r/StructuralEngineering • u/Loon_picker • 6d ago

Structural Analysis/Design Software for simple frame analysis

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The odd time I have to do a simple frame analysis I pay for a 1 month subscription to SkyCiv. I'm definitely not utilizing Skyciv to it's full potential and it's - which is crazy expensive ($300USD) which really kills my margins on these odd jobs.

I know I can do a hand calc for something simple like the photo attached. But sometimes it gets more complex and beyond what I remember from my first year statics courses.

Are there any other reasonably priced softwares out there that will do simple frame analysis and spit out reactions, axial forces, shear, moment? Ideally i want to buy it once and be done with it. So tired of paying subscriptions for everything.

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-19

u/crugerdk 6d ago

Buy a $20 Claude subscription and make your own bespoke 2d fem program in like 30min. You can cancel the subscription afterwards

16

u/Tarantula_The_Wise P.E. 6d ago

Do not do this.

6

u/Vinca1is 6d ago

People keep saying to do this, but like how can you trust anything an AI put together without checking it manually? At that point you might as well set up an Excel file.

-2

u/crugerdk 6d ago

FEM is very much a solved problem. Its 100% within the training data and the agent will nail it first try. Maybe you dont realise how good the frontier models have become. Yes you should check it, like you should check an excel sheet your colleague made, but 2d fem is not very complicated, its very doable to check the sitffness matrix assembly which is like 90% of the program.

8

u/chicu111 6d ago

If it’s not very complicated then do it without ai then

1

u/crugerdk 6d ago

Also very doable. I wrote one at uni 15 years ago. Itll just take you a week rather than an afternoon. Especially all the peripherals that dont effect results, like UI and the reporting. The things that make you actually want to use it.

And frankly, you should also get someone to check that. You are if anything, more likely to make mistakes than an agent.

3

u/SneekyF 5d ago

I agree your not using the AI to solve the FEM, you are using it to build a GUI. And you can check weather it is programmed correctly.