Structural Engineering Software — United Kingdom

Every Eurocode.
One platform.

EC3 steel design, EC6 masonry, EC8 seismic, cold-formed steel, RC design and 30 more modules — all running in your browser. No installation. No spreadsheets. Code-compliant in seconds.

Start free — 10 calculations/month → See all 36 modules

Engineering modules

Design codes

1,612

Tests passing

£29

Pro / month

Engineering Modules

Every calculation you need.

From a simple beam check to a full 3D seismic analysis — all modules follow current Eurocode and AISC standards.

EC3-1-1 · AISC 360

Steel Frame Design

Multi-storey frames, LTB checks, P-delta effects, sway classification. UB, UC, CHS, RHS sections.

EC3-1-3:2006

Cold-Formed Steel

C and Z sections — effective width method, distortional buckling, LTB curve c. Purlin design wizard.

EC6 BS EN 1996-1-1

Masonry Design

Unreinforced walls — slenderness, eccentricity, shear, concentrated loads. Clay, AAC, calcium silicate.

EC8-1 · ASCE 7-22

Seismic Analysis

Modal RSA, equivalent lateral force, CQC/SRSS combination. 3D X+Y+Z directions.

EC2-1-1:2004

RC Design

Beams, slabs, columns — flexure, shear, deflection, crack width, punching shear.

EC7 · Meyerhof

Foundation Design

Pad, strip and raft footings — bearing capacity, settlement, punching shear.

EC1-1-4:2005

Wind Loading

Full qp chain, Cpe/Cpi coefficients, terrain categories, storey-by-storey forces.

EC3-1-8:2005

Steel Connections

Fin plate, end plate, base plate, beam splice — bolt group and weld capacity checks.

EC5-1-1:2004

Timber Design

Beams, columns, connections — service classes 1/2/3, nails, bolts, screws.

EN 1990 + EN 1991-1-1

Load Takedown

Multi-storey accumulation with EN1990 Eq 6.10/6.10a/6.10b and imposed load reduction α.

IFC 2x3 · DXF

BIM Export

Native IFC STEP files, DXF R2010, JSON reports for downstream BIM workflows.

Claude · AI

Ask Volex (AI)

Type your problem in plain English. Claude extracts parameters and runs the correct calculation instantly.

Ask Volex — AI Interface

Type it. Get the answer.

No more navigating menus or hunting for the right input field. Just describe your structural problem in plain English — Volex runs the correct Eurocode calculation automatically.

Engineer types:

"Check a 215mm clay brick wall 2.7m high with 120kN/m vertical load, M4 mortar, fb=10MPa, pinned top and bottom"

EC6 BS EN 1996-1-1:2005 — RESULT

Slenderness ratio hef/tef ≤ 27 12.56 PASS

Vertical load resistance 87.0% PASS

Shear resistance 0.0% PASS

Try Ask Volex →

Standards Coverage

Built on the codes you actually use.

Every calculation references the current published standard. No shortcuts. No approximations.

BS EN 1990:2002

Basis of structural design — load combinations Eq 6.10, 6.10a, 6.10b

BS EN 1991-1-1

Actions on structures — imposed loads with α reduction factor

BS EN 1991-1-4

Wind actions — full qp calculation chain, terrain categories 0–IV

BS EN 1992-1-1

Reinforced concrete design — beams, slabs, columns, punching

BS EN 1993-1-1

Steel design — frames, LTB, buckling curves, class 1–4 sections

BS EN 1993-1-3

Cold-formed steel — effective widths, distortional buckling, EC3-1-3

BS EN 1993-1-8

Steel connections — fin plate, end plate, base plate, splice joints

BS EN 1994-1-1

Composite steel and concrete design

BS EN 1995-1-1

Timber design — solid, glulam, connections, service classes

BS EN 1996-1-1

Masonry design — unreinforced walls, slenderness, shear

BS EN 1997-1

Geotechnical design — pad foundations, bearing capacity, settlement

BS EN 1998-1

Seismic design — response spectra, modal analysis, CQC/SRSS

AISC 360-22

American steel design — LRFD and ASD, W and HSS sections

ASCE 7-22

American load standard — seismic, wind, snow, combinations

ACI 318-19

American concrete design — strength, serviceability, detailing

Pricing

Start free. Upgrade when you're ready.

No credit card required to start. 14-day free trial on all paid plans.

Free forever

Free

£0

no card required

10 calculations per month
EC3 steel frame design
EC8 seismic analysis
EC7 foundation sizing
EC1 wind loading

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Common questions.

Is Volex suitable for professional structural engineering work in the UK?

Yes. Every calculation references the current BS EN Eurocode standard with the UK National Annex where applicable. Results include full code check tables with clause references. You should always apply your own professional judgement and peer review to any calculation output.

What is EC3 beam design and can I do it online for free?

EC3 refers to BS EN 1993 — the European standard for steel design. Volex includes a full EC3-1-1 steel frame design module covering bending, shear, LTB, and deflection checks. The free plan includes 10 calculations per month at no cost — start here.

Does Volex cover cold-formed steel design to EC3-1-3?

Yes. The cold-formed steel module covers BS EN 1993-1-3:2006 — effective width method for local buckling, distortional buckling of stiffened elements, flexural buckling (curve b), LTB (curve c), combined loading, and deflection. Standard C-section purlin design is available as a quick-entry wizard.

Can I run EC8 seismic calculations for UK and European projects?

Yes. The seismic module covers BS EN 1998-1 equivalent lateral force and modal response spectrum analysis. It supports both Type 1 and Type 2 spectra, soil classes A–E, and importance factors. A separate 3D seismic module with CQC/SRSS combination is available on Pro.

How does the AI natural language interface work?

Powered by Anthropic's Claude model. You type a structural problem in plain English — for example "check a 200mm cold-formed purlin over 6m with 0.6kPa imposed load" — and Volex identifies the correct calculation, extracts all parameters, runs the calculation, and returns a full code check result with a plain-English summary.

Can I export calculation results for my engineering records?

Yes. Pro plan includes Excel (.xlsx) export with colour-coded PASS/FAIL checks, CSV export for data portability, and formatted PDF calculation sheets suitable for engineering records and client deliverables.

Is there an API for embedding Volex in my own tools?

Yes. Team plan and above includes REST API access. The Reseller/Enterprise tier provides white-label API access with custom rate limits for embedding Volex calculations in your own platform. Contact us for reseller pricing.

Why Volex

The structural calculation software built for UK engineers.

Volex is the only online platform covering the full suite of British Standard Eurocodes — from EC3 steel frame design to EC6 masonry, EC8 seismic analysis and cold-formed steel to EC3-1-3.

BROWSER-BASED

No installation required

Run EC3 beam design, EC6 masonry checks, EC8 seismic analysis and 27 more calculations directly in your browser. Works on Windows, Mac, tablet. No licence dongle. No software to install.

CODE-COMPLIANT

Every result references the standard

Each calculation output includes a full code check table with clause references — BS EN 1993, BS EN 1996, BS EN 1998 and more. Suitable for engineering records and client deliverables.

AI-POWERED

Plain English to Eurocode in seconds

The Ask Volex AI interface understands structural engineering. Type "check a 215mm brick wall 2.7m high with 120kN/m load" and get a full EC6 code check — no form filling, no navigation.

EXPORT

PDF, Excel and CSV export

Export any calculation to a formatted PDF calculation sheet, colour-coded Excel workbook, or CSV for further processing. All exports include full input/output records suitable for engineering files.

TRUSTED

1,628 tests passing

Every module is covered by an automated regression test suite. Results are verified against hand calculations and reference values from published Eurocode worked examples. When we update the code, all 1,628 tests must pass before deployment.

API ACCESS

Embed in your own tools

Team and Enterprise plans include REST API access. Run EC3, EC6, EC8 calculations programmatically from your own scripts, apps or BIM workflows. The Reseller tier provides white-label API access for embedding Volex in client-facing tools.

GET STARTED TODAY

Your first 10 calculations are free.

No credit card. No installation. Just open the browser and start calculating.

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Every Eurocode. One platform.