FRAME3DD is a program for the static and dynamic structural analysis of two- and three-dimensional frames and trusses with elastic and geometric stiffness. Analyze 3D frames with this tool.

Frame3DD is free open-source software for static and dynamic structural analysis of 2D and 3D frames and trusses with elastic and geometric stiffness. It computes the static deflections, reactions, internal element forces, natural frequencies, mode shapes and modal participation factors of two- and three- dimensional elastic structures using direct stiffness and mass assembly. Frame3DD has its own text-file input format (.3dd), but additionally supports matlab (.m) and spreadsheet (.csv) file formats, and offers graphical output including mode shape animation via Gnuplot version 4.2.

Frame3DD is preferably executed from the command prompt (Windows) or shell (Linux) or terminal (OS X), as follows, with filenames changed as required: frame3dd inputfile.3dd outputfile.txt

Frame3DD reads a plain-text Input Data file, containing joint coordinates, frame element geometry, material moduli, fixed joints, prescribed displacements, load information, and optionally, mass information if a modal analysis is to be carried out.

Frame3DD appends results to a plain-text Output Data file. Results from the most recent analysis are appended to the end of the Output Data file. Each section of the Output Data gives the date and time of the analysis, recapitulates the input information, gives joint displacements in global coordinates, frame element end-forces in local coordinates, reactions in global coordinates, and natural frequencies and mode shapes in global coordinates.

It writes a Gnuplot script file used for viewing deformed frames and dynamic mode shapes. If the Output Data is written to a file called MyResultsA.out, the Gnuplot script is written to a file called MyResultsA.plt. Graphical output may be viewed by starting Gnuplot and typing: load 'MyResultsA.plt'.

It can consider multiple static load cases in a single analysis. Separate output data files list the internal axial force, shear forces, torsion, and bending moments along each frame element for each static load case.

Frame3DD may optionally interface with Matlab and with spreadsheet programs.

Getting started
1. Read the User Manual and Reference.
2. Download Frame3DD and save the Frame3DD folder to your Desktop.
3. Optionally, obtain a copy of Gnuplot for your operating system.
4. Open a terminal, go to the Frame3DD directory, and run the program on one of the examples using a command like ...
frame3dd examples/exE.3dd examples/exE.out
5. Open the Output Data file using a good text editor and view the Output Data.
6. Plot the structural configuration, the deformed structural shape, and mode-shapes, by starting Gnuplot, and typing
* gnuplot> cd 'Desktop/Frame3DD/examples'
* gnuplot> load 'exE.plt'

This software is a command line program. It processes an input text file and adds output data at the end of that file. It is best to run FRAME3DD from within a Command Prompt window.

Please Note: FRAME3DD input files, such as those in the 'examples' directory currently include places where the file-paths for certain output files will be written. In some cases, the locations will not exist on Windows systems, so you will need to edit these input files before running the program.

The license of this software is Free, you can free download and free use this 3d graphic software.