The cold-formed steel design calculator by SkyCiv supports a diverse range of cold-formed steel sections and grades from the SkyCiv Australian Section Library. It adheres to AS/NZS 4600:2018 standards, providing an efficient tool for structural design and analysis.

• Channels
• Lipped Channels
• Double Lipped Channels
• Lipped Z Sections
• Topspan (Hat) Sections

The cold-formed steel calculator carries out an extensive range of section and member capacity checks in accordance with AS/NZS 4600:2018, including:

• Section Symmetry - Clause 2.1.1
• Compression Capacity - Clause 2.3.1
• Tension and Biaxial Bending Capacity - Clause 3.2
• Lateral-Torsional Buckling - Clause 3.3.2
• Local and Distortional Buckling - Clause 3.3.3
• Shear Moment Compression / Tension Factor - Clause 3.3.3.2.1
• Member Pre-Qualification - Table 7.1
• Capacity Factors - Clause 7.2
• Section Moment Capacity - Clause 7.2.1
• Member Moment Capacity - Clause 7.2.2
• Shear Capacity - Clause 7.2.3
• Unequal End Moment Factor - Clause D2.1.1
• Moment Compression Face Factors - Clause D2.1.1.2

Light gauge steel (LGS) and cold-formed steel (CFS) are both terms for steel that is shaped at room temperature (cold-formed) without heat, relying on mechanical processes to achieve strength and shape. These steel sections are shaped with a cold-rolling process that uses rollers to transform steel sheets into various profiles with different thicknesses. Light gauge steel (LGS) is often used to refer to thinner (typically less than 3mm) steel sections often used for non-load-bearing elements in structures such as framing and partitions. In contrast, Cold Formed Steel (CFS), is used in more complex steel profiles like C-sections, Z-sections, and Hat-sections that are found in common structural members such as purlins, girts, and framing elements.

The cold-formed steel calculator can be used to design a wide range of cold-formed steel structural beams, columns and members. This includes the design of:

• Purlins design in accordance with AS/NZS 4600
• Girts designed to AS/NZS 4600
• Z-section beams designed to AS/NZS 4600
• Steel Wall Studs designed to AS/NZS 4600
• CFS tracks design to AS/NZS 4600
• Complex cold-formed framing and structural partition systems

Additionally, the tools support the design of other cold-formed steel profiles, such as C-sections (both plain and lipped) and Hat-sections (coming soon) ensuring compliance with AS/NZS 4600 standards for a variety of structural applications.

Clause 2.1.1 of AS/NZS 4600:2018 defines section symmetry, classifying sections as doubly, point, singly (monosymmetric) or non (asymmetric), which impacts their structural behaviour under loads. The figure below visually illustrates these classifications, highlighting how section geometry influences buckling resistance and load distribution.

This AS 4600 steel design calculator includes Australian Cold-Formed Steel manufacturers which determine the selection of cold-formed steel shapes:

• Lysaght
• FrameCAD
• Metroll
• Enduroframe
• Stramit

The calculator includes a comprehensive library of the following cold-formed steel shapes:

• Channels
• Channels (Lipped)
• Double Channels (Lipped)
• Z-Sections (Lipped)
• Megaspan C Purlin
• Megaspan Z Purlin
• U
• Cee
• Zee
• Exacta Cee
• Exacta Zee

The following material standards are available, each offering various material grades, and custom grades are also supported:

• AS/NZS 1163
• AS 1397
• AS/NZS 1594
• AS/NZS 1595
• AS/NZS 3678

SkyCiv offers a wide range of Cloud Structural Analysis and Engineering Design Software, including:

• I Beam Capacity Calculator
• Aluminum Beam Calculator
• Purlin Design Calculator
• Bolt Group Capacity Calculator
• Weld Group Capacity Calculator
• AS 4100:2020 Steel Beam Calculator
• Eurocode 3 Steel Beam Calculator
• Rafter Length Calculator

As a constantly evolving tech company, we're committed to innovating and challenging existing workflows to save engineers time in their work processes and designs.