MMW Steel Calculator

AISC 360-16 · ASCE 7-16 · LRFD · Pre-engineering screen

← Site ⬢ Vessel Module

Project Information

Project name

Project no.

Date

Client

Prepared by

Location

Notes

Estimate / Takeoff

0

Members

0

Total ft

0

Weight (lb)

0

Tons

$0

Est. installed cost

Shape	Qty	Length	Weight

Pricing Assumptions

Material $/lb Fabrication $/lb Erection $/lb Connections % Waste / drops % Contingency %

Budgetary rates — adjust to your fabricator and market. Material is billed on weight including waste; fabrication and erection on net weight.

Stability Assessment

Members

Not analyzed

D/C ≤ 0.90 OK

0.90–1.00 tight

D/C > 1.00 fail

Selected

Orbit: drag empty space · Move member: drag it · Shift+drag = vertical · Blue grips = ends ·

Section & Preview

Section family

Section

Steel grade

Role

⠿ drag into model

Place length (ft)

Direction

Snap to connections grid

Add / Edit Member

Start (X, Y, Z) — feet, Z = elevation

End (X, Y, Z) — feet

Section roll (°)

K factor

Unbraced length Lb (ft, blank = full length)

Factored loads (LRFD)

Axial Pu (kips)

Axial type

Uniform load w (kip/ft)

Moment Mu (kip·ft)

Shear Vu (kips)

Selected Member

⚠ Screening tool — not for construction. Results are LRFD member-level checks (AISC 360-16) for evaluating a concept before it goes to a licensed engineer for design and stamping. LTB is screened via Lp only, tension is gross-yield only, and connections, local buckling, and global 2nd-order effects are not analyzed. All work must be verified by the Engineer of Record.

MMW Steel Calculator — Quick Guide

A 3D concept modeler that produces a material takeoff/estimate and runs AISC 360-16 (LRFD) strength & stability screening on standard rolled shapes.

Placing members — drag from the preview

Pick a section family (W, HSS, pipe, channel, angle), a specific section, and a grade. The preview window renders that shape live.
Set Place length and Direction, then drag the preview into the 3D view. A translucent ghost follows your cursor; release to place it. (＋ Place at origin does the same without dragging.)
Or type Start/End coordinates in the form below and press Add Member. Z is elevation; the form auto-chains the next member from the previous endpoint.

Moving, snapping & locking

Drag a member to move it. Drag the blue grips on a selected member to move just that end.
Movement is horizontal by default — hold Shift to move vertically (change elevation).
Snapping pulls points to logical connection points — other members' endpoints and midpoints — within 2.5 ft, shown by a yellow marker. Otherwise points fall on the grid increment. Toggle it with Snap to connections.
Lock a member (🔒 in the list or the spec panel) to freeze it — locked members can't be dragged, edited, or deleted, and show no grips.
Drag empty space to orbit. Esc deselects, Delete removes the selection.

Editing specs in the 3D view

Select a member and its spec panel appears over the model: section, grade, role, coordinates, roll, K, Lb, and loads are all editable in place and apply immediately.
The panel also shows computed properties (A, Ix, Zx, r), length, weight, and D/C check results once analyzed.
⧉ Duplicate copies the member offset by 5 ft; 🗑 Delete removes it.
Use Load example… for worked models — passing designs (walkway, vessel on saddles, tower) and failure cases that go red when analyzed.
The Payload role represents a vessel/tank/equipment (shown translucent). It is excluded from checks and the steel takeoff — apply its reaction as a load on the supports.

Loads (factored, LRFD)

Axial Pu with type C/T → compression (Ch. E3 flexural buckling) or tension (Ch. D2 yielding).
Uniform load w (kip/ft) on a simple span → auto-computes Mu = wL²/8, Vu = wL/2, and deflection.
Or enter Mu / Vu directly to override.
Both axial + moment present → AISC H1 interaction is checked.
K = effective length factor; Lb = unbraced length for LTB (defaults to full length).

Reading results

Press ▶ Run Analysis. Members recolor by governing demand/capacity (D/C) ratio.
Green ≤ 0.90 · Yellow 0.90–1.00 · Red > 1.00 (over capacity).
The Stability Assessment panel flags missing lateral bracing, excessive slenderness, and over-stressed members.

Estimating

Live weight (lb/tons), total length, and cost update as you model. Set $/lb for an installed-cost estimate.
Breakdown table lists quantity, length, and weight per shape for a bill of materials.

Load combinations (ASCE 7-16)

Each member's load panel has a Factored / Service toggle.
Factored — you enter final LRFD demands directly (Pu, w, Mu, Vu).
Service — enter unfactored D, L, S, W and all five ASCE 7-16 LRFD strength combinations are applied automatically; the governing case is reported on the member.
Wind reversal is handled — a net uplift flips a compression member into tension.

Optimizing & deliverables

⚡ Optimize (spec panel) swaps the selected member to the lightest section in its family that still passes at D/C ≤ 0.95. ⚡ Optimize All does it model-wide — locked members are never touched.
⤓ Export BOM writes a CSV (opens in Excel) with the bill of materials, full member schedule, and cost build-up.
🖨 Report opens a print-ready estimate — project header, BOM, cost breakdown, member schedule with D/C and governing combination, stability findings, and the engineering disclaimer. Print or save as PDF to send to your engineer.
Fill in Project Information (left panel) so it appears on the report.

Pricing model

Cost is built up as material (on weight including waste) + shop fabrication + field erection + a connection allowance + contingency.
Adjust every rate under Pricing Assumptions; totals update live.

Shortcuts

Ctrl+Z undo · Ctrl+Y redo · Ctrl+S save · Ctrl+P report
F fit view · L toggle marks · R run analysis · Esc deselect · Del delete

Work autosaves to your browser and offers to restore on next launch. Save/Open stores the full project (model, project info, and rates) as JSON. Extend the shape catalog by editing steel-db.js.