MiTek Develops Design Manager for Moment Frame
Originally published by: MiTek USA — February 8, 2019
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MiTek USA’s Hardy Frame® brand has just launched its Cold Formed Steel Moment Frame Design Manager, a web-based software program that is the latest in a long line of shear-wall system solutions from MiTek. The new “Design Manager” supports the Hardy Frame CFS Moment Frame, the industry’s first cold-formed steel moment frame. Access the “Design Manager” at this link.
The new “Design Manager” is an interactive program used by building designers to enter lateral loading for wall elevations comprised of one or more floor levels of vertically stacked Hardy Frame Cold Formed Steel Moment Frames. The “Design Manager” is used to assemble a comprehensive compilation of loading requirements for multi-story walls. Submittal of the wall loading and geometry are routed directly to MiTek’s engineering department for them to provide the most economical shear wall design.
The new “Design Manager” allows for innovative wood frame design. Today, many wood-frame, multi-story buildings compromise architecturally desirable window openings to satisfy structural integrity. With the “Design Manager,” and the Hardy Frame Cold Formed Steel Moment Frame systems, these structures can now have both wide architectural openings and structural integrity.
The shear wall designs generated by MiTek for “Design Manager” users include: 1) elevation view layouts of each Cold Formed Steel Moment Frame stack, which include selected product model numbers ; 2) Installation details; 3) a calculation package that proportions loads at each floor level; and 4) systematic checks that the cumulative loading does not exceed capacities of the Cold Formed Steel (CFS) Moment Frame system.
As background, the Hardy Frame CFS Moment Frame is the industry’s first cold-formed steel prefabricated moment frame; it is built on the success of Hardy Frame HFX Panels. The CFS Moment Frame offers very high lateral load resistance in narrow-wall lengths, ideal for providing design freedom to create large architectural openings for moveable glass walls and windows. The configuration of the CFS Moment Frame that includes a sill beam at the bottom and a header beam at the top is called the Hardy Frame® CFS Picture Frame™. It is extremely effective for distributing compression loads over a large surface area to enable stacking in multi-story, light-frame wood or cold-formed steel construction.
