Nemetschek Scia, the world’s premier developer of structural engineering and fabrication software that supports the BIM process, announces the release of Scia Engineer version 14. With the theme, “Expanding Design,” this latest upgrade to the company’s flagship structural analysis and design software focuses on three key areas: Open Design, BIM Interoperability and Usability.
“It’s amazing to see how far Scia Engineer has come in the past 40 years,” says CEO Dr. Jean-Pierre Rammant. “With staff in 10 countries and users in over 80, Scia Engineer is one of only a few structural design programs with a truly global reach. Scia Engineer 14 provides engineers with a new software program, as well as a platform upon which they can build solutions that meet their exact design requirements, no matter what kind of project they work on, what material they work with, or where in the world their projects are located.”
Open Design
Firms can now expand Scia Engineer’s design capabilities by linking their own custom engineering calculations to Scia Engineer’s Finite Element Analysis model.
“Giving engineers the ability to write and run their own custom checks and calculations in their structural design software is a real game changer for some firms,” says Dan Monaghan, U.S. Managing Director.
With Open Design in Scia Engineer 14, firms can:
- Centralize their custom calculations and checks into one integrated workflow, meaning there are fewer, disparate analyst models that need to be coordinated manually
- See exactly what formulas and methods are being used for a check. Designs are completely transparent, eliminating the “black box” aspect of current engineering design software
- Remove the dependency firms have one any one software vendor. Engineers can now easily extend their analysis software by adding their own design checks whenever they need them
BIM Interoperability
Scia Engineer 14 expands BIM interoperability with support for Revit 2015 and introduces a new Model Compare technology that highlights and tracks changes as models are exchanged between the two programs. For Tekla users, Scia Engineer 14 supports the 64-bit version of Tekla Structures, virtually removing model size limitations. The Allplan BIM link has been updated to support Allplan 2014-1. Moreover, Scia Engineer 14 continues to push Open BIM as the only structural analysis software program to achieve IFC 2.x.3 certification, making it easy to share models with designers, contractors and fabricators regardless of what BIM product they are using.
Usability
Scia Engineer offers many usability improvements to expand the engineering process and make it more efficient, including:
- Adaptive Mesh Refinement technology — This is cutting-edge development from the latest Finite Element Analysis (FEA) research. With Adaptive Mesh Refinement, Scia Engineer 14 can auto-detect where the mesh size should be refined. Then, based on tolerances set by the user, the mesh generator will automatically apply the correct refinements. The result is faster meshing and more accurate results
- A new results view — Engineers now see realistic deformations and stresses on members in an interactive 3D view, allowing them to see a structure’s behavior under loads at a glance
- Support for load combinations to IBC 2012 and ASCE 7-10, as well as 3D wind load generation and application per the ASCE 7-10. Day to day usability improvements include a new Context Sensitive Online Help, Table Interface improvements, improvements in the Eurocode steel joints design, and more
To learn more about Scia Engineer version 14, visit the dedicated product website here.