Cold Formed Steel Sections TableĪn initial step is to let the CAD program crosshatch the area and then extract the hatch information in a form that’s useful for additional calculations. Because all other sectional properties can be determined once you find the area, centroid, and first and second moments of area, the task is to calculate these values first. The challenge is writing a program to calculate sectional properties using standard AutoCAD hatching commands. One way to write such a program is with AutoCAD’s AutoLisp language, which directly accesses a drawing’s database. Programs can be written within CAD packages to find sectional properties for any cross section. But when shapes are complex, more advanced methods are required to determine the necessary values.

In fact, formulas for common cross sections like I-beams and other shapes are found in most mechanical design reference books.

In the mechanical design of equipment and systems, sectional properties, such as centroid and moment of inertia, are necessary for calculating stresses, deflections, and buckling. Gardner Assistant Professor of Engineering United States Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point, N.Y. People from all over the world are looking for freelancers skilled in AutoCAD. I would pay money for a LISP like this!! Wisey's Steel Shapes LISP program. Not just a library of profiles but a real application to use inside AutoCAD. Note: I have created an Excel spreadsheet that generates steel sections in CAD format (.dwg) based on height/width/thickness etc properties - all done in a few.

Autocad lisp steel sections handbook