This page describes what STATIX actually does: the 3D workspace and frame solver, member design to SANS 10162 and four other codes, the native CBFEM Connection Studio, the reinforced-concrete modules, cold-formed purlin design by the Direct Strength Method, the free calculators and the reporting pipeline. For the numerical methods behind each engine, read the theory page; for the benchmark results, the validation page.
The modeller is a full-height 3D viewport with a model tree beside it. Build member by member, or start from a parametric generator — portal frames, multi-bay sheds, towers and grids — and refine from there. Supports are per-DOF objects; member ends can release any of the six degrees of freedom.
Mechanisms are reported with the exact node and degree of freedom responsible — not a generic solver error.
Member checks read forces straight from the solved frame. Sections are classified, axial and lateral-torsional buckling reductions computed, and the beam-column interaction evaluated — with the governing clause cited at each step of the calc sheet. Switch the design code and the capacities change because the rules change.
Lipped C and Z purlins are designed to SANS 10162-2 / AS/NZS 4600 using the Direct Strength Method: local, distortional and global buckling, with the Lau-Hancock closed-form distortional solution validated against CUFSM finite-strip results.
In the conventional workflow, connection design lives in a second product: export forces from the analysis suite, rebuild the joint geometry in IDEA StatiCa or similar, and maintain a second licence. STATIX does component-based FEM in the same tool. Solve the frame, click the joint, design the connection.
Every component utilisation is listed in the connection report, with the clause it comes from.
The RC modules run to SANS 10100 / BS 8110 with EN 1992 alongside, and they finish the job: not just a steel area, but bar selections, curtailment and a SANS 282 bending schedule exported to DXF.
Single-purpose tools for the checks you do every week — free, no sign-up, each running the same validated engine as the full suite. Useful on their own; also the fastest way to judge the quality of the code before you trial it.
STATIX reads existing .sumo models directly — a built-in SQLite reader pulls nodes, members, sections, supports and loads into a live model, then cross-checks the imported results against its own solver. From there it exchanges with the rest of the office.
The trial is the full product for 14 days — model a current job, run the numbers, and compare the calc sheets against your existing workflow.
