The greatest benefit to structural designers from the use of computer aided design techniques will probably come from the time savings which can be obtained in the design processes which would previously have been performed manually. The design process of certain special projects containing structural configurations, analyses and drawings has been successfully and most efficiently performed using integrated computer aided design. One typical example of this is the design of wood trusses using nailplate connectors. Software has been developed which assists the designer to complete the whole design process with the aid of a computer. All of the fairly simple but very time consuming calculations in structural configuration and analysis are carried out rapidly by the computer, leaving complete control with the designer. The design process has been kept very similar to its manual equivalent and can therefore be performed with the minimum of learning by the engineer. After a few days practice and assuming the user has some previous experience in wood truss design, working with developed computer aided design techniques will be extremely efficient.

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