MacSap is a program for the stress analysis of structures using the finite
elements method.

MacSap was established in December 1983 as the result of an agreement with
Apple Computer Italy. Since then no less than ten new versions have been
produced, raising MacSap to such high standards of quality and market
distribution that it is now considered an industrial benchmark for
structural analysis on Macintosh.

With the advent of Power Macintosh, Apple invited Softing to adapt MacSap
for the new system by entering the "Fast Track": a privileged development
agreement for third parties to bring the products on to the market at the
same time as Power Macintosh.

This is how MacSap VII came into being, completely rewritten in C++ and
optimized for RISC processors.

With this latest version, MacSap VII adds to its existing record of being
the only program in its sector conceived exclusively for Macintosh, the
record of being the fastest stress analysis program for personal
computers.

Softing SRL
00161 - ROMA - Italy
Via Reggio Calabria, 6
Tel. (39) (6) 44291061-44290900
fax  (39) (6) 44235715
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MacSap Structural analysis

- Finite Element Method
- Three-dimensional structures
- Working environment fully graphic and interactive
- Direct drawing of the structure on the screen
- Buildings (frames, trusses), civil structures (bridges, basins),
  mechanical structures.
- Static, modal, dynamic, seismic analysis. Time history analysis.
- 8-node shell element with 6 degrees of freedom per node
- Non-linear analysis of frames
- Completely scriptable by Apple Script
- Graphic representation of results (deformed shapes, modal shapes,
  stress diagrams, isostress contours, stress directions)
- Wireframe and surface automatic mesh generation
- Pre- and post-processors for reinforced concrete structures (CADSap
  and MacBeam) and steel structures (EasySteel)
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MacSap is a program for the analysis of three-dimensional structures.

MacSap has no limitations as to structure type and geometry and uses the
most advanced techniques for structural analysis.

MacSap allows the designer to analyze building structures ranging from the
simplest, such as continuous beams or plane frames, to the most complex
three-dimensional structures in seismic areas with stiffening cores and
shear walls. And all with no limits as to structure shape.

MacSap also allows the analysis of complex structures modelled with
two-dimensional finite elements: from basins, circular filters, and
storage tanks to body panels and mechanical parts.

The power and ease of use of MacSap enable the designer to deal with every
structural problem using the model that he or she judges most appropriate,
without having to use rigid procedures dictated by the program itself,
which would prevent the user from exerting critical control on the design
process.

Although MacSap is of general use, it is particularly suited to building
structures where it can be integrated with pre- and post-processors such
as CADSap, EasyWall, EasySteel and MacBeam to make up a coordinated design
environment that takes full advantage of MacSap's power.

MacSap uses the Finite Element Method, the most powerful method for
structural analysis.

Thanks to MacSap's advanced user interface, a knowledge of the Finite
Element Method is not required for normal use of the program, and yet the
full power of the method is still made available to the designer.

MacSap performs static analysis, modal analysis, dynamic analysis with both
the response spectrum technique and the time history technique, and
non-linear analysis of framed structures.

The scismic dynamic analysis is performed for two orthogonal directions at
the same time to allow for an immediate evaluation of the
three-dimensional behavior of the structure.

The non-linear analysis of framed structures (optional) allows an efficient
analysis for geometrical non-linearity. This kind of analysis is
indispensable for instability checks and for the design of slender
structures, such as steel structures. It allows an exact evaluation of the
critical load and the exact calculation of stresses in structural members.
The analysis method adopted does not require a specific modelling and is
easy to use.

MacSap has a large finite element library which makes it possible to handle
any structural problem: Truss, Beam, Rectangular Bean, Boundary, Rigel,
Winkler Beam, Plane stress, Plane strain, Plate, Shell, Axisymmetric,
Winkler plate.

MacSap is provided with a special shell finite element with 8 nodes and 6
degrees of freedom per node (optional) which allows complex structures to
be analysed with extreme ease of modelling. Therefore the element resolves
mathematically the complex problem of the connection between beam elements
and plane elements (for example between beams and walls) and allows
exceptionally accurate results to be obtained using very few elements. The
element, moreover, has curvilinear sides, which makes it possible to model
curvilinear structures exactly (round plates, for instance).

MacSap is the only structural analysis program that allows the user to draw
the geometry of the structure directly on the screen and then to use this
geometry as an access key to data and results.

In MacSap a structure is a three-dimensional object, represented in
axonometric projection, that can be rotated, translated and enlarged.

Using simple graphic operations, the structure can be generated and
modified while continuing to work on its three-dimensional
representation.

Numerical data, such as static properties, can be associated with the
geometry of the structure simply by selecting the required graphic objects
with the mouse. In the same way it is possible to display in a dialog box
the numerical values of the results, such as displacements or stresses,
associated with any part of the structure.

Automatic stress generation is also possible. Extremely powerful and
"smart" functions allow the user to generate complex frames or surfaces
using very few parameters.

A wide range of functions allow the user to verify at any time, and on the
structure itself, the values assigned or the analysis results. Each node
or element can moreover be highlighted automatically in colors,
corresponding to its characteristics, to facilitate checks or subsequent
alterations. It is possible, for example, to color all the beams with a
given cross-section and the load condition in green.

Any representation on the screen can at any moment be saved in CADSap
format to be reprocessed later, printed in typographic quality, sent to
the plotter or exported to other programs using the standard "cut and
paste" function.

The solid representation of the structural model, also sections, is not
only an effective means of checking the numerical model, but can be also
exported to provide the layout of the floor plans.

The results can be assessed both numerically and graphically using the
graphics of the deformed shapes, or the modal shapes, of the stresses, of
the principal directions of the stresses, or of the isostress contours.

The scope of MacSap is virtually unlimited, as it places no restrictions on
the number of nodes, elements, degrees of freedom, load conditions, or
eigenvalues to be calculated.

The numbering of the degrees of freedom is automatic and optimised. This is
only one example of the many functions that free the designer from tedious
tasks and allow him or her to concentrate exclusively on structural
matters.

MacSap can use the AppleScript programming language, which means that the
program can be given commands for the description or modification of a
structure, for analysis, for saving on file, or even for switching off the
computer. This programmability by AppleScript allows an extremely
productive and "open" use of the program.

MacSap also accepts "multi-tasking", which allows for the simultaneous use
of other applications while MacSap is active, or even the simultaneous use
of more active copies of MacSap itself working on different tasks. This
substantially increases the program's productivity.

MacSap was the first structural analysis program to use a graphic
interactive interface (1984), to use C++ (1994), and to be optimized for
Power Macintosh (1994).

MacSap has been verified by Milan Polytechnic (Technical University), which
has attested to the numerical accuracy of the results provided by its
calculation.

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