Our latest software is now available for you to download!

Download today by going to Options -> System checks -> Check for updates.

Remember, any feedback should go to the Online Service desk found at:

https://enduroframe.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals

It’s that time of the year again folks, and by all accounts it’s been a pretty special year.

Over the past year we’ve seen a heap of enhancements added to ENDUROCADD® including:

• Updates to hip end types enabling the addition of hip trusses
• Multiple options for connecting hip rafters into valleys
• Rollformed opening headers
• Ability to create layouts even after detailing and sign off
• Beam orientations
• Beams that are treated as void blocks

And so much more!

Our team is taking a well-earned break over the festive season, but there’s still time before then so we’ve been hard at work acquiring talented staff and stuffing your stocking with some last minute enhancements.

We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter and from everyone at ENDUROFRAME®, we wish you are Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As mentioned above, our team is taking a break from being awesome to celebrate the festive season with their loved ones.

The ENDUROFRAME® Team will be on holidays from 22nd December to 8th January.

During this time you’ll still be able to lodge JIRA issues. In particular, if your copy of ENDUROCADD® expires during the break, simply log a JIRA issue with the word “Activation” in the title and the issue will be attended to as soon as possible.

See ENDUROCADD® Support.

Before we begin, it has brought to our attention that some antivirus software programs are blocking ENDUROCADD®.

For information about resolving this issue, see FIRE has stopped working.

Wind pressure zone options have been added to the Loading data window to allow you determine how precisely ENDUROCADD® calculates wind pressure on roof trusses.

This means it is now possible to increase the number of trusses with the same truss number by selecting an option with fewer wind pressure zones.

While these trusses will be less optimised, they will be easier to place on site as there are fewer different types of trusses, and the engineering process should also be quicker.

There are three options:

• One pressure zone takes the highest wind pressure amount for each truss shape and applies it to all trusses with the same shape and parameters
• 2 zones (new default) applies different wind pressures to the edge trusses and the general trusses
• Multiple wind pressure zones (current default) checks the entire structure and applies wind pressures based on the pressure applied to each individual truss.

For information about this enhancement, see Loading data.

Wall numbering options available in the Wall parts menu have been expanded to included:

• Renumber all walls (Auto)
• Renumber all walls (Manual)
• Renumber any wall
• Highlight 1 wall (by number).

Previously there have only been options for showing, hiding and changing the text size of wall numbers. Any additional numbering changes needed to be performed using the Wall menu. Now you can break and then renumber walls without leaving the Wall parts menu!

For information about this enhancement, see:

• Automatically renumbering all walls
• Manually renumbering all walls
• Manually renumbering single walls
• Highlighting walls using wall numbers

Meanwhile we’ve added the Locating hole in common rafter above Type 1 hip end field to the Roof construction window.

You can select this field to add locating holes to common rafters used in Type 1 hip ends. These holes are used as attachment points for brackets that position common rafters on wall panels.

When this field is selected, common rafters in Type 1 hip ends are constructed with:

• pair of 6.5mm holes in the web of the rafter with the lower of the two holes centred on the mid-point of the top plate in the wall, the beam, or the wall other
• pair of RF hole punches that line up the rafter with the outside corner of the wall.

For information about this enhancement, see Roof construction.

Previously you could only add ceiling faces by selecting corners with your mouse cursor. This option works in many cases, but sometimes it can be hard to make precise selections.

Now you can easily add ceiling faces by selecting four edges that define the shape of the ceiling face.

For more information on this enhancement, see Adding ceiling faces using edges.

We're grateful for all the feedback we receive. However, it’s important to remember that issues should be logged through JIRA and that only registered JIRA users can perform this task.

Logging an issue in JIRA ensures that the issue is recorded and monitored to the point of completion by a member of the ENDUROCADD® Team.

So if you’re not a registered user, but you've encountered an issue, simply shoot the message through to one of the registered JIRA users at your organisation for logging on your behalf.

It's not a new year without some resolutions, so here are just a couple of the things we're looking to bring you in the new year.

Rafters beta

During 2017 we added additional options to the Hip end types and Hip/Ridge to Valley fields of the Roof construction window, but we're looking to expand rafter functionality even further in the new year.

We'd love to get your feedback on the existing functions while we work on the new enhancements. Together we can take rafters to the next level in 2018!

Tutorials

Working with our customers to help them get the most out of ENDUROCADD® is one of the most rewarding aspects of our work.

Our staff are currently finalising the tutorial schedule for next year and look forward to releasing the full list over the coming weeks.

We look forward to bringing you more exciting developments in 2018!

Printer Shutdown

The official recommendation from Markem-Imaje is to have them turned off for no longer than 14 days, but we would recommend turning them on for at least 1 hour every week. If this isn’t possible, you will need to refer to the long term shutdown procedure as found in the Markem-Imaje manuals

PLC Batteries

PLC's have batteries in them that retain the programming and the values (e.g. calibration factor) when the machine power is off. But like all batteries, they can go flat. See this post for more information.

Maintenance

Now would be as great a time as ever to do your yearly maintenance (and any other maintenance you’ve missed during the year). See this article for more.

Tip: If you’re turning off the power to the rollformer, turn it off at both machine and mains (especially if in high lightning area).

Helpful tips

• Need to provide drawings of structural steel to get it detailed in another program? Easy! Export your model to the 3D viewer, click on the View Menu, and go to Visibility Options. Turn off all items other than posts and beams, export the model into a 3D DXF, and voila! A customised, accurate model of your structural steel that can be imported into most major steel detailing packages.
• We recently conducted a survey of licensees asking about their experience with screw guns and fasteners from various suppliers. The results are some great tips and feed back. Click here to read the results of the survey.
• Want to specify the minimum number of screws per connection? While the ENDUROCADD® will accurately calculate the number of screws for the truss structural integrity for the final installation, sometimes additional screws may be required for handling purposes. Click here to find out how to use this very useful new function.