• Throughout MDSolids, the user is offered graphical or intuitive choices for all of the required data or units. In drawing shear force and bending moment diagrams, for example, the user can click on a picture of an arrow pointed down and enter the magnitude of the load to define a downward vertical point load rather than having to remember to enter a negative number for the load.
• In most cases, four common units (two US and two SI) are provided for each variable. For example, stress can be computed in psi, ksi, kPa, or MPa. The user is free to mix the units in any way desired. For example, a beam cross-section could be defined in millimeters, a beam length in inches, a moment diagram in kN-m, and the resulting bending stress could be shown in psi.
• All of these choices for forces and units are made by simply clicking the appropriate buttons on the displayed forms. The mechanics of materials concepts are difficult enough without adding confusion about software sign conventions and unit systems.
• The software is written in Visual Basic to run in the Windows environment. The software requires SVGA resolution (800 x 600). The software runs adequately on a 486-33MHz machine, but some of the graphics benefit from a faster machine.