The American Institute of Steel Construction has released several new free resources to complement the hot-off-the-presses 16th edition of its Steel Construction Manual for download at aisc.org/16thedition.

These additional materials include the v16.0 Manual Companion, v16.0 Shapes Database, v16.0H Historic Shapes Database, Basic Design Values Cards, and an Interactive Reference List. 

“These free, digital supplements allow us to share a vast amount of information easily,” said AISC Director of Manuals Margaret Matthew. “The Steel Construction Manual is a formidable publication, not just in terms of scope and authority--the book itself weighs 4.5 lbs, even though we print it on Bible paper. If we included all of these additional materials, we’d have to build wheels into the spine!”

The v16.0 Manual Companion is a two-volume set containing nearly 1,800 pages of material. Volume 1 includes complete design examples illustrating commonly used provisions in the 2022 Specification for Structural Steel Buildings and the 16th edition Manual for designing members, connections, and structural systems. This version includes a new example demonstrating the design of Partial-Joint-Penetration groove welds, examples illustrating the use of the new shear connection tables in Part 10 of the new Manual, a complete building design following the design requirements outlined in ASCE/SEI 7-22, and more.

The second volume of the v16.0 Manual Companion contains 20 design tables that supplement the Manual with additional material grades, including ASTM A913 Grades 65 and 70 W-shapes and ASTM A1085 HSS members. In this new version, tables have been expanded with the 210 new HSS shapes added to the 16th edition Manual for both A500 Grade C and ASTM A1085 material. 

The v16.0 Shapes Database is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that compiles the dimensions and properties of all shapes printed in Part 1 of the 16th edition Manual. The spreadsheet now includes information for the 222 new shapes added to the latest Manual, along with many useful properties not tabulated in the Manual. 

The new v16.0H Historic Shapes Database is updated with all dimensions and properties consistent with the 15th edition Manual. This resource provides a complete list of historical shape information recorded from 1873 to 2016.

The Basic Design Values Cards, included with every Manual purchase and posted online for reference, are printable, book-sized cards with some of the most frequently used limit state equations for checking members and connections from the 2022 Specification in an abbreviated format. It’s a great resource to keep on your desk or in your field notebook for use in situations where you need the available strengths for members and connections quickly.

The Interactive Reference List is a complete listing of all the references found in both the 2022 Specification and 16th edition Manual, linked to the relevant publications (whenever possible). Many of these references are available from the AISC website, while others are linked to the outside organization where the publication can be accessed or purchased.