Nodey: Structural Engineering Reimagined

Structural engineering for residential and light-commercial buildings involves a familiar cycle -- interpreting drawings, deriving loads, checking members, formatting reports, and repeating. It works, but it's slow, repetitive, and hard to keep consistent across projects. Nodey was built to change that.

What Is Nodey?

Nodey is a purpose-built intelligent platform for structural engineers, architects, and designers. It unifies drawing interpretation, structural analysis, code-compliant design checks, and reporting into a single seamless environment -- enabling faster, more consistent, and more transparent project delivery.

The structural design methods implemented in Nodey follow recognised engineering principles and are generally aligned with relevant New Zealand standards.

The Problem Nodey Solves

The typical structural design workflow for residential buildings involves manually calculating loads for each member, cross-referencing span tables across multiple documents, running bending, shear, and deflection checks by hand or in disconnected spreadsheets, and producing design documentation that can be difficult to trace back to the original plans.

This is time-consuming and error-prone, particularly for projects with multiple storeys, complex framing layouts, or high wind zones. Nodey automates the repetitive parts of this workflow while keeping the engineer firmly in control of design decisions.

How It Works

Drawing Interpretation and PDF Mark-Up

Upload architectural floor plans and draw structural elements directly on the PDF. Nodey interprets structural layouts and framing from your drawings -- no need to rebuild geometry in a separate modelling tool. You work on the same plans the architect delivered, with full design annotations overlaid.

Automated Load Derivation

Once you've defined your building details, Nodey detects framing geometry, tributary widths, and loading paths from your annotations. Load paths and load combinations are calculated automatically and flow through to every member in the project.

Code-Compliant Design Checks

Nodey runs standardised structural design checks across every element -- ULS and SLS -- aligned with New Zealand standards. The platform handles modification factors, load combinations, and capacity calculations, removing the parts of the process that are well-defined but tedious to repeat manually.

Professional Reporting

Generate clear, traceable design summaries and professional calculation reports directly from your project -- ready for review. Every report includes full traceability from inputs through to results, with explainable outputs at every step.

How Does Nodey Help You?

• Compress timelines -- reduce design cycles from weeks to minutes

• Eliminate repetition -- automate routine calculations and formatting

• Improve consistency -- apply standardised checks across every element

• Focus on what matters -- spend time on engineering judgement, not administration

• Deliver with confidence -- produce transparent, auditable outputs every time

What Can Nodey Design?

Nodey currently supports the design and assessment of:

• Beams

• Joists

• Rafters

• Lintels

• Walls

• Bearers

• Columns

• Bracing systems

• Piles

...with more element types being added as the platform continues to evolve.

Engineering Judgement Still Matters

Nodey automates calculations, not engineering decisions. The platform relies on accurate information provided by the user, and all outputs must be reviewed and verified by a suitably qualified engineer before being used for construction or certification purposes. The tool is designed to remove the drudgery from structural design, not to replace the judgement that makes a good engineer.

See Nodey in Action -- Live Showcase

Nodey -- Structural Engineering Reimagined Live Showcase | 15 April | 12:00 -- 12:45

Join us for a 45-minute live demonstration where we'll walk through Nodey's full workflow -- from drawing interpretation to completed calculation report. See how the platform automatically interprets framing layouts, derives loads, runs code-compliant checks, and generates professional reports, all within a system designed around smarter workflows and full traceability.

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/aec5d100-b6b5-4f50-ad73-731a06c701ec@da95f40e-d996-465e-b895-bc94cc0a4523

Help Shape What Comes Next

Nodey is being developed in close collaboration with practising engineers, architects, and industry professionals. Your insight directly influences what we build. Join the showcase to see Nodey in action, explore its capabilities, and share your feedback on the future of structural engineering tools.