Steel portal frame design
Roiko generates a complete steel portal frame structure from a single plain-language sentence describing the building, including columns, rafters and foundations sized as a connected model.
One sentence in, a full frame out
The Roiko examples page shows what one sentence produces. A description of a steel warehouse — seven bays by four, 17 m high, HEB 600 columns, king post trusses on the roof — came back as a connected model of 164 elements: 22 columns, 120 beams and 22 foundations. A model, not a sketch.
Naming the structural system in the prompt is what makes it direct. A description that says "portal frame" gives Roiko the load path it needs, so the model is generated without a round of clarifying questions.
Where the frame goes next
The generated frame is the input to the rest of the pipeline, not the end of it. Roiko runs finite-element analysis on the model, builds the EN 1990 load combinations, checks the steel members and column bases to EN 1993, checks the shallow foundations to EN 1997, and produces the drawings and material take-offs that follow.
The model exports to IFC4, the format Revit, Tekla and other BIM tools read, so the frame moves into the workflow a practice already runs.
Who this is for
Portal frames are the bread and butter of industrial and agricultural steelwork — warehouses, sheds, light industrial units. They are also repetitive: the same engineering decisions, re-made at slightly different spans and heights, project after project.
Roiko assists the engineer rather than replacing them. Every member, check and drawing stays open to inspection and change; the engineer stays in control of every decision.
Questions
- What does Roiko need in the prompt for a portal frame?
- A sentence naming the structural system and the overall geometry is enough — the system, the bays, the height, and the sections if you have them. Naming the system is what lets Roiko generate the model without a clarification round; a sentence that leaves the system open gets one question first.
- Can the generated frame be edited?
- Yes. Roiko assists the engineer; the model, the checks and the outputs stay open to inspection and change, and the engineer stays in control of every decision.