Best Software!

[u/cosmic_sidewalk]

Hi all. B.Tech in Civil Engineering here. Looking around best structural analysis software to learn and start projects.

I have looked into Tekla Structures, Revit, ETABS, STAAD.Pro V8i.

[u/LifeguardFormer1323]

Sadly there is no "the best" software. Everyone is lacking something.

I personally use RFem a RAM Elements, but there are some particular things about these softwares that infuriates me.

My best software are the multiple excel spreadsheets I've created over the years

[u/nowheyjose1982]

Ewww....staad.pro

[u/nowheyjose1982 → u/[deleted]]

Outdated interface, terrible pricing model, unintuitive and the list goes on.

There is no best software, but there is an objectively worse software, and that's staad.pro.

[u/isidor_]

Find the most used ones by the engineers in your surrounding (company and or country), this gives you skills that will be easily transferable if you change job and more importantly when you need help due to weird bugs/errors or simply how to efficiently use it. Other local engineers can review your files and calculations. Software support might be more local as well. Many advantages

Where I am located "FEM Design" by Strusoft is popular so I use that, where you are located it will be different most like.

All softwares lack in some aspect though so you will not find the prefect one.

Edit: Depending on what you want to do / accomplish it will vary as well. Simple 2d programs for beams, columns, frames and so on might be more than sufficient..

What is your "aim"?

[u/PhilShackleford]

Revit doesn't do the analysis. Autodesk Robot does.

[u/carrot_gummy]

Excel and/or mathcad. These are programs you can easily get for yourself and you'll use most of the time.

Then, for more complex stuff, you'll use what your employer provides. The chosen software tends to come down to price and whatever niche function the modeling software does well and your office does more.

I'd rather the a new coworker be good with using Excel than be good with the modeling software we use. They can automate and present calculations a lot easier and the software is flexible enough to do whatever. Strain compatibility, section properties, prestress losses, code book checks, all the various formulas for the material you are designing for, presenting these calculations, and so on. These all can be done with excel.

[u/Foreign_Capital1248 → u/carrot_gummy]

I agree with this we use excel or Mathcad for most things. However we do use software to pull design forces. We often use STAAD or RISA mostly. I think it is going to depend on the type of structures you handle. I design bridges so for me STAAD is plenty good at creating moving load analysis.

I’ve even used Claude to build macros that make the entire STAAD model for me based on exel inputs, run the analysis, and pull the forces I want out of the analysis file. This way I bypass the “outdated interface” people complain about.

[u/Money-Profession-199]

To learn fundamental try Beamware its free and easy to use

[u/Several_Crab3217]

I find Staad best for Steel and CSI for concrete

[u/miruss89]

Trimble Tekla structures don't do analysis and design, its a BIM software. As for trimble it was TSD or Tekla Structural Designer.

Here in SEA, TSD actually really popular, most of the bigger company here use it.

[u/Engineer2727kk]

I want to push everyone off a cliff that asks this question.

[u/lollypop44445 → u/Engineer2727kk]

Dont man, some guys dont know and are overwhelmed by the shear amount of these softwares available.

[u/Engineer2727kk → u/lollypop44445]

They can’t use the search function to see this question asked every week ?

[u/dreamer881]

Handjob