What It Does
Modeler is a V1 structural workflow for steel frames, columns, beams, braces, and trusses.
Use it to create a warehouse or multi-story frame, apply supports and building loads, run linear static analysis, see load/result visuals on the structure, and print a concise analysis report.
Quick Start
Fastest Way To Analyze A Building Frame
- Open Model and use the Smart Panel to generate a Warehouse or Multi-story frame.
- Enter the main dimensions: floors, building length, building depth, floor height, and roof rise when needed.
- The generated model assigns starter steel sections, frame/truss member types, base supports, self-weight, and starter roof loads.
- Open Loads to review or change roof UDL, floor UDL, self-weight, joint loads, load cases, and combinations.
- Click Run Analysis. The app validates the model, sends it to the Modal solver, then unlocks Results.
- In Results, switch between axial force, stress, bending moment, displacement, and reaction views.
For Users
What You Can Do In V1
- Create common steel building frames quickly instead of starting from a blank model.
- Mix frame3d beams/columns with truss3d braces in one structure.
- Apply gravity, roof/floor member loads, point loads, point moments, and nodal loads.
- Check deflection, support reactions, axial force, axial stress, and bending response.
- Use benchmark examples to confirm the solver path is working before modeling your own project.
Workflow
How The Interface Is Organized
The app is organized around four working modes: Model, Loads, Analyze, and Results.
- Model is for geometry creation, selection, section/material editing, copying, arrays, mirrors, and joint cleanup.
- Loads is for load cases, combinations, supports, nodal loads, member loads, and self-weight.
- Analyze is for readiness checks and solving the current model.
- Results is for solved output only. It stays disabled until analysis is available.
- Advanced opens the fallback side panel for model tree, grid editing, import/export, benchmarks, and extra utilities.
Model
Create Or Generate 3D Geometry
Use Model to generate starter buildings, create blank models, draw extra members, and edit the current 3D model.
- Warehouse creates a single or low-rise steel frame with roof framing and optional bracing/truss members.
- Multi-story frame creates stacked floor framing with columns, beams, and floor levels.
- Floor plate length is the X direction; building depth is the Z direction; floor height is story height in Y.
- Use the bottom toolbar to draw beams, columns, braces, and trusses in XZ floor, XY elevation, or YZ elevation planes.
- Use chain mode, snaps, and optional length input to keep geometry connected and repeatable.
- Select a member or joint to edit it. The Smart Panel changes based on what is selected.
Loads
Assign Supports And Loads By Target
Use Loads to define the analysis inputs. The current selection controls which tools appear in the Smart Panel.
- Use Dead for self-weight and permanent loads. Use Live for roof/floor UDL starter loads.
- Select joints, then apply Fixed, Pinned, or Roller supports.
- Select joints, then apply nodal loads with global Fx, Fy, and Fz components in kN.
- Select members, then apply member loads as UDL, partial UDL, point load, or moment in global or local directions.
- Roof and floor UDLs display as repeated arrows along loaded beams. Joint loads display as arrows at joints.
- Self-weight is shown as a status because drawing gravity arrows on every member would hide the structure.
Analyze
Check Readiness And Run The Solver
Use Analyze to check model readiness, then run linear static analysis for the current load cases and combinations.
- Check Model flags missing supports, missing loads, duplicate members, unused joints, and broken references before solving.
- Run Analysis sends the current members, joints, supports, load cases, combinations, sections, and materials to the solver.
- Member connection intent helps communicate behavior: moment, pinned, brace axial, or truss axial.
- For mixed frame/truss models, beams and columns carry axial, shear, bending, and torsion response. Brace/truss members carry axial response only.
- Fix blocking issues first. Results are available only after a successful solve.
Results
Review Displacements, Reactions, And Member Response
Use Results to inspect the active load case or combination after analysis has completed.
- Open the results viewer to inspect solved response in the 3D workspace.
- Switch between result sets with the load case or combination selector.
- Display axial force, axial stress, bending moment, displacement magnitude, or reaction magnitude.
- Adjust deformation scale to make deflected shape behavior easier to inspect.
- Reaction arrows show support forces. Bending moment mode shows a moment diagram overlay for frame members.
- Use PDF Report to print the current analysis summary and results.
Examples
Use Benchmarks Before You Trust A Workflow
The Examples dropdown loads models that exercise the current solver path and visualization pipeline.
- 3D axial bar is a closed-form sanity check with expected displacement, reaction, and stress.
- Warehouse frame + truss/bracing checks a generated mixed frame/truss building.
- Multi-story frame checks generated floor framing and vertical columns.
- Frame3D member UDL uses a Live case. If Dead is selected, results are correctly zero because that case has no UDL.
- 3D FZ load + UZ restraint checks out-of-plane frame loading and support validation.
Save & Exchange
Save, Import, Export, And Reports
Use the built-in save and exchange tools to keep work moving between sessions and reviews.
- Save and Save Local preserve the project in browser storage.
- Load Local restores a previously saved project.
- Download JSON and Import JSON exchange model data between sessions or users.
- Export prepares the solver-ready payload for inspection and integration work.
- PDF Report prints the current analysis summary and result tables available in V1.
Advanced
When To Open The Advanced Panel
The default workflow is topbar plus Smart Panel. Open Advanced only when you need extra controls outside the current selection workflow.
- Use the model tree to find, filter, and focus specific members.
- Edit the grid directly when you need precise line spacing or level control.
- Use benchmarks to load verification models into the 3D workspace.
- Use visibility filters, camera views, and display modes to inspect complex geometry.
Limits
V1 Analysis Scope
V1 is intended for model preparation, load path review, preliminary linear static analysis, and solver workflow validation. It is not final code design.
- Confirm units, sections, material assumptions, connectivity, supports, and load direction before using results.
- Member connection intent is a modeling input for expected behavior; verify that the analysis idealization matches the physical system.
- For mixed frame/truss models, validate axial-only members, releases, and stability paths outside the app before design decisions.
- The section library and result summaries are workflow aids and do not replace engineering design checks.
- V1 does not include concrete foundation design, connection design, code checks, CFD, thermal, electrical, plumbing, or nonlinear simulation.