complete flexibility to modify it:

• Edit or delete any node or member
• Add supports to any node
• Delete everything and start from scratch if needed

Adding Nodes and Members

We provide flexible input methods to accommodate different workflows:

• Single Entry: Simple, user-friendly form for adding individual nodes or members
• Bulk Entry: CSV formatted input option to integrate with any other geometry building workflow you may have

Member properties

For analysis mode, whether using standard shapes or custom geometry, members are organized into member groups for easier management of properties like section area and material properties.

In design mode, the member properties are determined by design, but the design groups are still used for choosing which members will be held to the same designed section size.

Unit Flexibility

At any point during your design, you can switch between US/Imperial units or metric units to suit your project requirements.

Add node loads, distributed loads, and unlimited load cases.

Flexible Load Assignment

Once geometry is set, the next step in the design flow is to assign loads to the joints. Our loading system is designed to handle real-world engineering requirements with maximum flexibility.

Multiple Load Cases

You can add as many load cases as your project needs (e.g. dead, live, snow, etc.) and name them however you like.

Individual Node Load Editing

Each node load for each load case can be individually edited in the loads table in the bottom left corner of the dashboard. This gives you precise control over every force application point.

Distributed Load Time-Saver

You can also assign a distributed load to a series of members (e.g. top chord) - this is a huge time saver for the most common type of load, avoiding the need to manually calculate and assign distributed loads to individual members.

How it works:

1. Choose the member group (e.g. top chord members)
2. Select the load case
3. Input the linear distributed load value
4. We automatically apply the appropriate loads to the corresponding nodes

Instantly view forces, stresses, reactions, and deflections.

Instant Analysis Results

In analysis mode, once your loading is complete, there's only one step left: viewing your results. Simply move to the next tab and the analysis runs immediately, providing comprehensive structural insights.

Current Analysis Features

• Member force results: Complete load data for each member across all load cases
• Interactive visualization: Color-coded truss plot showing member loads for any selectable load case
• Real-time feedback: Instantly see how different load cases affect your structure

Enhanced Features Coming Soon

We're currently improving the analysis visualization to provide even more insights:

• Deflected shape overlay to visualize structural deformation
• Improved color scaling to clearly distinguish tension vs. compression members
• Summary of reaction forces at all support points
• Additional result visualization and analysis tools

Export a polished PDF report with all calculations included.

Comprehensive Documentation

Our detailed calculation report provides complete documentation of your analysis, making it perfect for professional review, client submissions, and regulatory approval processes.

Report Contents

The report contains a complete step-by-step breakdown of your structural analysis:

• Geometry Summary: Detailed node coordinates, member connectivity, and support conditions
• Loading Summary: Complete documentation of all load cases and applied forces
• Analysis Calculations: Full direct stiffness method calculations with matrix operations
• Analysis Results: Member forces, reactions, and displacement results for all load cases

Flexible Viewing Options

Access your report exactly when and how you need it:

• In-app review: View the complete report directly in the application for quick checking
• Printable format: Clean, professional layout optimized for printing and PDF export

Professional Benefits

• Accuracy review: Detailed calculations allow thorough verification of results
• Regulatory submission: Professional documentation ready for officials and authorities
• Client communication: Clear, comprehensive reports that build confidence

Define material properties, environmental conditions, and design limits for optimization.

Customized Design Optimization Setup

For design mode projects, after setting your loads, the next critical step is defining your design parameters. This ensures the member design calculations perfectly match your specific construction conditions and project requirements.

Section Shape Selection

Control exactly which structural shapes are considered during optimization. This is a critical step which allows our design results to very practically align with your sourcing and construction needs.

In the bottom left section of the dashboard, you can easily control which section shapes will be considered in the member design calculations.

Note that order matters here. The optimizer starts from the top of the list (most preferred) and works downward one-by-one until the chosen size passes all design checks.

Material Properties & Design Limits

Configure key design parameters to match your project specifications such as:

• Design Material: Select steel, timber, or other structural materials
• Material Grade: Choose appropriate strength grades for your application
• Yield Strength: Set material strength values to match your specifications
• Slenderness Limits: Define buckling and stability criteria
• Design Factors: Configure safety factors and other design parameters

Get efficient section sizes automatically, with full calcs.

Comprehensive Design Results

The final step delivers optimized member sizes with complete verification. Just like analysis results, you'll see member loads and an interactive color-coded plot, but now with the crucial addition of designed section sizes that have passed all structural checks.

Primary Design Output: Group Design Results

The most important result is the group design summary, which shows the optimized section size for each member group. These selections ensure that every member in each group passes all required design checks, providing you with immediately usable specifications.

Visual Results Display

• Member load visualization: Interactive plot showing forces on each member
• Color-coded display: Visual representation of stress levels and design efficiency
• Load case selection: View results for any specific loading scenario

Enhanced Design Calculation Report

The calculation report expands to include comprehensive design documentation:

• Complete analysis calculations: All structural analysis results and methods
• Member group design calculations: Detailed design verification for every group
• Controlling member analysis: Specific calculations for the most critical tension and compression members in each group

Ready-to-Use Results

The optimization process ensures that your selected sections are not just theoretically sound, but practically efficient and code-compliant, giving you confidence to move directly to procurement and construction.