Risa Tips & Tricks: How to Use Our Structural Analysis Software

September 1, 2026

Celebrating RISA Since 1987

1987 was the year President Reagan told Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” and the New York Giants won their first Super Bowl. Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” topped the charts. While Pope John Paul II’s visit to Los Angeles drew national attention, the engineering world was also getting exciting news out of Southern California. RISA was founded there in September 1987. For nearly four decades, RISA has partnered with engineers to turn vision into structure. RISA-2D started it all, offering a simplified and straightforward software for the analysis and design of 2D structures. Today, that foundation has grown into a family of 10 products that support engineers throughout the design process from a single steel connection to a multi-story, post-tensioned concrete building. Through every stage of our company’s growth, RISA’s focus has remained the same: put the engineer first. RISA develops practical software with intuitive interfaces and efficient workflows, helping engineers spend less time on redundant tasks and more time applying their expertise to complex design challenges. We are grateful to the engineers who have been part of the RISA journey. Your trust, feedback, and challenging projects have helped shape…

Read More

New (22)

June 09, 2020

Setting License Type Priority with the RISA Licensing Dashboard

The RISA Licensing Dashboard gives users a convenient place to review all...

Read More
May 29, 2020

Skewed Shear Connections are Now Available in RISAConnection v12!

RISAConnection Version 12 now supports skewed shear tab connections. With...

Read More
May 26, 2020

Support Frame Structures for Rotating Machinery in RISA-3D

RISA-3D can be used to model the effects of rotating machinery on their...

Read More
May 19, 2020

Why is my force demand higher than what is reported in my force…

A question that we are asked from time to time in technical support is...

Read More
May 17, 2020

PT/RC or Builder

Feature ADAPT-PT/RC ADAPT-Builder Desired Use — Preliminary Sizing X —...

Read More
May 15, 2020

How to add ADAPT products to a RISA Key

The RISA licensing dashboard allows users to add their existing ADAPT...

Read More
May 14, 2020

Video: Introducing RISACalc

The new RISACalc allows users to analyze single members (beams and...

Read More
May 13, 2020

RISA Acquires ADAPT Corporation

RISA is excited to announce the acquisition of ADAPT Corporation. Over the...

Read More
May 07, 2020

RISA-Tekla Link v10 Released

The release of the RISA-Tekla Link v10 introduces compatibility with Tekla...

Read More

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Our monthly "Structural Moment" newsletter is the best way to keep up with RISA’s product updates, new releases, new features, training events, webinars and more...