The Brisbane Steel Frame Expo will run from 28th to 30th September and will be held at 32 Enterprise Street, Cleveland, QLD. FrameCAD ’s steel framing demonstration times will be 10:00am for 10:30am start daily and 6:00pm for 6:30pm start daily. These demonstration sessions will run for approximately 2 hours.

The National Association of Steel Frame Housing (NASH) is set to stage a seminar on Design of Residential and Low-rise Steel Framing. The seminar will present an overview of the new NASH Handbook Design of Residential and Low-rise Steel Framing released in August 2009. Information on two new NASH Standards being developed to provide steel framing span tables and related information will also be included in the seminar.

The NASH seminar will be held on Wednesday 29th September at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start, and finishing at around 8:30pm.

The centrepiece of the Brisbane Steel Frame Expo is steel framing which is redefining housing construction. It is safe, strong, and more profitable and sustainable.

The Brisbane Expo will also demonstrate new FrameCAD technology at sessions for Expo attendees. Important new research about the safety and sustainability of cold-formed steel frame construction will also be showcased.

Highlights at the Expo include: -

  • Compelling new evidence from CSIRO that confirms the superior performance of light gauge steel frame construction in a bush fire
  • Structural integrity data that shows steel framed homes are safer in cyclone and earthquake zones
  • A home design that can be built in just 22 hours
  • Australian case studies that prove FrameCAD technology can reduce build time by as much as 30%, reduce costs and improve profitability
  • A new compact fabrication machine that can produce framing at rates up to 700 metres per hour, and achieve capital payback in three months based on making framing for just one 180-200 sqm house per day
  • An innovative fully self-contained mobile factory (see Factory in a Can below) for quick-start on site production of steel framing virtually anywhere across Queensland
  • An update on Australia's building future and how steel framed homes are fast becoming a sought-after solution for superior value, safety and sustainability
Further information regarding the Brisbane Steel Frame Expo is available from the FrameCAD website.

CSIRO bushfire researcher Justin Leonard will also be attending the Expo to address the building and construction industry. Mr Leonard has been at the forefront of research into improving housing construction to better withstand bushfires. He oversaw a flame testing of a low-rise house earlier this year; it was constructed with steel frames as well as steel outer walls, under-floors and roof cavities.