fitzroy.co.uk

What It Is

Fitzroy Systems is a UK software company with more than 40 years of history, focused on providing professional calculation and design tools for structural engineers. Its core product, SCALE (Structural CALculations Ensemble), is a comprehensive structural calculation suite covering the full workflow from member design to detailing and finite element analysis.

Core Dimension Analysis

• Features and Use Cases: SCALE offers more than 1,000 calculation routines, supporting the design of beams, columns, and slabs in steel, concrete, masonry, and timber, with simultaneous support for Eurocodes and British Standards. The suite includes LUCID (reinforced concrete detailing), SPADE (steel/masonry/timber detailing), and NL-STRESS (2D/3D elastic and nonlinear analysis), making it a highly complete solution.
• Supported Languages/Frameworks and Extensibility: The programs are controlled using text files with simple symbolic notation. Engineers can not only modify existing programs but also write custom calculations and add them to the suite, giving it a high degree of flexibility.
• Integration and Ecosystem: LUCID and SPADE support interaction with AutoCAD and other CAD systems capable of reading DXF files, bridging the gap between calculation and drafting.
• Open Source and Deployment: The software is closed-source commercial software. All programs are compiled in-house directly from source code and run via local installation, with no reliance on any third-party runtime libraries or software. It is fully compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems from Windows XP through Windows 10.
• Documentation Quality: Professionally written user manuals are provided—the SAND system alone includes up to 8 user manuals and 3 reference manuals—and they can be viewed on screen. Combined with a telephone hotline and semiannual updates, the support system is well developed.

Pricing

The official website mentions “Prices Pay online” and supports online payment, but it does not publicly disclose specific subscription or perpetual license pricing. You need to contact sales for details.

Pros and Cons

Pros: Decades of industry focus and strong professional depth; comprehensive standards support (British Standards/Eurocodes); highly customizable with no third-party dependencies; good DXF-based integration with CAD systems such as AutoCAD.
Cons: Text-file-based interaction model and a relatively traditional interface; Windows-only; lacks modern cloud collaboration features; pricing information is not transparent.

Who It’s For

Primarily suited to structural engineers, independent consultants, and small to mid-sized engineering design firms working to British Standards or Eurocodes.

Access from China

As traditional desktop software, its main operating environment is local Windows installation, though the accessibility of the official website is unknown. In addition, its core standards (British Standards/Eurocodes) differ significantly from Chinese national standards, so its direct applicability for engineers working on domestic Chinese projects is relatively limited.