A series of enhancements for short and medium term implementation are currently on the drawing board. Customers are advised to regularly visit our web site to download and install new updates.
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Short term developments.
A function to produce a CSV file (Comma Separated Values) that combines all structural analysis data required for a Code Check in a single file. The CSV file can be directly imported in your favorite spreadsheet (i.e. Excel) so that it will be much easier to do a specific Code Check.
A complete set of new context help windows to explain the mathematics of the NBN B51.001 Structural Code Check.
Implementation of ASME and Euro codes.
A new interface for Linear Input of Piping Elements.
You can still use the the classic input tables for both structural and piping elements but the new interface should make the modeling of complex piping structures much simpler.
We are also looking for a way to import structural data from CAD programs like AutoCad and Microstation. The DXF formatted data file which can be exported from most CAD programs is the obvious choice but there are some problem issues associated with that approach and the solution is not that obvious or simple.
The data files associated with CAD projects, regardless of the software used, do not necessarily contain the geometry and structural information required for structural analysis and if they do, there is no "general method" (one that works in all cases) by which such data can be identified and consequently extracted. If one would try to design a program to extract geometry and structural data from a DXF files, the results would be unpredictable. It may sometimes work satisfactorily but it may also fail. There is no guarantee. After all, the DXF file format has been designed to transfer data from one CAD application to another, not for data transport between CAD and CAE applications.
In order to make it work properly, we must devise a method by which DXF File Objects containing geometry and structural data can be recognized by the CAE application.
One possible approach would be to make a set of structural building blocks for use in a specific CAD application. The engineer then uses those specific building blocks in his design and when the DXF is created it will contain entries of Objects that can be recognized by the CAE application and from which the geometry and structural information can be extracted. This approach is relatively straight forward but it has a major disadvantage in the fact that we would need a different set of building blocks for each CAD application and each CAE application designed to read the corresponding Objects needs the dedicated functions to do so.
Another, perhaps more convenient way, is for the engineer to adopt a constant naming convention for all Structural Elements he plans to use in a specific CAD application. This would then lead to a DXF file containing Objects with the names of those Elements. If the Engineer then makes a simple CSV text file containing these names, the CAE application could use this file to scan the DXF file looking for Objects with the corresponding names and extract the geometry and structural information from it.
For the latter method, we are currently experimenting with ProCetus to make this work with AutoCad and Microstation; the two leading CAD applications on the market.
Medium to Long term developments.
High order non-linear Structural & Pipe Stress Analysis.
