I-joist manufacturer Steico has made a substantial investment developing an I-joist floor design and drawing software package which is now being tested in the UK.
Steico AG, which developed the software with German software company SEMA, is being BETA tested by Steico Ltd’s technical manager Andrew Pocock and full scale trials are taking place with new Steico partners.
Incorporating both Cullen and Simpson Strong-Tie hangers, the windows-based software is aimed at both the timber frame and masonry construction sectors and is the first stage in the development of a suite of software allowing the design of floors, roofs and walls using STEICOjoists.
Provisionally named STEICOdesign and STEICOplus, the package uses 2D/3D modelling to allow floor designers to import either autoCAD or other format drawings to prepare floor layouts, materials inventory and calculations to EC5.
Mark Wilson, managing director of Dartford-based Steico Ltd, said the project had involved “considerable investment and time” but he believed the software would improve Steico’s product offering to potential and current distributors of the STEICOjoist and STEICOwall.
“It is our aim to further develop the software to a point where we can assist the specifier with a whole house design,” he said.
