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…

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November 20, 2013

Why Is My Beam Failing in Shear?

When solving a RISA-3D model you may find you have a Shear UC (unity...

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October 09, 2013

What is the Tau b Factor and how does it affect my analysis?

When solving a RISA-3D model with hot rolled steel members under the AISC...

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September 06, 2013

Why Are The Steel Beam Deflections So Large?

When solving a RISA-3D model with hot rolled steel members under the AISC...

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August 21, 2013

How can I transition a Plate Mesh from Round to Rectangular?

Transitioning plates from a circular (or elliptical) to a square (or...

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August 14, 2013

How to Use International Shapes in RISAConnection

You can use the full library of international shapes inside of...

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July 31, 2013

How to View Wood Design Values

We have recently added a new View Design Properties dialog to allow you to...

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July 02, 2013

How to use Live Load Special

In RISAFloor, there are several different Load Categories that define Live...

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June 23, 2013

Customizing Labels in RISA-Revit Link

You can now customize the member and nodes names Revit uses during the...

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May 15, 2013

How can I find the deflection of plates?

Below is a model of a flat concrete slab made of plates. In order to...

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