The Desktop Engineer is a new Windows-based program that dramatically reduces the time required to solve every-day engineering problems while increasing accuracy and improving documentation quality. A major upgrade to the previous DE/CAASE program, The Desktop Engineer provides answers to over 5,000 structural and mechanical engineering problems found in over 100 reference manuals. An important new module provides the ability to calculate section nominal properties for any two-dimensional thin-walled cross section consisting of open cell, closed cell, single cell or multiple cells.

No task is as common in the engineering world as reaching for a reference manual or handbook, searching through it to find a section that applies to the task at hand, selecting a series of formulas, generating equations and then solving them with a calculator. The Desktop Engineer makes it possible for engineers to simply select the type of problem using a graphical user interface, then enter the required parameters in response to prompts. Input is automatically verified by the program. The program then generates professional-looking documentation for the solution that shows all intermediate calculations.

The Desktop Engineer program provides solutions in a fraction of the time required for a full-blown finite element analysis. It can be used to validate analysis results or as a quick check to determine whether time should be taken to perform a complex analysis of a specific design. In many cases, a closed-form or closed form like solution will prove that there is no need to perform further analysis. The program also can be used to generate section properties that can then be plugged into a finite element analysis. It also provides time savings in situations where very accurate results are required in an area of the model that can be represented by a first order analysis.

The Desktop Engineer is a program for Engineers, not mathematicians. Unlike mathematical spreadsheets or equation solvers, it provides engineering guidance and feedback. It not only gives the user equation solutions, but also steps him or her through the entire design procedure to insure that the proper equations are selected and executed correctly. Automatic input verification and other aids prevent misunderstanding and help make the problem-solving process efficient as well as correct. For a novice, that can be a life-saver; for experts, a great time-saver, and for everyone, a built-in safeguard against mistakes. Moreover, once a problem is accurately set up and modeled, it can be quickly changed and rerun to allow the user to look at various options or modifications.

The Desktop Engineer includes over 50 modules grouped into the following categories: geometric analysis; static analysis; dynamic analysis and buckling analysis. These categories are used to analysis structures including straight beams, curved beams, cables, circular arches, circular rings, columns, discrete systems, disks, foundations, frames, grillages, helical springs, plates, shafts, shells and solids. Thin Walled Sections is an important optional new module of The Desktop Engineer. This module calculates more than 30 nominal section properties, including twelve torsional properties, for arbitrary thin-walled sections. All modules are self-prompting to help the user find section properties, displacement, forces, stresses, etc. The Desktop Engineer also includes a material property database and a unit conversion utility.