Shear, moment, bracing, base plate and HSS connections to AISC 360-22, with a built-in CBFEM solver. Every check shows the formula, your numbers and the code section — and it matches the published AISC examples.
Runs in your browser · No credit card for the trial · US, SI and Mexican units
Checked against AISC Design Examples (v15.1 and v16), the AISC Manual tables, Design Guides 1, 4, 7, 24, 29, 39 and 41, ACI 318 Chapter 17, and the published IDEA StatiCa verification studies. Every source, case and tolerance →
One model drives the 3D, the checks, the report and the drawings. Change a bolt and everything updates in a fraction of a second.
Each limit state as a card: symbol, formula, substitution with your values, result and AISC section. Nothing hidden in a black box.
Plates, bolts, welds and contact in a finite element model, with the 5% plastic strain criterion — for joints the hand methods can't reach.
Nexum tries thicker plates, more bolts, bigger welds and ribs, ranks what passes by cost and confirms the best ones with the FE model.
Dimensioned details with sections, bolt and weld symbols, in feet-inches or metric. Export DXF for your drafter, PDF and bill of materials.
Executive summary, load path, the model and every check by piece, with figures. Ready to stamp and send.
Start from a library of typical connections that resize with the members. Save your own as company standards.
The same steps you would write by hand, in your units, with the governing load combination.
The detail sheet is generated from the same model, so it never disagrees with the calculation.
Typical US and Mexican field connections, each with its own checks from the AISC Manual and Design Guides.
Shear tab, double angle, shear end plate, seated beam — to a column, a girder or HSS.
Flush, 4E, 4ES and 8ES end plates (DG39, DG4), bolted flange plates, welded CJP, portal knees.
DG1 base plates with any anchor layout, ribs and shear lug; ACI 318 anchorage by groups.
Gusset plates with HSS or angle braces, Uniform Force Method corner gussets, chevron and X.
Chapter K T, Y, X and K joints, plates on HSS, truss gusset joints, end tees and cap plates.
A column with up to four beams and eight braces, analyzed as one CBFEM model. Splices too.
All connection types and their checks → · Also: steel member design (AISC 360 Ch. D–H, AISI S100 cold-formed) and reinforced concrete columns and beams (ACI 318).
A few of the published examples Nexum reproduces on every build. The full list, with sources and tolerances, is in the verification page.
| Example | Quantity | Published | Nexum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AISC Design Guide 1 — axial base plate | Required plate thickness | 1.27 in | 1.27 in | -0.1% |
| AISC Design Guide 1 — large moment | Anchor rod tension Tu | 81.0 kip | 80.6 kip | -0.5% |
| AISC Example II.A-17 — shear tab | Plate shear rupture φRn | 52.2 kip | 52.2 kip | exact |
| AISC Example II.B-1 — flange plates | Bolt shear, 8 × 7/8" A325-N | 194 kip | 195 kip | +0.4% |
| AISC Example II.B-1 — flange plates | Column flange local bending (J10.1) | 171 kip | 171 kip | +0.1% |
| AISC Design Guide 39 — Example 5.2-1 | Flush end plate, required tp | 0.519 in | 0.520 in | +0.2% |
| AISC Design Guide 4 — Example 4.4 (8ES) | Mnp without prying | 11,470 kip·in | 11,467 kip·in | exact |
| AISC Example II.A-14 — stiffened seat | Stiffener weld φRn (Table 10-8) | 139 kip | 139 kip | +0.3% |
| AISC Design Guide 24 — Example 8.5 | Gapped K joint, chord wall plastification | 415 kip | 415 kip | exact |
| AISC Design Guide 1 — Example 4.7-5 | Shear lug concrete breakout φVcb | 26.1 kip | 26.1 kip | -0.1% |
| AISC/RCSC Design Guide 41 — Example 2 | Stainless slip-critical joint, 8 bolts | 86.8 kip | 86.8 kip | exact |
Designing and calculating are always free. A license unlocks reports, drawings and the bill of materials.
For a project or a busy month.
For engineers who design connections every week.
For offices with several engineers.
Prices in USD. The 14-day trial includes everything and needs only an email. Students and universities: write to us.
The engineer of record. Nexum is a tool that makes every step visible so you can review it; it flags what is a recommendation and what could not be verified against a source.
AISC 360-22 (LRFD), the AISC Manual and Design Guides 1, 4, 7, 24, 29, 39 and 41, AISC 341-22 for seismic capacity design, ACI 318-25 or 318-19 for anchorage, and ASCE 7-22 or NTC 2023 load combinations. Member design uses AISC 360-16 and AISI S100-16.
Nexum runs both. The analytical checks follow the Manual; the CBFEM model (plates, bolts, welds and contact, 5% plastic strain) is verified against closed-form solutions and published studies, and shows you where it differs from the hand method and why.
Yes. After activation the license works without internet until its renewal date; calculations always run on your computer.
It runs in any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) on Windows or Mac; a Windows desktop app is coming. Your projects are saved on your computer, not on our servers.
For member design, paste the ETABS frame force table and Nexum creates one member per bar with its diagrams. Connection loads are entered per load case or combination.