CFS Wall Panel Design Software Linked to CFS Truss Design

hsbSTEEL = BIM & Wall Panel Specialists

The commitment of hsbCAD to forging close alliances with highly respected industry partners and clients has catalyzed the development of the most comprehensive solution to our industry's needs for inclusive 5D building design software.

Powered by Autodesk Technology, hsbCAD is purpose-built for commercial and residential design with BIM (Building Information Modeling).

TrusSteel   = CFS Framing Specialists

Born out of Alpine Engineered Products, with its  40-plus years of truss technology and software leadership, TrusSteel is the premier technology and products supplier to the cold-formed steel (CFS) truss industry and SteelVIEW  is the premiumtruss design software. Now a part of the ITW family of companies, TrusSteel remains the World Leader in Cold-Formed Steel Trusses.

The SteelVIEW and hsbCAD Link

TrusSteel SteelVIEW software now offers whole building design, detailing and engineering solutions for roof, floor and CFS wall panel manufacturers via a strong, dynamic interlinking of steelVIEW and hsbCAD software. This dynamic interlinking enables fast, accurate design turnaround with flexibility and control.  

The day to day problems caused by the lack of a link between the roof / floor truss and CFS wall panel designers has long been the norm. Together, TrusSteel and hsbCAD embarked upon the task of creating an interactive link to solve this problem. Out of this link, hsbSTEEL was born.

Based upon input from users of both wall and roof design software products, the critical first step was determined to be the creation of a dynamic link to share the input of walls, structural members and roof planes between both products.  The creation of this steelVIEW-hsbCAD link eliminated the double handling of input data and delivered increased productivity and a significant reduction in errors. 

Whether at the early stages of truss quotation or creating a client approval drawing, the link enables the automatic transfer of data between steelVIEW and hsbCAD.

 Building Information Modeling

The new reality of construction has 5 Dimensions: length, width, depth, BIM and costing.  The first three dimensions represent 3D modeling, which has  gradually become the construction document standard over the past 25 years. 

BIM, the 4th dimension in building modeling, encompasses a growing range of information on building components, assemblies, equipment, schedules, manpower, maintenance and much more. Interactive engineering of the structure is at the cutting edge of BIM and relies upon strong links between project engineers and product engineers, links supplied by innovative software like hsbSTEEL .

The 5th dimension is BIM with costing. By linking product suppliers with building designers, architects and contractors can obtain rapid feedback on design changes and optimization.

The Benefits of the Link

Current users of SteelVIEW can now link and share data with any hsbCAD fabricator via hsbSTEEL, gaining these benefits:

·     Productivity is enhanced as the unnecessary repetition of entering building geometry and planes into both programs is eliminated

·     Accuracy is assured as the elimination of double input removes the possibility of inaccuracies between the roof, floor truss and CFS wall panel models.

·     Design time is reduced as all structural elements can be engineered in one model.Flexibility is maximized, as users can work in either program with the same data.

·     Positioning of SteelVIEW users is enhanced as they promote their business to third party hsbCAD clients (A/Es, panelizers, etc.), offering the benefits of major savings with reduced design times and shared data.

Current users of hsbCAD can, with hsbSTEEL, leverage the 5D capabilities of hsbCAD by linking data directly to the truss fabricator (for truss layout and engineering). Also, the geometric description of the building envelope (created by the A/E
during design development) can be directly linked to hsbSTEEL. Subsequently, the truss fabricator's design information is linked back to the framing model, allowing the designer to coordinate the structure.

Benefits gained from this interlinking include:

·     Expediting the determination of effect of changes, as changes to the building design and truss design are updated automatically across the various design contributors.

·     Gaining the benefits of active costing data as material lists from within each design stage can feed into business management systems, providing the ability to compare the actual material usage to estimated material usage and develop costing models.