Metal Building Design Software
mkaPEB is metal building design software for engineers and metal building manufacturers. Model the rigid frames of a pre-engineered metal building (PEMB), generate wind, snow, and seismic loads per ASCE 7-16/22, check members to AISC 360, design the connections, and take general arrangement drawings and a bill of materials off the same model — one workflow from first geometry to fabrication package.
What is a pre-engineered metal building?
A pre-engineered metal building (PEMB) — also called a metal building system — is a steel structure whose primary framing is engineered as one system before fabrication: rigid frames with tapered built-up columns and rafters, cold-formed purlins and girts spanning between them, and bracing tying the bays together. Instead of sizing every member for the worst-case force, the designer sets span, eave height, roof slope, bay spacing, and exposure, and the software proportions each tapered section to the actual moment demand along its length.
That is why metal buildings dominate single-story industrial construction — warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing plants, hangars, and clear-span recreation buildings go up lighter and faster than conventional steel. If you know this building type as a PEB, it is the same structure: see our pre-engineered building hub for the international vocabulary.
The US code set, built in.
Load generation, combinations, member checks, and connection design run natively on the American standards — part of 20+ design codes across three continents and 17 regional earthquake codes in one license.
Metal building engineering, end to end.
Everything a metal building manufacturer or consulting engineer needs to move from quote to fabrication package — in one model.
Rigid frame design
Tapered built-up columns and rafters for gable, lean-to, and multi-span frames — clear-span or with interior columns — proportioned to the moment demand instead of the worst-case section.
Automatic load generation
Wind, snow, temperature, and seismic loads generated per ASCE 7-16/22 with code-correct combinations. Change the governing code and the load set regenerates.
Crane buildings & mezzanines
Overhead bridge cranes, runway beams, and gantry cranes per AISC Design Guide 7, plus single and double mezzanine levels designed inside the main building model.
Connection design
Base plates, ridge and eave connections, and column splices designed per AISC 358 — bolted and welded joints checked within the model, not in a separate tool.
Drawings & bill of materials
General arrangement drawings, assembly drawings, and a complete bill of materials generated straight from the 3D model — fabrication-ready output without redrafting.
BIM export
Direct export to Tekla Structures V.2020 for detailing, Trimble SketchUp for visualization, and SAP2000 for independent analysis and verification.
Optimized by rules. Verified against SAP2000.
10–30% less steel than a prismatic design.
The patent-pending optimization engine is rule-based — an engineering algorithm, not machine learning. It narrows more than 10,000 viable cross-section combinations to roughly 900, then to about 50 candidate designs in around 3 minutes, holding utilization ratios and deflection limits across every load combination.
On a metal building quoted by the pound, that weight saving goes straight to your margin — from the first job.
SAP2000-verified across four structure types.
mkaPEB results have been verified against SAP2000 for straight portal frames, tapered portal frames, truss structures, and complete PEB models — support reactions, joint displacements, and member capacity ratios compared case by case.
Built on 20+ years of customer demands from practicing engineers and fabricators, not adapted from a general-purpose analysis suite.
From quote to fabrication package.
Four stages, one model, no re-keying between tools.
- STEP 01
Model
Enter span, eave height, roof slope, bay spacing, mezzanines, and crane systems in one parametric dialog — the full 3D frame generates in seconds.
- STEP 02
Load & analyze
Dead, live, wind, snow, and seismic loads applied per ASCE 7-16/22 with automatic combinations, then full structural analysis of the frame.
- STEP 03
Optimize & connect
The rule-based engine sizes the tapered members, then base plates, ridge, eave, and splice connections are designed and checked in the model.
- STEP 04
Draw & export
General arrangement drawings and the bill of materials come off the model; export to Tekla Structures, SketchUp, or SAP2000 downstream.
Metal building design, answered.
Common questions from engineers and metal building manufacturers evaluating mkaPEB. Still unanswered? Talk to a specialist.
See your building designed live on the call.
Book a 30-minute demo with a specialist. Bring a real span-and-eave sketch — we’ll model it, run the ASCE 7 loads, and take drawings off the model while you watch.