Over the past 30 years, timber engineering has become a major sector of the construction industry and the popularity of roof, floor and panel systems has never been greater.
Backing up this market growth and the development of the industry, has been the introduction of structural engineering software systems. Companies like Wolf Systems have spent almost 20 years developing software for the design of trussed rafters and we now have eight programmers in roof design and engineering software.
When roof trusses were introduced to the UK over 40 years ago, most were manufactured using simple span tables. But as roof shapes became more complicated and roof trusses became the more accepted form of building, the need to automate the design process became increasingly urgent. This has driven the development of software systems, which can now be used to design simple fink truss in seconds and are helping manufacturers become more efficient and productive, even on the most complex roof shapes.
Saving time
Wolf Systems’ automated framing and design files for attic roofs highlight the advances being made. Just 10 years ago, designing structural framing for an attic T-shaped roof would have taken hours. Using the latest software, a manufacturer can not only have all of the design work completed, but also all the production details prepared in a fraction of the time. We have also responded to the growing trend in electronic communications. With more architects and engineers supplying drawings by e-mail, we have developed software that automatically converts DWG files into a wall-layout drawing which manufacturers can then use for their own design. This saves the truss designer time and reduces the possibility of errors.
One truss manufacturer using Wolf software is Covers Timber Engineering (formerly Covers). “Without design software, we would be incapable of turning around a fraction of the designs we produce,” said Wally Shaw, sales director and former chairman of the Trussed Rafter Association. “Our engineering designers have computer software and systems which are not only state-of-the-art but are constantly developed and expanded.”
Thirty years ago, he added, Covers was an importer at Shoreham Docks, where it landed its own timber.
“Our first step into timber engineering was to make roof trusses using a Bev Press and a Robinson E/OT,” he said. “Strange as it sounds, we are still dealing with the same people who are now running Wolf. That says a lot about our relationship with our software suppliers.”
Covers’ trussed rafter business outgrew its timber importing operation and it started experimenting with other timber-engineered products, culminating today in a business turning over £8m a year and also producing engineered floor systems and timber frame.
“With housing and commercial development work becoming ever more complex, our reliance on engineering and design systems has been one of the reasons for our success, coupled with manufacturing equipment investment, and quality design and manufacturing staff,” said Mr Shaw.
CNC links
Wolf software systems also provide CNC links direct from the design office to Covers machinery for setting up, sawing, pressing and nailing its products.
In short, software systems have helped drive a revolution through the engineered timber sector, with Mr Shaw estimating that today 99% of designers passing through the trussed rafter industry have been trained by system owners like Wolf, not only in design, but also in software systems and their development.
“When we look back to how we designed trusses 30 years ago on printed span tables for finks, the difference is remarkable and these new systems have certainly helped our business year on year,” he said.
