IES, Inc. Software for Strutural Engineering

iesweb.com

Quick * Easy * Versatile

VirtualWork


May 2009

Table of Contents
Iesweb.com 2.0 Preview
VisualFoundation 1.0!
15 Years in Business
Comparing VA and VF
IES Newsletter logo

Iesweb.com 2.0 Preview

Just Browsing Today? 

If you are reading this newsletter, you have already glimpsed the preview of our new web site 2.0 layout!  We are excited to be doing a little remodeling of our storefront and hope that you will appreciate the cleaner look, the improved navigation features, and greater functionality.

alt="A recursive look at the web site you are already viewing, like standing between two mirrors?"

Beta Test in Progress

Please take a few minutes to explore some of the pages on this new site and send comments, corrections, suggestions, etc. to info@iesweb.com.  This new site is currently in "beta testing" until we get all the many pieces in place.  Some things to specifically check out:

Known Issues

There are some key features that are not yet working or complete in this preview edition.  Namely: order forms.  You can "play" with the order forms in the 2.0 site branch, but they do not submit.  If you want to use it, you can fill it out, and print it to PDF and email it to us.  Otherwise you can use the "old" forms.  There are also many additional product-demos and customer-showcase items that we need.  The breadcrumbs don't work perfectly, but will when we move the site "up" from the 2.0 folder.

There is a lot going on behind the scenes to comply with standards and thus insure compatibility with many browsers that are now available (IE7, IE8, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) so if you have any difficulties please let us know.

VisualFoundation 1.0 Release!

IES has created a brand-new product for complex foundation design.  Version 1.0 of VisualFoundation was released in April and has already met with a favorable response from customers.  The new tool is focused on concrete mat footings and greatly simplifies the modeling, analysis and design of this type of foundation.

A glimpse into VisualFoundation 1.0

Focused on Design

As a version 1.0 product, it is not quite as powerful as we would like, but already boasts an impressive list of capabilities that make it a worthy competitor for some of the other products on the market.  IES leveraged the tried-and-true VisualAnalysis technology, behind the scenes, but created an entirely new "user interface" for the product to reflect its much more focused tasks.  The result is a tool that will streamline the process of designing many slab-on-grade systems.

Key Features

Product First - Marketing Last

At IES, our best efforts have gone into product development, implementation, testing, and customer service--very little effort has gone into marketing this product as we wanted to ensure stability and satisfaction from our "early adopters".  This means that there is very little information available about what this product does or how it works.  Until we get up to speed, your best bet is to simply download the free-trial version and play with it.  There is some basic information on the new 2.0 web site about VisualFoundation to pique your interest, and more will be coming soon.

15 Years in Business

Since 1994

We owe many thanks to IES customers for validating our existence as a company for 15 years!  The general statistics for small business are not so good:

"Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year, more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years, and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday."

--Michael Gerber

In light of statements like this, we are humbled and we are grateful and we are very excited about the future of IES!

A backward glance. The good old 'leaning man' logo. 

Three Very Special Customers

IES would like to recognize three very special customers who have been with IES since 1994 and are still using current products:

We have sent them a small engraved clock (pictured at right) as a token of our appreciation.  IES also has over 120 client-companies who have been with us for 10 years or more.  Thanks to everyone!

Comparing VA and VF

VisualFoundation (VF) does mat footing analysis & design via finite element analysis. This analysis could also be accomplished in VisualAnalysis (VA). The primary difference is that VF automates most of the low-level “FEA” work that needs to be done making it much faster and easier to solve this type of problem. Another important difference is that VF also performs concrete design checks on the mat and steel-rebar detailing, which are not done in VA.

Limitations in VisualFoundation

With version 1.0 of VF there are some limitations on what and how you model things, these are limitations that you do not find in VA. The most relevant limitations in VF 1.0 include:

  1. Only a single connected mat shape or boundary is analyzed at a time.
  2. The mat or slab thickness must be uniform (constant).
  3. The soil properties under the mat must be uniform (constant).
  4. The mat must be flat, no slope or elevation changes.
  5. No holes are permitted in the mat.

(We do see these limitations disappearing in future releases of the product. But they can all be overcome in VA, today, if you have the modeling skill to do so!)

An Extended Solution

One of the features of VF is that it exports the VA project file which is created in the process of analyzing your VF project. This .vap file may be opened in VA 5.5 or newer and used to do more complex modeling; to make the kinds of changes you could not do in VF; to model the rest of the building (integral with the foundation), for validation purposes; for dynamic analysis; to get more detailed analysis reports; etc.

Integration Between VA 6.5 and VF

In the future, VA 6.5 will offer even tighter “integration” with VF, allowing you to jump-start a VF project from within VA and/or to incorporate the results or reports from VF into your VA project. This is still somewhat “experimental” and we don’t know exactly what/how these things will be really handled.