Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 27, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Support for new standards and additional construction methods makes the structural-analysis software even better suited to international projects. In addition, interaction with Allplan and interoperability with other products have been further improved.
With version 2008, the main product SCIA•ESA PT takes the new name Scia Engineer for the first time. The structural-analysis software supports not only Eurocodes EN 1990 to 1995 for principles, actions, concrete structures, steel structures, composite structures and timber structures, but also all national annexes. New additions include the British steel-construction standard BS5950 and the Spanish steel-construction standard EAE: 2004. The new version also makes it possible to design and verify aluminium structures in accordance with EN 1999. Verification options for prestressed concrete have also been expanded. It is now possible to calculate anchorage lengths for prestressed bars, wires and strands automatically, taking anchorage type and bond zone into account.
Interaction between CAD and structural analysis
With Scia Engineer 2008, interaction with Allplan BIM 2008, known as Round-Trip Engineering, has been further improved. General 3D solids are now recognised as well and are automatically interpreted for structural calculation, or interpreted according to the user’s specifications, as beam, surface or shell structures. Nemetschek Round-Trip Engineering enables integrated work with CAD and structural-analysis software. Users can transfer complete building models from the Allplan CAD system to Scia Engineer structural-analysis software with ease and automatically derive the structural system from them. When changes are made, the load-bearing components are simply transferred again. The structural-analysis software lists the differences between the previous and current states and displays them graphically. The user then decides which changes to adopt. Repeated manual entry of the structural system is no longer necessary. In this way, architectural and engineering design are linked in an ideal way and typical sources of error are eliminated.
Freeform modelling and collision detection
The modelling functions in Scia Engineer 2008 have been substantially expanded. The newly developed freeform modeller can create almost arbitrarily shaped or organic solids. These are either imported from other programs or entered directly in Scia Engineer. Boolean operations and extensive modification options using grips are available for further editing. A tool for collision detection has also been newly developed, enabling conflicts to be reliably identified. These new functions can also be used together with Allplan BIM 2008.
Export as 3D PDF
Nemetschek Scia also benefits from the partnership between Nemetschek AG and Adobe Systems Inc. With the new PDF functionality, users can document an entire project clearly in a single PDF file. The PDF can even contain three-dimensional views of the structure that can be viewed interactively from any angle. To achieve a high degree of clarity, layers can be switched on and off, and numerous display options are available, including hidden edges, cut views and transparency. Only the freely available Adobe Reader is needed for viewing.
SCIA Engineer 2008 is now available as a multilingual version through specialist dealers.
