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

RISA-3D (24)

March 25, 2015

How are Unbraced Lengths coordinated between RISAFloor and RISA-3D?

In a RISAFloor model the columns and beams can be assigned unbraced...

Read More
March 20, 2015

Moving Load Point Load Generator now Available

A common question we get in tech support is “how can I verify my moving...

Read More
March 12, 2015

Cold-Formed Steel Back to Back Design

Cold Formed Steel channels are often built-up as back-to-back sections to...

Read More
March 10, 2015

The Internal Force Summation Tool for Walls

You may be familiar with the Internal Force Summation Tool (IFST) that is...

Read More
February 26, 2015

Canadian Wood Design now Available

Timber design per the Canadian CSA 086-2009 design code is now available....

Read More
February 17, 2015

What's New for Code Updates in RISA

New codes have been added to RISA-3D v13 and RISAFloor v9, these include:...

Read More
January 15, 2015

Approximate Guidelines for Plate Meshing

It is important to submesh plate elements in your model in order to obtain...

Read More
December 03, 2014

What do the Unbraced Length commands Segment and Lbyy mean?

Aside from leaving an unbraced length blank or inputting a fixed distance,...

Read More
November 19, 2014

What do the Unbraced Lengths represent?

Understanding unbraced lengths and how RISA software accounts for them is...

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...