This article was written and provided by John Cannard – Chief Technical Officer -Dindas Australia
Since its early development and implementation way back in late 2018, Dindas Design Suite or ‘DDS’ as we know it, has been used to design more than 35,000+ projects to the market and counting.
Our valued customers throughout this time have experienced the benefit of enhancements we’ve made along the way to help make their lives and operations run more smoothly. We’ve included simplified Installation Booklet, an enhanced Design Guide, QR code activated construction details straight from the layouts and of course the full power of transparency around designs with 3D modelling. We’ve listened to our key partners and worked with them to produce cleaner and more concise layouts designing our systems around theirs.
As we create and write DDS software updates in-house, we have been able to adapt swiftly to changes throughout the years both with products and regulatory building standard changes. This adaptability has never been put to the test more than as it is today with continued timber shortages and huge supply chain interruptions. Our designers have adapted to substitute, and redesign completed projects to ensure that designs can be supplied. All of this wouldn’t have been possible (well possible, just extremely painful) in the past because of limitations with our prior software. Of course, the importance must not be lost on certification and compliance when substitutes are implemented as rapidly as we have had to and for this reason, we always complete the designs using our best-in-class Quality Assurance processes and design systems.
Fast forward from 2018 to 2021, we find ourselves more than ever engaged with our customers and our customers customer – the ‘builder’, thanks to DDS. Being able to take a PDF, DWG, DXF or BIM model from the builder or architect and express that same file back to them in a fully built, engineered 3D model they can navigate through (often in AR – augmented reality) has proven invaluable. Often this has occurred before they have even received the products on site. From the simplest of renovation projects, major builder repeat work, 3 and 4 story multi-res units and even a 500 seat V MAX movie theatre built from LVL and Glulam on top of an existing shopping mall – we have modelled them all through DDS.
During the design of your project, we carry out performance analyses through DDS which checks the entire floor system as one in what we call ‘Floor Performance Mode’ or as some call it ‘Heat Mapping’ technology. During the design, our EWP designers can view the layout in a coloured overlay determined by several critical performance factors such as short-term deflection, long term deflection, moment, shear and of course vibration. Depending on the performance criteria view the designer is in, the layout will change colours based on performance indicators or isolate a certain area of difference. This is essential information for the designer when designing the simplest floor layout or large complex floor areas with different joist sizes, depths, change of direction etc to ensure we provide a quality performing floor system. It is also the only EWP software available in Australia with this level of full performance analysis.
Of course, we recognise that this type of technology ‘as cool as its is’ it may not be for everyone and our day-to-day designs whilst modelled and checked through 3D, are typically returned with our standard 2-page layout system consisting of Joist layout and Beam layout and accompanying bill of materials list.
All the software designs and certification are backed by our in-house and external consulting engineering teams. If the software cannot do something today, but we can complete it by hand calculations, the software will be able to it tomorrow. The true power of adaptability!
So, as the title suggests, “why wait” you can experience all that DDS 3D performance design has to offer on your next project TODAY!
Check us out on our new website dindas.com.au which includes a short trailer video of DDS in action or reach out to us at one of our design centres or at the National Design Centre for more information.
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