What file your roll-former reads, and what the LGS engineering package must include
By Germán Reisenauer, Civil Engineer · October 14, 2026 · EDICI Ingeniería, Paraná, Argentina
A roll-former does not read drawings: it reads a file. In light gauge steel framing the machine forms, punches, dimples, labels and cuts each piece from a file that describes that piece, and every machine maker defined its own. This guide says which file each family of machines reads, what travels in it and, above all, what the engineering package has to deliver so that the piece coming off the machine is the one the calculation assumed.
Short answer
- FRAMECAD: closed ecosystem. The machine reads FRAMECAD Detailer files (RFY); Revit enters through Revlink, Tekla through the .fim format.
- Howick: open control, CSV-type file. Generated by Vertex BD, the Revit add-ins (Strucsoft MWF, AGACAD) or a custom export.
- Scottsdale: ScotSteel to design and ScotRF to produce; from Vertex BD, one .scs file per panel.
- Pinnacle and Chinese C89 machines (Hener and others): each controller's own text format, configured from its specification or a sample file.
- What is in no file at all: the calculation package with your country's loads, the connection and hold-down checks, the coil specification and the seal. That is the engineering package.
Why the machine defines the format
A CNC roll-former for steel framing is a roll-forming line that, from a galvanized steel strip, produces C and U sections with the punches and dimples each piece needs to assemble: service holes, dimples so the stud locks into the track, notches, assembly marks and the inkjet label with the piece name. The machine executes; it does not decide.
What it executes arrives in one file per piece or per panel, and here each maker took a different road: some closed the loop with their own design software and their own format; others opened the controller so any program can write to it. The practical consequence for anyone buying engineering: a file is not translated from one machine to another, it is regenerated from the model. If the model is built with your machine's real profile, going to another machine means configuring another output.
Each machine, its file
| Machine | In-house software | What the controller reads | Entry from Revit or Vertex |
|---|---|---|---|
| FRAMECAD (NZ) | FRAMECAD Structure (design) and Detailer (detailing and machine files) | RFY files exported by Detailer; Steelwise also exports ACNC, CNC, IFC and PDF | Revlink, FRAMECAD’s Revit add-in (two-way with Structure, one-way to Detailer); from Tekla through the .fim format. No documented route from Vertex BD or MWF |
| Howick (NZ) | FRAMA; dedicated machines (FRAMA 3200, up to 1.2 mm) and convertible ones (FRAMA 7600, up to five profile widths) | Open CSV-type file; the maker describes it as an “open language (CSV) control system” | Vertex BD through its NC output for steel framing; Strucsoft MWF and AGACAD from Revit |
| Scottsdale (NZ; absorbed Knudson, USA) | ScotSteel (design), ScotRF (production), ScotFab (cloud) and ScotCalc | ScotSteel files; from Vertex BD, one .scs file per panel, one section type per panel and up to two service-hole sizes | Vertex BD (ScotSteel NC link) and Strucsoft MWF |
| Pinnacle LGS (USA) | Maker’s own software | Controller’s own format | Strucsoft MWF and AGACAD list it among their outputs; at EDICI we have a Pinnacle configured from Revit, with more than 1,100 pieces produced |
| Chinese C89 machines (Hener Machinery and others) | Usually sold with Vertex BD or a proprietary program | A text file specific to each controller, with its own field order and punch codes | We configure the output from the controller specification or from a sample file and validate it with one piece of each type. That is how we work with our Peruvian client’s C89: 1.20 mm nominal (1.16 mm base steel), Grade 33, panels up to 3 × 6 m for transport |
Two caveats. The machine lists published by Vertex, Strucsoft and AGACAD change with every release, and "compatible" in a brochure has to be tested on your controller. And the in-house software usually has two parts: a designer that sizes members with rules or an AISI engine, and a detailer that generates the files. The detailer is indispensable; the designer does not replace the calculation package with your country's code.
What travels in the file (and what does not)
- Profile and gauge of each piece, within what the machine forms (one fixed width on dedicated machines, several on convertible ones).
- Cut length and the cut type at each end (square, notched, flange-clipped to interlock).
- Punches and dimples with their position along the piece: service holes, dimples to lock stud into track, screw alignment marks, strap holes.
- The label the inkjet prints, so the assembler knows which panel the piece belongs to and where it goes.
- The grouping: pieces per panel, panels per batch, in the order they should be produced and assembled.
What does not travel in the file is everything that justifies those pieces: how much each stud carries, why the header has that section, how many screws each connection takes, which hold-down goes in each corner for wind uplift, which coil to buy. That lives in the model, the drawings and the calculation package. A machine produces a well-calculated panel and a poorly calculated one with the same fluency.
The engineering package: what it has to include
This is what, in our experience, a panelizer needs to produce without asking again, and what we deliver in our LGS engineering service:
- The panel model, built with your machine’s real profile: web, flange, lip, gauges and available punches. Everything else comes from it; a generic profile gives wrong files even in the right format.
- Panel drawings, one per panel, numbered, every piece labeled with the same name the machine prints, with screws per connection, strapping and hold-downs. This is what the assembler reads on the table.
- Cut list and take-off, metres of profile per gauge, piece count, kilograms of steel, screws by type, anchors, per panel and per job. This is what buys the coil and prices the work.
- Files for your machine, one file per panel or batch, named after the panel, generated from the same model as the drawings and after detailing is finished, so file and drawing never contradict each other.
- The calculation package, AISI S100 as the base with the loads of your country’s code, prepared for the local engineer of record to review and seal: E.020/E.030/E.090 in Peru, NCh 427/2 in Chile, NSR-10 F.4 in Colombia, NTC in Mexico, CIRSOC 303 in Argentina, where we seal ourselves.
- The coil specification, nominal and base-steel thickness, steel grade and zinc coating, written for the supplier. Easy to underrate: on a house in Peru the fabricator proposed G550 at 0.90 mm, and the AISI S100 effective-width check showed 1.20 mm Grade 33 was the better choice.
And before the first job on a new machine, a test of one piece of each type on your equipment. It is the cheap moment to find out a dimple came out mirrored or the controller counts holes from the other end.
What to ask of whoever does the engineering
- Tell them which machine you have, with the data sheet or the maker's quote: profile, gauges, punches, maximum piece length, maximum panel size and file format. A file the machine has already read correctly is the best data of all.
- A model with your profile, not a generic one that gets "adapted" later.
- Files named after the panels, generated from the same model as the drawings and the cut list.
- The calculation package with your country's code, ready for the local professional's review, not a software report.
- The coil specification in writing, before buying.
- A test on your machine before launching the job.
Outsourced LGS engineering
Tell us about your machine and your project
We do this remotely, in English or Spanish, as the external engineering department of panelizers in Argentina and across Latin America: Revit panel model, drawings, cut list, files for your machine and the calculation package for the local engineer of record, at USD 6 to 10 per square metre of built area. Fixed quote within 24 business hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a FRAMECAD file on a Howick or a C89 machine?
No. Each controller reads its own format: FRAMECAD works with the files its Detailer generates (RFY), Howick with an open CSV-type file, Scottsdale with ScotSteel files (.scs) and Chinese C89 machines with their controller’s text format. What gets reused is the model: from the same panel model you generate files for any machine, with that machine’s profile, gauges and punches. That is why engineering belongs on the model, not on a file.
What do I have to send so you can prepare my machine files?
Three things: the roll-former’s data sheet or the maker’s quote (profile, gauges, available punches and dimples, maximum piece and panel length, file format or a sample file the machine has already read), the architectural drawings, and the site location for the local code loads. For a new machine, the first job includes a test of one piece of each type before production starts.
Doesn’t the machine software already do the engineering?
It sizes members with rules and, in some cases, an AISI engine, and that is enough for the panel to assemble. What it does not include is the calculation package with your country’s loads (wind, snow, seismic, live loads), the check of connections and hold-downs, or the seal of the professional who answers for the building. The engineering package covers that and delivers the machine files as one more output of the same model.
What is the difference between the cut list and the machine file?
The machine file is for the controller: it describes each piece with its profile, length, punches and label, grouped by panel. The cut list is for people and administration: metres of each profile and gauge, piece count, kilograms, screws and anchors, per panel and per job. It buys the coil, prices the work and controls stock, and it must come from the same model as the file so the two never disagree.
How much does the engineering package cost and how long does it take?
At EDICI the full package (panel model, panel drawings, cut list, machine files and calculation package) costs USD 6 to 10 per square metre of built area, depending on repetition and complexity, with a fixed quote within 24 business hours. A house up to 200 m² takes 10 to 15 business days from final architectural drawings; up to 400 m², 15 to 25. We work remotely for all of Latin America, in English or Spanish, and the local professional reviews and seals.
Sources: FRAMECAD Knowledge Hub, "FRAMECAD Detailer user manual" (RFY export to the roll-former) and "FRAMECAD Steelwise Reference Guide" (ACNC, CNC, IFC, PDF and RFY export); FRAMECAD, "Revlink 1.4 release"; Trimble, "FRAMECAD Panel Creator" extension for Tekla Structures (.fim format). Howick Ltd, "OCS 2017 Howick Workshop" (FRAMA 3200 and 7600); equipment dealer listing describing Howick's "open language (CSV) control system". Vertex Systems, Vertex BD knowledge base: "ScotSteel NC link" (.scs file per panel, one section type per panel, two service-hole sizes) and "Create new NC output menu options" (steel framing CSV output). Graitec/Strucsoft, MWF Pro Metal (CNC outputs for Howick, Pinnacle, Beck, Scottsdale, FRAMECAD and Arkitech). AGACAD, CNC Exporters Metal documentation (export to Metroll, Royal C.N.C., Howick, Pinnacle and Scottsdale). BuildSteel, "Scottsdale adds KFS Framemaker 1220G3" (Sept 2026: ScotSteel, ScotRF, ScotFab, ScotCalc). C89 machine and coil specification data: EDICI jobs in Peru, 2026, published without client or project names. Accessed October 14, 2026.