STI News

News Items

September 2008: Beta tests are underway for Studs V4.2.0 and Shearwal V3.2.0. Studs V4.2 features the addition of ACI 318-05 and two new anchor types. Shearwal V3.2 features the addition of IBC 2006 as a code option.
July 2008: Compmem V3.1.0 upgrade released. An option to select the ACI 318 revision, 1999, 2002, 2005 is added.
January 2008: Lateral3 V4.2.0 upgrade released. This adds the IBC 2006 code to the options.
December 2007: Lateral3 V4.2.0 beta test available. We welcome participation by all Lateral3 users.
November 2007: Lateral design seminar offered. Back to work after the PCI Convention.
September 2007: Studs V4.1.2 update released. All users should update.
June 2007: Lateral3 V4.1.2 update released. This fixes the DXF file problem. All users should update.
May 2007: Bcan V3.0.4 and Compmem V3.0.4 updates released. All users should update.
March 2007: Beam V3.1.1 update released. All Beam V3.1.0 users should update.
February 2007: Shearwal V3.1.0 released. See it here. Beam beta testers please check in.
April 2006: Lateral3 V4.1.0 released. See it here.
December 2005: Studs V4.1.0 released. See it here.
November 2005: Studs integration with StructureWorks™ demonstrated at PCI convention
September 2005: Upgrade to Studs expected by December
May 2005: Maintenance updates in progress
January 2005: Beam V3.1.0 announced

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September 2008
Studs V4.2.0, an upgrade, has added ACI 318-05 to the list of available calculation methods. V4.2 also features the addition of L and J bolt calculations as well as calculations for Post Installed anchors. The new anchor types can be accessed when using either ACI 318-02 or 318-05. See the Release Notes for a list of changes.

Current Studs rental customers are encouraged to contact Salmons Technologies about becoming a part of our software pre-release feedback group.

The Shearwal V3.2.0 upgrade is still undergoing final testing at STI. A beta test version will be available by mid October. Check back here for information about its release.

July 2008
Compmem V3.1.0, an upgrade, allows you to select ACI 318 1999, 2002, or 2005 and set defaults accordingly. See the Release Notes for a list of changes. The problem with tension designs from V3.0.4 has been fixed.

This upgrade is immediately available to all Compmem rental customers. If you have a prepaid license to an earlier version of Compmem and would like to upgrade to the new version, please contact Salmons Technologies.

January 2008
We have released the Lateral3 V4.2.0 upgrade which includes an IBC 2006 option. See the Release Notes for a list of changes. Following our upgrade policy, this is immediately available to all Laterl3 rental customers. If you have a prepaid license to an earlier version of Lateral3 and would like to upgrade to the new version, please contact Salmons Technologies.

December 2007
Development of Lateral3 V4.2.0 which includes an IBC 2006 option has reached the beta test stage. If you would like to participate in the testing, (click here link removed) to get the form for downloading the beta test package. We expect to complete testing and release the final package by mid January.

November 2007
If you are in the Pennsylvania area, please consider attending the seminar on Lateral Analysis and Design of Precast Structural Systems to be held near Denver, PA on January 15. See details here.

It was a pleasure to meet so many of our customers face-to-face at the PCI Convention. Now that the fun is over, it's back-to-work time.

We're finishing an upgrade for Studs that will add support for ACI 318-05 Appendix D and welded hanger bars.

That long-promised upgrade for Lateral3 to include IBC-2006 support should be out by the end of the year. The variable first story feature won't be in the first version to cover IBC-2006 but will be added some time early next year.

Compmem will get an upgrade to ACI 318-05 some time early next year. The addition of tension capabiltiy in the last version has caused some problem with the prestressed member design. The current version (V3.0.4) uses a linear interpolation for moment capacity when the member is in tension (sometimes too conservative) which we hope to replace with a more exact design once we determine what that should be.

September 2007
An update for Studs fixes several small bugs. Please see the Release Notes for details. All users of Studs V4.1.x should update. See our Upgrade/Update Policy on the Products page.

June 2007
An update for Lateral3 fixes the problem with AutoCAD^® 2007 reading the DXF file of the wall layout. See the Release Notes for a list of other changes.

May 2007
Updates for Bcan and Compmem are ready! See the Release Notes inside the ZIP archive download for a list of the changes. All Bcan V3.0.3 and Compmem V3.0.2 users should install the updates. Get them from the Bcan and Compmem product pages (click [Download a Trial]). As always, if you need help, e-mail Salmons Technologies at Support@PrecastEngineer.com or call 505-260-1460.

March 2007
The update for Beam is finally ready! There is a long list bug-fixes. See the Release Notes inside the ZIP archive download that you can get on the Beam product page (click [Download a Trial]). All Beam V3.1.0 users should install the update. It will work with the same license as V3.1.0. If you need help with your licenses, e-mail Salmons Technologies at Support@PrecastEngineer.com or call 505-260-1460.

February 2007
An upgrade to Shearwal that includes the IBC 2003 code changes is available on this site. See it on the Shearwal product page. For details of all of the changes, see the Release Notes that are included in the ZIP download.

If you are participating in the Beam V3.1.1 beta test, please provide your feedback before the end of February so we can get the release together early in March. Thanks.

Work is progressing well on an upgrade for Lateral3 to include the IBC 2006 code changes. We are also looking at a modification to allow variable height of the first story (an often-requested change but we don't know yet if it's feasible). Look for the release later this year.

Steve Ortiz has joined the programming effort. We're putting him to work first on Bcan and Compmem updates to clear up the remaining user interface bugs in those two applications. There will be maintenance updates available soon. If you are a Salmons P.C. customer, you may know Steve from his work on precast design projects.

April 2006
An upgrade to the Lateral3 program that includes the IBC 2003 code changes is ready for distribution. Another cool feature of the new version is a button on the toolbar to display the wall layout in AutoCAD^®. (Thanks to Mike Dixon at FDG, Inc. for the DXF file output for that.)

December 2005
We have released an upgrade to the Studs program that includes calculations to the PCI Handbook, 6^th Edition, method. In addition, the printed reports have been completely rewritten to correspond more clearly to the section of the code that specifies each calculation.
See the new Studs and get a free trial.

FREE TRIALS for all of our programs can be downloaded now from the specific product section of the Products page.

November 2005
At the PCI convention last month, StructureWorks, LLC demonstrated a beta test version of the Studs upgrade integrated into their StructureWorks™ Precast 2006 design/detailing software.

September 2005
We've been working on an upgrade to the Studs program. The upgraded Studs will add an option to use the method of the PCI Handbook, 6^th Edition, to calculate the capacity of plates with headed anchor studs. In-house testing is nearly complete. A beta test version (available to subscribers) is anticipated by the end of September.

We've made good progress on the maintenance updates. However we've been delayed by some unsettled issues with the Beam program. I'll complete this work along with the Studs upgrade.

May 2005
Maintenance updates to our Windows programs are underway. They will fix most of the bugs listed on the FAQs page. When they are ready, annual subscribers and owners of current versions will be notified by e-mail and will be able to download the maintenance updates from our FTP site free of charge.

January 2005
We're pleased to announce the upgrade to Beam, V3.1.0, is released! This upgrade facilitates designing to the 2002 edition of ACI 318. Changes and additions include:

ACI 318-02 Updates (Implements ACI 18.3.3 and Table R18.3.3 classifications):

Calculates a cracked section moment of inertia for stress exceeding (for positive moment only).

Flexural φ interpolated from 0.90 for tension-controlled regions (0.75 when reinforcement is still developing) to 0.65 for compression-controlled regions.

Other changes:

A more detailed calculation for cracked moment of interia is used for bilinear moment-deflection calculations (at user's option).

Load factors and combinations (Sect. 9.2): Added rain/snow and wind/seismic load types; simultaneous checking of multiple load cases for a maximum envelope.

Rectangular stress block is the default. Can still select parabolic stress distribution.

Added checkbox for loads not applied at the top of the member (ACI 11.1.3b).

Updated mild steel development to reflect equations as expressed in '99 and '02 codes (sect. 12.2). This has only a small effect on calculated values at the ends of members.

Max allowable stress in cotton duck pad is 2500 psi per PCI 5th ed Handbook.

Displays a message if trying to open an input file from a newer version.

Bug fixes:

Minimum shear reinforcement (Sect. 11.5.5.4): The previous version didn't switch to the use of eq. 11-13 as the prestress force diminished at the ends of the member. However, the current version considers only prestressing steel when it calculates the tensile strength for this determination. This will be fixed in a future release of the program.

Fixed a bug in the calculation of stresses at the top of the p/c when sustained live loads are present.

Fixed a problem with calculation of over reinforced section ('99 code only).

A user option to choose the ACI method or the 6th edition handbook torsion method (Zia-Hsu formerly Zia-McGee) has been delayed until a later time.