Beamer Beam Calculator

AuthorGary Argraves
VersionV2.0 8712.03 · JS 2026.10
Unitsft · kips · in⁴ · psi

Input Data

Samples
Dot-word deck
Ctrl+Enter runs the deck. Comments start with # (or ').
Input rules
fix-fix
||<--A--><--C-->   ||
||       #######-Q ||
||=================||
||<-------L------->||
pin-fix at D
<--A--><--C-->   ||
       #######-Q ||
=================||
<--D-->^         ||
<-------L------->||
pin-pin at D
<--A--><--C-->
       #######-Q
=================
<--D-->^        ^
<-------L------->
pin-pin-pin at D
<--A--><--C-->
       #######-Q
=================
^<--D-->^       ^
<-------L------->
cantilever
<--A--><--C-->   ||
       #######-Q ||
=================||
<-------L------->||
.titleBeam name, rest of the line.
.supportsfix-fix, pin-fix at D, pin-pin at D, pin-pin-pin at D or cantilever. D is the support distance from the left end (ft); at D may be left out when D = 0.
.lengthL, overall beam length (ft).
.materialsteel (E = 30.0E6 psi), wood (E = 1.76E6 psi) or E <psi>.
.sectionI <in⁴> S <in³>: moment of inertia (for deflection) and section modulus (for stress).
.tabTabulation interval (ft). With a support at D the interval is adjusted so a station falls on D.
.plotOptional. scale ft/in kips & kip-ft/in loading/in, whole numbers. Defaults to the auto-scales.
.loadsOne load per line, below.
.notesFree text lines (design notes, load take-off), kept with the deck.
loadA C Q: Q kips/ft over C ft, starting A ft from the left end.
pointA P: P kips at A. Transformed to a distributed load Q = 10P over C = 0.1 ft starting at A.

Input data sheets in the original format still run unchanged; Convert rewrites one in dot-words. Original sample:

Loading sample

Diagrams

Loading Shear (kips) Moment (kip-ft) Deflection (in)

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